Applying Historical Geography and Historical GIS to Qur’anic Studies: A Case Study of Sūrat Quraysh

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Assistant Professor of the Department of History and Civilization of Islamic Nations, Faculty of Islamic Sciences and Researches, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

10.22034/isqs.2026.55507.2548
Abstract
This study examines the methodological potential of historical geography and Historical GIS (HGIS) for Qur’anic studies, using Sūrat Quraysh (Q 106) as a case study. It asks how Qur’anic, exegetical, historical, and geographical evidence produced at different times can be integrated spatially without creating false precision. The study combines historical source criticism with the design of a time-aware spatial database and distinguishes four epistemic levels: textual evidence, historical reports, scholarly inference, and GIS-generated output. Reports attributed to early Muslim historians concerning īlāf and the two seasonal journeys are compared with later geographical descriptions of routes, settlements, water sources, and regional connections. The results indicate that the “journey of winter and summer” is better represented as competing spatial scenarios—northern, southern, and multimodal—rather than as one fixed historical road. Spatial analysis also highlights a relational structure linking the House, mobility, īlāf, provisioning, and security. Historical GIS is therefore most useful in Qur’anic studies when it serves as a critical environment for comparing evidence and the measure of certainty, not as a device for geographically proving traditional narratives.

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Volume 10, Issue 3
Summer 2026
Pages 136-164

  • Receive Date 15 August 2026
  • Revise Date 25 September 2026
  • Accept Date 27 September 2026