Page 271 - Allah's Miracles in the Qur'an

Harun Yahya

used to produce geothermal energy and save energy by using heat
pumps.
When the water sucked up from the soil meets an impermeable
underground layer, it collects there and forms a water source. This
water is then brought to the surface by the artesian method. Artesian
springs are formed by sedimentary rocks that can store underground
water.
The fact that artesian wells are drilled in rocky areas runs parallel

to the description in the Qur'an. Given that Allah commanded Prophet
Musa (as) to strike the rock, Surat al-A`raf 160 may be indicating this
method. (Allah knows best.) The verb idrib, translated as "strike," can
also mean "to raise, to open." Thus, this verse may be describing a water
source being opened by the raising of the rock. As a result, pressurized
water may have emerged, as described in the verb inbajasa (to pour out,
flow freely, bubble up, flow), just as happens with artesian wells. If suf-
ficient pressure forms, water can continue to flow to the surface with-
out the need for a pump.
It is particularly striking that current solutions for dealing with
water scarcity use underground water resources. In fact, one of the
most effective methods of doing so is the artesian well. In other words,
we might be copying Prophet Musa's (as) example of striking or lifting
the rock without even knowing it. Surat al-A`raf 160 may therefore be
a reference to artesian wells, the first of which was opened in 1126 in
the French region of Artois. (Allah knows best.) Water level

A closed artesian aquifer is confined by
an overlying impermeable body of rock, Permeable stratum
which prevents any water from filtering
Artesian well
down into the aquifer. Instead, water
enters the tilted aquifer layer through a
recharge area, where the aquifer rock is
exposed at higher elevations. The flow
in an artesian aquifer resembles water
flowing through a J-shaped tube. Water
added on the tube's long side provides
enough pressure to drive the water
upward on the tube's shorter side. Impermeable rocks

269