Special Topic Lecture Series

🌐 Virtual, in English

Title: "Qur'an and Yemen: Looking at the Quranic Verses related to Pre-Islamic South Arabia"
Speaker: Farhad Ghoddoussi (Bio)
Time: Sundays, 7:30-9:15 pm ET, Starting May 11

Zoom Participation (virtual):
https://mit.zoom.us/j/92377466698
Meeting ID: 923 7746 6698

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia
https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

Abstract:
In this lecture series, we will explore chapters and verses of the Qur'an that are, in various ways, connected to Southern Arabia. Broadly defined, this region includes present-day Yemen and Oman—specifically the ancient kingdoms of Himyar, Saba', and Hadhramaut—as well as Ethiopia (historically known as Habashah).

This exploration will cover Surahs such as:
Al-Buruj (The Constellations, Q85)
Al-Fil (The Elephant, Q105)
Quraysh (Q106)

And verses from:
Saba’ (Q34:15–19)
An-Naml (The Ant, Q27:20–44)
Ad-Dukhan (Smoke, Q44:37)
Qaf (Q50:14)
Al Imran (The Family of Imran, Q3:61)
Al-Isra (The Night Journey, Q17:110)

Our aim is to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning and significance of these surahs and verses by examining the religious, political, social, and cultural contexts—as well as the historical events—of pre-Islamic Southern Arabia.

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia
https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

Special Topic Lecture Series, Qur’an and Yemen

🌐 Virtual, in English

Date
Sunday May 11th, 2025
7:30 pm to 9:15 pm (Eastern Time)

Location
Online, Detail Below

Schedule
7:30-7:35 Login to zoom
7:35-9:00 Lecture, in English, Dr. Farhad Ghoddoussi
Title: “Qur’an and Yemen: Looking at the Quranic Verses related to Pre-Islamic South Arabia”, Session 1
9:00-9:15 Q&A

- About Speaker (Bio)

Zoom Participation (virtual):
https://mit.zoom.us/j/92377466698

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia
https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

Special Topic Lecture Series, Qur’an and Yemen

🌐 Virtual, in English

Date
Sunday May 18th, 2025
7:30 pm to 9:15 pm (Eastern Time)

Location
Online, Detail Below

Schedule
7:30-7:35 Login to zoom
7:35-9:00 Lecture, in English, Dr. Farhad Ghoddoussi
Title: “Qur’an and Yemen: Looking at the Quranic Verses related to Pre-Islamic South Arabia”, Session 2
9:00-9:15 Q&A

- About Speaker (Bio)

Zoom Participation (virtual):
https://mit.zoom.us/j/92377466698

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia
https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1CFqPwFOKQ&list=PLRagz8v-1fF7_AqcNeT2M9iFTWu86TL0m&t=1s

"Qur'an and Yemen: Looking at the Quranic Verses related to Pre-Islamic South Arabia", Lecture 1
speaker: Dr. Farhad Ghoddoussi
May 11, 2025

Session 1:
In this first lecture, we looked to the traditional commentary of the surah 85 of Qur'an surah al-Buruj. This surah is an early Meccan surah. According to Nokdeke, it is the 22nd surah, which was revealed to prophet Muhammad(ص) and according to both 1924 Egyptian Qur'an printing (Sunni) and Ayat. Marefat (Shi'i) the 27th.

This surah, like a few of the other early Meccan surahs of Quran start with 4 oaths in its three first verses which is evident by the letter "و" which is among the oath particles (instruments, ادوات قَسَم). These oaths determine the structure of the surah. The 4 oaths in the first 3 verses themselves constitute what is called the objects of oath (مُقسَمُ به ) and then the 7 verses 10 to 16 in the two clusters of 10 and 11 and 12 to 16 constitute the subject of oath ( response to the oath, جواب القسم) which is evident from the particle of emphasize (حرف تاکید) اِن (inna) in the beginning of these verses although in the verses 14 to16 it is understood but elided.

The verses 10 and 11 consist of the core message of the surah, and its primary target is the polytheist of Mecca and the believers who were persecuted by these polytheists and unbelievers. Verses 12 to 16 emphasizing on the omnipotence and omniscience of God as a guarantor of the promises of verses 10 and 11. Verses 4-9, which have come between the objects and subjects of oath, consist of a short story of the believers who were persecuted by the companion of the ditch.

This interludes story acts as an instance or context for better appreciation of the general principles, which is emphasized and highlighted by the oath structure of the surah.

The 4 verses 17-20 make another short section, referring to 2 other groups of oppressors and transgressors besides people of Ditch that are hosts of Pharoah and Thamud, which could not escape the justice and punishment of God and their fate is another instance of the fulfillment of the promise stated in verse 10 of this surah regarding persecutors of the believers. The last two verses are about the loftiness of the Qur'an and its preservation.

