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The Quran and Mountains: Difference between revisions
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Again, mountain formation is described in all these verses only as a past event. However, according to modern science, mountains were not placed or cast into the earth's surface, but rather they are byproducts of an ongoing process driven by [[w:Plate tectionics|plate tectonics]] in which continental and oceanic crust plates slowly move over time, driven by 1) mantle convection currents, 2) by ridge push as buoyant magma upwells at oceanic ridges, and 3) by slab pull, as the leading edges of plates sink at subduction zones, cooling and pulling the rest of the plate behind. A number of processes can result in the gradual formation and disappearance of mountain ranges (often accompanied by earthquakes). Such processes include when the collision of two continental plates results in a thickening of the crust, or when an oceanic plate subducts underneath a continental plate, resulting in volcanic mountain formation and an accretionary wedge, or mountains formed by fault blocks or tilted block faulting (see illustrations below). Eventually, erosion causes the mountain range to disappear as has happened many times over the eons. The implication of the Quranic verses are instead that Allah cast or placed mountains by special creation in certain locations rather them being a byproduct of a larger ongoing process (tectonic movements). | Again, mountain formation is described in all these verses only as a past event. However, according to modern science, mountains were not placed or cast into the earth's surface, but rather they are byproducts of an ongoing process driven by [[w:Plate tectionics|plate tectonics]] in which continental and oceanic crust plates slowly move over time, driven by 1) mantle convection currents, 2) by ridge push as buoyant magma upwells at oceanic ridges, and 3) by slab pull, as the leading edges of plates sink at subduction zones, cooling and pulling the rest of the plate behind. A number of processes can result in the gradual formation and disappearance of mountain ranges (often accompanied by earthquakes). Such processes include when the collision of two continental plates results in a thickening of the crust, or when an oceanic plate subducts underneath a continental plate, resulting in volcanic mountain formation and an accretionary wedge, or mountains formed by fault blocks or tilted block faulting (see illustrations below). Eventually, erosion causes the mountain range to disappear as has happened many times over the eons. The implication of the Quranic verses are instead that Allah cast or placed mountains by special creation in certain locations rather them being a byproduct of a larger ongoing process (tectonic movements). | ||
Some critics also note that in another verse, {{Quran|41|10}} discussed above, Allah placed (jaʿala) on the earth mountains "from above it" (min fawqiha من فوقها), though almost all | Some critics also note that in another verse, {{Quran|41|10}} discussed above, says Allah placed (jaʿala) on the earth mountains "from above it" (min fawqiha من فوقها), though almost all modern official translations interpret the Arabic simply to mean the mountains are above the earth's surface.<ref>See a variety of official translations of ''[https://quranx.com/41.10 Verse 41:10 on Quranx.com]''. Note that not all do; see Ahmad Khan and Hilali & Khan,</ref> Either interpretation seems possible based on how the preposition with noun are used in [https://quranx.com/Analysis/Root/fa-waw-gaf some other verses] - see for example {{Quran|6|65}}, {{Quran|29|55}} or {{Quran|33|10}}, though on the other hand {{Quran|39|16}} and {{Quran|39|20}}. | ||
==Mountains as pegs== | ==Mountains as pegs== | ||
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===Refers to the earth as a whole=== | ===Refers to the earth as a whole=== | ||
While it is common today to interpret the above verses as a reference to earthquakes, it is far more likely that they refer to the earth as a whole. Since the author of these verses would have known that earthquakes do in fact occur, including in Arabia itself, it is unlikely that he would have described mountains as being created lest people suffer earthquakes. The most natural reading is that "the earth" (al-ard) in these verses refer to the entire Earth, | While it is common today to interpret the above verses as a reference to earthquakes, it is far more likely that they refer to the earth as a whole. Since the author of these verses would have known that earthquakes do in fact occur, including in Arabia itself, it is unlikely that he would have described mountains as being created lest people suffer earthquakes. The most natural reading is that "the earth" (al-ard) in these verses refer to the entire Earth. This is especially clear in {{Quran|31|10}} and {{Quran-range|21|30|31}} in which the heavens are mentioned immediately beforehand, and fits with the verse discussed above in which mountains are described as pegs or stakes. | ||
The poem quoted above attributed to the pre-Islamic poet al-Muhalhil links the mountains (rawāsiya, like in these verses of the Quran) to the shifting/convulsing (with the same verb as these verses) of the entire earth. Similarly, the myth of [[The Islamic Whale]] on which the Earth rests according to some hadiths was narrated in terms of mountains holding down the earth to stop it moving on the back of the whale. | |||
Verses which do seem to describe earthquakes use the words zalzalah ({{Quran|22|1}} and {{Quran|99|1}}), or rajfatu ({{Quran|7|78}}, {{Quran|73|14}}). In contrast, the verses which state that Allah cast or placed the mountains to prevent the earth from shaking use the word tamīda, discussed in the next sub-section below. | Verses which do seem to describe earthquakes use the words zalzalah ({{Quran|22|1}} and {{Quran|99|1}}), or rajfatu ({{Quran|7|78}}, {{Quran|73|14}}). In contrast, the verses which state that Allah cast or placed the mountains to prevent the earth from shaking use the word tamīda, discussed in the next sub-section below. | ||
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{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||5|44|3369}}|Anas bin Malik narrated that: | {{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||5|44|3369}}|Anas bin Malik narrated that: | ||
The Prophet said: “When Allah created the earth, it started shaking [tamīdu]. So He created the mountains, and said to them: ‘Upon it’ so it began to settle. [...]}} | The Prophet said: “When Allah created the earth, it started shaking [tamīdu]. So He created the mountains, and said to them: ‘Upon it’ so it began to settle. [...]}}Prominent Qur'anic commentator [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Kathir Ibn Kathir] also says in his tafsir: | ||
{{Quote|{{cite web| url=https://quranx.com/tafsirs/16.15| title=Tafsir Ibn Kathir 16.15}}|...then Allah mentions the earth and how He placed in it mountains standing firm, which make it stable and keep it from shaking in such a manner that the creatures dwelling on it would not be able to live. Hence Allah says, (And the mountains He has fixed firmly.) (79: 32)...}} | |||
Similarly, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafsir_al-Jalalayn Tafsir Al-Jalalayn,]another prominent Sunni commentary says: | |||
{{Quote|{{cite web| url=https://quranx.com/tafsirs/15.19 | title=Tafsir Al-Jalalayn 15.19}}|And the earth We have stretched it out, spread it flat, and cast therein firm mountains, lest it should sway beneath its inhabitants, and caused to grow therein every kind of balanced thing, [every kind of thing] known and determined.}} | |||
====The meaning of tamīda (move, convulse, incline to one side)==== | ====The meaning of tamīda (move, convulse, incline to one side)==== | ||
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*[[Scientific Miracles in the Quran]] | *[[Scientific Miracles in the Quran]] | ||
*[[Scientific Errors in the Quran]] | *[[Scientific Errors in the Quran]] | ||
==External Links== | |||
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IAPPvDs8qg Sherif Gaber - Are mountains like Pegs?] - ''YouTube Video'' | |||
*[https://atheism-vs-islam.com/index.php/hoaxes-of-the-quranic-miracles-and-predictions/66-muslim-claim-it-was-a-miracle-of-quran-to-tell-that-mountains-are-pegs Mountains are Pegs (Quranic Miracle turning into a huge Quranic Scientific Mistake)] - ''athiesm-vs-islam.com article on the subject'' | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||