[Al-Quran 50:6-8] Have they not looked at the heaven above them - how We structured it and adorned it and how it has no rifts? And the earth - We spread it out and cast therein firmly set mountains and made grow therein [something] of every beautiful kind, Giving insight and a reminder for every servant who turns [to Allah].

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

The Flood

Related Posts:
Origins of Water

Abstract
Marvelling at the factual accuracy of the description of the Flood of Noah as evidenced through natural phenomenon. 

Full Text

وَهِيَ تَجْرِي بِهِمْ فِي مَوْجٍ كَالْجِبَالِ وَنَادَىٰ نُوحٌ ابْنَهُ وَكَانَ فِي مَعْزِلٍ يَا بُنَيَّ ارْكَب مَّعَنَا وَلَا تَكُن مَّعَ الْكَافِرِينَ
قَالَ سَآوِي إِلَىٰ جَبَلٍ يَعْصِمُنِي مِنَ الْمَاءِ قَالَ لَا عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ وَحَالَ بَيْنَهُمَا الْمَوْجُ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُغْرَقِينَ
وَقِيلَ يَا أَرْضُ ابْلَعِي مَاءَكِ وَيَا سَمَاءُ أَقْلِعِي وَغِيضَ الْمَاءُ وَقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ وَاسْتَوَتْ عَلَى الْجُودِيِّ وَقِيلَ بُعْدًا لِّلْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ
[Q11:42] And it sailed with them on the waves like mountains, and Nuh called out (to) his son, and he was [in] apart, "O my son! Embark with us and (do) not be with the disbelievers."
[Q11:43] He said, "I will betake myself to a mountain, (that) will save me from the water." He said, "(There is) no protector today from the Command of Allah except, (on) whom He has mercy." And came (in) between them the waves, so he was among the drowned.
[Q11:44] And it was said, "O earth! Swallow your water, and O sky! Withhold." And subsided the water, and was fulfilled the Command. And it rested on the Judi. And it was said, "Away with the people the wrongdoers."
[Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] 


In the description of the Flood of Noah, the Qur'an 11:42 states that the waves were like mountains. In recent history, we have witnessed the Tsunami.  Q11:44 informs us that after the flood, the water subsided. High and low tides daily display the phenomenon, most dramatically at the Bay of Fundy. During the 12.4-hour tidal period, 115 billion tonnes of water flow in and out of the bay.

Celestial origins and Earthly stores of water, water disappearing underground, and the future heating of the seas have been explored, in the light of other ayaahs of the Qur'an, in earlier blogposts.


Mountain
A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area, usually in the form of a peak. The tallest and shortest registered terrestrial mountains are Mount Everest (8,848 metres (29,029 ft)) and Mount Wycheproof (43 metres (141 ft)). 

Tsunami 
[Quote] A tsunami (plural: tsunamis or tsunami; from Japanese: 津波, lit. "harbor wave"; English pronunciation: /tsuːˈnɑːmi/) , also known as a seismic sea wave, is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. ... Unlike normal ocean waves which are generated by wind or tides which are generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of water.

Tsunami waves do not resemble normal undersea currents or sea waves, because their wavelength is far longer. Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead initially resemble a rapidly rising tide, and for this reason they are often referred to as tidal waves, although this usage is not favored by the scientific community because tsunamis are not tidal in nature. Tsunamis generally consist of a series of waves with periods ranging from minutes to hours, arriving in a so-called "internal wave train". Wave heights of tens of meters can be generated by large events. Although the impact of tsunamis is limited to coastal areas, their destructive power can be enormous and they can affect entire ocean basins; the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was among the deadliest natural disasters in human history with at least 230,000 people killed or missing in 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean. 
...
In the 1950s, it was discovered that larger tsunamis than had previously been believed possible could be caused by giant submarine landslides. These rapidly displace large water volumes, as energy transfers to the water at a rate faster than the water can absorb. Their existence was confirmed in 1958, when a giant landslide in Lituya Bay, Alaska, caused the highest wave ever recorded, which had a height of 524 metres (over 1700 feet).
...
Animation of tsunami caused by the earthquake showing how it radiated from the entire length of the 1,600 km (990 mi) rupture
[Unquote]  

The Qur'an states that the waters which caused the flood came from within the Earth and from the sky. There is already some evidence of the celestial origin of water. Massive underground reserves of water have been discovered, and in recent history thousands of rivers have disappeared from the face of the Earth. 

