ruminations on non-extant equine sub-species

Submitted by the Grand Infidel of Kaffiristan (Australia), Nov 14, 2011 at 22:36

Mr Slayhy, I apologise. I refer to your insistence that Al-Burak is based on historical fact.

It seems there is could well be some evidence for al-Burak after all - although I think poor Mo might have become a LITTLE CONFUSED in the hot desert sun and managed to re-hash stories from Greek traders about Pegasus - the 'heavenly' beast of the Greek pantheon.

Note the many similarities - "...He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color..... Pegasus allows the hero to ride him to defeat a monster, the Chimera, before realizing many other exploits......everywhere the winged horse struck his hoof to the earth, an inspiring spring burst forth."

So obviously the divine Pegasus did exist - as it is written about in ancient Greek theology/history. And if it is written about in Greek history - it must be true, right? Using the way Islam respects other religions as an example - we must at least consider the plausibility of its existence . How else can we explain the appearance of so many springs around certain areas of the planet - particularly in the areas that Pegasus most likely would have travelled - modern day Greece, FYR Macedonia, the Balkans etc.

It's a mystery though what brought about the demise of these creatures (both the Al-Burak and Pegasus) - if they were not both from the same sub- species of the genus Equus. Were they the victims of predation - or of disease? Perhaps some other knowledgeable Islamic scholar can offer explanations.

Another mystery is why no other current religions have no need to attribute one-off bizarre chimeras to a Creator to add outlandish detail to their central stories. I expect Mr Slayhy will be able to enlighten us on that.

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