المركز الثقافي لدعوة الجاليات The Cultural Center for Foreigners’ Call

The Secrets of the Seas

Allah said: (He released the two seas, meeting [side by side]. Between them is a barrier [so] neither of them transgresses. (The Qur’an 55: 19-20) -The two verses stresses the barrier between two seas that prevent them from mingling with one another. Barriers between seas Allah said: (He released the two seas, meeting [side by side]. Between them is a barrier [so] neither of them transgresses. (The Qur’an 55: 19-20) -The two verses stresses the barrier between two seas that prevent them from mingling with one another. ( مَرَجَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ يَلْتَقِيَانِ. بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخٌ لا يَبْغِيَانِ )( الرحمن :19-20)

Water barriers between seas -Water barriers between converging seas were discovered by oceanographers for the first time in 1942 AD. -Water barriers prevent converging seas from mingling with one another and maintain their properties separately. -For example, Mediterranean Sea enters the Atlantic Ocean by Gibraltar but due to the barrier their water do not mix and their properties such as salinity, temperature and density do not change.

The Mediterranean sea water as it enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill with its own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics, because of the barrier that distinguishes between them. Temperatures are in degrees Celsius (C°). (Marine Geology, Kuenen, p. 43).

Allah said: (And it is He who has released the two seas, one fresh and sweet and one salty and bitter, and He placed between them a barrier and prohibiting partition. (The Qur’an 25: 53) -The verse addresses the barrier between the river with fresh and sweet water and the sea with salty and bitter water. Barriers between seas and rivers. Allah said: (And it is He who has released the two seas, one fresh and sweet and one salty and bitter, and He placed between them a barrier and prohibiting partition. (The Qur’an 25: 53) -The verse addresses the barrier between the river with fresh and sweet water and the sea with salty and bitter water. ( وَهُوَ الَّذِي مَرَجَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ هَذَا عَذْبٌ فُرَاتٌ وَهَذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخاً وَحِجْراً مَحْجُوراً ) ( الفرقان :53)

Barriers between seas and rivers -It has been discovered by modern science that fresh water of the rivers meet the salty water of seas to form partition zones of separation in estuaries. -The partition zone of separation in an estuary has different levels of salinity from that of the river and the sea increasing from the river side to the sea side. -Nowadays, satellites can take images for the area of estuaries to show us the boundaries of the three aquatic masses.

Longitudinal section showing salinity (parts per thousand ‰ ) in an estuary. We can see here the partition (zone of separation) between the fresh and the salt water. (Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, p. 301, with a slight enhancement.)

The Ganges River forms an extensive delta where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. (Credit: Image provided by the USGS EROS Data Center Satellite Systems Branch) A group of estuaries The Ganges River forms an extensive delta where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. (Credit: Image provided by the USGS EROS Data Center Satellite Systems Branch)

Who knows the secrets of the seas? -It was impossible at the time of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, 14 centuries ago, to see by naked eyes the barriers between two seas or the partition zones between seas and rivers. -Then who informed the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him about the sea secrets? Allah Who knows the secrets of the seas informed His prophet. Glory be to Allah.

Allah said: (Or [they are] like darknesses within an unfathomable sea which is covered by waves, upon which are waves, over which are clouds - darknesses, some of them upon others. When one puts out his hand [therein], he can hardly see it.) (The Qur’an 24: 40) Darkness and internal waves in seas Allah said: (Or [they are] like darknesses within an unfathomable sea which is covered by waves, upon which are waves, over which are clouds - darknesses, some of them upon others. When one puts out his hand [therein], he can hardly see it.) (The Qur’an 24: 40) ( أَوْ كَظُلُمَاتٍ فِي بَحْرٍ لُجِّيٍّ يَغْشَاهُ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ سَحَابٌ ظُلُمَاتٌ بَعْضُهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ إِذَا أَخْرَجَ يَدَهُ لَمْ يَكَدْ يَرَاهَا ) ( النور : من الآية 40)

Darkness in seas -Modern Oceanography explored the darkness of deep seas. There is almost no light after the depth of 200m and light disappears completely at 1000m depth. -Man can not dive deeper than 40m without submarine equipments so it was impossible to know the darkness of the sea below 200m 14 centuries ago at the time of Qur ’ an revelation. Yet the Qur ’ an mentioned it to prove that it is from Allah Who knows the secrets of the sea.

Between 3 and 30 percent of the sunlight is reflected at the sea surface. Then almost all of the seven colors of the light spectrum are absorbed one after another in the first 200 meters, except the blue light. (Oceans, Elder and Pernetta, p. 27.)

Internal waves in seas -Modern Oceanography discovered the types of sea waves, the surface waves and the internal waves that occur between layers of different water densities. Surface waves are over internal waves and clouds over them as the Qur ’ an described. -Internal waves are not seen but they can be detected by special equipments that were not available when the Qur ’ an was revealed yet the Qur ’ an addressed them to know that it is from Allah the All-Newer.

Internal waves at interface between two layers of water of different densities. One is dense (the lower one), the other one is less dense (the upper one). (Oceanography, Gross, p. 204.)

The Secrets of the Sea

Addressee Rep. of Yemen – Sana ’ a – Hada St. – Next to Qatar Airways Tel : Fax: Mobil: P.O. Box: 5034 Account in Tadhamon International Islamic Bank Main Branch - No. (191637) Main Branch - No. (191637)