It is believed that the earliest known Tsunami occured due to the Storegga Slide about 8,000 years ago. It is thought that it could have been triggered by catastrophic expansion of methane hydrates. 

Currently, the Earth's cryosphere is shrinking. Of particular concern should be the Arctic permafrost, which is melting dramatically, and massive methane releases have been recorded. For details and links, please read: When the Seas Boil


Big Waves 
Tsunamis are rare events, which very few people have seen and lived to tell the tale. However, Big Waves that Surfers ride on can be witnessed at many places in the world.


By Shalom Jacobovitz (SJ1_8558) 
[CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons 


Waters Receded
After a Tsunami, the waters recede. At low tide also waters recede. A dramatic example of waters receding is on display daily at some locations, most notably at the Bay of Fundy, Canada.

Hopewell Rocks Official Time Lapse Video 

Bay of Fundy: Tides
[Quote] The Bay of Fundy is known for its high tidal range. The quest for world tidal dominance has led to a rivalry between the Minas Basin in the Bay of Fundy and the Leaf Basin in Ungava Bay, over which body of water lays claim to the highest tides in the world, with supporters in each region claiming the record.

The Canadian Hydrographic Service finally declared it a statistical tie, with measurements of a 16.8-metre (55-foot) tidal range in Leaf Basin for Ungava Bay and 17 meters (56 feet) at Burntcoat Head for the Bay of Fundy. The highest water level ever recorded in the Bay of Fundy system occurred at the head of the Minas Basin on the night of October 4–5, 1869 during a tropical cyclone named the “Saxby Gale”. The water level of 21.6 meters (71 feet) resulted from the combination of high winds, abnormally low atmospheric pressure, and a spring tide.

Leaf Basin has only been measured in recent years, whereas the Fundy system has been measured for many decades. The tide at Leaf Basin is higher on average than tides at Minas Basin; however, the highest recorded tidal ranges ever measured are at Burntcoat Head and result from spring tides measured at the peak of the tidal cycle every 18 years.

Traditional Mi'kmaq folklore states that the tides in the Bay of Fundy are caused by a giant whale splashing in the water. Oceanographers attribute it to tidal resonance resulting from a coincidence of timing: the time it takes a large wave to go from the mouth of the bay to the inner shore and back is practically the same as the time from one high tide to the next. During the 12.4-hour tidal period, 115 billion tonnes of water flow in and out of the bay.

The tides in the Bay of Fundy are semidiurnal, which means that they have two highs and two lows each day. The height that the water rises and falls to each day during these tides are approximately equal. There are approximately six hours and thirteen minutes between each high and low tide.
[Unquote]

Last updated on: September 10, 2016

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Pairs of Glaciers

Creation in Pairs


Related posts:


Abstract
Expressing wonder at pairs of glaciers in parallel rows, their ability to grow, and the local wisdom of growing artificial glaciers by pairing male and female glaciers.    


Full Text
The Bible mentions Living Water in  Jeremiah 2:13 and 17:13, Zechariah 14:8 and John 4:10.

The Qur’an claims that God created everything on Earth in pairs:

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَزْوَاجَ كُلَّهَا مِمَّا تُنبِتُ الْأَرْضُ وَمِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَمِمَّا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ 
Glory be (to) the One Who created (in) pairs all of what grows the earth and of themselves, and of what not they know. 
[Al-Quran 36:36 , Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] 

Everything in Pairs
The ayahs preceding Q36:36 present examples from what we classify as living things:
[Al-Quran 36:33-35, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)]And a Sign for them (is) the earth dead. We give it life and We bring forth from it grain, and from it they eat. And We placed therein gardens of date-palms and grapevines, and We caused to gush in it of the springs, That they may eat of its fruit. And not made it their hands. So will not they be grateful?

Water is essential for all life forms. After drawing attention to the central role of water to life forms, and stressing the need for gratitude, Q36:36 goes on to state:

[Al-Quran 36:36 , Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] Glory be (to) the One Who created (in) pairs all of what grows the earth and of themselves, and of what not they know.

