Part 14

in additi on, it flows through rocks and sand s, bu t it contain s no

moss or mi re. Also, it does not cause the rocks and stones over

whi ch it flows to become gree n and this is du e to its purity,

sweetness and calmness. [And of that the increase in the days

of a decrease of ot her rivers, and the decrease in the days of

increase and its pl enty. ] As for the cl aim made by some, that

its source is in an elevated pl ace seen by so me peopl e and that

they saw there a great horro r, beautifll1 maidens and strange

thi ngs and that whoever sees it is unable to speak after th at, all

of these are supersti tions o f chron icle rs and li ars.

'A bdu ll ah Ibn Lahi ' ah reported on the authority o f Qais Ibn

Al-Hajjaj, who reported from someone else tha t he sa id : When

'Amr Ibn AI-'As .JJc conquered Egypt, its people came to him

during the mo nth of Ba' unah , whi eh is one of the month s of

the Coptic ca lendar, and sa id to him, "0, Co mm ander! Th ere

What Has Been Said Regardillg Ihe Creatio fl of 71

is a re li gious custom relatin g to thi s Nil e of ours and it will not

flo od without it. " He said to them, "A nd what is that?" " Wh en

twelve night s of th e month have passed, we go to a vi rg in slave

who is liv ing w ith her parents and tak ing care of thcm , th en

we decora te her with jewels and the fin est clothes and throw

her into the Nile." 'A mr ~ said , " Thi s is not a part of Islam

and Islam eradicates wha t came before it." So they ce lebrated

Ba'u nah (w ith sacrificing a virgin) and th e Nil e did not flood -

neither a litt le nor a lot." According to another narration , " Th ey

ce lebrated th e three months of Ba' unah , Abeeb and Misra and

it did not flood , wh ich caused the m to conside r migration. "So

'A mr .;;. wrote to 'U lllar Ibn Al - Khattab ~ and informed him

abou t thi s. I-Ie wrote back to him , say ing ';You were right in

what you sa id. Tru ly, Islam erad icates w hat preceded it." He

sent a slip of paper insid e his Ictter and wrote to 'A mI", '; 1 have

sent you a slip of paper in side my letter, so throw it in the N il e."

When ' Umar 's leiter rea ched 'A mr Ibn AI- 'As ..1c, he took the

slip and opened it, and th ere was in it , " From the slave of Allah,

'Umar Ibn A I-Khattab, the Commander of the Faithful, to the

Nile of Egypt: Now, if you used to flood before of yo ur own

acco rd, then dan ' , flood! If it was Al lah , the Subduer, Who

made you flow, then I ask A llah to mak e you flow. " He threw

the slip into th e Nile. Th ey woke up on Saturda y morning, and

Al lah had made it fl ow (and it rose) sixteen cubi ts in one ni ght.

A llah cut off this custom of th e people of Egypt right up to thi s

72 WIlli/lias Ikell Said Regarding th(' Crl!otiulIlJ!

As for the Euphrates, its source is in northern Arza n A r-

Room and it passes close 10 Malalyah and thell it passes

through Sumayaat. T hen it passes through south crn Ilbeerah

and then it tu rn s cast, towa rd Balls and Ja'ba r Fortress. Th en

it flows towa rd A r-R'lqqa h, then it fl ows to the northern side

of Ar-Rahbah and then to . An nah , then to Heel a nd then to

A I-Koofah. Then it goes Oul 10 th e empty spaces of Iraq and

pours into broad, sha ll ow bodies of wa ter, i.e., lakes and large

rivers, wh ich arc we ll -known, flow out from them and toword

Ar-Raqqa h, thcn it flows and pou rs into the Sea of AI-B asmh.

As for Sailmn , it is sa id thaI it is also known as Sa ihoo n. It

begins in Ihe lands of Ihe Romans and it flo ws from the north

and weSI to the south and east. II is to the west of the course

of Ja ihan a nd it is sma ll er in size tha n it. II is in thc land o f

the A nneni ans, wh ic h arc today known as the la nds of Sees

(S isiyah). At the start of the Islam ic State, it was in the hands

of the Muslims. But when the Fat im id s conqu cred the land s of

Egypt and occ upied As h-Sham and it s garrison was unab le to

protcct it from it s ellcmies, Niccphorus theA rmcni an conqucred

Ihese lands, i.e. , the land s of Sees (S isiyah) - that was in the

yea r 300 A.I-1. and they still cont rol thcm up to our tim c. And

it is Allah Whom we should ask that they be retumed 10 us, by

I-li s Power and Stre ngth. Then Sa iha ll and Ja ihan comb inc at

(I) Abu Ash-Shaikh in AI-'/b lllwh (941) and Ibn 'A sakir in Tareekh Oi-

II/tI.\·hq (13/ 135). Tmnslator 's notc: Th is story is rejectcd on a !lumber o f

