Verse 3 of the sura The Romans speaks of the defeat of the Romans at the lowest part of the earth. The Arabic expression “edna al ard” (the lowest part of the earth) has been translated by some commentators as “land close by.” We think that this rendering does not express the essential meaning of the verse, that such a rendering may be taken as a secondary meaning. The translators were at a loss to understand the exact meaning of “edna al ard” and thought it best to give it the secondary meaning. We hope that after our remarks they will revise their work.
The region where the Byzantines suffered defeat was the Dead Sea, a place that is approximately 400 meters below the sea level, viz. the lowest spot of the earth, the highest being the Himalayas. A miracle of the Quran was its prediction of the war that was to be won by the Romans, a fact that at the time could hardly have been expected; another miracle was its foreknowledge about the place being the lowest spot on earth; something that could only be verified with the measuring techniques we gained in the last century.
YOU WILL CONQUER MECCA
Another prophecy similar to the victory of the Romans was the realization of the premonitory dream of Muhammad in which he saw himself entering the Restricted Mosque (the mosque which surrounded the Kaaba of Mecca, the place of pilgrimage). Just to remind you, the Prophet and his followers had been expelled from Mecca and the Meccans were superior both in military power and equipment.
Many prophets died before they could establish sovereignty in the land in which they spread their religion. Had there been no such tidings, Muhammad could not possibly have foreseen that the day would come when he would be in a position to conquer Mecca.
All Quranic verses reflect poise, confidence and self-reliance. There is nothing in them to suggest the ambivalence, vacillation and equivocation that one can encounter in other works whose authors were human beings.