The ayahs following Q36:36 present examples of pairs of what we classify as non-living:  
[Al-Quran 36:37-40, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] And a Sign for them (is) the night. We withdraw from it the day. Then behold! They (are) those in darkness. And the sun runs to a term appointed for it. That (is the) Decree (of) the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing. And the moon - We have ordained for it phases until, it returns like the date stalk, the old. Not the sun is permitted for it - that it overtakes the moon, and not the night (can) outstrip the day, but all in an orbit they are floating.

Pairs of Glaciers
[Al-Quran 35:27, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] Do not you see that Allah sends down from the sky water, then We bring forth therewith fruits (of) various [their] colors? And in the mountains (are) tracts, white and red (of) various [their] colors, and intensely black (some photos at the bottom).

I used to think that Q35:27 referred only to the shades of minerals and stones in the mountains. In the photo below, parallel rows of two types of glaciers can be seen in the foreground: pure white glaciers and brownish mud-covered glaciers. Both co-exist side by side.  







Near the North Face of Nanga Parbat, Himalayas
Photo courtesy: Usman Yacoob 
Dated: August 18-20, 2016 

وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ شَامِخَاتٍ وَأَسْقَيْنَاكُم مَّاءً فُرَاتًا 
And We made therein firmly set mountains lofty, and We gave you to drink water - sweet?
[Al-Quran 77:27, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)]



Male & Female Glaciers

وَنَزَّلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً مُّبَارَكًا فَأَنبَتْنَا بِهِ جَنَّاتٍ وَحَبَّ الْحَصِيدِ
And We have sent down from the sky water blessed, then thereby gardens and grain (for) the harvest,
[Al-Quran 50:9, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] 


The triliteral root bā rā kāf (ب ر ك) occurs 32 times in the Quran, and is generally translated as blessed or blessings. As discussed in Water Disappearing Underground:  
Interestingly, Surah Al-Mulk (Sovereignity, chapter 67) which begins with the words: 'Tabaraka allathee' meaning 'He who causes to grow meaningfully' i.e. from the present to a better future, also poses the same question at the very end: 
قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَصْبَحَ مَاؤُكُمْ غَوْرًا فَمَن يَأْتِيكُم بِمَاءٍ مَّعِينٍ
[Pickthall 67:30] Say: Have ye thought: If (all) your water were to disappear into the earth, who then could bring you gushing water?



The local people say that the pure white glaciers (centre row in above image) are female, while the mud/debris covered brownish glaciers are male.    


Growing Artificial Glaciers
Many areas of the HinduKush, Karakoram and Himalayas do not have flowing water several months of the year, such as in Gilgit-Baltistan  and Ladakh. This has led to the practice of growing artificial glaciers.

Interestingly, where there is only one type of glacier, the glacier does not grow. To grow a glacier, both kinds of glaciers are needed in equal amounts.

Though much more research is needed before scientists may even be willing to consider assigning a gender to ice or water, the following links present an interesting insight into what the indigenous people ‘know’ since centuries:


Chewang Norphel (built twelve artificial glaciers in Ladakh)



Water 
Water, the basis of all life forms, is a wondrous substance, and the world is just beginning to discover the amazing properties of water.

[Al-Quran 21:30, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] Do not see those who disbelieved that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, then We parted them and We made from [the] water every living thing? Then will not they believe? 

[Al-Quran 18:45, Translation: Literal (Word by Word)] And present to them the example (of) the life (of) the world, like water which We send down from the sky, then mingles with it (the) vegetation (of) the earth then becomes dry stalks, it (is) scattered (by) the winds. And Allah over every thing (is) All Able. 
    
I think that similar to the way we use electricity to code, record and transfer, water serves the same purpose in creation. There is emerging research on the properties of water, such as memory. This field of study is termed Digital Biology. I think our understanding will be radically changed once we begin to understand water and what all can be done with water.   

Electricity and related gadgets have already been assigned gender roles in Electrical and Mechanical trades.  

-------------------------

Photos
Compare the photos of the rocks, the glaciers and the mountain range - how similar the diversity of colours is across all photos!

Photos of a Rock


 

Origin of rocks unknown
Photo taken on September 12, 2016


Aerial View of a Mountain Range 






Photos taken on August 21, 2016



Blood Falls, Antarctica
Photo dated November 26, 2006
Attribution



Last updated on: January 26, 2019