Contradictions in the Quran and The Quran and Mountains: Difference between pages

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Modern Islamic Scholars claim that modern science has proved that roots of mountains go inside the earth like pegs, therefore it is a miracle of Quran to tell it correctly 1400 years ago.  

While the critics not only deny it to be a miracle of Quran, but also claim that Quran made two scientific mistakes about the mountains.  

===Advocate's claim: Quran rightly told 1400 years ago that mountains works as pegs/anchors in order to stabilize the otherwise shaking earth===

==The idea of Mountains being Pegs had already existed among the Arabs before Muhammad==

Ka'ab Bin Lowy was a man of great honour among his ancestors and progeny. He was the first person who gave the name of Friday to the day of Friday. Arabs used to call him 'Aroba. He gathered them and advised them to hear, learn and understand,  and to know that night is deserted and silent, while day is full of sunlight, and earth is a cradle while sky is a support, '''and mountains are pegs''', and stars are signs, ...}}

Similarly, other civilizations also had the concept of mountains having roots. For example, we find this concept in bible too.  

{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jonah%202%3A6&version=NIV (Bible: John 2:6)]|2='''To the roots''' of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, LORD my God, brought my life up from the pit.}}Thus, the critics point out that it could not be a miracle of Quran, but it recorded only an old concept.

===First Mistake: Allah 'placed جعل' the Mountains 'from above من فوقها' into the earth according to the Quran===

According to the modern science, mountains are formed  when two plates tectonic collide with each other, and thus the mountains rise '''from within''' the earth.

But the Quranic verse 41:10 claimed that Allah 'placed' the mountains 'from above' into the earth.

And He '''placed''' therein firmly-set mountains '''from above it.''' ([https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/41/10/default.htm Word for Word Dr. Shehnaz Shaikh])

And He '''placed''' therein firm mountains '''from above it.''' ([https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/41/10/default.htm Dr. Kamal Omar])

And He '''placed''' on the earth firmly set mountains '''over its surface.''' ([https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/41/10/default.htm Sahih International])

And He made/put in it anchors/fixtures/mountains from above it. ([https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/41/10/default.htm Muhammad Ahmed - Samira])   

He '''placed''' therein (i.e. the earth) firm mountains '''from above it.''' ([https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/41/10/default.htm Mohsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali])

According to the modern science, mountains are not 'placed'/'cast' over earth's surface, but they are formed when two plates tectonics collide with each other (i.e. when earthquake takes place), then crust of one plate goes upwards and forms a mountain, while the crust of other plate goes downwards.  

For example, there existed no Mount Everest 250 million years ago. But then two plates tectonics collided with each other, and a small Mount Everest came into being due to that. Then it kept on gaining height with each collision of the plates tectonics. Today it is the highest mountain. It will keep on gaining even more height, but then a time will come, when it will start eroding and will disappear completely.  

===Second Mistake: Allah had already made the mountains on the day of Sunday at time of the creation of the universe===

Quran claims that Allah had already created the mountains on the 2nd day of creation.

{{Quote|1=[https://quranx.com/41.9?context=4 Quran 41:9-11]|2=Say, "Do you indeed disbelieve in He who created '''the earth in two days''' and attribute to Him equals? That is the Lord of the worlds. '''And He placed on the earth firmly set mountains over its surface''', and He blessed it and determined therein its [creatures'] sustenance in (next) four days without distinction - for [the information] of those who ask. Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, "Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion." They said, "We have come willingly."}}

*Mountains had not already been created on the 2nd day of creation of the heavens (universe) and the earth.

*But earth came into being 9 billion years after the heavens (universe).

*And older mountains erode and disappear with time, and new mountains start forming.  

*Thus those 6 days were of '''unspecified''' period of time.

*Allah didn't tell the length of that period, as humans are unable to '''comprehend''' it.

