Other ResemblancesAnother “name” of God that are mentioned in both Gathas and Quran is the “All-Seeing”. In Quran,
the “All-Seeing” is represented by linguistic element “Al Basir / Al Baseer” and its variants. Based on my findings, there are at least 41 verses that mention Allah as “Al Basir” (and its variants), such as 2:96, 2:110, 2:233, 2:237, 2:265, 3:15, 3:20, 3:156, 3:163, 4: 58, 4:134, 5:71, 8:39, 8:72 and at least in other 27 verses. Whereas, Allah as the “All-Seer” (Sahih International translation for the Arabic word “Baṣīran”) can be found stated explicitly in
Al Furqan (25) 20: “And ever is your Lord, Seeing” (Wakāna Rabbuka Baṣīran). A little bit information,
Allah “Al Basir” are often mentioned in the sentence “Indeed, Allah of what you do, is Seeing ” (Inna l-laha Bimā Taʿmalūna Baṣīrun) such as in 2:110, 2:233, 2:237, 2:265, 3:156, and some other verses. Based on my count, this sentence appears at least in 15 from 41 verses.
In Gathas, Ahura Mazda is also mentioned as the “All-Seeing” that cannot be deceived in Yasna 45.4. Nevertheless, the linguistic elements used in Avestan is “
vîspâ-hishas”. In the same Yasna, L.H. Mills chose the word “All-Observant”, while Prof. Ervad Maneck Furdoonji chose the word “All-Seeing”. In Yasna 45.4, it is informed that:
“nôit5 divzhaidyâi6 vîspâ-hishas7 Ahurô8”
Prof. Ervad translated it into:
“Ahura Mazda8 who is the All-Seeing7 is never5 deceived by anyone6”
Moreover,
in the same Yasna, Prof. Ervad actually also mentions Ahura Mazda as the “All-Knowing” from the Avestan word “vaêdâ” (Mazdâo vaêdâ = Ahura Mazda “who is all-knowing”). However, this word is not mentioned in the translation from L.H. Mills of the same verse. Yet, it does not mean the “All-Knowing” is not mentioned in the Gathas version of L. H. Mills.
In the preceding Yasna or
Y 45.3 from L.H. Mills version of the Gathas, Mazda Ahura is mentioned as the “All-Knowing”. The same word is also mentioned by Prof. Ervad version of the Gathas, but the chosen word is the “Omniscient”. This translation comes from the Avestan word “
vîdvåo”. The word itself is mentioned in:
“ýã62 môi63 vîdvåo64 Mazdåo65 vaochat66 Ahurô67”
Prof. Ervad translates this clause into:
“which62 the Omniscient64 Ahura67 Mazda65 has said66 to me63 (through me)”
Please notice that in the source language, the word “Mazdåo” comes before “Ahurô”. Thus, it might be why L.H. Mills translated it into Mazda Ahura instead of Ahura Mazda. Again,
the same “characteristic” also mentions in Quran using the Arabic word “Al Alim / Al Aleem”.
In Quran, the terms “Allah Knows” is mentioned multiple times – here, I can even say “many” times. In Al Baqarah alone, it is mentioned at least 32 times. Based on my count,
Allah “Al Alim” (and its variants) or the “All Knowing” is mostly mentioned in the combination with “Al Sami / Al Samee” (All-Hearing) in Al Baqarah. The combination “L-samīʿu - L-ʿalīmu” (All Hearing – All Knowing) is mentioned 7 times in Al Baqarah, which are in 2:127, 137, 181, 224, 227, 244, and 256. Whereas,
Allah as the “Al Alim” (All-Knowing) is clearly mentioned in at least three different phrases within verses of Al Baqarah (chapter 2). It is mentioned three times within the phrase “
Bikulli Shayin ʿAlīmun” (Knowing of all things – Sahih International version) in 2:29, 2:231, and 2:282; twice within the phrase “
Fa-inna l-laha Bihi ʿAlīmun” (-indeed, Allah is Knowing of it – Sahih International version) in 2:215 and 2:273; once within the phrase “
Wal-lahu Bimā Taʿmalūna ʿAlīmun” (And Allah of what you do [is] All-Knower – words to words translation) in 2:283. There are also other variants in saying “Allah Knows” within Al Baqarah (chapter 2) alone, not to mention any other chapters. This is just an example to show that Allah (God) as The All-Knowing is indeed mentioned or even explained within verses of Quran.
