TUR (طور) VS JABAL (جبل): Part 4

<< Part 3

Image #1: Cameron Highland Tea Valley, Pahang, Malaysia - Example of TUR (Green Mountain)

Image #2: Genting Highland Resort, Pahang, Malaysia - Example of TUR (Green Mountain)

Image #3: Kundasang Highland, Sabah, Malaysia - Example of TUR (Green Mountain)

Image #4: Jabal Uhud, Mekkah, Saudi - This is not TUR

Image #5: Jabal Rahmah, Arafah, Mekkah, Saudi - This is not TUR (see the mysterious pillar known as "obelisk")

Image #6: Jabal Nur, Mekkah, Saudi - This is not TUR

Seems that there is no TUR (Green Mountain) in the vicinity of Mekkah, when quran is talking about TUR as a signature landmark for baladil ameen (secured country).

Wanna give your thought ? Please write to me...

To be continued....Part 5 >>

TUR (طور) VS JABAL (جبل): Part 3

 << Part 2

  Image #1: A view from the summit of Mount Sinai (Jabal Nabi Musa)

Image #2: The last few meters of the climb up Mount Sinai  (Jabal Nabi Musa)

 

Mount Sinai: A case of Jabal vs Tur

One of the famous Jabal in judeo-christian biblical archeology is Mount Sinai of Egypt. Let's take a look at the English wikipedia entry:

Mount Sinai (Arabic: طور سيناء‎ Tūr Sīnāʼ  or جبل موسى  Jabal Mūsá ; Egyptian Arabic: Gabal Mūsa, lit. "Moses Mountain" or "Mount Moses"; Hebrew: הר סיני‎ Har Sinai ), also known as Mount Horeb, is a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt that is the traditional and most accepted identification of the biblical Mount Sinai. The latter is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah, the Bible,^[1] and the Quran.^[2] According to Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition, the biblical Mount Sinai was the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments.

Mount Sinai is a Jabal but not a Tur

Mount Sinai is the real classic example of Jabal vs Tur confusion.  In the above ENGLISH wikipedia entry, the ARABIC term Jabal and Tur were used interchangeably as the english wiki author wish.

The fact is, mount Sinai ONLY QUALIFY as Jabal (Mountain) but not Tur (Green Mountain) from the PROPER arabic language perspective.

According to the Quran, an ultimate reference book, which have been revealed in Lisanan Arabiyan (Eloquent Tounge), Jabal and Tur were used to define mountain in generic form vs specific form.

Quran always convey the precision message. Jabal and Tur were not used haphazardly. Both words are not EXACT synonymous. The word was carefully chosen as a sign of guidance.

Any attempt by historian or others in associating Mount Sinai as TUR, does not hold water from the Lisan Arabiy linguistic rule.

This is because Mount Sinai is a barren mountain with no vegetation able to grow on it as you can see from the image #1 and #2 above. It is purely rocky mountain with no fertile top soil or enough rain or right climate to enable plant growth especially olives tree.

وشجرةٍ تَخْرُجُ من طُورِ سَيْناءَ

and trees (Olive) that emerge from Tur Sina'... [23:20]

In the next post we shall take a look at the definition of TUR (طور) by classical Arab dictionary as well the explanation (fussilat) made by the quran.

To be continued....Part 4 >>

TUR (طور) VS JABAL (جبل): Part 2

<< Part 1

Geography of the Quran is one of the most under developed research subject in the field of quranic studies.

Although, TUR (Green Mountain) and JABAL (General Mountain) are signature landmarks in Quran - especially with regards to the true location of "Baladil Ameen" of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) or Bani Israel residential highland valley (bayt) - many would not be able to appreciate this prominent geographical features.

It may be safe to say Quranic Study programme offered by university worldwide, NEVER TEACH QURANIC GEOGRAPHY.

Geography could be considered as a "strange" subject although there are many words about "geo" in Qur'an.

