Question:

Could you explain the Quran prophecy about the Byzantines and Sassanids at this Islamic site http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/347/

Response:

We should call this a prediction rather than a prophecy. The fact is that if you look at the history of the Sassanid Persians and the Byzantine Empire you will see that they fought continuously for over four hundred years over Asia Minor, Palestine and Mesopotamia. Rarely were they at peace with one another for more than five years throughout this time. The battles went back and forth, sometimes the Sassanids gained the upper hand and sometimes the Greeks defeated the Persians. I would compare the prediction in the Quran to a politician predicting that the Republicans will win the presidency some time in the next ten years. Not only is this not a surprising prophecy, but it is an entirely predictable thing which it would be surprising if it did NOT happen within ten years.

The prediction that the Muslims would rejoice when the Byzantines defeated the Persians is like the prediction that religious conservatives will rejoice if the Republicans win the presidency. This is not even remotely like the incredible prophecies in the Bible such as the prophecy in Daniel 7 of the reign of Domitian more than six hundred years before the events at a time when Rome was not even a significant world power. If this is the best evidence of the inspiration of the Quran, then the believers in this book are in big trouble.

John Oakes