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In the Name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful.
(We
swear by the Altor mountain (1) And decree inscribed (2) In
scroll which is unfolded (3) And Al-Baitul Ma'moor (Celestial
structure resembling and directly above the Holy Ka'ba in
heaven) (4) And heavens elevated (5) And seas sitting on bed
of fire (6)
)
The Mount
To grasp the splendor in this
verse we must examine the Arabic Adjective used for the sea in
the Quranic text which is cSLfQ" ", pronounced "masjoor". The
word is used for something which lies on, and is subsequently
heated by, combustion or heat of some other substance
underneath.
For centuries, Arabs and Muslims were
mystified and could not comprehend how fire and water could
co-exist.
Then came modern age geology and the discovery
of faults in Earth's crust; an intricate interconnected
network of seemingly separate faults stretching for hundreds
of kilometers and going 65-150 kilometers deep into earth. It
being one major fault is plainly stated in another verse where
God Almighty swears by the Earth and the Fault in its
structure. Scientists have come to liken this fault to an
intricate design welded around the sphere of a tennis ball.
The cracks allow molten lave to gush through
so that there is constant collision between cool sea water.
Too much heat for the water to quell and too much water, even
for temperatures of over 1000 centigrade, to be turned into
steam, this is a phenomenon astounding scientists till today.
In one experiment, Russian Geologist Anatol
Sbagovich, Russian Geologist and Biologist Yuri Bagdanov and
US scientist Rona Clint ventured 1750 kilometers off the coast
of Miami and then boarded a sophisticated submarine and
descended two miles below surface. The submarine rested on the
end of a rock shelf and the submarine's acrylic window was the
only barrier between them and scorching hot water springing
from cracks at the seabed at temperatures around 231
centigrade.
The team noticed cool surface water rushing
down to about a mile deep before it heats up and springs up
again taking along debris and some molten matter. Science
proved that this is a phenomenon to be found in all seas and
oceans, though it is more frequent in certain places.
It was also found that volcanoes are more
numerous and more active under water and that volcanoes
stretch the entire seabed. With insufficient oxygen at such
great depths, the lava gushing through is black-hot with no
direct combustion. This serves as a
tray, if you will, which heats up by
the heat of lava underneath and heats up sea water, the exact
image rendered in the Quranic diction and Arabic adjective
cSLfQ"".
Great is His glory! |
