UNDERGROUND WATERS AND WATER CYCLE

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UNDERGROUND WATERS AND WATER CYCLE

21- Do not you see that God sends down water from the sky and places it into 
underground springs. 
39-The Throngs, 21 

The rainfall and its role in our lives as mentioned in the Quran give us correct 
information. Had we been living in some other periods of history, we could not 
have grasped it. Now we are in a position to understand this, as the world?s 
water cycle has been made clear by the 
knowledge provided by contemporary science. If we compare the ancient lore about 
water with the information contained in the Quran, we realize that the Quran?s 
communications are free from errors, as always. 

Let us take up the verse of the Quran that speaks of the formation of 
underground waters as a consequence of the rainfall (sura 39, verse 21). Was 
this fact, which is no mystery for us today, as clear in the minds of the 
ancients as it is in ours? Two specialists, G.Castany and B. Blavoux, give the 
following account: ?According to Thales, the waters of the ocean that gushed out 
in the air by the pressure exerted by winds blowing from the depths of 
continents fell back down, penetrating the earth. Plato shared this view and 
believed that its return to the ocean was caused by a huge whirlpool. Aristotle 
contended that the vapor that rose from the earth condensed in the cool recesses 
of mountains, forming subterranean lakes and spring waters that were fed by 
these lakes. The first significant discovery of water?s perpetual cycle was by 
Bernard Palissy in 1580. According to him, underground springs were formed by 
the penetration of rain water into the earth.? 

The view adopted during the Middle Ages was Aristotle?s. According to this 
erroneous view, water springs were fed by underground lakes. Remenieras gives 
the following account: ?The concepts of purely philosophic character about the 
natural phenomena related to waters had to wait until the Renaissance in order 
to yield their places to impartial observations. In the Renaissance, Leonardo da 
Vinci (1452- 1519) argued against the assertions of Aristotle. Bernard Palissy 
in his work ?Discours admirables sur la nature des eaux, des fontaines, de la 
terre, etc.? gives a clear account of water?s perpetual cycle with special 
reference to feeding of underground springs by rainwater.? The knowledge that 
underground springs were fed by rainwater provided in the Quran was first 
postulated in the 16th century in Europe against Aristotle?s contention. The 
prominent figures of philosophy like Thales, Plato and Aristotle had made errors 
in the accounts they gave of water. Muhammad in the desert, who had no other 
claim than that of being a messenger of God, proved to be correct when he 
uttered the related statements of the Quran. 

203- Say: ?I follow only what my Lord reveals to me.? These are enlightenments 
from your Lord, and guidance, and mercy for those who believe. 
7-The Purgatory, 203

RAINWATER PURE TO DRINK 
68- See you the water which you drink? 
69- Do you bring it down from the clouds or do We? 
70- If We wish, We can make it salty. You should be thankful. 
56-The Inevitable, 68-70 

All sorts of details related to the water cycle have been impeccably designed by 
God. The physical laws and the chemistry of water reflect the fine calculations 
behind it. The fact that rainwater contains no salt is again a blessing. We saw 
that the rain was the consequence of evaporation of water. More than 90% of 
water that evaporates has, in its origin, oceans and seas with salt waters. The 
rules that govern the evaporation of water are arranged in order that the water 
is purified and disposed of its salt content and other impurities. The water of 
oceans and seas is not potable, while rainwater is, thanks to the evaporation 
process. 

In the Quran, reference is made to pure water coming from above. 
48- ?And we send down pure water from the sky? 
25-The Distinguisher, 48 

The Quran informs us that water was created after the formation 
of the earth. 
31- From it, He produced its own water and pasture. 
79-The Snatchers, 31. 

At the time of the Quran?s descent, the first stages of creation of the earth 
were a mystery. The fact that the emergence of water on the surface of the earth 
was a phenomenon that took place after the creation of the earth, as mentioned 
in the Quran, is a miraculous statement. The earth in the beginning was 
extremely hot. As it gradually cooled down, heavy metals like iron settled in 
its center, while granite and oxides remained at the upper layers. As a result 
of the cooling, an outermost solid layer formed. When the surface temperature 
fell below 100 degree Celsius, the water in the depths rose to the surface, 
forming the oceans and seas. This emergence of water is in perfect accord with 
the account given in the Quran.

PROPERTIES OF WATER 
The proportion of water on the earth is of great importance. Had lands extended 
into an expanse larger than the seas, the difference between night and day 
temperatures would have been higher and the greater portion of the living space 
would turn into a desert. The fact that waters form more than 70% of the surface 
of the earth is the result of an intelligent design. Had the water displayed 
disintegrative properties like certain acids during chemical reactions or 
remained unaffected like argon, it could not perform its function in the 
universe and in our bodies. Chemical laws have special applications for water, 
so essential for life. All other substances, whether solid or liquid, contract 
as they grow cooler. The volume of a substance in solid state is smaller and 
denser. Water, however, has quite different characteristics. Water, like any 
other substance, contracts until the temperature drops down to +4 degrees 
Celsius. Nevertheless, as the temperature continues to fall, it begins expanding, 
unlike other substances. That is, its volume increases. When it freezes, it 
expands still further. That is why it floats on the surface instead of sinking. 
All other substances behave differently; in solid state they sink. Thanks to 
special chemical relations proper to water, life becomes possible in the seas. 
Had the density of ice been greater than the density of water, the frozen water 
in lakes and seas would have sunk. And as there would be no layer of ice on the 
surface, the freezing process would continue upward. In this way, the depth of 
the oceans, seas and lakes would be transformed into mountains of ice and when 
the temperature in the atmosphere became warmer only a thin layer of water would 
thaw; thereby the aquatic life would come to an end.

MARVELLOUS CHAIN AND WEAKEST LINK 
The other chemical properties of water are such that they allow life to 
perpetuate. Thanks to its chemical properties, plants carry water from the 
depths of the soil up to the top of large trees (which distance can be measured 
in meters). If the surface tension of water were low, as in the case of many 
other liquids, the plants could not absorb water. This would be the end of the 
vegetation and animal kingdom. 

We have so far covered many essential subjects vital for our life on earth. The 
subjects covered ranged from the precise regulation of the velocity of the atom 
in the aftermath of the primeval explosion to our remoteness from the sun, from 
the features of the atmosphere to Van Allen belts, from the surface temperature 
of the earth to the heat in the depths of the earth; the least change in any one 
of these creations would be the end of our lives. Our life depends on a chain of 
phenomena with thousands of links, each one being in perfect order and of 
extremely complex structure. This chain may break at its weakest link. So, the 
chain?s life entirely depends on that particular link. Supposing that each of 
the prerequisites making life possible displayed excellent performance of its 
function; if a seemingly insignificant event like water?s tension were ignored, 
our life would vanish. All these minutiae are so many evidences of precise 
calculation by our Creator, Omnipotent and Omniscient.

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