mahussain3
Son of Aa'ishah(R.A)
You Did Not Know This Before!
Undoubtedly, there is an attitude in the Quran which is not found anywhere else. It is interesting
how when the Quran provides information, it often tells the reader, "You did not know this
before." Indeed, there is no scripture that exists which makes that claim. All of the other ancient
writings and scriptures that people have do give a lot of information, but they always state
where the information came from.
For example, when the Bible discusses ancient history, it states that this king lived here, this one
fought in a certain battle, another one had so may sons, etc. Yet it always stipulates that if you
want more information, then you should read the book of so and so because that is where the
information came from. In contrast to this concept, the Quran provides the reader with
information and states that this information is something new. Of course, there always exists the
advice to research the information provided and verify its authenticity. It is interesting that such
a concept was never challenged by non-Muslims fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, the
Makkans who hated the Muslims, and time and time again they heard such revelations
claiming to bring new information; yet, they never spoke up and said, "This is not new. We know
where Muhammad got this information. We learned this at school." They could never
challenge its authenticity because it really was new!
In concurrence with the advice given in the Quran to research information (even if it is new),
when 'Umar was caliph, he chose a group of men and sent them to find the wall of Dhul-
Qarnayn. Before the Quranic revelation, the Arabs had never heard of such a wall, but
because the Quran described it, they were able to discover it. As a matter of fact, it is now
located in what is called Durbend in the Soviet Union.
[Note: The city of Derbend (Durbend, Derbent, Derband) is located in Daghestan on the West coast of the
Caspian sea, about 150 miles south-east of Grozny, Chechnia and about 140 miles north north-west of Baku,Azerbaijan. Derband was also known as Bab al-Abwab in early Muslim history. Al-Tabari mentions it in his famous
work 'Tarikh al-rusul wa'l Muluk' when discussing the events of 14 A.H. (646 C.E.), during the reign of the second
rightly guided Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra). The city is also mentioned by Yaqut in Mu'jam al-Buldan. It had
fortifications meant to repel invasions from the north of Caucasus, and where once powerful Kingdom of Khazar
ruled. The history of Khazars has been well documented since the middle of the first millennium C.E., and their
kingdom disintegrated in 966 C.E. Derbend was used as the main point of entry from the north of Caucasus to
the south into Persian territory.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the famous translator of the meaning of the Quran, discusses some opinions on Dhul Qarnayn
(Zul-Qarnain) in Appendix VII at the end of Sura 'Kahf', the 'Cave". The famous historian Ibn Kathir mentions that
Dhul-Qarnayn was a pious king, who lived during the time of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham, pbuh) and he
performed the Tawaaf around the Ka'bah with Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) when he built it. See 'Muslim Minorities'
site for a Map showing Derbend.]
Undoubtedly, there is an attitude in the Quran which is not found anywhere else. It is interesting
how when the Quran provides information, it often tells the reader, "You did not know this
before." Indeed, there is no scripture that exists which makes that claim. All of the other ancient
writings and scriptures that people have do give a lot of information, but they always state
where the information came from.
For example, when the Bible discusses ancient history, it states that this king lived here, this one
fought in a certain battle, another one had so may sons, etc. Yet it always stipulates that if you
want more information, then you should read the book of so and so because that is where the
information came from. In contrast to this concept, the Quran provides the reader with
information and states that this information is something new. Of course, there always exists the
advice to research the information provided and verify its authenticity. It is interesting that such
a concept was never challenged by non-Muslims fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, the
Makkans who hated the Muslims, and time and time again they heard such revelations
claiming to bring new information; yet, they never spoke up and said, "This is not new. We know
where Muhammad got this information. We learned this at school." They could never
challenge its authenticity because it really was new!
In concurrence with the advice given in the Quran to research information (even if it is new),
when 'Umar was caliph, he chose a group of men and sent them to find the wall of Dhul-
Qarnayn. Before the Quranic revelation, the Arabs had never heard of such a wall, but
because the Quran described it, they were able to discover it. As a matter of fact, it is now
located in what is called Durbend in the Soviet Union.
[Note: The city of Derbend (Durbend, Derbent, Derband) is located in Daghestan on the West coast of the
Caspian sea, about 150 miles south-east of Grozny, Chechnia and about 140 miles north north-west of Baku,Azerbaijan. Derband was also known as Bab al-Abwab in early Muslim history. Al-Tabari mentions it in his famous
work 'Tarikh al-rusul wa'l Muluk' when discussing the events of 14 A.H. (646 C.E.), during the reign of the second
rightly guided Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra). The city is also mentioned by Yaqut in Mu'jam al-Buldan. It had
fortifications meant to repel invasions from the north of Caucasus, and where once powerful Kingdom of Khazar
ruled. The history of Khazars has been well documented since the middle of the first millennium C.E., and their
kingdom disintegrated in 966 C.E. Derbend was used as the main point of entry from the north of Caucasus to
the south into Persian territory.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the famous translator of the meaning of the Quran, discusses some opinions on Dhul Qarnayn
(Zul-Qarnain) in Appendix VII at the end of Sura 'Kahf', the 'Cave". The famous historian Ibn Kathir mentions that
Dhul-Qarnayn was a pious king, who lived during the time of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham, pbuh) and he
performed the Tawaaf around the Ka'bah with Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) when he built it. See 'Muslim Minorities'
site for a Map showing Derbend.]
