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Whether it be trying to scale their colossal peaks or building monasteries high up to seek solace and solitude, mountains have always been an incredible and awe-inspiring feature of our landscape and a deep source of human fascination.
However, it was not until recent times, with the advancement of modern science, that we have gained a much deeper insight into mountains and how they were formed, but more importantly, the great geological significance of these fascinating natural structures that soar above the skies.
The Holy Qur’an, in numerous instances, makes references to mountains in varying contexts. Yet, what is truly fascinating is the manner in which they are described in a book that was revealed fourteen centuries ago to an unlettered prophet in the Arabian Desert. The Holy Qur’an’s description of mountains is so profound and perfect that one is left truly astounded by how modern discoveries in geology testify to the fact that the author of the Qur’an is none other than the Creator of the universe.
Mountains with Roots
In one instance, the Holy Qur’an describes the mountains as ‘pegs’:
‘Have We not made the earth a bed, And the mountains as pegs?’ [1]
In this particular verse of the Holy Qur’an, mountains have been described as Awtadan, which literally means roots or pegs. Initially, critics objected to the Holy Qur’an for its description of mountains as pegs or roots, and took it to mean that just as a horse is tethered to a stake, so too is the earth attached to mountains. [2] Of course, this is not what the Holy Qur’an meant; rather, it was referring to the actual structure of a mountain itself. It was not until the 19th century that studies by modern geologists proved that there is more to mountains than meets the eye. In fact, mountains have deep roots that extend into the mantle beneath the surface of a mountain range, as a result of two tectonic plates converging, and forming a deep crustal root below.[3] This root is estimated to extend several times the elevation of the mountain above the ground. Due to these deep mountain roots, most of a mountain therefore lies below the visible surface. Leading British geologist, Dr Ted Nield, explains, ‘Mountains are tall because they are deep…their visible mass is balanced at depth by roots extending down into the earth.’[4]
‘Floating Mountains’
Another astounding aspect of the Qur’anic description of mountains is found in the following verse:
‘And thou seest the mountains which thou thinkest to be firmly fixed, but they shall pass away like the passing of the clouds – the work of Allah Who has made everything perfect. Verily, He knows full well what you do.’ [5]
While it may sound like an utterly bizarre notion that mountains are ‘floating’, this yet again proves the miraculous nature of the Qur’an. In the first verse presented, the structural appearance of a mountain was so aptly described in the form of pegs or roots, whereas in this particular verse, the notion that mountains are floating initially seems contradictory. However, this verse alludes to a cosmological truth because the only way the mountains could be floating is if they are moving with the Earth itself. Thus, at a time when the common view was that the earth was at the centre of the universe and all other celestial bodies were orbiting around it, the Holy Qur’an challenged the narrative and has been testified by the scientific discovery of recent times in the field of cosmology.
But it may come as a surprise to the readers that the verse in which mountains are said to be floating is fulfilled in its literal sense, too. Recent studies in the field of geology have stated precisely what the Holy Qur’an described over 1400 years ago. It is now evident through geological analysis, that when a mountain range is formed, it starts to sink over time because of gravity, which pulls it down. This sinking causes the Earth’s outer layer, called the continental crust, to bend downwards. As a mountain range continues to sink and continues to bend the crust, it also pushes part of its base, i.e. the mountain range’s root, deeper into the Earth’s mantle. Once a sufficient portion of the roots extends into the mantle, it creates a buoyancy force, and the mountain range begins to float. This phenomenon occurs because of the different densities of the Earth’s layers. The mantle is denser than the Earth’s crust and the mountain’s roots, pushing the mountains upwards through buoyancy.[6]
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Whilst describing the Himalayas, geoscientist Carly Miller noted:
‘The Himalayas not only reach up into the heavens but plunge deep into the mantle beneath, with a mountain root that reaches some 155 miles below the surface. The mountain range floats like a raft atop the denser liquid rock of the Earth’s interior, called the mantle or the asthenosphere. Less dense, buoyant crustal rock floats in the mantle like an iceberg floats in water.’[7]
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Mountains and Earthquakes
Another interesting feature of mountains, in light of Qur’anic teachings, is that they exert a stabilising influence and reduce the intensity and frequency of earth tremors:
‘And He has placed in the earth firm mountains that it may not quake with you.’[8]
Again, owing to limited scientific knowledge, many critics objected to this description. Critics stated that the opposite was true in that earthquakes were more likely to occur in mountainous areas where the tectonic boundaries meet and generate the strongest forces. It is interesting to note that the Arabic terms interchangeably used for mountains in the Holy Qur’an are Jibal and Rawasiya. But when examining the word choice more deeply, a hidden insight becomes apparent. There is great wisdom that whenever the Holy Qur’an speaks of mountains with reference to earthquakes, the term Rawasiya is used which means something fixed to the seafloor like an anchor of a ship, in other words referring to underwater mountains, or seamounts.[9]
This recently discovered science behind seamounts truly reveals the astonishing wisdom of the Holy Qur’an.
In the study of geology, subduction is a natural tectonic process where an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate at the convergent plate boundaries. Oceanic plates form the Earth’s crust below the ocean floor, whereas continental plates are found below land masses. Since the oceanic plate is denser and heavier than the continental plate, it is forced beneath the continental plate, forming an ocean trench. As the plates collide with one another, the force can cause huge earthquakes. However, new research shows that when a seamount sinks into a trench, they reduce the effects of earthquakes. Professor Demian Saffer, from the University of Texas explains, ‘The Earth ahead of the subducting seamount becomes brittle, favouring powerful earthquakes, while the material behind it remains soft and weak, allowing stress to be released more gently…the weakened, wet material behind the seamount creates an opposite, dampening effect on these quakes and tremors.’[10]
Thus, seamounts play a pivotal role in reducing the intensity of earthquakes, particularly at the subduction zones where some of the largest and most powerful earthquakes can occur. This is exactly in accordance with the verse, which states that God Almighty has placed firm mountains, i.e. Rawasiya, so that they reduce the intensity and force of the earthquakes. Seamounts act to protect humanity against what would otherwise have been frequent and ferocious earthquakes. And so, as humankind continues in the advancement of modern-day science, yet again, the Qur’anic descriptions and insights into these natural phenomena testify to the divine origins of this sacred and holy text.
ENDNOTES
1. The Holy Qur’an, 78:7-8.
2. https://www.reviewofreligions.org/43055/the-truthfulness-of-islam-witnessed-through-the-wonders-of-nature/
3. A. Whitchurch, Dense mountain roots. Nature Geosci 6, 85 (2013). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1724
4. https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Education-and-Careers/Ask-a-Geologist/Continents-Supercontinents-and-the-Earths-Crust/Mountain-Roots
5. The Holy Qur’an, 27:89.
6. https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Education-and-Careers/Ask-a-Geologist/Continents-Supercontinents-and-the-Earths-Crust/Mountain-Roots
7. Ibid.
8. The Holy Qur’an, 31:11.
9. Malik Ghulam Farid M.A., Dictionary of the Holy Qur’an (Tilford, Surrey: Islam International Publications Ltd., 2006).
10. https://new.nsf.gov/news/sinking-seamounts-make-muffle-earthquakes#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20model%2C%20when,of%20the%20University%20of%20Texas
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