The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
//This verse may be difficult to picture from today's understanding of
the cosmos, but in the day it was written, it actually made perfect
sense. The sky was pictured as a dome overhead, enclosing the flat
earth, and when the day came for the earth to be destroyed, the dome was
rolled up and discarded. Whether or not Jews truly expected a
cataclysmic end to the universe or were merely playing with metaphors,
at least the idea made sense back in the day.
The
image of the universe as a big scroll holds me spellbound. Revelation
alludes to another mysterious scroll, with all of the mysteries of God
written therein. In Islamic thought, God provides two great tools for
our understanding: The Qur'an and the physical universe are twin
manifestations of God Himself. The universe can be pictured like a
written scroll, perhaps slowly unrolling to teach us about God's glory
and the meaning of his creation. It invites us to explore and learn. One
day, of course, it'll come to an end ... “The Day when we shall roll up
the heavens as a recorder rolleth up a written scroll.” (Qur'an
21:104).
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