The split in languages at Babel: Its history according to Islam (1)
Modern research has established that the Semitic Arabs were the major and key players in the biblical incidence of Babel, where the common language spoken by mankind split into several languages. Let us, therefore, hear the story from the horses’ own mouth.
According to Gen 11: 1-9, the whole of mankind at one point in time spoke a common language. Journeying from the east, they found a suitable plain in the land of Shinar in what is modem day Iraq. There they built a marvelous city for settlement and built within it a high “tower’’.
The aim in building the city and tower was to keep them in one place so that they would not scatter and also for fame, (Gen 11:4). The narrative in Gen 11:1-9 is actually an over-view of the entire history. We shall, therefore fill in the missing links including such indispensable historical facts as the identity of the migrants, the location in the east from where they migrated and name of the common language that they spoke at that time. After the final rest of Noah’s Ark on mountain AL-Juudi (Quran 1:45), Noah disembarked with the people on board. According to Ibn Abass: ‘’He and the people (family members and followers) then built a village of 80 houses and named it “Suuq Thamaniin’’ (Market of the 80) (Ibn Sa’d). The 80, indicating the number of people in the Ark. This village was and is not far from Juudi where the final resting place of the Ark occurred. Due to the rapid expansion of the population, they later had to relocate according to Ibn Abass:’’ 02 When the land at their new settlement could no longer support them the sons and offsprings of Noah relocated to Babel and built . It is located between the Euphrates and Surrat in Iraq’’ (Ibn Sa’d,). If you compare the latter fact with the biblical narrative of the mass migration of people according to Gen11:1-9, the conclusion is that the migrants were none other than the offsprings of Noah and that they migrated from their settlement at “the market of 80’’ close to mountain Juudi in the land of Qarda in modern day Turkey. Reason for the migration being the dwindling of resources due to an expanding population.
With time Babel developed to became the most beautiful and marvellous city in the world. Its fate took a turn for the worst when Nimrod (Gen 10:8-9) became king and its ruler. It was Nimrod, an idol worshipper, who convinced the God – worshipping sons and offsprings of Noah to change over to idol worship and they obeyed him (Ibn Sa’d). It was this same Nimrod who began construction of the most ambitious and audacious project of constructing a high mansion whose top- most point would reach into the heavens to enable him see the God of Abraham who claims Lordship besides him (Nimrod).
The tower spoken of in the Bible, as confirmed by modern research, was not an ordinary tower. According to Imam Abass: “It was a mighty and tall mansion or palace that reached five thousand cubits feet (1 mile) into the sky’’. (Al- Tha’labi). It was built of coloured and burnt bricks and was the tallest mansion in the world at that time. He Nimrod would then climb to the top most part of the building, open the door there in the hope of seeing the God described by Abraham as the Most Powerful. From this is derived the name Babel composed of two words, namely Bab, meaning door and El, meaning God. Thus, Babel means the door of God through which Nimrod would be able to see God at the top. When his audacity and disbelief reached its utmost limit, God destroyed the building according to the following Quranic verse: “Those who were before them also devised plans, but Allah came upon their structure from the very foundations, so that the roof fell upon them from above them and the punishment came upon them from where they knew not’’ (Quran 16:27). According to the Companions: “God sent a strong wind against the tall mansion till the roof was ripped off.
The remaining structure then destroyed their homes after which their common language was confused (Tabalbalat)’’ (Tha’labi). It is clear from this source that the word Babel derives from the word Tabalbalat, meaning to confuse. In this sense the meaning of Babel becomes the city where God confused the language of mankind. Gen 11:9 is also of this view: “Therefore, is the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth.’’ Whatever be the source and true meaning of the word Babel, both the Bible and Islamic source agree that the confusion of that language at Babel was a divinely inflicted punishment intended to destroy their unity, put an end to their project of disbelief and scatter them all over the world. For with so many tribes, with each tribe speaking a different language, there could be no unity.
According to Tabari. “On one evening they were all speaking Syriac, their common language. On waking up the next morning God had confounded their language by splitting it into several languages such that some could not comprehend the language of others’’ (Tabari,). In other words the common language spoken by mankind at Babel was Syriac. With unity destroyed each tribe speaking a particular language migrated from the city in search of a location where they could develop their culture and separate identity.
And the confusion or split was that the Omnipotent God caused changes in accents in the Syriac. In other words members of a tribe pronounced words of the same Syriac differently. Plus the original Syriac, there was an additional creation of 72 new languages, making it a total of 73. (Tabari). Prominent among these languages were the following, some of which are dead: Syriac (dead), Accad (Dead), Aramaic (Dead), Hebrew, Arabic and Amharic. An example of the difference in accents comes from the word Seth, name of the son of Adam who became a substitute for Abel who was killed. In Syriac, it is pronounced as Shaath. In Hebrew as Sheeth and in Arabic as Sheth (Tabari).
You can appreciate the fact that it is the same word but pronounced differently in the three languages.
Last but not the least, the earth subsequent to this development was divided amongst the three surviving sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japhth (Gen10:25). It was Peleg (Faligh) who did that. The Middle East and parts of Asia were allotted to Shem, Europe to Japheth and Africa to Ham. From these developments it is not difficult to conclude that in the beginning the various tribes spoke a form of Syriac that was only slightly different from the original. With the passage of time and increasing distance from Babel, differences with the original Syriac became more pronounced. In the same vein changes in colour also occurred. In reference to these changes as means of identification says Allah in the Quran. “And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your tongues (languages) and colours (of your skins). In that surely are signs for those who possess knowledge’’ (Quran 30:23).
The above is only a tip of the iceberg concerning the full history of the split in languages and its subsequent development.
Conclusion:
From the split in Syriac at Babel that we have in the world today the multiplicity of languages.
BY KHALID KOFI AHMAD