The Desert Was Once Green
الصحراء كانت خضراء
Verse reference
أَفَلَا يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى الْإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْالغاشية 17
Interpretive reading
The Quranic context describes Paradise as meadows and rivers. Geological studies suggest the Arabian Peninsula was green thousands of years ago, and this is sometimes read as resonant with that Quranic description.
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Related readings
The Lowest Point on Earth (Defeat of the Romans)
غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ * فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ
The Battle of Adhri'at near the Dead Sea — which is indeed the lowest point on the Earth’s surface (about −430 m). The word “adna” combines the senses of both “lower” and “nearer.”
أدنى نقطة في الأرض (هزيمة الروم)Iron Sent Down from the Heavens
وَأَنزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ
This Quranic verse is sometimes read as indicating that iron does not originate on Earth but is produced in exploding stars (supernovae); this interpretive reading is discussed in light of findings from modern nuclear physics.
الحديد أُنزل من السماء