{{Quote|1=[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=7&tSoraNo=22&tAyahNo=47&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Verse Quran 22:47]|2=قال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا الحسن بن عرفة، حدثني عبدة بن سليمان عن محمد بن عمرو عن أبي سلمة عن أبي هريرة أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال " يدخل فقراء المسلمين الجنة قبل الأغنياء بنصف يوم خمسمائة عام " ورواه الترمذي والنسائي من حديث الثوري عن محمد بن عمرو به، وقال الترمذي حسن صحيح. وقد رواه ابن جرير عن أبي هريرة موقوفاً، فقال حدثني يعقوب، حدثنا ابن علية، حدثنا سعيد الجريري عن أبي نضرة عن سمير بن نهار قال قال أبو هريرة يدخل فقراء المسلمين الجنة قبل الأغنياء بمقدار نصف يوم، قلت وما مقدار نصف يوم؟ قال أو ما تقرأ القرآن؟ قلت بلى، قال { وَإِنَّ يَوْماً عِندَ رَبِّكَ كَأَلْفِ سَنَةٍ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ }. وقال أبو داود في آخر كتاب الملاحم من سننه حدثنا عمرو بن عثمان، حدثنا أبو المغيرة، حدثنا صفوان عن شريح بن عبيد عن سعد بن أبي وقاص عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال " إني لأرجو أن لا تعجز أمتي عند ربها أن يؤخرهم نصف يوم " قيل لسعد وما نصف يوم؟ قال خمسمائة سنة. وقال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا أحمد بن سنان، حدثنا عبد الرحمن بن مهدي عن إسرائيل عن سماك، عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس { وَإِنَّ يَوْماً عِندَ رَبِّكَ كَأَلْفِ سَنَةٍ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ } قال من الأيام التي خلق الله فيها السموات والأرض. ورواه ابن جرير عن ابن بشار عن ابن المهدي، وبه قال مجاهد وعكرمة، ونص عليه أحمد بن حنبل في كتاب الرد على الجهمية، وقال مجاهد هذه الآية كقوله{ يُدَبِّرُ ٱلاَْمْرَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ إِلَى ٱلاَْرْضِ ثُمَّ يَعْرُجُ إِلَيْهِ فِى يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ } السجدة 5.

Rasool Allah told that the poor people will enter in the paradise half a day before the rich people, '''means 500 years before the rich people (while whole day is equal to 1000 years of people's reckoning)'''. al-Tirmidhi and al-Nisai etc recorded it and al-Tirmidhi said that this tradition is 'Hasan Sahih' (i.e. authentic according to al-Tirmidhi). In another tradition, it was asked from Abu Hurayrah, '''how long is this half day'''? He replied: "Didn't you read Quran?" I said: "Yes." '''Upon that he recited me verse 22:47''' ... Companion S'ad was asked: "'''How long is this half day'''." He replied: "'''500 years'''". Ibn Abbas recited this verse and said that '''this is the length of those 6 days, in which Allah created the heavens and the earth''' (Ibn Jarir). While Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal described it in more clear words in his book "Refutation of al-Jahmia". Mujjahid said that this verse is similar to verse  5 of Surah al-Sajdah [(Quran 32:5) He rules (all) affairs from the heavens to the earth: in the end will (all affairs) go up to Him, '''on a Day, the space whereof will be (as) a thousand years of your reckoning.''']}}

But modern science told us that creation of universe took billions of years. Therefore, even if we consider 1 day of Allah is equal to 1000 years of our reckoning, still 6 days make only 6000 years of creation, which stays contradictory the modern science.<br />

Thus, elevation above sea-level tends to correlate positively with the thickness of the Earth's crust at any given place. The reason why the crust tends to exist in this manner is compared to the same physics of floatation whereby the majority of an iceberg suspended in water extends below sea level and, at the same time, it is the case that the taller the portion of ice above sea level, the deeper the iceberg dips down below.  