Therefore the structure of the surah 85 al-Buruj is as the following 3 +6+ 7(2+5)+4+2=22 and its main theme is a stern warning (v10) to the unbelievers and a bisharah (good news, v11) to the believers. Our main interest and focus is on the story of the People of the Ditch, that is, verses 4 to 9. These verses pertain to a particular historical incident. Our goal is to examine and clarify its details and context. This clarification gives a deeper and better understanding of this surah.

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia

Special Topic Lecture Series, Qur’an and Yemen

🌐 Virtual, in English

Date
Monday May 26th, 2025
7:30 pm to 9:15 pm (Eastern Time)

Location
Online, Detail Below

Schedule
7:30-7:35 Login to zoom
7:35-9:00 Lecture, in English, Dr. Farhad Ghoddoussi
Title: “Qur’an and Yemen: Looking at the Quranic Verses related to Pre-Islamic South Arabia”, Session 3
9:00-9:15 Q&A

- About Speaker (Bio)

🔹This week’s lecture will exceptionally be held on Monday.

Zoom Participation (virtual):
https://mit.zoom.us/j/92377466698

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia
https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDmLDDs_Ikc&list=PLRagz8v-1fF7_AqcNeT2M9iFTWu86TL0m&t=1s

"Qur'an and Yemen: Looking at the Quranic Verses related to Pre-Islamic South Arabia", Lecture 2
speaker: Dr. Farhad Ghoddoussi
May 18, 2025

Session 2:
In this second lecture of the Qur'an and Yemen lecture series, we mainly focused on the western academic discussions on the surah 85 of Qur'an sura al-Buruj.

In the beginning we looked to the meaning of the words بُروج (Constellations and Towers) and الاخدود (ditch, trench, and groove). We then read related Hadiths.

Our discussion of the western academic views regarding the sura al- Butuj and specially the "People of Ditch" was based on the article, "The Qur’an and Communal Memory: Q. 85 and the Martyrs of Najrān", by Walid Saleh. His abstract to this article summarizes the situation very well:

Sūrat al-Burūj, one of the early, short Meccan revelations, has attracted sustained interest from scholars working within the Euro-American sphere since the nineteenth century due to its association with a major event that took place in the Middle East in 523 CE: the massacre of a group of Christians carried out by the Jewish ruler of Yemen in the Christian town of Najrān in northern Yemen. As a result of the massacre, a major war broke out in the region that resulted in Ethiopia invading Yemen and imposing a new Christian regime.

The event reverberated throughout the Christian Middle East, and the invasion of Yemen was seen as just retribution.

The massacre was commemorated in Syriac Christian hagiography, and the victims came to be known as the Martyrs of Najrān. Although there is no explicit reference to the massacre in Q.85, the Islamic tradition (in the Qur’an commentary literature) tied this sura to the Najrān massacre, and early Muslims viewed Sūrat al-Burūj as a commemoration of this event. However, no non-Islamic sources on this massacre were available until some previously unknown Syriac writings that purported to be eyewitness reports of the massacre were unearthed in the late nineteenth century. Since it was the Islamic tradition that linked Q. 85 to the massacre, a debate ensued among modern scholars as to the veracity and historicity of this connection.

In terms of perspectives, European scholars can be broadly divided into two main camps when it comes to their views on the interpretation of this sura. One group of scholars – the majority – agreed with the Islamic tradition, that the sura indeed referred to the massacre.

The second group – a tiny minority – saw Q. 85 as a reference to the story of Daniel and the three youths in the ‘fiery furnace’ told in the Biblical Book of Daniel, chapter 3.

Soon, however, a third group of scholars emerged, who discounted any such historical connections and claimed that the sura referred to an apocalyptic scene of the torments of Hell rather than any historical event. This eschatological interpretation became the standard and dominant opinion in the European literature about this sura."

Different views were explored and discussed in this lecture.

