| Home > Bible Qur'an and Modern Science > Facts About Water & Oceans |
What Bible and Qur'an says about Water and Oceans
Bible says
Did fowl (birds) come out of the water?
Genesis 1:20 out of water
Genesis 2:19 (Out of the ground)
Genesis describes a worldwide flood that covered all the mountains on earth (7:19-20), but such a flood is impossible. Among other problems, there is nowhere from which such an enormous quantity of water (at least a half-billion cubic miles) could have come prior to the flood and there is no place to which it could have gone afterwards.
We
present to you Dr. William W. Hay, Professor of Geological Sciences at
the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. he was formerly
Dean of the Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University
of Miami, Miami, Florida, U.S.A. We went with him on a marine expedition, to
show us some of the phenomena connected to our study of the scientific miracles
in the Qur'aan and Sunnah. We asked him many questions about the marine surface,
the divider between the upper and the lower sea, and about ocean floor and
marine geology. We also asked Professor Hay about the mixed-water
partitions between the different seas and fresh water rivers. He was kind enough
to answer all of our questions in great detail.
With regard to the partitions between the different seas, he explained that these bodies of water are not one homogeneous sea as it appears to us. Rather they are different seas, distinguished by varying degrees of salinity, temperature and density. In this slide, here the white lines represent partitions between two different seas (not shown - WWW Ed.) Each partition divides two seas that differ in temperature, salinity, density, marine biology and oxygen dissolubility. Scientists first had this picture in 1942 after hundreds of marine research stations were set up. In it we can see the divider between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean.
Fig. 13.1
In
the middle of this photo (not shown - Ed.), we see a colored triangle. This is
the base of the Rock of Gibraltar. We can observe a colored partition between
the two bodies of water, although the naked human eye cannot perceive it in
nature. This has become possible by means of satellite photography and
remote-sensing techniques. This photograph here was taken by a satellite
utilizing the special thermal characteristics of the various water bodies, and
it is for this reason that the seas show up with different colors (exact photos
not shown - Ed. See Figure 13.1). For example, we here see light blue, dark blue
and black. Other bodies of water show a greenish color. The different
colors represent the difference in temperatures of the sea surface. However,
as well all know, these oceans and seas will simply appear as blue in color to
our eyes. These are partitions that can only be seen and perceived by scientific
research and modern technology. Allah
has informed us in the Qur'aan that: He has let
free (maraja) the two seas meeting together: Between them is a barrier which
they do not transgress. (Qur'aan 55:19-20).
Traditionally, there have been two major interpretations of this verse. One opinion states that according to the literal meaning of the term maraja, seas do meet and mix with each other. But the fact the Qur'aan goes on to state that there is barrier between them, means that this barrier will simply prevent the seas from encroaching upon each other or flooding over each other.
Proponents of the second opinion ask how can there be a barrier between the seas so that they do not encroach upon each other, while the verse indicates that the seas meet together? They concluded that the seas do not meet and sought another meaning for the term maraja, but now modern science provides us with enough information to settle this issue. The seas do meet together, as we have seen, for example, in the picture of the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean (not shown - WWW Ed.). Even though there is a slanted water barrier between them, we now know that through this barrier the water from each sea passes to the other. But when see the water from one sea enters the other sea, it loses its distinctive characteristics and becomes homogenized with the other water. In a way, this barrier serves as a transitional homogenizing area for the two waters.
This is an excellent example of Islamic modern scientific research. Modern techniques can thus be used to prove the inimitability of the Qur'aan. We discussed this verse and several other verses at great length with Professor Hay, and then we asked him the following question: "What is your opinion of this phenomenon, namely, that you have in your possession now texts which have been revealed 1400 years ago, and which described in minute detail secrets of the universe which no man at that time could ever have known, simply because the techniques and the equipment were not available?"
Professor Hay replied: "I find it very interesting that this sort of information is in the ancient scripture of the Holy Qur'aan, and I have no way of knowing where they would come from, but I think it is extremely interesting that they are there and that this work is going on to discover it, the meaning of some of the passages."
He was asked: “Then you have flatly denied it to be just from a human source. Whom do you think is the original source of such information?”
Professor Hay: "Well, I would think it must be the Divine Being!"
Truly
this is divine knowledge which Allah
sent in order to support the Message of the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) who said:
Each Prophet has been given something to make his people believe in him. But I have been given a Revelation from Allah
, and I hope that I will have the greatest number of followers on the Day of Judgement. [Al-Bukhari]
This Revelation contains its own miracle and stands as a proof for humanity until the Last Hour.
Source :www.it-is-truth.org
Water
It is He who sends down water from the sky. From it you drink and from it
come the shrubs among which you graze your herds. And by it He makes crops grow for you and olives and dates and grapes and fruit of every kind. There is certainly a Sign in that for people who reflect. (Holy Qur'an Chapter Ant: 10-11)
Most
of our planet is covered with water. Oceans and seas make up three fourths of
the earth's surface while the land itself contains countless numbers of rivers
and lakes. The snow and ice on the summits of lofty mountains is water in its
frozen form. A substantial part of the earth's water is in the sky: every cloud
contains thousands--sometimes millions-of tons of water in the form of vapor.