Trying to understand Qur'an from geography point of view, may lead to 'revolutionary' interpretation, able to wreck havoc, the well established understanding and status quo.

The conventional quranic study courses may be limited to Hafazan (memorization), Tafsir (exegete), Lughah (Dialect), Tajweed (Proper Pronunciation), Asbab An-Nuzul (Reason for Revelation) or Qiraat (Reading Style).

Some claim its already covered under "Tafsir" or "Lughah" subject, but still many do not understand the significance meaning of TUR and JABAL.

Nobody is perfect. As a student of quran, we must always open our minds to accept "new" knowledge and findings.

Indeed this knowledge have been there since the beginning, but ALLAH MESSAGE has always being distorted so that mankind could not decode the heavenly message, in which at the end we are getting upside down geographical information of qur'an:

"And those who rejected said: “Do not listen to this Qur’ān, and make noise over it that you may succeed”…[41:26]

There are words in quran vocabulary that looks similar but in actual fact very unique. In many cases, words that appear to be synonymous, might very well constitute a case of GENERAL versus SPECIFIC, such in the case of JABAL is general mountain while TUR is specific type of mountain where green vegetation is able to grow.

Another example, is the quranic word AL-BAHR (A body of water ie. sea or lake or even big river - البحر) and AL-YAMM (Fast flowing Stream of Water - اليم), which are not exactly synonymous.

God willing, in coming post, our reader may soon find the close relationship between AL-TUR (Green Mountain) and AL-YAMM (Fast Stream of Water flow).

May Allah guide us to straight path insyallah.


To be continued...Part 3>>

TUR (طور) VS JABAL (جبل): Part 1

In this series, we shall learn the difference between TUR vs JABAL, the two words which being translated generally as MOUNTAIN.

The words was mentioned many times in quran. TUR was cited 11x while JABAL was cited 41x, in total of 52.

The words give us the important clue about the geographical topography where the quranic event took place.

It may be safe to say, that the geography of where quran was revealed, are dominated by MOUNTAINS or HIGHLANDS. It is a HIGH ALTITUDE region. Higher elevations are made temperate by their altitude.

This explain why the agricultural produces that usually associated with temperate or "mediteranean" climate such as Grapes (أعناب) , Figs (التين) and Olives (الزيتون), exist in the midst of "harsh Arabian desert". This is what TUR (highly fertile green mountain) is all about.

 يُنبِتُ لَكُم بِهِ الزَّرْ‌عَ وَالزَّيْتُونَ وَالنَّخِيلَ وَالْأَعْنَابَ وَمِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَ‌اتِ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُ‌ونَ

He causes to grow for you thereby the crops, the olives, the palm trees, the grapevines, and from all kind of the agricultural produce. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who give thought. [16:11]

TUR and JABAL may looks synonymous but in actual fact, it is so different and have HUGE implication to our traditional understanding about MILLAT IBRAHIM (The method of Ibrahim) and ARDHUL ANBIYA (Geographical Land of the Prophets).

Without understanding TUR (طور) VS JABAL (جبل) properly, the reader of Al-Quran would not be able to grasp its core meaning and thus resulted in NO BENEFIT and NO GUIDANCE.

Reading Arabian Quran without understanding, is like trying to read driving direction signboard in foreign language that you totally don't understand. It will not lead you anywhere.

Thus one of the reason why GUIDANCE was revealed in Arabic is because of its uniqueness in its ability to communicate the real meaning behind each of its PURPOSELY SELECTED WORD of which, may Allah allow me to share with my beloved reader, in the next post.

كِتَابٌ فُصِّلَتْ آيَاتُهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ ,بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا فَأَعْرَضَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ 

A Book, whereof its verses are explained in detail; a reading in arabic, for people who have knowledge, (as a) glad tidings and a warning, yet most of them turn away and do not listen [41:3-4]

To be continued....Part 2 >>