A Study of the Mythology of Historians Till the Fourth Century A.H.

This study investigated the viewpoints of four historians who lived until the fourth century A.H. about the creation. These historians are: 1. Ibn Qutaiba, Abu Abdulla Mohammad Ben Qutaiba Al-Dainawari, (d. 276 A.H., 889 A.D.) 2. Al-Tabari, Abu Ja'afar Mohammad Ben Jareer Ben Katheer, (d. 310 A.H. , 922 A.D.) 3. Al-Masoudi, Abul-Hasan Ali Ben Al-Husain Ben Ali, (d. 346 A.H. , 957 A.D.) 4. Al-Maqdesi, Al-Muttahar Ben Taher, (d. 355 A.H., 965 A.D.) Al-Tabari, Al-Masoudi, and Al-Maqdesi discussed how the heavens were created. They agreed that the heavens were created by the smoke that God took from water. Their consensus is attributed to the Holy Quran and the Muslim interpreters who adopted the religious viewpoints. However, some of the ancient religions had different viewpoints. Some of them claimed that the heavens were created when one of the gods rode on a cow which flew to make up the heavens. Al-Tabari and Al-Masoudi portrayed the heavens as white smoke that spread in the air. Al-Maqdesi portrayed it as a dome. The ancient religious mythologies provided viewpoints that were different from the Islamic viewpoints. The ancient Egyptian myths portrayed the heavens as a huge cow, while the old Sumerian myths portrayed them as a solid plate in the shape of a dome. But the Zoroastrianism portrayed them as an egg made of brilliant metal. Al-Tabari and Al-Masoudi assured that God decorated every heaven with stars and planets according to the verse of the Holy Quran, "We have decorated the lower heaven with lamps." Al-Maqdesi stated that the stars are merely plates that took their light from the sun. The ancient mythologies agreed that the gods are responsible for creating and spreading the stars. Al-Tabari added that the sun was created from the light of the Throne while Al-Maqdesi stated that it consisted of fire and light. This is considered as a philosophical point of view regarding the creation. The Zoroastrianism myths claim that the sun derived its light from the brilliant twinkling Ahramazda. The Egyptian mythology stated that the sun was created from the lotus flower. The Sumerian mythology stated that it was created as a result of mating of gods. Al-Tabari portrayed the sun as a veal created from the light of the Chair, and the moon as a veal created from the light of the Throne. The Zoroastrianism mythology portrayed it as a golden egg, the Sumerian as a serpent or a calf, and the Egyptian as a child putting his finger in his mouth. Al-Tabari and Al-Masoudi assured that God created water and then placed the Throne on it according to verses of the Holy Quran while Al-Maqdesi stated that the Throne was created from corundum. The interpretation and Hadith scholars stated that the Throne is made from light. Al-Tabari and Al-Masoudi assured that the angels were created from light, a viewpoint that agreed with the Prophet's sayings and what is stated in the Old Testament. The historians assured the importance of water in the creation process. Ibn Qutaiba stated that the earth was created when the water under the land accumulated to form the earth. Al-Maqdesi said that the earth was created from two basic elements: wind and water, assuring what is mentioned in the Holy Quran and the sayings of Muslim interpreters. The earth was portrayed in different shapes. Al-Masoudi portrayed it as a bird; Al-Maqdesi as flat from all directions, the Zoroastrianism mythology as an egg, and the Sumerian as a rounded disc. Ibn-Qutaiba, Al-Masoudi, and Al-Tabari agreed that God is the creator of the plants. Their consensus is attributed to what is stated in the Holy Quran which in turn affirms what is stated in the Old Testament. The four Muslim historians were in disagreement about the creation of Satan. According to Ibn Qutaiba and Al-Tabari, Satan was a type of angels called the Jinn. On the other hand, Al-Masoudi and Al-Maqdesi said that Satan was from the Jinn tribes, a viewpoint that was attributed to verses of the Holy Quran. The four historians were in full agreement that Adam was created from the soil of earth in accordance to what is stated in the Holy Quran, "We have created the human being from a dynasty of clay." This viewpoint is in agreement with what is mentioned in the Old Testament and the ancient religious mythology. Al-Tabari and Al-Masoudi portrayed the creation of Adam. They said that the soil used in Adam's creation was mixed with water until it became hard clay. In the Old Testament, it is stated that the soil was mixed with water from heavens. In contrast, the ancient religious mythologies disagreed with that idea. The Zoroastrianism believed that the creation took place by the fingertips of Brahma. Other mythologies believed that the creation took place when the god Atoum put some soil between his teeth then he sneezed to give life to human beings. Ibn Qutaiba, Al-Tabari and Al-Maqdesi described the complexion of Adam. They said that he was tall and beardless. Al-Tabari stated that God taught him all the names, a reference to what is stated in the Holy Quran and what is mentioned by the scholars of interpretation and Hadith. The four Muslim historians agreed that Satan was the origin of the seduction that resulted in dismissing Adam and Eve from heaven to the earth. Adam descended in eastern India while Eve descended in Jedda. Al-Tabari said that the first clothes that Adam and Eve put on were hides of sheep and wild animals. Ibn Qutaiba said that the first job Eve carried out was spinning hair and weaving. Al-Tabari said that the first job Adam did was plugging the earth and sawing seeds. One of the most important incidents that took place after the descent of Adam and Eve to earth is the story of Cane and Abel that Al-Tabari referred to some verses of the Holy Quran to state some of its details. Ibn Qutaiba and Al-Tabari mentioned that Eve gave birth to forty children in twenty deliveries. It was also said that the number was one hundred and twenty. Ibn Qutaiba said that Sheath was the most beautiful of Adam's children. He was also the one who resembled Adam most. He was the successor of Adam and the one who give birth to all human beings and the origin of parentage.