Skip to main content

The Quran on Seas and Rivers

Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two different seas meet, there is a barrier between them.  This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity, and density.  For example, Mediterranean sea water is warm, saline, and less dense, compared to Atlantic ocean water.  When Mediterranean sea water enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill, it moves several hundred kilometers into the Atlantic at a depth of about 1000 meters with its own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics.  The Mediterranean water stabilizes at this depth (see figure 13).
 
Figure 13 (Click here to enlarge)
Figure 13: The Mediterranean sea water as it enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill with its own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics, because of the barrier that distinguishes between them.  Temperatures are in degrees Celsius (C°). (Marine Geology, Kuenen, p. 43, with a slight enhancement.)  (Click on the image to enlarge it.)
Although there are large waves, strong currents, and tides in these seas, they do not mix or transgress this barrier.
The Holy Quran mentioned that there is a barrier between two seas that meet and that they do not transgress.  God has said:
 He has set free the two seas meeting together.  There is a barrier between them.  They do not transgress.  (Quran, 55:19-20)
But when the Quran speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of “a forbidding partition” with the barrier.  God has said in the Quran:
 He is the one who has set free the two kinds of water, one sweet and palatable, and the other salty and bitter.  And He has made between them a barrier and a forbidding partition.  (Quran, 25:53)
One may ask, why did the Quran mention the partition when speaking about the divider between fresh and salt water, but did not mention it when speaking about the divider between the two seas?
Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different from what is found in places where two seas meet.  It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a “pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers.”  This partition (zone of separation) has a different salinity from the fresh water and from the salt water (see figure 14).
Figure 14 (Click here to enlarge)
Figure 14: Longitudinal section showing salinity (parts per thousand ‰) in an estuary.  We can see here the partition (zone of separation) between the fresh and the salt water. (Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, p. 301, with a slight enhancement.)  (Click on the image to enlarge it.)
This information has been discovered only recently, using advanced equipment to measure temperature, salinity, density, oxygen dis-solubility, etc.  The human eye cannot see the difference between the two seas that meet, rather the two seas appear to us as one homogeneous sea.  Likewise, the human eye cannot see the division of water in estuaries into the three kinds: fresh water, salt water, and the partition (zone of separation). 
_____________________________
Footnotes:
(1) Principles of Oceanography, Davis, pp. 92-93. Back from footnote (1)
(2) Principles of Oceanography, Davis, p. 93. Back from footnote (2)
(3) Oceanography, Gross, p. 242.  Also see Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, pp. 300-301. Back from footnote (3)
(4) Oceanography, Gross, p. 244, and Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, pp. 300-301. Back from footnote (4)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

King Saud Mosque, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

During the 1980's, the Egyptian architect Abdel Wahed El-Wakil designed over a dozen mosques in Saudi Arabia. While these mosques differ in size, formal composition, and sources of financing, they nonetheless are umted by a number of general characteristics. Firstly, they can all be referred to as revivalist structures. All draw heavily, and often very directly, on various historical prototypes belonging to the architectural heritage of the Islamic world. All these mosques share strong similarities in the use of materials and construction technologies Their construction is based on the utilisation of load bearing brick walls, vaults and domes. Therefore, these structures are built of hollow baked bricks held together with mortar Most of the brick surfaces are covered with white plaster, and in some cases, with granite. However, the interior of the vaults and domes are generally left exposed, and are only coated with a layer of browinsh paint. As for reinforced concrete, its use i...

Jama Masjid of Herat Afghanistan

The Jama Masjid of Herat (مسجد جمعه هرات), also known as the Masjid-i Jami' of Herat, and the Great Mosque of Herat[1] is a mosque in the city of Herat, in the Herat Province of north-western Afghanistan. It was built by Ghurids, the famous Sultan Ghayas-ud-Din Ghori, who laid its foundation in 1200 AD, and later extended by several rulers as Herat changed rulers down the centuries from the Timurids, to the Safavids, to the Mughals and the Uzbeks, all of whom supported the mosque. Though many of the glazed tiles have been replaced during subsequent periods, the Great Mosque in Herat was given its present form during the closing years of the fifteenth century. Apart from numerous small neighborhood mosques for daily prayer, most communities in the Islamic world have a larger mosque, a congregational mosque for Friday services with a sermon. The Jama Masjid was not always the largest mosque in Herat; a much larger complex the Mosque and Madressa of Gawharshad, also built by the...

Jama Mosque, Mumbai

Overview Jama Masjid ("Friday Mosque") in South Mumbai near Crawford Market, is the largest and oldest mosque in the city. It is said that the Jama Masjid was firstly situated somewhere near to the Crawford market. In 1770, the mosque was destroyed by Governor William Hornby.  The Masjid is a quadrangular building of brick and stone encircled by a ring of terraced roofed and double storied buildings. The main eastern gate leads to an ancient tank filled with about 10 feet of water. From the depths of the tank rise 16 black stone arches which support the whole of the mosque.  The Structure of the present Jama Masjid statred in 1775 ans the building was all standing in year 1802. The masjid lies on the quadrangular piles made up of brick and stone, this is a double storied building. The gate on the eastern side lands near the ancient tank of water. Introduction The  Jama Masjid  is a mosque in the Kalbadevi neighborhood, near Craw...