The Discovery of Iram City was Mentioned in the Quran
What would you say about a person who did not read any books and write a single letter but mentioned about a civilization which was kept secret in the darkness of history as if he had witnessed it and then his news would be approved by scientists with their researches after him 1400 years later?
Which possibilities given below would you accept?
1- This person travelled to the age of that tribe by surpassing the time and places and informed people of what he had seen after he returned to his age. No one who is sane can accept this option but considering this option as reasonable is only possible by losing one’s mind.2- This person is the apostle and prophet of God who created the time and places and encompasses all ages and places with His wisdom. The Prophet knows by being informed by Him and informs people by His notification. This option should be accepted since there is no other option than this one.
Yes, there are no two ways but only one, that is believing
that this person is certainly the apostle of God.
Now, let us look at the miraculous news which proves the
prophethood of that person and that the decree which he has is the book of God
“Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with ‘Aad [With] Iram – who had lofty pillars, The likes of whom had never been created in the land?}” (Quran 89: 6-9)
At the beginning of 1990s, notable newspapers gave the news of a very important archeological finding with the following headlines; “The Magnificent Arab City Has Been Founded”, “The Legendary Arab City Has Been Founded”, “Ubar, Atlantis of the Sands”. What makes this interesting archeological finding more important is that its name exists in the Quran. Up to that time, many people who thought the tribe of Ad mentioned in the Quran to be a legend and never to be founded were amazed upon this new finding. Nicholas Clapp is the amateur archeologist who founded the city that is mentioned in the Quran.
While researching for the Arabian history, the Arabic historian and documentary producer, Nicholas Clapp came across with a book called “Arabia Felix” which was written by Bertram Thomas, an English researcher in 1932. Arabia Felix is the name given to the region of the south Arabian Peninsula of Romans and covering the parts of Yemen and Oman nowadays.
The English researcher Bertram Thomas made a research trip in the region of the city of Ubar where there is the remaining of the city, a place which is near the coast of Oman. During the trip, he met with Bedouins who were living in the desert and they showed him an old pathway and told him that this pathway belonged to a very old city called Ubar.
Nicholas Clapp who examined the book of Bertram Thomas, made two attempts in order to prove the existence of Ubar that Thomas reported. At first, he found the traces of the pathway whose existence was told him by the Bedouins. Thereupon, he applied to NASA and demanded this area to be photographed via satellite.
After that, he started to examine the old scripts and maps that exist in Huntington library of California. After a short research, he found a map that had been drawn by Egyptian-Greek geographer Batlamyus in 200 AD. The map showed the place of an ancient city and the drawing of ways that led to this city.
In the photographs taken by NASA, some traces of a road which were impossible to see with naked eye but visible by a complete aerial view came in sight.
Both the ways shown in the old map and the satellite photographs supported one another. The ending point of these ways was a large area that was a city once upon a time.
So, the place of the legendary city which had been the subject of oral stories and narrated by Bedouins was discovered. The remaining of an old city started to come into light from the sand during excavations. Thus, this city was named as “Ubar, the Atlantis of the Sands”. The actual evidence proving that this old city is the city of Ad which is mentioned in the Quran is the remains of the city. From the first moment of uncovering of the ruins, it was seen that this collapsed city had belonged to the Ad nation and the pillars were the pillars of Iram, mentioned in the Qur’an. For, tall pillars mentioned in the Quran were found during the excavations.
Dr. Juris Zarins, who is a member of the excavation team, states the following;
“What distinguishes this city from other archeological findings is its tall pillars. Therefore, this city is the city of Ad nation, Iram, which is mentioned in the Quran.”
1400 years ago people thought Ubar was destroyed when giant
rats attacked a water dam and caused a flood. But today we know that this is
false. Modern archeology revealed the true cause of the collapse.
The Collapse of Marib Dam And The Fall of an Empire
The Great Dam that made the desert fertile and enabled the region to flourish, fell into disrepair. The sophisticated techniques of hydraulic engineering that the Sabaeans were famous for were slowly forgotten, and maintenance of the dam became increasingly difficult. Consequently, from the middle of the 5th century onwards, the dam began to suffer regular breaches until the year 570 AD, when the dam gave away for one last time.
There is much debate what caused the dam to collapse. Some scholars say it was heavy rains, while other believe an earthquake undid the stonework. According to legend, the breach was caused by large rats gnawing at it with their teeth and scratching it with their nails.
Amusing Planet, The Collapse of Marib Dam And The Fall of anEmpire, 2018
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Ruins of The Great Dam of Marib. |
Today archeologists are certain that the rats story was just
a legend, so it was either an earthquake or too much water. But 1400 years ago
the Quran said that it was too much water.
“In Sheba's homeland there used to be a wonder: two gardens, on the right, and on the left. "Eat of your Lord's provision, and give thanks to Him." A good land, and a forgiving Lord. But they turned away, so We unleashed against them the flood of the dam; and We substituted their two gardens with two gardens of bitter fruits, thorny shrubs, and meager harvest.”( Quran 34:15-16)
