Page 83 - Allah is Known through Reason

world was a flat plane and all scientific calculations and explanations were

based on this belief. However, since the Qur'an is Allah's word, the most
correct words are used in it while describing the universe.

THE FUNCTION OF MOUNTAINS

According to geological findings, the mountains have arisen as a
result of the movements and clashes of huge plates constituting the crust
of the earth. These plates are enormously big and carry all the continents.
When two plates collide, one usually slides under the other and the debris
in between is raised up. The big curves in the compressed debris form the
mountains by being elevated higher than their surroundings. In the mean-
time, the protrusion that constitutes mountains proceeds under the ground
as well as over the ground. That means that mountains have a portion
stretching downwards as large as their visible portion. These extensions of
mountains below ground prevent the crust of the earth from sliding on the
magma layer or between its own layers.
As this explanation makes clear, one of the most significant charac-
teristics of mountains is their formation at the conjunction points of the
earth's plates that are closely pressed together as they come near and their
"fixing" them. That is, we may liken mountains to nails that keep wood
pieces together.
Moreover, the pressure the mountains exert on the crust of the earth
with their enormous mass prevents the magma movements in the core of

the earth from reaching the earth and destroying the earth's crust. The cen-
tral layer of the earth, called the core, is an area made up of substances
melted in temperatures rising to thousands of degrees. Movements in the
core cause detachment regions to form between the plates making up the
earth. The mountains that form in these regions obstruct the upward
movements and protect the world from violent earthquakes.
It is very interesting to note that these technical facts discovered by
modern geology in our day were revealed in the Qur'an centuries ago. In
a verse on the mountains, it is declared in the Qur'an:
He created the heavens without any pillars that you can see; He set on

Scientific Facts and the Miracle of the Qur’an 83