From time to time, some of this water vapor turns into drops of liquid and falls
to the ground: in other words, it rains. Even the air you're breathing now
contains a certain amount of water vapor.
In short, no matter where you may
look on the surface of the earth, you're certain to see water around somewhere.
Indeed, the place you're sitting in at this moment probably contains about forty
to fifty liters of water in it.
Look around. You can't see it? Look again, more carefully, this time raising your eyes from these words and look at your hands, arms, legs, and body. That 40-50 liter mass of water is you! It's you because about 70% of the human body is water. Your body's cells contain many things but nothing so much or so important as water. The biggest part of the blood that circulates everywhere in your body is of course water. This is true not just of yourself or of other people however: the bulk of the bodies of all living things is water. Without water it seems, life is impossible.
Water is a substance that was
specially designed so as to be the basis of life. Each and every one of its
physical and chemical properties was specially created for life.
Other liquids freeze from the
bottom up; water freezes from the top down. This is one of the most unusual
properties of water and it is crucial for the existence of water on the surface
of the earth. Were it not for this property, that is, if ice didn't float, much
of our planet's water would be locked up in ice and life would be impossible in
its seas, lakes, ponds, and rivers.
Let's examine this in detail to see
why. There are many places in the world where the temperature falls below 0°C
in winter, often considerably below that. Such cold will of course affect the
water in seas, lakes, etc. These bodies of water grow colder and colder and
parts of them begin to freeze. If ice didn't behave the way it does (if it
didn't float in other words) this ice would sink to the bottom while the warmer
bits of water would rise to the surface and be exposed to the air. But the
temperature of that air is still below freezing so these will freeze too and
sink to the bottom. This process would continue until there was no liquid water
left at all. But this isn't what happens. What happens instead is this: As it
gets colder, water grows heavier until it reaches 4°C at which point everything
suddenly changes. After this, the water begins to expand and it becomes lighter
as the temperature drops. As a result, the 4°C water remains on the bottom, the
3°C water above it, the 2°C water above that and so on. Only at the surface
does the temperature of the water actually reach 0°C and there it freezes. But
only the surface has frozen: the 4°C layer of water beneath the ice remains
liquid and that is enough for underwater creatures and plants to continue to
live.
We should note here that another
property of water-the low thermal conductivity of ice and snow-is also crucial
in this process. Because they are such poor conductors of heat, the layers of
ice and snow keep the heat in the water below from escaping into the atmosphere.
As a result of all this, even if the air temperature falls to -50°C, the layer
of sea ice will never be more than a meter or two thick and there will be many
fractures in it. Creatures such as seals and penguins that dwell in polar
regions can take advantage of this to reach the water beneath the ice.
Again let us recall what would
happen if water didn't behave this way and acted "normally" instead.
Suppose water continued to become denser the lower its temperature became like
all other liquids and ice sank to the bottom. What then?
Well in that case, the freezing
process in the oceans and seas would start from the bottom and continue all the
way to the top because there would be no layer of ice on the surface to prevent
the remaining heat from escaping. In other words, most of earth's lakes, seas,
and oceans would become solid ice with a layer of water perhaps a few meters
deep on top of it. Even when the air temperature increased, the ice at the
bottom would never melt completely. In the seas of such a world, no life could
exist and in an ecological system with dead seas, life on land would also be
impossible. In other words, if water didn't "misbehave" and acted
normally, our planet would be a dead world.
Why doesn't water act normally? Why
does it suddenly begin to expand at 4°C after having contracted the way it
should? That is a question that nobody has ever been able to answer.
Water is "just right" for
life to a degree that cannot be compared with any other liquid. The larger part
of this planet, a world whose other attributes (temperature, light,
electromagnetic spectrum, atmosphere, surface, etc) are all suitable for life,
has been fill ed with just the right amount of water necessary for life. It
should be obvious that this cannot all be accidental and that there must instead
be intentional design.
To put it another way, all the
physical and chemical properties of water show us that it is created especially
for life. The earth, purposefully created for mankind to live in, was brought to
life with this water that was specially created to form the basis of human life.
In water, God has given us life and with it He causes the food by which we are
nourished to spring from the soil.
But the most important aspect of all this is that this truth, which has been discovered by modern science, was revealed in the Qur'an, bestowed upon humanity as a guide fourteen centuries ago. Concerning water and mankind, God's word is revealed in the Qur'an thus:
It is He who sends down water from the sky. From it you drink and from it
come the shrubs among which you graze your herds. And by it He makes crops
grow for you and olives and dates and grapes and fruit of every kind. There is
certainly a Sign in that for people who reflect. (Chapter Ant: 10-11)
(ICRA)