See Rûm

Rûm

Rûm, also Roum or Rhum , an indefinite term used at different times in the Muslim world to refer to the Balkans and Anatolia generally, and for the Byzantine Empire in particular, for the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in Asia Minor, and referring to Greeks living outside of Greece or non-muslims...

 for the Arabic term for the Byzantine Empire itself.

Sura

Sura

A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...

t Ar-Rum ' onMouseout='HidePop("27838")' href="/topics/Byzantine_Empire">Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

) is the 30th sura of the Qur'an

Qur'an

The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

 with 60 ayat.

The surah begins by noting the recent defeat of the Romans by the Persians. It in turn calls Muslims to look forward to the victory it prophesies of the Emperor Heraclius

Heraclius

Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...

' Christians over the Persian Zoroastrians. In it, Christianity is shown preference over non-Abrahamic faiths.

The early Muslim community perceived the Greeks of the Christian Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 (or Eastern Romans, therefore ar-Rum) as nearer to their religion, whilst the Meccan idolaters felt more inclined to the Persian religion which was also idolatrous. According to Muslim tradition, the Meccans taunted the Muslims by pointing to the recent military defeats of the Byzantines by the Persian Sassanid Empire, that adhered to Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...

, and predicted that the Christian Byzantines were about to be defeated, and that the Muslims were next in line.

See also

• Hadith of the prediction in Sura al-Rum
  Hadith of the prediction in Sura al-Rum
  The Hadith of the prediction in Sura ar-Rum is a hadith concerning the sura called Ar-Rum in the Qur'an which can be read as a prediction , possibly in AD 615 that the Romans would triumph over the Persians and the Muslims over the Meccans.The early Muslim community perceived the Greeks of the...