Page 64 - Perished Nations
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natural gas and general conflagration. The subsidence released volcanic
                  forces that had been lying dormant deep down along the whole length of
                  the fracture. In the upper valley of the Jordan near Bashan there are still
                  towering craters of extinct volcanoes; great stretches of lava and deep lay-
                  ers of basalt have been deposited on the limestone surface. 17
                  National Geographic makes the following comment:
                  The mount of Sodom, a barren wasteland, rises sharply above the dead sea.
                  No one has ever found the destroyed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, but
                  scholars believe that they stood in the Vale of Siddim across from these
                  cliffs. Possibly flood waters of the Dead Sea engulfed them following an
                  earthquake. 18

                  Pompeii Had a Similar End

                  The Qur’an tells us in the following verses that there is no change in
               Allah’s laws:
                  They swore their strongest oaths by Allah that if a warner came to them,
                  they would follow his guidance better than any (other) of the Peoples: But
                  when a warner came to them, it has only increased their flight (from right-
                  eousness) - On account of their arrogance in the land and their plotting of
                  Evil, but the plotting of Evil will hem in only the authors thereof. Now are
                  they but looking for the way the ancients were dealt with? But no change
                  wilt thou find in Allah's way (of dealing): no turning off wilt thou find in
                  Allah's way (of dealing). (Surat al-Fatir: 42-43)
                  Yes, "no change will be found in Allah’s way (rules)". Everybody, who
               stands against His laws and rebels against Him, is subject to the same
               divine law. Pompeii, the symbol of the degeneration of the Roman Empire,
               was also involved in sexual perversity. Its end was similar to that of the
               people of Lut (as).
                  The destruction of Pompeii came by means of the eruption of the vol-
               cano Vesuvius.
                  The volcano Vesuvius is the symbol of Italy, primarily the city of Naples.
               Remaining silent for the last two millennia, Vesuvius is named the
               "Mountain of Warning". It is noteworthy that Vesuvius is known as such.
               The disaster that befell Sodom and Gomorrah is very similar to the disas-
               ter that destroyed Pompeii.
                  To the right of Vesuvius lies Naples and to the east lies Pompeii. The


                    Harun Yahya
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