Science in the Glorious Quran: The lowest Place on the Earth

“غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ. فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ. فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ ۗ لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ مِن قَبْلُ وَمِن بَعْدُ ۚ وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ” (الروم: 2-4).

“The Romans have been defeated. In the lowest (Adna) land, and they, after their defeat, will be victorious in a few years.  The decision of the matter, before and after is only with God. On that day, the believers will rejoice” (Qur’an, 30: 2-4).

The above verses revealed around 620 AD refer to: (1) the defeat of the Romans by Persians, (2) the place where they were defeated, and (3) the prediction of the victory of the Romans after a few years.

After two years, in 622 AD, the Roman Emperor Heraclius gained a number of victories over the Persians, as predicted by the Qur’an, and he was able to drive them out of Asia Minor and to accomplish a full victory in 627.

On the other hand, the above verses of the Qur’an used the word “adna” to indicate the location where the Romans were defeated by the Persians. The word “adna” in Arabic means “the lowest”. Interestingly, geologists in the modern era have discovered that the latitude of the Dead Sea, where the Romans were defeated, is 420m below the level of the sea and, therefore, it is considered the lowest altitude on the globe.

The dead sea is 420 m below the sea level and is considered the lowest altitude below sea level on the globe.