Answering Objections to Islam · Fulfilled Prophecies of Muhammad
The Byzantine reversal within three to nine years
Handle with care. Do not claim the exact year of revelation is undisputed to the month. Say "around 615, when Syria had fallen", which is what the sources support.
In short
- 1.Revealed around 615 CE, when Persia had completed the conquest of Syria
- 2.Q 30:2-4 gives a window of bid' sinin — three to nine years
- 3.In 622 CE Heraclius sprang the counter-attack in Cappadocia; by 624 CE the Persian heartland was invaded and the fire temple at Takht-i-Suleiman destroyed
- 4.Gibbon: 'no prophecy could be more distant from its accomplishment'
- 5.The Meccan idolaters were openly siding with Persia against the Muslims at the time
The claim being examined
In 615 CE the Persians had crushed the Byzantines, taken Jerusalem and carried off the True Cross. The Qur'an announced the Byzantines would reverse it within three to nine years.
The Islamic position
This is the most falsifiable prediction in scripture: a named party, a named outcome and a numeric deadline, made against the visible trend. It held.
Analysis
Everything that makes a prophecy testable is present here: a date range, identified empires, and a direction of travel opposite to every reasonable forecast. Edward Gibbon — no friend of Islam — recorded the sheer unlikelihood of the claim, and Byzantine sources describe Heraclius contemplating moving the capital to Carthage after the revelation had already been given. A guesser with political sense would have backed Persia; the Qur'an staked its reputation on the losing side and named a deadline.
Side by side
| Situation in 615 CE | Persian conquests | Jerusalem sacked, the True Cross taken to Persia, Syria lost, Byzantium near collapse |
|---|---|---|
| The Qur'anic claim | Q 30:2-4 | Byzantine victory within three to nine years |
| 622 CE | Cappadocia | Heraclius traps and crushes the Persian ambush; the counter-attack begins |
| 624 CE | Takht-i-Suleiman | Persian heartland invaded, the great fire temple destroyed |
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 30:2-4
غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ
The Byzantines have been defeated in a nearby land. They will reverse their defeat with a victory, within three to nine years. The whole matter rests with God before and after.
Sources
Abu Zakariya, Forbidden Prophecies, Ch. 2 · Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire · Theophanes the Confessor, Chronicle · Sebeos, Armenian History · Forbidden Prophecies, Ch. 2, pp. 59-62
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