The Distinction between Space and Time in the Holy Qur’an

The Holy Qur’an is a hojja (proof) for God’s servants until the Day of Judgment, and the higher education should always pay attention to its contents, considering new perspectives. One of the most important guiding methods used in the Holy Qur’an is giving preference and superiority and explaining that preference. One of the most significant preferences in God’s book is time and space. Knowing the goals of preferences in time and space, its effects on the collective consciousness of Muslims and their guidance and education, knowing the causes of superiority and its testaments, and the different types of superiorities in the Qur’an, a Muslim can benefit from the blessings of the distinct times and spaces and achieve the educational goals of these preferences. This research aims to explain this issue through Qur’anic verses, authentic interpretive books and Islamic traditions. After examining the necessary concepts, it will explain the great role of giving preference to time and space in the Qur’an for the guidance of mankind. It also shows that some of the real reasons of preferring time and space in the ‘world of substantiation’ are: God’s blessing of time and space, the time and space of Qur’ans revelation, the time and space of the birth or prophecy of one of God’s prophets, the time and space of the prayer of the righteous servants of God, the time or space of God’s miracles and ‘clear signs’, the time and space where God or angels spoke to the prophets, or God’s religion was completed, or important events occur. Then, it introduces some ways to recognize these preferences (‘the world of affirmation’), such as: preference by description (for example ‘al-wad al-Moqaddas’), preference by events such as the priority of the month of Ramadan due to the revelation of the Qur’an in this month, or preference by oath, such as ‘wa turi sinin’, ‘wal-fajr’. This research provides important information about distinct times and places in the Holy Quran and reveals the effects of this differentiation in the collective consciousness of Muslims.