Page 318 - General Knowledge from the Qur'an

316 GENERAL KNOWLEDGE FROM THE QUR'AN

function of preventing shocks in the Earth.
This fact was not known by anyone at the time the Qur'an was re-
vealed. It was in fact brought to light only recently as a result of the
findings of modern geology.
According to these findings, mountains emerge as a result of the
movements and collisions of massive plates forming the Earth's crust.
When two plates collide, the stronger one slides under the other, the
one on the top bends and forms heights and mountains. The layer be-
neath proceeds under the ground and makes a deep extension down-
ward. That means that mountains have a portion stretching
downwards, as large as their visible parts on the Earth.
In a scientific text, the structure of mountains is described as follows:
Where continents are thicker, as in mountain ranges, the crust sinks
deeper into the mantle. 2
In a verse, this role of the mountains is pointed out by a comparison
with "pegs":
Have We not made the earth as a bed and the mountains its pegs?
(Surat an-Naba', 6-7)
Mountains, in other words, clench the plates in the Earth's crust to-
gether by extending above and beneath the Earth's surface at the con-
junction points of these plates. In this way, they fix the Earth's crust,
and prevent it from drifting over the magma stratum or among its
plates. Briefly, we may liken mountains to nails that keep pieces of
wood together.
This fixing function of the mountains is described in scientific litera-
ture by the term "isostasy". Isostasy means the following:
Isostasy: general equilibrium in the Earth's crust maintained by a yield-
ing flow of rock material beneath the surface under gravitational stress. 3
This vital role of mountains, that was discovered by modern geology
and seismic research, was revealed in the Qur'an centuries ago as an
example of the supreme wisdom in Allah's creation.
We placed firmly embedded mountains on the earth, so it would
not move under them... (Surat al-Anbiya', 31)