Re: The Qur'an - Original Manuscript and Interpretation
Reply #21 - December 23, 2010, 09:29 PM
Well, I don't want to go too far off topic but briefly there is quite a controversy over the origin of the kabbalah. The kabbalists themselves state that it was developed around 200ad, but many critics date it more around the 12th century. However, even if kabbalah itself was developed later there were many other such diagramatic systems around at the time that could influence these architectural drawings.
Neoplatonism was a big influence over Syria, Egypt and surrounding areas at the time and the beliefs of that metaphysical system include alot of diagrams of the "monad" "triad" and so on that attempt to show the cosmology of the world/ soul etc.
It would not be too far fetched to think that this would have an influence over the arabic cosmology that was being developed at the same time.
At evening, casual flocks of pigeons make
Ambiguous undulations as they sink,
Downward to darkness, on extended wings. - Stevens