The Quran On Oceanography

Supernaut

The following is what I posted on a forum called Orkut

The Quran is a no nonsense book. It informs us of natural phenomenon that Mohamed couldn't have known, and that are being proven by modern science. Many people pretend that Muslims corrupt the meaning of Quranic verses, and when they finally realize we haven?t, they resort to lying about proven natural phenomenon, thereby behaving like the people who murdered Galileo for proclaiming that the Earth wasn?t infact the centre of the universe.

2553 And He is the One who merges the two bodies of water. This is fresh and palatable and this is salty and bitter. And He made between them a partition and an inviolable barrier.

God informs us that It has made a partition between freshwater, and seawater, and that there is also a barrier. The ?partitions? are estuaries . Estuaries contain brackish water (water that isn?t as salty as seawater, but is saltier than fresh water) which is formed from the mixing of saltwater and fresh water . Fresh water (from rivers) doesn?t completely mix with seawater; there is always an ?inviolable barrier?, which prevents rivers from becoming salty. Mohamed, who lived in a harsh desert, would probably not have been able to study rivers, seas and estuaries in such detail.

5519-21 He separates the two seas where they meet. A barrier is placed between them, to prevent them from transgressing. Which of your Lord's marvels can you deny?

2761 The One who made the Earth a habitat, and He made in it rivers and He made for it stabilizers, and He made between the two seas a barrier. Is there a god with God? No. But most of them do not know.

Although rivers and seas have a ?partition? between them, God tells us that two seas have no such ?partition? (estuary). God tells us that seas meet directly, but are prevented from mixing due to water stratification , which is caused by a difference in the densities of the two seas, which in turn is caused by differences in salt concentration, and water temperature. A very large difference in the salt concentrations of two seas is called a halocline and large differences in the temperatures of different layers of water are called thermoclines .

While seas are distinct from each other , there is a circulation of heat and matter in the ocean. The process by which this circulation occurs is called thermohaline circulation . However ?The density of ocean water is not globally homogeneous, but varies significantly and discretely. Sharply defined boundaries exist between water masses which form at the surface, and subsequently maintain their own identity within the ocean?.

It makes zero sense to assume that Mohamed knew all these things before the Lord of the universe revealed these to him, and the translations I?ve quoted aren?t deliberate misinterpretations of the Quran?s verses. It shouldn?t be difficult to verify the translations I?ve quoted.

Unlike seas, two different rivers won?t necessarily be or remain distinct if they meet each other. The Rio Negro, and the White River are two rivers in South America. The Rio Negro is the colour of black tea, while the White River is the colour of caramel. These two rivers meet each other but they don?t mix too readily, infact, it is possible to see the demarcation between these two rivers from space! , , and .

Allahu Akbar!

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estuary
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brackish_water
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratification_%28water%29
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halocline
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermocline
http//science.hq.nasa.gov/oceans/physical/SSS.html
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermohaline_circulation
http//eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/images/ESC/small/ISS004/ISS004-E-6074.JPG
http//eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/images/ESC/small/ISS004/ISS004-E-6075.JPG
http//www.mongabay.org/images/brazil/blackwater_whitewater.gif

jonny_k

Peace "Supernaut",
I totally agree with you as regards the scientific foreknowledge in the QUran, in the above mentioned case only too clear. But then you say

...Many people pretend that Muslims corrupt the meaning of Quranic verses, and when they finally realize we haven?t, they resort to lying about proven natural phenomenon,...

JK- Well sunnis/shias/traditionalists have indeed misinterpreted MANY, NOT ALL, verses of the Quran. One such example is 3356 where they translate "sallu" to mean "bless" instead of "making contact/supporting(comes from root "sil" meaning "contact&quot. This gross misinterpretation made them glorify and praise/mention Muhammad day and night more than GOD which is blatant idolatry. Most of the times we see traditionalists misnterpreting the Quran where there is INHERENT BIAS on their side meaning that a certain interpretation would go much in their favor. This is not the case withe abov verse nor 2130 nor any other such verse sinec there sunnis/shias would LACK MOTIVE in changing the meaning. After all why change the meaning if you dont yet understand a phenomena. On the contrary they were excited of when this event would be discovered and more significance be added to the Quran which makes them rather sticking to the true meaning even more. So the point is to understand the QUranic verses correctly one needs to use the scientific method of studying the language and not just believe what a sunni/shia "scholar" says. GOD Bless!

Supernaut

I'm aware that Orthodox Muslims deliberately misinterpret several of the Quran's verses. Even Heterodox Muslims deliberately change the Quran's meanings. I don't know Arabic, but I overcome this problem by using English to Arabic, and Arabic to English dictionaries (I'm Pakistani, I know Urdu, and can therefore read Arabic) whenever I suspect a translation, or when I need a better understanding of the Quran. I use various translations too. O0

Haroon

Mashallah, the Quran is full of knowledge, such as that you quote of the barriers between two seas.

Despite these signs people still find excuses to deny the existence of God and His authorship of the Quran.