Land to water ratio miracle in the Qur'an

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According to some apologists, the Qur'an describes the ratio of land to water on Earth. That is approximately 71.8% water and 29.2% land [1]. This ratio isn't stated anywhere in the Qur'an, but according to apologists, the ratio is supposed to be hidden in a ratio of word counts.

The counted words are al-barr (ٱلْبَرّ) for "land" and al-bahr (ٱلْبَحْرِ) for "water", but the word al-bahr actually means "the sea".

Al-Barr - land

The trilateral root of the word بَرّ (barr) is برر (b-r-r). From this root we can derive many words. Besides "land", there is the meaning of "righteousness" and "kindness". Al-Barr (The Most Kind) is one of the names of Allah [2]. The word barr consists of only two letters ب (b) and ر (r), but there is a shadda sign above the ر, which makes it double length in pronunciation (رّ - rr). Above the ب is a fatha sign which determines the barr vowel (بَ).

This is the list of all the occurrences of words with the root برر in the Qur'an:

Count Verse Word in Arabic Transliteration Translation
1 2:44 بِٱلْبِرِّ bi-al-birri in righteousness
2 2:177 ٱلْبِرَّ al-birra the righteousness
3 2:177 ٱلْبِرَّ al-birra the righteous
4 2:189 ٱلْبِرُّ al-birru the righteousness
5 2:189 ٱلْبِرَّ al-birra the righteous
6 2:224 تَبَرُّوا۟ tabarroo you do good
7 3:92 ٱلْبِرَّ al-birra the righteousness
8 3:193 ٱلْأَبْرَارِ al-abrari the righteous
9 3:198 لِّلْأَبْرَارِ lil-abrari for the righteous
10 5:2 ٱلْبِرِّ al-birri the righteousness
11 5:96 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 1
12 6:59 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 2
13 6:63 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 3
14 6:97 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 4
15 10:22 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 5
16 17:67 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 6
17 17:68 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 7
18 17:70 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 8
19 19:14 وَبَرًّا wa-barran and dutiful
20 19:32 وَبَرًّا wa-barran and dutiful
21 27:63 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 9
22 29:65 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 10
23 30:41 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 11
24 31:32 ٱلْبَرِّ al-barri the land 12
25 52:28 ٱلْبَرُّ al-barru the Most Kind
26 58:9 بِٱلْبِرِّ bil-birri for righteousness
27 60:8 تَبَرُّوهُمْ tabarroo-hum you deal kindly
28 76:5 ٱلْأَبْرَارَ al-abrara the righteous
29 80:16 بَرَرَةٍ bararatin dutiful
30 82:13 ٱلْأَبْرَارَ al-abrara the righteous
31 83:18 ٱلْأَبْرَارِ al-abrari the righteous
32 83:22 ٱلْأَبْرَارَ al-abrara the righteous

The -i ending in al-barri means that the word is in the genitive case.

There is no question about this word count. There are clearly 12 occurrences of this word. They are all exactly the same forms. There are no prefixes, no plural and dual forms, no differences in diacritics, like in word counts for other words. And all other words from the same rott have a totally different meaning. Rarely the word count is so clear.

Al-Bahr - sea (not water)

Count Verse Word in Arabic Transliteration Translation Number
1 2:50 ٱلْبَحْرَ al-bahra the sea singular
2 2:164 ٱلْبَحْرِ al-bahri the sea singular
3 5:96 ٱلْبَحْرِ al-bahri the sea singular
4 5:103 بَحِيرَةٍ baheeratin Bahirah * singular
5 6:59 وَٱلْبَحْرِ wal-bahri and the sea singular
6 6:63 وَٱلْبَحْرِ wal-bahri and the sea singular
7 6:97 وَٱلْبَحْرِ wal-bahri and the sea singular
8 7:138
9 7:163
10 10:22
11 10:90
12 14:32
13 16:14
14 17:66
15 17:67
16 17:70
17 18:60
18 18:61
19 18:63
20 18:79
21 18:109
22 18:109
23 20:77
24 22:65
25 24:40
26 25:53
27 26:63
28 27:61
29 27:63
30 30:41
31 31:27
32 31:27
33 31:31
34 35:12
35 42:32
36 44:24
37 45:12
38 52:6
39 55:19
40 55:24
41 81:6
42 82:3
  • In the verse 5:103, Bahira is a name for a she-camel. [3]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8o.html
  2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Islam
  3. ↑ Muhsin Khan provides explanation in his translation of this verse: "Allah has not instituted things like Bahirah (a she-camel whose milk was spared for the idols and nobody was allowed to milk it) or a Sa'ibah (a she-camel let loose for free pasture for their false gods, e.g. idols, etc., and nothing was allowed to be carried on it), or a Wasilah (a she-camel set free for idols because it has given birth to a she-camel at its first delivery and then again gives birth to a she-camel at its second delivery) or a Ham (a stallion-camel freed from work for their idols, after it had finished a number of copulations assigned for it, all these animals were liberated in honour of idols as practised by pagan Arabs in the pre-Islamic period). But those who disbelieve invent lies against Allah, and most of them have no understanding."
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