Other visual representations with less exaggerated and more accurate vertical scales, some of which are cited by the advocates themselves, do not depict mountains as so plainly resembling pegs.<ref name="A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam"></ref> Advocates respond by suggesting that when viewed in this more accurate representation, the mountains resemble 'blunt pegs'; critics disagree. [[File:Ch1-1-b-img1.jpg|alt=|thumb|425x425px|A depiction of isostasy with a more accurate vertical scale|center]][[File:Ch1-1-b-img3.jpg|alt=|thumb|425x425px|Another depiction of isostasy with a more accurate vertical scale|center]]

Critics hold that the 'roots' of the mountains described by isostasy do not resemble pegs in either form or function. For instance, isostasy, while often observed, is by no means universal and there are several outstanding examples of mountains and other elevated geological structures which have no such roots.

Critics conclude that what may at most be said regarding the roots of those mountains that possess them is that they resemble pigs in some minimal metaphorical sense and that it is not the case that all mountains are literal pegs, as described in the Quran, which have been 'cast down' into the earth in order to stabilize this.

[[File:Mountvstree.png|thumb|425x425px|The 'roots' of mountains and the roots of trees are visually similar]]

If the advocates opt to transition to a metaphorical interpretation here, the critics continue, they have made an arbitrary decision, as the relevant scripture appears to take its own description quite literally (as is generally the case with verses in the Quran describing the step-wise creation of the Earth and heavens).

Historians circumvent the debate and simply hold that since there is no reason to believe that Muhammad was receiving revelation from some deity, or even that such a deity exists, Muhammad likely either inferred the existence of some subsurface structure beneath mountains on the basis of basic visual comparisons between the side of a mountain and the bottom of a tree or adapted the beliefs of predecessors who had made such observations before his time.

Historians point out, for instance, that the ancient Hebrews held similar ideas regarding the 'roots of mountains'. It is not at all inconceivable and to some extent certain that such ideas had been passed down to and adapted by Muhammad. 

{{Quote|1=[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jonah%202:6&version=NIV Jonah 2:6 NIV]|2=To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.}}

===The function of pegs vs. that of mountains===

Some advocates of the miracle argue that where mountains result from the collision of tectonic plates, they also cause the stability of the Earth. One advocates of the miracle writes as follows:{{Quote||Modern geologists describe the folds in the Earth as giving foundations to the mountains, and their dimensions go roughly one mile to roughly 10 miles. The stability of the Earth's crust results from the phenomenon of these folds.}}Critics, in response, point out the difference between cause and effect, suggesting that the advocates conflate the two, and describe how the formation of mountains is an incidental result of the collision of the tectonic plates, an event which in fact causes rather than prevents earthquakes. The mountains generated at these fault lines are a product of the tectonic collision and cannot be said to in any sense prevent it from taking place.

Other advocates of the miracle, aware that these mountains result from and do not prevent tectonic collision, proceed differently. These advocates argue that the mountains slow the collision down and dampen the impact.  

{{Quote||The role of mountains as stabilizers for the Earth's crust can be clearly seen in their very deep roots, and can be justified by the fact that the motions of the lithospheric plates only come to halt when a continent collides with another, producing a collisional type mountain, which is believed to be the last phase in mountain-building. Without mountains, the movement of lithospheric plates would have been much faster and their collision more drastic. Even though mountains do act as retarders for the plate movements, they should not be understood to be an independent force or factor, because they are the very product of this motion in the first place.}}

To these advocates, critics respond that there is no scientific evidence which suggests that mountains slow down tectonic collisions in any meaningful way. And, while it is inevitably the case that the crumpling of the crust which forms the mountains throughout the collision somehow 'dampens' the impact, there is no evidence that the resultant mountains stabilize either plate (it is also difficult to interpret what this could possible mean, as the mountains do not exist prior to the collision in any case, and so could not, again, meaningfully 'prevent' it). What stops the collision are simply the opposing forces of either plate.  

Moreover, the critics add, considering the above, these mountains are not acting in any capacity that can be described as peg-like (a better analogy might be the bumper of a car, which crumples upon collision to save the driver, for instance, from being crumpled - but this has nothing to do with pegs and does not serve the purpose of 'stabilization').

Professor El Naggar presents the above arguments in fewer words and with a less detailed explanation.

