Page 504 - Learning from the Qur'an

Around seven years after the revelation of the first verses of Surat
ar-Rum, in December 627 AD, a decisive battle between Byzantium
and the Persian Empire was fought at Nineveh. And this time the
Byzantine army unexpectedly defeated the Persians. A few months
later, the Persians had to make an agreement with Byzantium, which
obliged them to return the territories they had taken from it. 12
At the end, "the victory of the Romans," Allah proclaimed in the
Qur'an, miraculously came true.
Another miracle revealed in these verses is the announcement of
a geographical fact that could not have been known by anyone at that
time.
In the third verse of Sura Rum, we are informed that the Romans
had been defeated in the lowest region of the Earth. This expression,
"Adna al Ard" in Arabic, is interpreted as "a nearby place" in many
translations. Yet this is not the literal meaning of the original
statement, but rather a figurative interpretation of it. The word "Adna"
in Arabic is derived from the word "deni", which means "low" and
"ard", which means "world". Therefore the expression "Adna al Ard"
means "the lowest place on the Earth".
Most interestingly, the crucial stages of the war fought between the
Byzantine Empire and the Persians, when the Byzantines were
defeated and lost Jerusalem, had really taken place at the lowest point
on earth. This specified region is the Dead Sea basin, which is situated
at the intersection point of the lands belonging to Syria, Palestine,
and Jordan. The "Dead Sea", lying 395 meters below sea level, really
is the lowest region on Earth.
This means that the Byzantines were defeated at the lowest part of
the world, just as stated in the verse.
The most interesting point lies in the fact that the altitude of the
Dead Sea could only be measured with modern measurement
techniques. Before that, it was impossible for anyone to know that it
was the lowest region on the surface of the Earth. Yet, this region was
stated to be the lowest point on the Earth in the Qur'an. Hence, this
provides further evidence that the Qur'an is divine revelation.

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