Until this point,
the explanation above shows that the “God” in both the Quran and Gathas actually share at least two characteristics, which are the “All-Seeing” or “All Observant” and “All-Knowing” or the “Omniscient”.
The difference is only in the linguistic element or the language used by both Holy Scriptures – one is in Arabic, other is in Avestan language. Besides the name “Ahura Mazda” itself and two characteristics above, there are at least two more “characteristics” of the Ahura Mazda that can be related to the God mentioned in Quran. These two are the “Sharpness of His Eyes” (Y 31.13) and His “First and Last” characteristic (Y 31.8 )
In Prof. Ervad translation of
Yasna 31.13, it is mentioned that Ahura Mazda observes with His “Sharp Eye”. In L.H. Mills translation of the same verse, Mills used the word “Flashing Eye” instead. In the word to word translation of the Yasna, it can be seen that Prof. Ervad translation is based on the Avestan word “
chashmêñg thwisrâ”. Both versions of the Yasna are presented below:
Prof. Ervad version of Yasna 31.13 from www.Zoroaster.com:
“The questions which O Ahura Mazda any one asks openly or secretly or any person for a small sin undergoes the highest penance all these Thou dost observe with (Thy) sharp eye O lord and in accordance with truth”
L.H. Mills version of Yasna 31.13 from www.Avesta.org:
“Whatever open or whatever secret (acts) may be visited with punishment, or whether a person for a little sin demands the highest punishment, — of all this through Asha Thou art aware, observing it with Thy flashing eye”
Moreover, another resembling characteristic, which is “
Thou that Seest Far Onward”, is actually mentioned in L.H. Mills translation of Yasna 33.13. However, it is not mentioned in Prof. Ervad version of the same verse. In fact,
Prof. Ervad version of the same Yasna is actually quite different with the translation of L.H. Mills. Thus, I think it would be wiser for me to leave this verse alone for a while, until there is some clarity of why such inconsistency could happen or there is another alternative translation to consider. However, it does not mean the characteristic mentioned by L.H. Mills in Yasna 33.13 above should not be considered at all. It is just that it may be better to leave it for a while.
Back to the characteristic mentioned in Yasna 31.13 by both Prof. Ervad and L.H. Mills, this characteristic can actually be related to the characteristic of God mentioned in
Al Kahf (18) 26. In this verse, it is explained that Allah “has [knowledge of] the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth.
How Seeing is He and how Hearing!” (Sahih International version). This translation comes from the Arabic “
Lahu Ghaybu L-samāwāti Wal-arḍi Abṣir Bihi Wa-asmiʿ” or the words-to-words translation: “
For Him (is the) unseen (of) the heavens and the earth. How clearly He sees! [of it] And how clearly He hears!”.
In the word-to-word translation, the Arabic word “Abṣir” is translated into “How clearly He sees”. If we look closely, there is actually “conceptual similarity” between the characteristic of God mentioned in Yasna 31.13 with Quran 18:26.
Unfortunately, this resemblance is not quite as explicit as the All-Seeing or the All-Knowing characteristic that have been discussed before, but the resemblance here is rather implicit. If you can see it here, the conceptual idea is simply:
He (God) Clearly Sees (all) for the Sharpness of His Eyes. Yet, I do not want to make my own interpretation: it is very risky and definitely will trigger heavy critics. Thus, I will only put both partial verses of Yasna and Quran here for you to conclude yourself.
To look at both Yasna and Quran for the complete verses are highly recommended.
The last similar “characteristic” that I have found so far is the “First and Last” characteristic of the God mentioned in both Quran and Gathas.