{{Quote||The sea-deep roots stabilize the continental masses (or plates), as plate motions are almost completely halted by their formation, especially when the mountain mass is finally entrapped within a continent as an old craton.<ref name="El Naggar">Dr. Zaghlool El-Naggar PhD - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.elnaggarzr.com/en/main.php?id=54|2=2011-10-02}} The Mountains as Stabilizers for the Earth] - September 24, 2002</ref>}}

Critics have responded to El Naggar's argument by equating it with the common argument made by advocates of the miracle which conflates the causality and effects involved in the collision of tectonic plates. The mountains, the critics repeat, are the product of the collision and play no known role in stopping it. The collision of the plates stops, instead, gradually slows down as a result of the opposing forces of the two colliding plates.

Critics also point out that El Naggar provides no reference for the causal connection he presents, and that the unevidenced claim presented here by El Naggar is itself only cited by un-refereed conferences on so-called 'Islamic science'.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://web.archive.org/web/20050206082002/http://www.elnaggarzr.com/CV-E.htm|2=2011-10-02}} Curriculum Vitae of Professor DR. Z H. M. El-Na ggar] - Elnaggarzr.com</ref> El Naggar's own body of research contains nothing that would support the claim, which is perhaps unsurprising, as El Naggar's own specialization is in biostratifaction and not in the supposed 'stabilizing role of mountains'.

Interestingly, the respected and much more widely-published geologist Dr. David A. Young reportedly concluded precisely the opposite of what El Naggar suggests, differentiating between the mountains existence as a product of the collision and any supposed role they might be assumed to play in rendering the crust stable. It is perhaps important to note that, by stark contrast, none of El Naggar's scientific publications have been peer-reviewed.

{{Quote||While it is true that many mountain ranges are composed of folded rocks (and the folds may be of large scale) it is not true that the folds render the crust stable. The very existence of the folds is evidence of instability in the crust.<ref>{{citation|title=The Qur'an and the Bible in the Light of History & Science|author=Dr. William Campbell|chaper=Science and Revelation|url=https://www.answering-islam.org/Campbell/s4c2a.html|year=2002|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140217001308/https://www.answering-islam.org/Campbell/s4c2a.html|publisher=Middle East Resources|edition=2nd|ISBN=1-881085-03-01}}</ref>}}El Nagger also suggests that mountains stabilize the lithospheric plates by sinking into the asthenosphere.{{Quote|1=|2=The stabilization of lithospheric plates by mountains is effected by their sinking deeply into the zone of weakness of the Earth (the asthenosphere) as wooden pegs sink into the ground to stabilize the corners of a tent. Such a process of stabilization cannot take place without the presence of a viscous, plastic material under the outer rocky cover of the Earth, into which the mountains "roots" can float. In as much as the ship casts its anchor into the anchorage of a port to avoid the dangers of rolling and swaying by winds and waves, the Glorious Quran uses the term "Rawasi" (=moorings or firm anchors) to describe mountains. Such firm anchors do not only stabilize the lithospheric plates, but also the whole planet in its spinning around its own axis (nutation, recession, etc.).<ref name="El Naggar"></ref>}}

Critics also point out that cratons are stable regions of the earth's crust that are no longer subject to mountain building processes. These craton roots or keels form through the depletion of basaltic elements into the asthenosphere, leading to less dense material that sinks deeper into the mantle due to the lower buoyancy (i.e. the isostasy of the crust, that is, rather than of the mountains).<ref>Sankaran, A.V. - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/nov102001/1158.pdf|2=2011-10-02}} CURRENT SCIENCE] - VOL. 81, NO. 9, 10 NOVEMBER 2001 pp. 1158-1160</ref>

Critics also point out that, as early as the 1920s, scientists noted that earthquakes are concentrated in very specific and narrow zones arounds the planet (known as Wadati-Benioff zones). In 1954, French seismologist J.P. Rothé published a map showing the concentration of earthquakes along the zones indicated by dots and cross-hatched areas.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/zones.html|2=2011-10-02}} Earthquake zones] - U.S. Geological Survey</ref><center>[[File:Map_by_J.P._Rothé.gif|alt=|center|thumb|425x425px|J.P. Rothé's 1954 map]]</center>

