The Reasons why Muslims believe that God exists – Part 11
The word
"Haman" in the Qur'an
The Qur'an relates the
life of the Prophet Musa (Moses) with great clarity. As it tells of the
conflict with the Pharaoh and his dealings with the Children of Israel, the
Qur'an reveals a wealth of information about ancient Egypt.
The significance of
many of these historical points have only recently come to the attention of the
learned people of the world.
If one considers
these points with reason, it quickly becomes clear that the Qur'an, and the
fountain of information contained within it, has been revealed by the All-Wise
Allah (The One & Only God) for it correlates directly with all major
scientific, historic and archaeological finds in recent times.
One such example of
this wisdom can be found in the Qur'anic references to Haman: a
character whose name is mentioned in the Qur'an, along with the Pharaoh.
He is mentioned in
six different places in the Qur'an, in which it informs us that he was one of
Pharaoh's closest allies.
Surprisingly, the
name "Haman" is never mentioned in those sections of the Torah
pertaining to the life of the Prophet Musa (Moses).
However, the
mention of Haman can be found in the last chapters of the Old
Testament as the helper of a Babylonian king who inflicted many cruelties on
the Israelites approximately 1,100 years after the Prophet Musa (Moses).
The Qur'an, far
more in tune with recent archaeological discoveries, does indeed contain the
word "Haman" in reference to the life of the Prophet Musa (Moses).
The criticisms
thrown at the book of Islam by some non-Muslims have disappeared by the wayside
as an Egyptian hieroglyphic script had been deciphered, approximately 200 years
ago, and the name "Haman" discovered in the ancient scripts.
Until the 18th century,
the writings and inscriptions of ancient Egypt could not be understood.
The language of
ancient Egypt was made up of symbols rather than words: hieroglyphics.
These pictures,
which tell stories and keep records of important events in the same way that
modern words do, was usually engraved on rock or stone and many examples
survived through the ages.
With the spread of
Christianity and other cultural influences in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Egypt
forsook its ancient beliefs along with the hieroglyphic writing which was
synonymous with that now defunct belief system.
The last known
example of the use of hieroglyphic writing was an inscription dated 394.
The language of
pictures and symbols was forgotten, leaving nobody who could read and
understand it.
Naturally, this
made historical and archaeological study virtually impossible. This situation
remained-until just over two centuries ago.
The name "Haman" was not known until the
decoding
of Egyptian hieroglyphics in the 19th century.
When the hieroglyphics were decoded,
it was understood that Haman was a close
helper of the Pharaoh and was
"the head of the stone quarries."
(Above are shown ancient Egyptian construction workers).
The most important point here is that
Haman is mentioned in the Qur'an as
the person who directed construction
work under the command of the Pharaoh.
This means that information that could not
have been known by anybody else at
that time was given in the Qur'an, a point most worthy of note.
of Egyptian hieroglyphics in the 19th century.
When the hieroglyphics were decoded,
it was understood that Haman was a close
helper of the Pharaoh and was
"the head of the stone quarries."
(Above are shown ancient Egyptian construction workers).
The most important point here is that
Haman is mentioned in the Qur'an as
the person who directed construction
work under the command of the Pharaoh.
This means that information that could not
have been known by anybody else at
that time was given in the Qur'an, a point most worthy of note.
In 1799, much to
the delight of historians and other learned people, the mystery of ancient
Egyptian hieroglyphics was solved by the discovery of a tablet called the
"Rosetta Stone."
This amazing find
dated back to 196 B.C. The importance of this inscription was that it was
written in three different forms of writing: hieroglyphics, demotic (a
simplified form of ancient Egyptian hieratic writing) and Greek.
With the help of
the Greek script, the ancient Egyptian writings were decoded. The translation
of the inscription was completed by a Frenchman named Jean-Françoise
Champollion.
Hence, a forgotten
language and the events related in it were brought to light. In this way, a
great deal of knowledge about the civilization, religion and social life of
ancient Egypt became available to mankind and this opened the way to greater
knowledge about this important era in human history.
Through the decoding of hieroglyph, an
important piece of knowledge was revealed: The name "Haman"
was indeed mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions.
This name was
referred to in a monument in the Hof Museum in Vienna. This same
inscription also indicated the close relationship between Haman and
the Pharaoh.200
In the dictionary of People
in the New Kingdom, that was prepared based on the entire
collection of inscriptions,Haman is said to be "the head of
stone quarry workers."201
The result revealed
a very important truth: Unlike the false assertion of the opponents of the
Qur'an, Haman was a person who lived in Egypt at the time of
the Prophet Musa (Moses).
He had been close
to the Pharaoh and had been involved in construction work, just as imparted in
the Qur'an.
[Qur'an, 28:38]:
"Pharaoh said, 'Council, I do not know of
any other god for you apart from Me. Haman, kindle a fire for me over the
clay and build me a lofty tower so that perhaps I may be able to climb up to
Musa's god! I consider him a blatant liar.' "
The verse in the
Qur'an describing the event where the Pharaoh asked Haman to
build a tower is in perfect agreement with this archaeological finding.
Through this
brilliant discovery, the irrational claims of the opponents of the Qur'an were
demonstrated to be false and intellectually worthless.
In a miraculous
way, the Qur'an conveys to us historical information that could not have been
possessed or understood at the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihay wassalam).
Hieroglyphics could
not be deciphered until the late 1700s so the information could not have been
ascertained from Egyptian sources.
When the name
"Haman" was discovered in the ancient scripts, it was further
proof of the infallibility of Allah's (The One & Only God's) Word.
Footnotes:
200. Walter Wreszinski, Aegyptische Inschriften aus dem K.K. Hof Museum in Wien (Egyptian Inscriptions from the K.K. Hof Museum in Vienna) (Leipzig: J C Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung: 1906).
201. Hermann Ranke, Die Ägyptischen Personennamen, Verzeichnis der Namen (The Egyptian Family Names, Listing of the Names), Verlag Von J J Augustin in Glückstadt, Band I,1935, Band II, 1952.
200. Walter Wreszinski, Aegyptische Inschriften aus dem K.K. Hof Museum in Wien (Egyptian Inscriptions from the K.K. Hof Museum in Vienna) (Leipzig: J C Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung: 1906).
201. Hermann Ranke, Die Ägyptischen Personennamen, Verzeichnis der Namen (The Egyptian Family Names, Listing of the Names), Verlag Von J J Augustin in Glückstadt, Band I,1935, Band II, 1952.
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