In L.H. Mills translation of Yasna 31.8, there is a mentioning about (Ahura) Mazda as “the First art (also) the Last”. However, this translation is slightly different with the translation of Prof. Ervad for the same verse.
In Prof. Ervad version, Ahura Mazda is mentioned “as the First of All”. In the word-to-word translation provided by Zoroaster.com, it is shown that
this translation comes from the Avestan word “pourvîm”, while
the next word “ýezîm” is translated into “Worthy of Worship” in Prof. Ervad version of the Gathas. These two Avestan words are interjected by the Avestan word “
Mazdâ”, in the phrase “
pourvîm Mazdâ ýezîm”. Unfortunately, L.H. Mills version of the Gathas in Avesta.org does not provide or is not accompanied by the words-to-words translation. Hence, we cannot see from what Avestan word Mr. Mills translated the word into “the Last”. Hereby, I present to you the full verse of the Yasna 31.8 from both Prof. Ervad and L.H. Mills:
Prof. Ervad version of Yasna 31.8 from www.Zoroaster.com:
“Ever since I have held thee (O Ahura Mazda) in (my) eye I have always regarded Thee O Ahura Mazda as the first of all, as worthy of worship with pure thought as the father of Vohu Mana (good mind) as the real origin of truth (and) as the lord over (all) actions of this world”
L.H. Mills version of Yasna 31.8 from www.Avesta.org:
“I recognize Thee, O Mazda, in my thought, that Thou the First art (also) the Last — that Thou art Father of Vohu Manah; -- when I apprehend Thee with mine eye, that Thou art the true Creator of Right [Asha], and art the Lord to judge the actions of life”
The First and The Last are two “characteristics” or “Beautiful Names of God” mentioned in Al Hadid (57) 3. If you see the translation of this verse in Corpus.Quran.com, these two “characteristics” are the ones consistently translated into “The First” and “The Last” in multiple translations provided by the website. In the page about this verse, you will see that different translators chose different words for the remaining passage.
The translation of “The First” and “The Last” itself comes from the Arabic word “L-awalu” (The First) “Wal-ākhiru” (and The Last) in Quran. Now, if we use L.H. Mills translation of the Gathas, these “characteristics” mentioned in Al Hadid (57) 3 are actually also mentioned in Yasna 31.8. However, since it is not mentioned in the translation of Prof. Ervad, alternative translations or even further explanation would be required in order to find some clarity regarding the difference between both translations.
The Long-Lost ScriptureThe “characteristics” of the God apparently are not the only resemblances between Gathas and Quran. There are other underlying concepts that are actually quite similar between both the Gathas and Quran. One of them is the meaning of the name “Gathas” itself.
According to Amaresh Datta in
Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti, Volume 2 (1988), “
Gatha derived from the root ‘gai’ to speak, to recite in a singing manner, to sing, to extol. ‘Gatha’ originally meant ‘a speech’, ‘a verse’, and ‘a song’.” . Now, if I am not mistaken, there is a Scripture mentioned in Quran associated with the “Book of Song”. In Wikipedia, there is an explanation about the name of this book equivalent with the Hebrew word “zimrah” (song, music), “zamir” (song and nightingale), and more, with cited reference “
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament Vol. 1, page 245”. Unfortunately, I could not access this book. So, I hesitate to put this information here.
Maybe, you guys could enlighten me a little about the root of “The Scripture” mentioned in four verses of Quran (3:184, 4:163, 17:55, and 21:105).
Until this point, I cannot say that Gathas is the “Scripture” mentioned in Quran. It, unfortunately, would require another lengthy writing for me to explain this.
The least I can say is that there is a long-lost or even forgotten ancient Sacred Scripture known as the “Gathas” (‘a speech’, ‘a verse’, and ‘a song’). This Holy Book has been existing even before the revelation of Gospel and Quran. However, since it was written in extinct language and has “just” been restudied and translated in the last couple centuries, this book is (apparently) often “unrecognized” or “overlooked” by Islamic societies. Whereas, the “name” of the God in this Holy Scripture is actually mentioned in multiple verses of Quran – only not in its original language, but in Arabic.Now, I am aware that this would bring its own controversy, which is actually not my intention. I essentially just want to explore this matter more rather than making some unnecessary sensation. However, realizing my own limitation as an ordinary human-being, I cannot do this alone. Thus,
I am writing all this in this Quranic forum to ask for assistance or even invite anyone who are interesting in this particular matter to join me in researching the history based on the verses in Quran or, as I call it: the Quranic Version.
