Nassir H. Sabah
1. Internal oceans waves (Quran 24:40): “Or like darkness in a deep sea, covered by waves with waves above them and clouds above them…”
أَوْ كَظُلُمَـٰتٍ فِى بَحْرٍ لُّجِّىٍّ يَغْشَىٰهُ مَوْجٌ مِّن فَوْقِهِۦ مَوْجٌ مِّن فَوْقِهِۦ سَحَابٌ
Oceans can be stratified, that is, have layers of lower density water above layers of higher density water because of differences in temperature and/or salinity. This occurs, for example, at river outlets where warm brackish water from the river forms a layer above that of the cold salty water of the ocean. In the open seas stratification can occur because of temperature differences due to warming of surface waters by the Sun or due to other factors. When the layer structure is disturbed, internal waves are generated at the boundary between two layers, just like disturbing the surface of a water body, as when throwing a stone into a pond for example, generates waves between the adjacent layers of water and air.
The occurrence of internal ocean waves between stratified layers in deep waters was confirmed less than 100 years ago.
2. Fire tornados (Quran 2:266): “…and a whirlwind with a fire therein burning it (a garden)…”
فَأَصَابَهَآ إِعْصَارٌ فِيهِ نَارٌ فَٱحْتَرَقَتْ… …
Fire tornados, which consist of a burning core surrounded by a rotating pocket of air, were first observed in Australia in 2003 and later in California in 2018.
3. Rose-like planetary nebulas (Quran 55:37): “When the sky splits, so it becomes a rose, varicolored like ointments.” فَإِذَا ٱنشَقَّتِ ٱلسَّمَآءُ فَكَانَتْ وَرْدَةً كَٱلدِّهَانِ
A star that is comparable in size to our Sun fuses hydrogen into helium in its core, releasing energy that balances gravity’s inward pull. Once the hydrogen fuel in the core is exhausted, the core, now primarily helium, begins to contract and heat up. The heat from the contracting core causes the outer layers of the star, still containing hydrogen, to expand and cool, transforming the star into a red giant. As the core temperature rises further, helium fusion begins, converting helium into carbon and oxygen. After the helium is exhausted, the core contracts again, and the outer layers of the star are ejected in a huge cloud of gas and dust known as a planetary nebula, composed mostly of hydrogen and some helium.
Depending on how they were formed and the cosmic influences they have been subjected to, some of the planetary nebulas have a remarkable rose-like appearance, such as the Rosette Nebula and the Cat’s Eye Nebula, also known as the Sunflower Nebula. These nebulas have been photographed by NASA and appear like roses in the sky, just as stated explicitly in Verse 37, Chapter 55. The ejection of the outer layers of the star is referred as “splitting of the sky”.
4. Heavy. mountainous clouds. Clouds can be up to 20 km high and can weigh as much as 1000 tons. This is quite nonintuitive, as clouds seem to float in air, so one would not think of them as heavy objects. Yet the Quran speaks of heavy clouds (سَحَابٌ ثِقَال) in two verses:
Verse 57, Chapter 7: “He it is Who sends the winds as glad tidings ahead of His Mercy, so that when they bear heavy clouds, We may drive them toward a land that is dead, and send down water upon it, and thereby bring forth every kind of fruit…”
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُرْسِلُ ٱلرِّيَـٰحَ بُشْرًۢا بَيْنَ يَدَىْ رَحْمَتِهِۦ ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَقَلَّتْ سَحَابًا ثِقَالًا سُقْنَـٰهُ لِبَلَدٍ مَّيِّتٍ فَأَنزَلْنَا بِهِ ٱلْمَآءَ فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِۦ مِن كُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ…
Verse 12, Chapter 13: “He it is Who shows you lightning, arousing fear and hope, and Who produces heavy-laden clouds.”
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُرِيكُمُ ٱلْبَرْقَ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَيُنشِئُ ٱلسَّحَابَ ٱلثِّقَالَ
Moreover, Verse 43, Chapter 24, of the Quran states: “…and He sends down hail from mountains of clouds in the sky…”
…وَيُنَزِّلُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مِن جِبَالٍ فِيهَا مِنۢ بَرَدٍ…
The verse not only refers to mountainous clouds but explicitly associates hail production with such clouds.
5. Spider’s Web. The usual spider’s web for housing is built by the adult female spider. Verse 41, Chapter 29, of the Quran mentions: “…the spider that makes a house…”
… ٱلْعَنكَبُوتِ ٱتَّخَذَتْ بَيْتًا…
In Arabic, the word spider is in the singular and the verb gender is feminine, which unmistakably indicates that it is the female spider that builds the web for housing. More details are given in the article, “Spider’s Web” under Insights/Supplements/Miraculous Verses on this website.
6. Building of the Egyptian pyramids. A plausible theory was proposed by a French scientist, Joseph Davidovits, that the stone blocks of the Egyptian pyramids were cast on site from a mixture concocted by the Egyptians of limestone and other ingredients.
In Verse 38, Chapter 28, of the Quran the Pharoh orders his chief functionary, Haman: “…so kindle me a fire, O Haman, to bake the mud and build me a high tower so that I may climb it to see the God of Moses…”
…فَأَوْقِدْ لِى يَـٰهَـٰمَـٰنُ عَلَى ٱلطِّينِ فَٱجْعَل لِّى صَرْحًا لَّعَلِّىٓ أَطَّلِعُ إِلَىٰٓ إِلَـٰهِ مُوسَىٰ.
More details are given in the article, “Building of the Egyptian Pyramids” on this website under Insights/Supplements/Miraculous Verses.
7. Verse 4, Chapter 13, can be translated as: “And of Earth are pieces side by side…”
وَفِى ٱلْأَرْضِ قِطَعٌ مُّتَجَـٰوِرَٰتٌ…
This is an explicit reference to the tectonic plates of Earth. More details are given in the article, “Tectonic PLates” on this website under “Insights/Supplements/Miraculous Verses”.