levels: Fi rsdy. the person Ibn AI· Hajjaj reportcd from where is unknown,

secondly. Ihe text o f the story is inconsisleni with Islamic pmclice and,

Ihirdly, there is no hiSlOrical cvidence Ihm il was evcr thc pmelicc of the

COPIS 10 cast a virgin into Ihc Ni le - ei ther before or :Ifter Ihey became

Wlw l lias lJeell Said IlI.:g{ll'llillg II/(' ('It.'arioll (if 73

Azanah and become one river. Then they pour int o the Sea of

Rome (the ledi terrancan) between Iyas and Ta ra soos.

As for Jnihan , whi ch is al so known as Jai hoon, and by th e

com mon people as Jah<ln. its source is in the la nds of Rome

and it fl ows into the land o f Sees (S isiya h) from north 10 south

<lnd it is simila r in s ize to the Euphrates. Th en it co mbin es wi th

Snihan nnd they become one ri ver, which flows into the sen at

Iyas and Tarasoos. And Allah knows beller.

Sectioll Pertaillillg to the Explallatioll of A ll

Creatioll - Oil Lalld alld ill the Sea

Allah. Mos t Hi gh, says. ( Allah is He Who rai sed the heavens

without ,IllY pi ll ars that you can sec. Theil. lie i s /{lU'lI (rose

abo ve) the Throne (reall y in a ma nll cr that suits II is Majesty) . I-Ie

has subjected the sun and Ihe 11100n (to con tinu c goi ng ro und)!

Each running (i ts course) for a term appo inted. l ie regu lates all

alTa irs. exp lai ning the A)'aI (proofs, evidcnces, verses. lessons.

signs. revelations, etc.) in detail. that YOLI nmy believe with

certainty in th e mee tin g with your Lord. And it is l ie Who

sprcad out the Eart h, and placed there in fiml mou ntains and

ri vers and 0 f e very kind of fru its I Ie made .:ouj aill iI/main (two

in pairs - may mean two kind s or it may mea n: o('two sari S, e.g.

black and white, swee t ami sour. sma ll a nd big, etc.) li e bri ngs

the night as a cove r over the day. Veri ly, in these things. th ere

an.: Ayaf (p roofs. ev idenccs. lessons, s igns, etc.) for people who

refl ec t. And in the Earth arc neighboring tracts. :Jnd gardc ns o f

vincs, and gree n c rops (fields, ctc. ). and dalC· palms, growing

out two or three from a sing le stem root. or othe rw isc (one stem

Whal lias lJeel1 Said Regarding Ihe Cr(!aliull oj

root for every pa lm), watered with the same wal er. yet some

of them We make more excellent than others to cat. Veril y, ill

these thi ngs, there are Ayal (proo fs, evidences, lessons, s igns)

for the peopl e who understand. ) (Saarah A r-/?o 'd 13 :2-4)

He, Most High, says, ( Is not He (better than your gods) Who

created the heave ns and the Earth , and scnds down for you

water (ra in) from the sky, whereby We cause to grow wonderful

gardens fu ll of bea uty and delight'! It is not in yo ur abi lity to

cali se the growth o f their trees. Is there any ilah (god) with

Allah? Nay, but th ey arc a peop le who ascri be equa ls (to I-lim)!

Is not J-Ie (better than you r gods) Who has made the Earth as a

fi xed abode, and has placed ri vers in its midst, and has placed

finn mountai ns th erein, an d has set a barrier between the two

seas (o f sa lt Li nd sweet writer). Is there any ilah (god) wit h

All ah? Nay, but most of them know no l. ) (Saara" All-Nand

He, Most Hi gh, says, ( He it is Who sends down wa ter

(rain ) from the sky ; from it you drink and from it (grows) the

vegeta tion 0 11 which YO ll send your cattle to pasture. With it I-Ie

causes to grow for yo u the crops, the oli ves , th e date-palms,

th e grapes, and every kind of fmil. Veri ly! In thi s is indeed an

evident proof and a mani fest sign for people who give thought.

And He has subj ected to you the night and th e day, th e sun and

the moon; and the Slars arc !:i ubj ected by Hi s Co mmand . Surely,

in thi s arc proo fs for people who unde rsta nd. And whatsoever

I-Ie has created fo r you on thi s Ea rth of vary in g co lours [and