The major purpose here is to find “solid evidences” of the historical elements mentioned in Quran. Is it possible? Well, you have read my lengthy writings (and sorry if it is boring). If you follow my writings,
the verses in Quran actually does not contradict history in general – even with recent findings. It is even confirmed more the truth about the narration in the Quran itself. It is just that
we have to know the “reference” we need among the verses of the Quran themselves and the methods that are actually very well implied within the verses of Quran.
However, judging from the recent mentality of Islamic world, I don't really think this could be well accepted - or even understood. As you may have known (well, at least those who hang out in this forum for some time), nowadays (or ever) the so-called Muslims actually rarely focus on their own Holy Scripture (Quran) as the main source of information. There are people like you who try to dig deeper information in Quran by analyzing its verses. But, people like you are actually a very small portion of the so-called Muslims in the world. I am sure you feel this too. Many may not even know what is inside the Quran. I believe this is why this site is established in the first place: to invite people to go back to Quran as the core of Islam. Is it easy to do so?
There are indeed observable major tendencies where outer sources outside the Quran has been acknowledged and understood as an inseparable part of religion too. Of course, all would have its own advantages and disadvantages. But, when this "outer sources" compromise the "truth" within the Quran itself, I do not think that is a "good" thing to happen for Islam itself. Take for instance my statement in the beginning of previous post, there is a big possibility where the narrations of history mentioned within verses of Quran are actually telling us about the ancient word:
beyond the boundary of Arabic world or even the Semitic people - the way that the God mentioned in Quran might as well have been known by the ancient people, even far outside the limit of Arabian peninsula. Yet, how many Muslims are aware of this? And many are still struggled with the understanding that "Allah" is the "Exclusive Name" of God... How far actually we are left behind from the rest of the world with this mentality?
It is actually very pitiful to see the owner of the "Book" that can make them grow like "
a plant which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks, delighting the sowers" (48:29) is now act like a "closed seed". Why?
Why?Well, for me, this simply answer the
(what apparently rhetorical) question within the Quran itself:
"And We have certainly made the Qur'an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?" (54:17, 54:22, 54:32, and 54:40). Well, in the end, aren't we the one to choose our own destiny? (8:53, 13:11)
By the way, without any-ill intention, I found this very interesting verse that I have not heard of before. I hope this verse could give us inspiration in keep learning and studying many things in the world!
Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are the deaf and dumb who do not use reason [yaʿqilūna - in word to word translation:use (their) intellect]
(8:22)
For me, this verse is very inspiring. Reading this verse, I remember a saying by Indonesian national hero and, once, the leader of Islamic movement,
HOS Tjokroaminoto: Semurni-murni Tauhid (the Purest of Tauhid), Setinggi-tinggi Ilmu (the highest of knowledge), and Sepintar-pintar Siasat (the Smartest Strategy).
I hope this words can inspire us to explore even more!
I seriously write this like anyone will ever read this...
Ya udahlah ya, yang penting gw udah nyoba...
There are actually even more that I want to share – if you guys (and, maybe, ladies) allow me. Yet, for now, I will have to close this very long (and apparently not-that-interesting) discussion... Since, now is already three in the morning...
Hopefully, my writing can give you
an insight about how valuable it is actually the information provided by the QuranAs usual, all mistakes are mine - solely mine - my responsibility. However, all good you find here must be coming from Quran. That is why you should keep learning the Quran and trying to understand it.
I apologize for any inconvenience you found in this writing - as if someone will ever read this
Have a good day y'all!
Salamun Alaikum,
Ocyid, your Indonesian brother (I'm a male! a male!)