At the time of the descent of the Quran, the Romans were practicing Christianity while the Persians were Zoroastrians. The Muslim population was grieved to hear that it was the Persians who had won the war against the Romans since Christians were monotheists.
The Romans have been defeated.(30:2)
In the lowest part of the earth. But after defeat they will soon be victorious.(30:3)
Between three or nine years. God’s is the imperative first and last. On that day the believers will rejoice.(30:4)
At the time of the descent of the Quran, the Romans were practicing Christianity while the Persians were Zoroastrians. The Muslim population was grieved to hear that it was the Persians who had won the war against the Romans since Christians were monotheists. The victory of the Zoroastrians against the believers baffled the Muslims. The Quran predicted that the Romans (Byzantium) would soon become victorious and that the believers would rejoice. The expression “beda seneen” in verse 4 refers to the numbers ranging from three to nine. The number of followers of Muhammad continued to increase. Had this statement of the Quran proved to be wrong, the confidence of the followers in Muhammad would have been shaken and the number of apostates would have grown. For a person not firmly convinced that the Quran was the revelation of God, such a prediction would be fatal for the system. If such a prediction were to prove false, it would have lost more of its authority than it would have gained had it turned out to be true. But it was God who revealed the Quran. So there was no risk. Thus the confidence of the followers increased even more.
SUCH DARING
Yes, self-confidence, daring and categorical prediction! This is either a proof of wisdom or the foolhardiness of the ignorant. The result indicates which was which. Those who doubt that this was not a revelation from God may conclude that it was guesswork, without considering the consequences that would put everything in danger. Something difficult was being heralded. A nation that had lost its cause was promised a triumph in a subsequent conflict.
Had this prediction turned out to be false, the believers might have lost faith and given trump cards to the hands of the opponents of the faithful. None of the accusations by unbelievers of Muhammadattributing to him insanity, necromancy and opportunism- came to be true as they failed to belie his words. The unbelievers were badly in need of such accusations. It was certainly more difficult to attack the Prophet and his followers with daggers drawn. If the people who attributed partners to God were able to come forth with such evidence, they would prefer to use it rather than wage wars. So all the predictions of the Quran came true and no objections could ever be raised by the unbelievers. Nevertheless, there have always been and will be people who turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the revelations of the Quran. This did not prevent the Quran from eventually becoming the sovereign power of the region under the domination of the Prophet during his lifetime.
FROM DESPAIR TO VICTORY
Students of Byzantine (Roman) history should know that the Byzantine Empire suffered one of its gravest defeats in the 7th century at the time of the descent of the Quran. Although the Byzantines solved their problems in the coming years, during that time period, one of the main reasons for their serious downturn was the problem that the Persians generated.
Historical sources approve the Quranic information. It was thought that, since the Byzantines had suffered such a defeat, they could no longer recover. Records speak of Heraclius’s collecting and melting in a crucible all the gold and silver of the churches to meet the expenses of the army. The Persians had already occupied Mesopotamia, Cilicia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Armenia, all places that had once been under the domination of the Byzantines. In such a time of despair, the Quran predicted that the Byzantines would triumph within three to nine years. Historical records add that because of this statement the Prophet and his followers were held in derision, as there was little hope of the realization of this prediction coming true.
The Quran was to confirm this like all others. Byzantium won a victory over the Persians somewhere near the ruins of Nineveh (There is some debate about this date. Although we believe, it might be true, we do not want to speculate much about it), about nine years after the revelation of the prophecy. The Persians signed a treaty, according to which they turned over the territories they had occupied.
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