Page 72 - Allah's Miracles in the Qur'an

Allah's Miracles in the Qur'an

The Qur'an draws attention to a very important geological func-

tion of mountains:
We placed firmly embedded mountains on the Earth, so it would not
move under them… (Qur'an, 21:31)
The verse states that mountains perform the function of prevent-
ing shocks in the Earth. This fact was not known by anyone at the time
the Qur'an was revealed. It was, in fact, brought to light only recently,
as a result of the findings of modern geological research.
Formerly, it was thought that mountains were merely protrusions

rising above the surface of the Earth. However, scientists realised that
this was not actually the case, and that those parts known as the moun-
tain root extended down as far as 10-15 times their own height. With
these features, mountains play a similar role to a nail or peg firmly
holding down a tent. For example, Mount Everest, the summit of which
stands approximately 9 km above the surface of the Earth, has a root
deeper than 125 km (77.7 miles). 25
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 beneath proceeds under the ground
and makes a deep extension downward. Consequently, as stated earli-
er, 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 fol-
lows:
Where continents are thicker, as in mountain ranges, the crust sinks deep-
er into the mantle. 26
Professor Siaveda, a world-renowned underwater geologist, made

the following comment in reference to the way that mountains have

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