Lake Saveh
Lake Saveh (Persian: دریاچه ساوه) is a lake near the city of Saveh whose sudden drying up on the night of the Prophet's (s) birth is counted among the Irhasat (extraordinary events occurring before the mission of prophets).
According to historical reports, Lake Saveh dried up suddenly on the night of the birth of the Prophet (s).[1] This event, alongside extraordinary occurrences such as the shaking of Taq Kasra and the extinguishing of the Fire Temple of Fars, is considered among the events occurring before the mission of prophets aimed at awakening people and mentally preparing them to accept Prophethood.[2] Some also interpret the sudden sinking of the lake's water as a sign to invalidate the superstitious belief of the local people, who reportedly sacrificed a person in the lake every year to be safe from floods.[3] However, some historical researchers, such as Muhammad Husayn Rajabi Dawani, have questioned the authenticity of this report, arguing that such an event is inconsistent with the Prophet's attribute as the "Mercy to the Worlds".[4]
Some researchers have identified Hoz-e Soltan Lake (Ḥawḍ-i Sulṭān), located north of Qom, as the remains of this lake.[5]
See Also
Notes
- ↑ Maqrīzī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ, 1420 AH, vol. 4, p. 60; Ibn Kathīr, Al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, 1407 AH, vol. 2, p. 268; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 8; Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil al-nubuwwa, 1405 AH, vol. 1, p. 127; Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, 1387 AH, vol. 2, p. 166.
- ↑ Subḥānī, Furūgh-i abadiyyat, 1385 Sh, p. 147; Rasūlī Maḥallātī, Dars-hāyī az tārīkh-i taḥlīlī-yi Islām, 1371 Sh, vol. 1, pp. 145–146.
- ↑ Tabrīzī, Farhang-i Fārsī-yi Burhān-i Qāṭiʿ, 1380 Sh, p. 484.
- ↑ Farhang-i Emrooz. "Naqd-i khurāfāt-i mashhūr darbāra-yi mīlād-i Payāmbar (s) az zabān-i Rajabī Davānī" (Critique of famous superstitions regarding the birth of the Prophet (s) by Rajabi Davani).
- ↑ Hedin, Kavīrhā-yi Īrān, 1355 Sh, p. 551; Siroux, Kārvānsarāhā-yi Īrān, p. 249.
References
- Bayhaqī, Aḥmad b. Ḥusayn al-. Dalāʾil al-nubuwwa wa maʿrifat aḥwāl ṣāḥib al-sharīʿa. Edited by ʿAbd al-Muʿṭī Qalʿajī. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1405 AH / 1985.
- Farhang-i Emrooz. "Naqd-i khurāfāt-i mashhūr darbāra-yi mīlād-i Payāmbar (s) az zabān-i Rajabī Davānī" (Critique of Common Superstitions Regarding the Birth of the Prophet (s), by Rajabī Davānī). *Farhang-i Emrooz* Website. Published: 30 Dey 1392 Sh (19 January 2014). Accessed: 19 Shahrivar 1404 Sh (10 September 2025).
- Hedin, Sven Anders. Kavīrhā-yi Īrān. Translated by Parvīz Rajabī. Tehran, 1355 Sh (1976).
- Ibn Kathīr al-Dimashqī, Ismāʿīl b. ʿUmar. Al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1407 AH / 1986.
- Maqrīzī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-. Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ bi-mā li-l-nabī min al-aḥwāl wa l-amwāl wa l-ḥafada wa l-matāʿ. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd Namīsī. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1420 AH / 1999.
- Rasūlī Maḥallātī, Sayyid Hāshim. Dars-hāyī az tārīkh-i taḥlīlī-yi Islām. Qom: Pāsdār-i Islām, 1371 Sh (1992).
- Siroux, Maxime. Kārvānsarāhā-yi Īrān wa sākhtimān-hā-yi kūchak-i miyān-i rāh-hā. Translated by ʿĪsā Bahnām. Tehran, n.d.
- Subḥānī, Jaʿfar. Furūgh-i abadiyyat. Qom: Būstān-i Kitāb, 1385 Sh (2006).
- Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-. Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk. Edited by Muḥammad Abū l-Faḍl Ibrāhīm. Beirut: Dār al-Turāth, 1387 AH / 1967.
- Tabrīzī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn b. Khalaf. Farhang-i Fārsī-yi Burhān-i Qāṭiʿ. Tehran: Nashr-i Nīmā, 1380 Sh (2001).
- Yaʿqūbī, Aḥmad b. Abī Yaʿqūb al-. Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, n.d.