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia

Special Topic Lecture Series, Qur’an and Yemen

🌐 Virtual, in English

Date
Sunday June 1st, 2025
7:30 pm to 9:15 pm (Eastern Time)

Location
Online, Detail Below

Schedule
7:30-7:35 Login to zoom
7:35-9:00 Lecture, in English, Dr. Farhad Ghoddoussi
Title: “Qur’an and Yemen: Looking at the Quranic Verses related to Pre-Islamic South Arabia”, Session 4
9:00-9:15 Q&A

- About Speaker (Bio)

Zoom Participation (virtual):
https://mit.zoom.us/j/92377466698

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia
https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

Special Topic Lecture Series, Qur’an and Yemen

🌐 Virtual, in English

Date
Sunday June 8th, 2025
7:30 pm to 9:15 pm (Eastern Time)

Location
Online, Detail Below

Schedule
7:30-7:35 Login to zoom
7:35-9:00 Lecture, in English, Dr. Farhad Ghoddoussi
Title: “Qur’an and Yemen: Looking at the Quranic Verses related to Pre-Islamic South Arabia”, Session 5
9:00-9:15 Q&A

- About Speaker (Bio)

Zoom Participation (virtual):
https://mit.zoom.us/j/92377466698

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia
https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

Special Topic Lecture Series, Qur’an and Yemen

🌐 Virtual, in English

Date
Sunday June 15th, 2025
7:30 pm to 9:15 pm (Eastern Time)

Location
Online, Detail Below

Schedule
7:30-7:35 Login to zoom
7:35-9:00 Lecture, in English, Dr. Farhad Ghoddoussi
Title: “Qur’an and Yemen: Looking at the Quranic Verses related to Pre-Islamic South Arabia”, Session 6 (last)
9:00-9:15 Q&A

- About Speaker (Bio)

Zoom Participation (virtual):
https://mit.zoom.us/j/92377466698

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia
https://sites.mit.edu/zekrmit/
@zekrMIT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIsPaBFV53Y&list=PLRagz8v-1fF7_AqcNeT2M9iFTWu86TL0m&t=1s

"Qur'an and Yemen: Looking at the Quranic Verses related to Pre-Islamic South Arabia", Lecture 3
speaker: Dr. Farhad Ghoddoussi
May 26, 2025

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9JOhRpUrSY&list=PLRagz8v-1fF7_AqcNeT2M9iFTWu86TL0m&t=1s

"Qur'an and Yemen: Looking at the Quranic Verses related to Pre-Islamic South Arabia", Lecture 4
speaker: Dr. Farhad Ghoddoussi
Jun 1, 2025

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN3lHMhgveQ&list=PLRagz8v-1fF7_AqcNeT2M9iFTWu86TL0m&t=1s

Session 5:
In this fifth lecture, we looked to the commentary of the Surah Al- Fil (The Elephant) the 105th surah of Quran.

The naming of this surah was after the Elephant, which was in front of the army of Abraha (اصحاب الفیل), the Ethiopian ruler of Yemen who intended to destroy the Ka'ba in Mecca, which according to this surah was miraculously protected by God by sending flocks of birds (*tayran ababil*) carrying stones of baked clay. These birds pelted Abraha's army, causing their destruction.

Abraha's story, richly documented through epigraphic evidence, provides crucial insights into the complex religious and political dynamics of the Arabian Peninsula during the pivotal period of the 6th century. Originally from the Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum, Abraha emerged from obscurity to command one of the armies sent by the Ethiopian Emperor Kaleb to Yemen around 523-525 CE to avenge the persecution of Christians by Dhu Nuwas, the Jewish ruler of Himyar.

According to Procopius, the Byzantine historian, Abraha later seized control of Yemen from Esimiphaeus, the Christian Himyarite viceroy appointed by Kaleb, with the support of dissident elements in the Ethiopian occupation force eager to settle in the Yemen, then a rich and fertile land. This coup, occurring around 530 CE, marked the beginning of his independent rule that would last for approximately three to four decades.

One of Abraha's most ambitious projects was the construction of a magnificent cathedral in Sana'a, known as al-Qullays or al-Qalis. This massive church was intended to serve as a center of Christian worship in Arabia and demonstrating the power and wealth of his kingdom. The cathedral was reportedly built with incredible opulence, featuring
elaborate decorations with gold and precious stones and magnificent architecture rivaling the great churches of Constantinople.

Around 570CE, Abraha decided to march against Mecca probably for eliminating this rival religious center and consolidating his rule and control on the inner parts of Arabia. But, according to both Islamic and pre-Islamic Arabian sources, Abraha's expedition met with disaster just as it approached Mecca. The failed expedition against Mecca marked the beginning of Abraha's decline. Abraha died around 570 CE, possibly from injuries or illness related to the failed Mecca campaign. His death precipitated a succession crisis. His sons Yaksum and Masruq fought for control.

These internal divisions weakened Ethiopian hold on Yemen and created an opportunity for Persian Sassanid intervention, which, under Khosrow I, supported local rebellions against Ethiopian rule. Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan, a Yemeni noble, sought Persian support to expel the Ethiopians. Persian forces, combined with local allies, gradually expelled Ethiopian garrisons and started to rule Yemen directly till the muslim conquest of Yemen around 630AD.

#Quran_Pre_Islamic_South_Arabia