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3)
And
the Mountains as Pegs
Allah (SWT) says: “Have we not made the earth as a wide expanse, and the
mountains as pegs?” (78: 6-7)
The Verse indicates
that mountains are pegs for the earth. A peg has part of it above the surface
of the earth and the bulk of it underground; its function being stabilizing
something else. Geographers and geologists, however, define the mountain as a
landmass that projects conspicuously above its surroundings and is higher than
a hill.[44]
Professor Zaghlul El-Naggar says: “All
current definitions of mountains are confined only to the outer morphology of
such landforms, without the slightest notion to their subsurface extensions
which have lately proved to be several times their outward height.”[45]
Then he adds: “This
fact started to come to light only in the middle of the nineteenth century,
when George Airy (1865) proposed that the enormously heavy mountains are not
supported by a strong rigid crust below, but that they ‘float’ in a ‘sea’ of
dense rocks.”
Airy’s theory became an
actual fact because of the progressive knowledge of the internal structure of the
earth by means of seismic measurements. It has become definitely known that
mountains have roots extending deep in the ground and may be up to fifteen
times the height of the outward protrusions above ground, and the mountains
play a significant role in halting the horizontal jerky movement of the lithospheric plates. This role started to be understood in
the framework of plate tectonics in the late 1960.
section.
Mountains, like pegs, have deep roots embedded in the ground. (Anatomy of
the Earth, Cailleux, p.220)
Another illustration
shows how mountains are peg-like in shape, due to their deep roots. (Earth
Science, Tarbuck and Lutgens, p.158) Professor Zaghlul defines mountains in the light of this modern
information by saying: “Mountains are merely the tops of great masses of rock,
floating in a more dense substratum as icebergs float
in water.”[46]
The Qur’an describes mountains in respect of their shape and
function. Allah (SWT) says: “And the mountains as
pegs.” (78: 7) and “He set on the earth mountains
standing firm, lest it should shake with you.” (3: 10) and “And we have set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest
it should shake with them, and we have made therein broad ways (between
mountains) for them to pass through; that they may receive guidance.” (
Mountains are pegs
with respect to the earth’s surface, for as most of a peg is hidden in the
ground for stabilization, the bulk of a mountain is hidden underground to
stabilize the earth’s crust.
Moreover, as ships are
anchored with anchors that are sunk in water, the earth’s crust is stabilized
by its mountains with their roots extending in the mantle, a semi-liquid sticky
layer upon which the earth’s crust floats.
The commentators (May
Allah bestow His Mercy upon them) observed these meanings, when interpreting
Allah’s saying: “And the mountains as pegs.”
Following are some examples:
1.
Ibn al-Jawzi said: “And the mountains as pegs,” for the earth lest it
should shake.[47]
2.
Al-Zamakhshari[48] said: “And the mountains as pegs,” means we stabilized it
with mountains as a house is stabilized with peg. Al-Qurtubi said: “And the mountains as pegs,” in order that the earth
may get stable and may not overturn its population.[49]
3.
Abu Hayyan said: “And the mountains as pegs,” means we have stabilized
it with pegs, as a house is fixed with pegs.[50]
4.
Al-Shawkani[51] said: “And the mountains as pegs,” means we have made
mountains as pegs for the earth to get clam and not to shake, as a house is
stabilized with pegs.[52]
The
When Allah (SWT)
created the continents they appeared in the form of a thin solid crust floating
on magma. They began to shake and get restless; therefore, Allah (SWT) created
the volcanic mountains that were formed from under the crust, the rocks being
cast outside the surface of the earth to come back attracted by the earth and
accumulated gradually to form mountains. The accumulated masses would exert
their weights on the mantle sending into it their roots of mountainous matter,
which cause the earth’s crust to be stabilized and balanced.
In the Saying of Allah
(SWT): “He set on the earth mountains
standing firm.” (31: 10) there is an allusion to the way the volcanic
mountains were formed, i.e. by casting their matter out of the earth’s interior
upwards and then bringing it down to settle on the earth’s surface.
A
tradition of the Messenger (Peace be upon him) describes this method. Anas Ibn Malik[53] narrated that the
Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: “When Allah created the earth it started shaking. Then He
created the mountains bringing them down upon it…”[54]
Note the saying of the
Prophet (Peace be upon him) which illustrates the way
of creating mountains: “bringing them down upon it,”
i.e. their creation was by their coming out of the earth and their returning
onto it.
The Aspects of the
Miracle
Mountains do not
reveal the form of pegs or anchors. They just appear as prominent masses
elevated upon the earth’s surface, as they are defined by geographers and
geologists. Nobody can know their peg-like shape or anchor shape unless he
knows their portions that submerge into the plastic matter of the mantle. It
had been impossible for anybody to imagine any such things before the
appearance of Sir George Airy’s theory in 1855 AD.
Who, then, told
Muhammad (Peace be upon him) of the function of mountains and that they serve
as pegs and anchors, a fact hidden from people till 1960 AD?
Did the Messenger
(Peace be upon him) witness the process of creating the earth while it was
shaking? Or the formation of the volcanic mountains through being cast out of
the earth’s interior and brought back to settle on the earth?
Is this not sufficient
proof that this knowledge is a Revelation from Allah (SWT) to His Messenger,
the illiterate Prophet, Who came from an illiterate nation at an age when
superstitions and myths were prevalent?
It is the scientific
proof that the source of this Qur’an is the Creator
of the earth and the mountains, the Knower of the secrets of the heavens and the
earth Who says: “Say: The (Qur’an) was sent down by Him Who knows the mystery (that
is) in the heavens and the earth. Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
(XXV: 6)
[44] Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate
Dictionary.
[45] El-Naggar, Zaghlul R, The Geological Concept of Mountains in the Holy Qur’an, Muslim World League Press, Makkah al–Mukarramah, Saudi
Arabia, 1412 AH/1992 AD, p.3.
[46]Ibid., p. 45. He adds: “A mountain with an average gravity
of 2.7 (that of granite) can sink into a layer of plastic simatic
rock (with an average specific gravity of about 3.0) until the range is
floating with a “root”’ of about nine-tenths, and a mountain of one-tenth its
total volume. In some cases, the ratio of the mountain’s “root” to its
elevation can go up to 15:1, depending on its rock composition.
[47] Zad al-Masir.
[48] Muhammad Ibn ‘Umar Ibn Muhammad al-Khwarizmi
al-Zamakhshari. He was experienced in language,
rhetoric and commentary. He adopted the ideology of I’tizal
and defended it. Among his works is al-Kashshaf in Tafsir, and other books. He died in 538 AH. The present
quotation is taken from al-Kashshaf.
[49] Al-Jami’ li Ahkam
al-Qur’an.
[50] Al-Bahr al-Muhit.
[51] Muhammad Ibn Ali
al-Shawkani al-Yemeni, a famous scholar. He has books on Tafsir, and al-Darari al-Mudia; al-Sayl al-Jarrar and others. He died in 1250 AH in Sana’a.
[52] Al-Shawkani, Fath al-Qadir.
[53] Anas Ibn
Malik Ibn al-Nadr
al-Khazraji al-Ansari, Abu Thumamah or Abu Hamzah, the
Companion of Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him), and his servant. He related
a large number of hadiths. He traveled to |