Indeed, a mountainous region is often indicative of a high-earthquake frequency in the same area. Other examples of mountainous regions that are high-frequency earthquake zones include the Andes<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://web.archive.org/web/20050319232505/http://wwwshs1.bham.wednet.edu/curric/science/geophys/jacobson/ANDESMT.HTM|2=2011-10-02}} Andes mts.] - Volcanism and Plate Techtonics</ref> and the African mountains.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/reliefweb_pdf/node-100782.pdf|2=2011-10-02}} <!-- http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=248&ArticleID=3047 -->Earthquake Risk Alert for Africa's Mountain Regions] - United Nations Environment Programme, May 6, 2002</ref>

{{Quote|[{{Reference archive|1=http://asc-india.org/menu/gquakes.htm|2=2011-10-02}} Great Earthquakes]<BR>Amateur Seismic Centre|Strong and damaging earthquakes have been felt in all parts of the Indian Sub-continent. The most seismically active areas are those in the '''Himalayan regions''' of the sub-continent and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands due to the peculiar tectonic nature of these regions.}}Many of the the largest earthquakes, including the two largest earthquakes ever recorded, are associated with mountainous regions.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://asc-india.org/lib/world10.htm|2=2011-10-02}} 10 Largest Quakes -  Worldwide] - Amateur Seismic Centre</ref> The largest earthquake was the great Chilean earthquake, which occurred 140km south-south-west of Concepción (Biobio), Chile, registered at 9.5Mw – the Andes mountain range, evidently, did not prevent the earthquake or cause the region to be particularly stable.[[File:Chilean_Earthquake_of_1960.gif|alt=|thumb]]The second largest earthquake was the Prince William Sound earthquake, which occurred 33.2km SE of Mt. Goode (Alaska), U.S.A., registered at 9.2Mw – Mt Goode, nearby, was of no assistance. The sixth largest earthquake was the Ecuador earthquake, which occurred 138km west of Tortuga (Esmeraldas Province), Ecuador, registered at 8.8Mw – the nearby Andes mountain range was likewise of no assistance. The eighth largest earthquake was the Arunachal Pradesh, which occurred 20.7 kilometers NW of Tajobum (Arunachal Pradesh), India, registered at 6Mw –  this earthquake took place in the Assam hills and caused landslides in the mountains which, again, did not prevent or stabilize the earthquake. Such examples where formidable mountains and mountain ranges co-exist with earthquakes of immense magnitudes, critics point out, are abundant and thus undermine the idea that mountains stabilize the Earth or play any role in mitigating earthquakes.

{{Quote|[{{Reference archive|1=http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1960_05_22_articles.php|2=2011-10-02}} Historic Earthquakes]<BR>U.S. Geological Survey, March 29, 2010|Chile<BR>1960 May 22 19:11:14 UTC <BR>Magnitude 9.5 <BR>The Largest Earthquake in the World <BR><BR>More than 2,000 killed, 3,000 injured, 2,000,000 homeless, and $550 million damage in southern Chile; tsunami caused 61 deaths, $75 million damage in Hawaii; 138 deaths and $50 million damage in Japan; 32 dead and missing in the Philippines; and $500,000 damage to the west coast of the United States.}}The Andes Mountains did not prevent or stabilize this earthquake. On the contrary, later research revealed that the collision of tectonic plates that caused the earthquake also caused the Andes mountains to be raised. Similar earthquakes in the past are responsible for the existence of Andes in the first place. This collision even serves as a textbook example of the general phenomena, as can be seen below.{{Quote|[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.moorlandschool.co.uk/earth/tectonic.htm|2=2011-10-02}} Plate tectonics]<BR>Earth Science From Moorland School|This is a convergent plate boundary, the plates move towards each other. The amount of crust on the surface of the earth remains relatively constant. Therefore, when plates diverge (separate) and form new crust in one area, the plates must converge (come together) in another area and be destroyed. An example of this is the Nazca plate being subducted under the South American plate to form the Andes Mountain Chain.}}[[File:Platetecmap.gif|alt=|center]]

