Recently, a scholar pointed out that scholars of past couldn’t understand the barzak/barrier of salt water and fresh water! as knowledge is introduced in a slow revealing fashion by Allah. so, this means there is a scope of errors in tafsirs of previous scholars. whats your understanding on this let me know.
A Sister
Montreal, Canada
Repected Sister
Assalam o alaikum wa Rahmatullah
I disagree with him. The Quran was not revealed only for the people of modern age. Its meanings were very clear to its initial audience, otherwise how would they accept it an eloquent masterpiece of literature. If you read the initial commentaries, they were aware about this fact. Barrier of salt and fresh water is even well-known to an illiterate fisherman working in any delta of a river. The Quran has mentioned those scientific facts which were clear to the people of all ages.
However, it is true that scientific developments confirm the facts mentioned in the Quran and never go against it as work of Allah and words of Allah could never contradict each other. We may claim that we better understand certain scientific facts mentioned in the Quran but it does not mean that ancient people were totally unable to discern them.
Chances of error are there in all commentaries of the Quran, ancient and modern both, as they are human works. People of all ages have limited knowledge and their intellect is subject to error due to lack of knowledge, biasness, impact of socio-economic circumstances etc.
wassalaam
Muhammad Mubashir Nazir
Don’t hesitate to share your questions and comments. They will be highly appreciated. I’ll reply as soon as possible if I know the answer. Send at mubashirnazir100@gmail.com.