| The Earth
The verses of the Qur'an dealing with the Earth are dispersed throughout the Book. It is difficult to classify them. These verses are largely general in their application and constitute an invitation extended to men to reflect on divine Beneficence by pondering on the examples provided
Although these verses provide arguments intended to lead man to meditate on the Beneficence of God towards His creatures, here and there they contain statements that are interesting from the point of view of modern science. They are perhaps especially revealing by virtue of the fact that they do not express the varied beliefs concerning natural phenomena that were current at the time of the Qur'anic Revelation. These beliefs were later to be shown by scientific knowledge to be mistaken. On the one hand, these verses express simple ideas readily understood by to those people to whom, for geographical reasons, the Qur'an was first directed: the inhabitants of Makka and Madina, the Bedouins of the Arabian Peninsula. And on the other, they contain reflections of a general nature from which a more cultivated public of any time and place may learn something instructive, once it starts to think about them: this is a mark of the Qur'an's universality.
(God) is the One who made the earth a couch for you and the heavens an edifice, and sent down water from the sky. He brought forth therewith fruits for your sustenance. Do not join equals with God when you know (2:22)
Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, in the disparity of night and day, in the ship which runs upon the sea for the profit of mankind, in the water which God sent down from the sky thereby reviving the earth after its death, in the beasts of all kinds He scatters therein, in the change of the winds and the subjected clouds between the sky and earth, are Signs for people who are wise (2:164)
(God) is the One who spread out the earth and set therein mountains standing firm and rivers. For every fruit He placed two of a pair. He covers the day with the night. Verily in this there are Signs for people who reflect (13:13)
The earth, We spread it out and set thereon mountains standing firm. We caused all kind of things to grow therein in due balance. Therein We have provided you and those you do not supply with means of subsistence and there is not a thing but its stores are with Us. We do not send it down save in appointed measure (15:19-21)
(God is) the One Who has made for you the earth like a cradle and inserted roads into it for you. He sent water down from the sky and thereby We brought forth pairs of plants, each separate from the other. Eat! Pasture your cattle ! Verily in this are Signs for people endued with intelligence (20:53-54)
He Who made the earth an abode and set rivers in its interstices and mountains standing firm. He placed a barrier between the two seas. Is there any divinity besides God? Nay, but most people do not know (27:61)
Here a reference is made to the general stability of the Earth's crust. It is known that at the early stages of the Earth's existence before its crust cooled down, the earth was unstable. The stability of the Earth's crust is not however strictly uniform, since there are zones where earthquakes intermittently occur. As to the barrier between the two seas, it is an image, which signifies that the waters of the great rivers and the waters of the sea do not mix at the level of certain large estuaries.
(God is) the One Who made the earth docile to you. So traverse through its tracts and enjoy of His sustenance, which he furnishes for you! Unto Him will be the Resurrection (67:15)
After that (God) spread the earth out. Therefrom He drew out its water and its pasture. And the mountains He has firmly fixed. Goods for you and for your cattle (79:30-33)
In many such verses, emphasis is duly laid upon the importance of water and the practical consequences of its presence in the earth's soil leading to its fertility. It goes without saying that in desert countries, water is the most significant element governing man's survival. The reference in the Qur'an, however, goes beyond this geographical detail. According to scientific knowledge the substantial character of the planet we live in as being rich in water is unique to the solar system. Without water, the Earth would be a dead planet like any other planet in our solar system. The Qur'an gives, therefore, first and foremost importance to water among the natural phenomena of the Earth. The water cycle is described with remarkable accuracy in the Qur'an.
THE WATER CYCLE AND THE SEAS
When the verses of the Qur'an concerning the role of water in man's existence are read in succession today, they all appear to us to express ideas that are quite obvious. The reason for this is simple: in our age, we all, to a lesser or greater extent, know about the water cycle in nature but the various concepts the ancients on this subject were not in accordance with the Quranic concept. For many centuries man held totally inaccurate views on the water cycle. Two specialists on this subject, G. Gastany and B. Blavoux, in their entry in the Universalis Encyclopedia (Encyclopedia Universalis) under the heading Hydrogeology (Hydrogéologie), give an edifying history of this problem.
"In the Seventh century B.C., Thales of Miletus held the theory whereby the waters of the oceans, under the effect of winds, were thrust towards the interior of the continents; so the water fell upon the earth and penetrated into the soil. Plato shared these views and thought that the return of the waters to the oceans was via a great abyss, the 'Tartarus'. This theory had many supporters until the Eighteenth century, one of whom was Descartes. Aristotle imagined that the water vapour from the soil condensed in cool mountain caverns and formed underground lakes that fed springs. He was followed by Seneca (1st Century A.D.) and many others, until 1877, among them O. Volger . . . The first clear formulation of the water cycle must be attributed to Bernard Palissy in 1580. he claimed that underground water came from rainwater infiltrating into the soil. This theory was confirmed by E. Mariotte and P. Perrault in the Seventeenth century. However, in the following passages from the Qur'an, there is no trace of the mistaken ideas that were current at the time of Muhammad:
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