{{Quote|[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2004-03/1079354119.Es.r.html|2=2011-10-02}} Do plates with high moutains float higher then thosewithout moutains]<BR>David Smith, Director of Professional Development, MadSci Network, Earth Sciences, March 14, 2004|Isostacy, which says that any vertical column of the earth above some deep level of "compensation" must have the same mass. This has to do with bouyancy forces and with the tendency of deep materials (the asthenosphere, for example) to flow in response to pressure differences.}}

Another way the critics put it is that the phenomenon of isostasy is itself responsible for the stability of the crust - whether or not the crust is host to mountains in any given region. Isostasy stabilizes mountains, even terrain, and even indented regions on the Earth's surface. The Mountains do not cause this isostasy any more than isostasy causes mountains, as isostasy is co-occurrent with any variety of terrain - mountainous or otherwise. The co-occurrent isostasy is, however, responsible for the stability of the mountains as well as the crust, and not the other way around - that is, a region excepted from the norms of isostasy (as many are) will not be as stable, whether this region is mountainous or not. Isostasy is best understood as a phenomenon separate from the mountains altogether, as it is no more bound in the simple fact of its existence to the presence of mountains than it is to region of simple, flat crust (even if the specific form it takes in either of these cases is).

In response to the regular co-occurrence of earthquakes and mountains due to their related presence at tectonic fault-lines, advocates of the miracle sometimes argue that the word (''tameeda'') used in the Quran to describe the phenomenon which mountains, as pegs, prevent describes something altogether different from earthquakes. What this phenomenon is, they suggest, is not known, as it has not been observed, which may be due to the fact that it does not take place on a human timescale but rather, perhaps, a geological timescale (that is, over hundreds of thousands or millions of years). The argument is based upon the alternative meanings that the word ''tameeda'' can have, including 'stagger', 'roll', 'sway', and 'tilt', along with the idea that any geological phenomenon described by these alternative meanings of the word ''tameeda'' would be distinct from the short, sharp shock of an earthquake. This, the advocates hold, is important because the Quran deliberately opts not to use the word ''zalzala'' in these contexts, which is used elsewhere in the Quran to describe earthquakes.  

{{Quote|{{quran|31|10}}|He has created the heavens without supports that you can see, and has cast [''alqa''] onto the earth firm mountains [''rawasiya''] '''lest it should shake with you [''tameeda bikum'']'''...}}

Lane's lexicon defines this usage as 'Lest it (the earth) should be convulsed with you, and go round with you, and move you about violently. (El-Basáïr, TA.)'.<ref>[http://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/24_m/207_myd.html أَنْ تَمِيدَ بِكُمْ Lane's Lexicon]</ref> The other usages given by Lane which involves the ''bi-'' prefix are for ''mada bihil bahr'' (مَادَ بِهِ البَحْرُ), which means 'The sea affected him with a heaving of the stomach, &c. (L.)' and ''madat bihil ard'' (مَادَتْ بِهِ الأَرْضُ), which means 'The ground went round with him. (A.)'.<ref>[http://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/24_m/207_myd.html مَادَ بِهِ البَحْرُ & مَادَتْ بِهِ الأَرْضُ Lane's Lexicon]</ref>

Critics point out that all usages of the word ''tameeda'' that subsequently involve the ''bi-'' prefix (which means 'with') denote an effect upon humans. While other, not-human-related usages of words deriving from the root ''mada'' exist, the word ''tameeda'' followed by the prefix ''bi-'' always involves human beings. This, alongside the fact that two of the three verses using the phrase affix the ''bi-'' prefix with the ''-kum'' pronoun (which means '''you'' all'), makes it clear that whatever the Quran is describing here is somehow immediately relevant to humans and that humans are subject to it. Critics thus conclude that it makes no sense to assume that the Quran is here alluding to some phenomenon unknown to humans, as this interpretation is permitted neither by rational discussion, which requires the possibility of falsification, nor the constraints of the Arabic language. A useful analogy for the comparison between the words ''tameeda'' and ''zalzala'', critics suggest, is the difference between the English phrases 'seismic activity' and 'earth tremors'.

