There are many Quran threads in this section so I thought it is approtpriate to post another one. If mods disagree, they're free to move it... Just don't delete it.
Muslims claim the Quran says the light of the moon is reflected light from the sun - noor.
71:15-16:
See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another,
and made the moon a light (noor) in their midst,
and made the sun as a lamp (siraaj)?
Noor is supposed to mean "borrowed" or "reflected" light.
I was asked to partake in this thread though I am pressed for time today as the holidays are off, but I ask you what your beef is with the above verse? Noor has many meanings and is contingent on the entire sentence structure and how it is used or conjugated.
for your viewing pleasure I present
Dictionaries - القواميس
noor = نُور
and the many different ways it can be used
Arabic - English
نُور اســــــــــــم ضَوْء
light , gleam , emergence , illumination , limelight
نَوَّرَ فــــعــــــــل أَزْهَرَ
bloom , blossom , light
أَضاءَ
beam , lighten , wink , glow , light , spotlight , illuminate , winkle , flash , twinkle , sparkle , illumine , flicker , enlighten (the mind , etc.) , glisten , glow , glimmer , gleam , glint , glitter , light up , fill with light , furnish or supply with light(s) , coruscate
يُنَوِّر : يُحَرِّرُ منَ الأَوْهام
undeceive
But then
24:35:
Allah is the Light (noor) of the heavens
and the earth.
The Parable of His Light (noor) is as if there were a Niche
and within it a Lamp (misbah): the Lamp (misbah) enclosed in Glass:
the glass as it were a brilliant star:
Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive,
neither of the east nor of the west,
whose oil is well-nigh luminous,
though fire scarce touched it:
Light (noor) upon Light (noor)!
God does guide whom He will to His Light (noor):
God does set forth Parables for men: and God does know all things.
Allah is described with the same word, noor. Strange...
why is it strange? surely even in English you have heard of
Heteroradical Homonyms ?I am afraid that your questions is lost to me, Allah has described himself in multitudes of ways, those that we know from his 99 names to various descriptions, Allah has described himself as THE light and as time.. and can be noted here:
It is authentically reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Allah, Most Blessed, Most High, says: "The son of Adam wrongs Me: He curses time, though I am time: In My Hands are all things and I cause the night to follow the day." 2 In another narration, He (peace be upon him) says: "Do not curse time, for verily, time is Allah Most Blessed, Most High."
thus again I am at a loss as to why Allah describing himself as noor as or any other form is somewhat of a conundrum to you?
25:61:
Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies,
And placed therein a lamp (siraaj)
And a moon which has reflected light (muneer).
Here the moon's light is described with a different word, muneer, which is supposed to mean "reflected light" as well.
Dictionaries - القواميس
http://dictionary.sakhr.com/
Arabic - English
Moneer = مُنِير
مُنِير صـــــفـــــــة مُنِير , مُضِيء
illuminated , lighted , lightened , lit , luminous , luminiferous
just for fun, since we are descending in word play in a language you have mastered can you tell me the difference between
noor, anwar, nouran, nourain, moneer, noora, moneera?
All of them derivative of the same word Noor
3:184
And if they deny thee, even so did they deny messengers who were before thee, who came with miracles and with the Psalms and with the Scripture giving light. (kitab al-muneer)
If "muneer" means what muslims suggest it does this verse implies that the light of the Quran is a borrowed, reflected light. Strange...
Tell me you are not so dense as to think one word can have just one meaning? if that were the case, why in English then do we have homomorphism?
a few examples
- Two words that are spelled the same way but (a) mean different things, (b) come from different roots, or (c) are pronounced differently, are called homographs. "Wind," for instance, can refer to air in motion or to the action of tightening a spring.
- Two words that are pronounced alike, but not necessarily spelled alike, are called homophones: "rain" and "reign," for instance, are homophones.
- Two words that are spelled the same way but (a) mean different things, (b) come from different roots, or (c) are pronounced differently, are called homographs. "Wind," for instance, can refer to air in motion or to the action of tightening a spring.
- Two words that come from different roots can be described as heteroradical.
- And two words that are pronounced and spelled the same but mean different things are called homonyms.
- So two words that are spelled the same, and pronounced the same, but mean different things and are derived from different roots, could be called "heteroradical homonyms." But that's a mouthful; so around here we just call them "homomorphs," words that have "the same shape." It's not a precisely accurate term, but after all, few terms are precisely accurate. The terms "homoglyph" and "hetymon" are also occasionally used as synonyms for "homomorph." ("Hetymon" being a portmanteau word roughly short for hetero-etymon, a neologism intended to mean "different source words.")
taken from
http://www.kith.org/logos/words/lower/h.html
33:45-46:
O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a Witness,
a Bearer of Glad Tidings and a Warner
and as one who invites to Allah's (Grace) by His leave
and as a lamp spreading light. (wa siraajan muneeran)
This verse is particulary odd. Siraaj and muneer are used in the same sentence. In 71:15 the word siraaj is used for the sun and in 25:61 the word muneer is used to describe the moon's reflected light. Consequentially this verse implies that the sun's light is reflected. Strange...
siraaj سِرَاج اســــــــــــم نِبْراس , مِصْباح
cresset , lamp , lantern , light
or
سَرَّاج اســــــــــــم صانِعُ السُّرُوجِ أو بائِعُها
saddler
Perhaps if you can articulate your question a little bit better, we'd understand what it is you are having difficulty with. Just for the record I have seen this argument before on here from a fellow named basirah, and know exactly which website it comes from. I feel after a while, that debatere isn't quite sure what he is talking about, aside from obvious no knowledge in the languages--is it the game of splitting hair?
thank you
cheers