In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
(We swear by the Altor mountain (1) And decree inscribed (2) In scroll which is unfolded (3) And Al-Baitul Ma'moor
(Celestial structure resembling and directly above the Holy Ka'ba in heaven) (4) And heavens elevated (5) And seas sitting on bed of fire (6)) The Mount
To grasp the splendor in this verse we must examine the Arabic Adjective used for the sea in the Quranic text which is cSLfQ" ", pronounced "masjoor". The word is used for something which lies on, and is subsequently heated by, combustion or heat of some other substance underneath.
For centuries, Arabs and Muslims were mystified and could not comprehend how fire and water could co-exist.
Then came modern age geology and the discovery of faults in Earth's crust; an intricate interconnected network of seemingly separate faults stretching for hundreds of kilometers and going 65-150 kilometers deep into earth. It being one major fault is plainly stated in another verse where God Almighty swears by the Earth and the Fault in its structure. Scientists have come to liken this fault to an intricate design welded around the sphere of a tennis ball.
The cracks allow molten lave to gush through so that there is constant collision between cool sea water. Too much heat for the water to quell and too much water, even for temperatures of over 1000 centigrade, to be turned into steam, this is a phenomenon astounding scientists till today.
In one experiment, Russian Geologist Anatol Sbagovich, Russian Geologist and Biologist Yuri Bagdanov and US scientist Rona Clint ventured 1750 kilometers off the coast of Miami and then boarded a sophisticated submarine and descended two miles below surface. The submarine rested on the end of a rock shelf and the submarine's acrylic window was the only barrier between them and scorching hot water springing from cracks at the seabed at temperatures around 231 centigrade.
The team noticed cool surface water rushing down to about a mile deep before it heats up and springs up again taking along debris and some molten matter. Science proved that this is a phenomenon to be found in all seas and oceans, though it is more frequent in certain places.
It was also found that volcanoes are more numerous and more active under water and that volcanoes stretch the entire seabed. With insufficient oxygen at such great depths, the lava gushing through is black-hot with no direct combustion. This serves as a tray, if you will, which heats up by the heat of lava underneath and heats up sea water, the exact image rendered in the Quranic diction and Arabic adjective cSLfQ"".
Great is His glory!