Some critics add that, perhaps even more importantly, that where the Quran uses the word ''zalzala'' to describe a geological phenomenon, it does so only in the context of the divine acts of destruction that will precede the Day of Judgement. This is different from the verses using the word ''tameeda'', which describe what would presently be taking place on Earth is God had not set the mountains down as stakes (that is, supposedly, common earthquakes).

{{Quote|{{quran|22|1}}|O mankind! Fear your Lord. Indeed, '''(the) convulsion [''zalzala''] (of) the Hour [that is, the Day of Judgement]''' (is) a thing great.}}{{Quote|{{quran-range|99|1|8}}|'''When is shaken [''zulzila'', passive form of the verb ''zalzala''] the earth (with) its earthquake [''zilzalaha'', the ''-ha'' suffix is a pronoun referring to 'the Earth']''', And brings forth the earth its burdens, And says man, "What (is) with it?" That Day, it will report its news, Because your Lord inspired [to] it. That Day will proceed the mankind (in) scattered groups to be shown their deeds. So whoever does (equal to the) weight (of) an atom good, will see it, And whoever does (equal to the) weight (of) an atom evil, will see it.}}

{{Quote|1=[http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=21&tid=32959 In everything there is a Sign of Him, showing that He is One]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=(And We have placed on the earth firm mountains,) means, mountains which stabilize the earth and keep it steady and lend it weight, lest it should shake with the people, i.e., move and tremble so that they would not be able to stand firm on it -- because it is covered with water, apart from one-quarter of its surface.}}A final point critics have made in this vein is that if it is the case that the phenomenon described as ''tameeda'' occurs on geological timescales imperceptible to humans, then it is difficult to see how mountains, which repeatedly form and disappear on geological timescales, could be responsible for the sustained stabilization of the planet's surface (the Earth having existed for some 4.5 billion years). Moreover, they close, if some such phenomenon was taking place on a geological timescale unbeknownst to humans, why would the Quran mention this? Surely, God would not intentionally speak of things that are incomprehensible to humans, as that would be absurd. At the very least, if the phenomenon described exists but is unknowable, and the Quran is not here making a simple scientific error in its assertions, then what these verses contain cannot be verified as a scientific miracle, for humans, in this case, have no way of verifying what the verses speak of.  

Some advocates of the miracles argue that while mountains do not directly stabilize the Earth's surface by functioning as pegs, their presence and the concomitant fact of the crust being thicker at certain locations due to isostasy results in an increased moment of inertia for the earth, thus reducing its rotational speed and axial tilt. Critics respond to this argument by pointing out that the relative impact of the denser crust at the locations of some mountains is infinitesimally small simply because the crust, even where it is thicker, weighs astronomically less than the Earth as a whole, which weighs 5.97*10²⁴ kgs, such that it has no significant impact on the Earth's rotational speed or axial tilt. While scientists have acknowledged the extremely minimal impact of the mountainous crust in these respects, they have also pointed out that the Earth's rotational speed and axial tilt are more impacted by small factors such as the Earth's distance from the moon and even by the ancient effect of the post-glacial rebound since the ice ages than they are by the mountains.

Critics also argue here that it is nearly impossible to correlate this stabilization effect, how minimally real it may be, with any remotely plausible interpretation of the relevant verses.

===Mountains and the absorption of seismic earthquake waves===

The above and similar studies are referenced by advocates as specific evidence of mountains stabilizing the Earth's crust and undermining seismic activity. Critics respond that although the phenomenon described has a limited stabilizing effect on certain regions favorably positioned vis-à-vis the mountain range, the mountains do not prevent the earthquake outright and, more importantly, that the limited stabilizing effect observed is only relevant if the inhabited area happens to be favorably positioned vis-à-vis the mountain range - this means that if, for instance, the city were located between the mountain and the fault line where the quake originated, even if the city was located near the foot of the mountain, then the destruction experienced by the city would not be reduced in any significant way. Critics have also stated that the dampening effect described above although real in some cases, is, yet again, not a phenomenon that can be described in any plausible way as being peg-like.