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Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān / Portents

Anticipatory sign, warning or threat; also, marvel. While the Qurʾān is explicit in its condemnation of any belief that an impersonal fate (q.v.), rather than God, controls human destiny (q.v.; see also freedom and predestination ), and does not condone the efforts of soothsayers (q.v.) and other pre-Islamic “fortunetellers” (see divination; foretelling; pre-islamic ¶ arabia and the qurʾān ; south arabia, religion in pre-islamic ), it is adamant that there are signs that humans must heed. Perhaps the most notable of these exhortations (q.v.) is the warning to heed the “signs of the hour” ( ashrāṭ al-sāʿa; cf. q 47:18; see last judgment; eschatology; apocalypse; time).

Although it has no root in Arabic, āyāt (sing. āya; prob. borrowed from Syriac or Aramaic; see Jeffery, For. vocab., 72-3; for biblical uses of the Heb. cognate, cf. Numbers 2:2; Joshua 4:6; Exodus 8:19; Deuteronomy 4:34; Psalms 78:43; I Samuel 10:7; see foreign vocabulary ) is a multivalent term for “portents” that appears 383 times in the Qurʾān, and may connote “signs” (q.v.), “miracles” (see miracle ) and “verses” (q.v.). Such qurʾānic utterances serve to signal the wonders (see marvels ) or omens God bestows upon the world to demonstrate his power, wisdom (q.v.), judgment (q.v.) or wrath (see anger ).

As natural marvels, such as the rain that sustains life (q.v.; q 30:24; see also water; sustenance), the fruits of the palm and vine ( q 16:67; see agriculture and vegetation; date palm), or the ships (q.v.) that appear like mountains on the seas ( q 42:32), portents elicit the awe-provoking magnitude of God's creation (q.v.). These tokens not only appear as cosmic and natural wonders but also as the extraordinary works of prophets and messengers through whom God guides his creation (see cosmology; prophets and prophethood; messenger; astray; error). Examples of this type of portent include demonstrations of Moses' (q.v.) white hand and slithering staff ( q 7:106-8; see rod ), and Jesus' (q.v.) enlivening of the clay bird ( q 3:49).

The verses (āyāt) of the Qurʾān that relay such portents also call humans to recognize God's power and might (see power and impotence ). Left unnoticed or worse, rejected, these same ¶ portents, whether embedded in nature (see nature as signs ), prophetic action or revelation itself (see revelation and inspiration ), will bring forth terrifying demonstrations of divine wrath (see anger ) upon those who fail to interpret what the sign truly signifies. The Qurʾān recounts numerous tales of individuals and communities pummeled for their neglect or denial of those clear signs a merciful God bestows upon his creation (see chastisement and punishment; punishment stories). In turn, the denunciations and punishments themselves serve as portents for those tempted to follow the same course of action.

One might say the entire Qurʾān, from a single verse to the broader images it provokes, stands as a sign signifying simultaneously divine glory and wrath. The Qurʾān emphasizes repeatedly the abundance and clarity of divine portents available for those who wish to see them (see seeing and hearing ). What is not clear, however, is whether one must “believe” or “understand” already in order to fathom the true meaning of the sign (see belief and unbelief; knowledge and learning; ignorance; reflection and deliberation). The portents manifest “for those who understand,” or for “those who believe” ( q 13:3; 16:79; 30:21) are presumably the same signs rejected by those who already disbelieve ( q 37:14; 39:63; 41:15), which suggests the signs themselves have demonstrative, rather than persuasive, value.

Bibliography

Primary

Ṭabarī, Tafsīr, ed. Shākir

Secondary

W. Graham, ‘The winds to herald his mercy,’ and other ‘Signs for those of certain faith.’ Nature as token of God's sovereignty and grace in the Qurʾān, in S.H. Lee et al. (eds.), Faithful imaginings. Essays in honor of Richard R. Niebuhr, Atlanta 1995, 18-38

Jeffery, For. vocab.

¶ H.E. Kassis, A concordance of the Qurʾān, London 1983

Lane

Pickthall, Koran

Cite this page

Keuny, Kathryn, “Portents”, in: Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC. Consulted online on 07 January 2017 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQSIM_00334>