The day of Daḥw al-Arḍ
Daḥw al-Arḍ (Arabic: دَحوُ الأرض) is Dhu l-Qa'da 25th, which is, according to some Hadiths, the spreading of the Earth out of the water at the time of creation. In Islam, Dahw al-Ard counts as a virtuous day of the year. The hadiths strongly recommend fasting and prayer on this day.
Literal and Terminological Meaning
"Dahw al-Ard" is a terminology in the Quran and hadiths. The word "dahw" (Arabic: دحو) means to spread,[1] to expand,[2] To remove something from its place,[3] and the phrase, "dahw al-arḍ," means the spreading of the Earth.
By "Dahw al-Arḍ" is meant the coming of the lands out of the water which used to cover the Earth. According to hadiths and old Islamic sources, the Earth was first completely covered with water, and the lands later came out.[4] The day on which the lands came out of water is called "Dahw al-Ard". According to accounts of the local history of Mecca, the first land that came out of the water was the Ka'ba in Mecca.[5] There are reservations and disagreements regarding the literal meaning of "Dahw al-Ard" and the reliability of hadiths in this respect.
History of Dahw al-Ard and its Events
According to hadiths and books of fiqh, the date of Dahw al-Ard is Dhu l-Qa'da 25,[6] and it is recommended to fast on this day. Some historical events about great prophets have allegedly occurred on Dahw al-Ard, i.e. Dhu l-Qa'da 25, such as
• The revelation of the first divine mercy on Adam (a),[7]
• The landing of Noah's Ark on Mount Judi, [8]
• The birth of the prophet Abraham (a), and the prophet Jesus (a).[9]
In the Quran
The root, "d-h-w" (د-ح-و), is used only once in the Quran 79:30 [10], in the form of singular, masculine, third-person past tense (daḥā/ دحا). Exegetes of the Quran have commented on the creation of the Earth and its spreading (dahw) under this verse.
The Quran tells us nothing about how the Earth was spread and where the process started. As to the time of the event, the Quran only says, "after that", which is a matter of dispute among the exegetes of the Quran as to what time it refers to.
In his interpretation of the above Quranic verse, al-Fakhr al-Razi said that by "dahw" here is not meant the mere spreading of the Earth; rather it is a type of spreading that prepares the Earth for growing plants, and this can only occur after the creation of the sky.[11] Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi has replied to objections about the creation and the spreading of the Earth,[12] and applied some hadiths to his account.[13]
Recommended Practices on this Day
Some worships are recommended for this day in sources of supplications:
• Fasting[14]
• Ghusl
• Saying two rak'as of prayer at noon, in each of which Sura al-Hamd is recited first, and then Sura al-Shams is recited five times, and then a specific supplication should be recited after the prayer.
• Ziyara of Imam al-Rida (a).[15]
Notes
1. ↑ Bayhaqī, ‘’Tāj al-maṣādir’’, vol. 1, p. 90.
2. ↑ Khalīl b. Aḥmad, ‘’Kitāb al-ʿayn’’, vol. 3, p. 280.
3. ↑ Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, ‘’al-Mufradāt’’, under the word «دحو».
4. ↑ Mazrūqī Iṣfahānī, ‘’Kitāb al-azminat wa l-amkina’’, p. 35.
5. ↑ Ibn Ḥayyūn, ‘’Sharḥ al-akhbār’’, vol. 3, p. 477; Ṣadūq, ‘’Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh’’, vol. 2, p. 241.
6. ↑ Ṭūsī, ‘’Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid’’, p. 669.
7. ↑ Ṣadūq, ‘’Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh’’, vol. 2, p. 242.
8. ↑ Ṭūsī, ‘’Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid’’, p. 820.
9. ↑ Ṣadūq, ‘’Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh’’, vol. 2, p. 89.
10. ↑ Verse: وَالْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ دَحَاهَا; and after that He spread out the earth
11. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, ‘’al-Tafsīr al-kabīr’’, vol. 31, p. 46.
12. ↑ Majlisī, ‘’Biḥār al-anwār’’, vol. 54, p. 22-25.
13. ↑ Majlisī, ‘’Biḥār al-anwār’’, vol. 54, p. 25-26.
14. ↑ Ṭūsī, ‘’Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid’’, p. 669.
15. ↑ Ṭūsī, ‘’Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid’’, p. 671-699; Ibn Ṭāwūs, ‘’Iqbāl al-aʿmāl’’, vol. 2, p. 27-29.
Source: https://en.wikishia.net
