By: Moulana Aneesur Rahman Nadvi

In the previous chapter, we presented a detailed discussion about the discovery of the vast underground ocean. Through a comparative study of modern scientific researches and the hadiths, we had see there how fascinating creations of the Almighty Allah exists in the inner folds of our Planet Earth, one of which is the existence of layers of oceans of water and fire one below the other, i.e., the existence of ocean of fire beneath our known ocean of water; then the presence of one more ocean of water beneath the ocean of fire; and again existence of second ocean of fire beneath the second ocean of water. This discussion also showed that there exits complete agreement between hadiths and modern scientific discoveries in this regards.

There is one more aspect of the new scientific research. This aspect is related to the origin of Earth’s water. Scientists involved in this research are of the view that the origin of water found on the Earth’s surface could be this hidden underground ocean. Its source could not be comets, meteoroids or asteroids, as it was believed to be till know. This new theory of the scientists about the origin of the Earth’s water too corroborates completely with one of the verse of the Holy Qur’an. Therefore, this new scientific research corroborates the statements of Holy Qur’an and hadith on multiple accounts. First, we will present a brief discussion on the early and modern scientific theories about the origin of Earth’s water; the arguments contested in this regard, and lastly we will discuss the statements of the Holy Qur’an.

There is more liquid water on Earth than on any other rocky planets or moons of our solar system. About 71 percent of Earth’s surface is covered with water while 29 percent is occupied by the continents. About 97 percent of earth’s water is found in its oceans and the remaining three percent is found in rivers, glaciers and other water bodies on its surface. There are irrefutable evidences that liquid water has existed on the Planet Earth for at least 3.8 billion years. In next 0.4 billion years so much water was accumulated on the Earth’s surface that the Earth became a blue planet covering the whole planet with water. From where did all this water come and what is the source of Earth’s water? This is a matter of debate between scientists.

Scientists continue to debate two competing theories in this regard. The first theory suggests that Earth’s water might have been captured from asteroids and comets that collided with Earth coming from other parts of the universe. Comets partially contain water in the form of ice. In the early history of Planet Earth, comets largely collided with the Earth. After these comets collided and destroyed on the surface of the Earth, the water confined it them shattered in the atmosphere in the form of vapor, and it came down on the Earth’s surface in the form of rain.

According to second theory, the source of Earth’s water is our Planet itself, i.e., the Earth’s water came from its inner layers. According to scientists, the water was always present in the rocks of the Earth’s mantle and was gradually released to the surface through volcanoes. According to this theory, when our solar system was initially formed, the clouds of dust and gases around the sun from which our and other planets of our solar system were formed already contained traces of water. Initially this water was confined in the upper layers of Earth and the atmosphere. The water present in the upper layers of our Planet came back to the surface of Earth through volcanoes. And the water found in the form of vapour in the atmosphere also came down to the surface in the form of rain.1

Chemical analysis of the gases emerging from volcanoes from various parts of the world has shown that the gases of these volcanoes contain more than 70% of water, while the remaining 30% contain other gases. Important among these gases are carbon dioxide, hydrogen, hydrochloric acid (chlorine acid), nitrogen, hydrogen fluoride, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane and ammonia.

These two theories about the origin of Earth’s water have equally been contested between scientists. Some scientists believe that both these theories might have played their own role in this regard, i.e., some of the Earth’s water might have come from comets while the other might have come from Earth’s inside. But due to the new scientific discovery, the scientists are now inclined towards the view that the source of Earth’s water might have been this gigantic hidden ocean. Hence this discovery proved to be a remarkable and the most decisive one in this regard.

According Jacobsen, a scientist involved in this research, the hidden water might also act as a buffer for the oceans on the surface, explaining why they have stayed the same size for millions of years.2

Origin of Earth’s Water from Qur’anic Perspective
Now, let us study the Holy Qur’an in the light of this modern scientific discovery. The Qur’an has pointed towards this universal fact in an eloquent manner. This ayah is as follows:

He extracted from it, its water and its pasture. (Qur’an, 79:31)

The context of this ayah of Surah Naziyat in which it has been revealed discusses about the creation of Planet Earth and how the Almighty Allah at the outset has flattened the Earth? How was the atmosphere of the Planet formed? How He has stabilized Earth by erecting mountains on it? And how He has extracted its water and pasture from it and made it livable and suitable for life? Hence this ayah is clearly and lucidly speaks about the fact that the Earth’s water had originated from its inside. This is an important statement of the Holy Qur’an which is bringing forth its scientific marvel.

Complete Water Cycle of Earth
According to the scientists, this modern scientific discovery has finally unearthed a complete water cycle of hydrologic cycle. The water cycle describes the continuous movement of water on and below the surface of the Earth. It starts right from the mantle. It travels hundreds of kilometers from there to reach the oceans and continents of Earth’s surface through volcanoes. The sun heats water in oceans and seas. Water evaporates from the surface of the earth as water vapor into the air, rises into the atmosphere, cools and condenses into rain or snow in clouds, and falls again to the surface as precipitation. In this way, only a small portion of the water moves from one reservoir to the other. If the entire water from the underground ocean would come out on Earth’s surface, the entire planet would be submerged in water, but the purpose of creation would be shattered. Similarly, if the Earth’s water would have evaporated in large quantities instead of evaporating in specific and required quantities, it would have been resulted in heavy and devastating rains, resulting in the increase in the frequency and intensity of floods and cyclones and would have again destroyed the natural systems and foiled the purpose of creation. Hence each and every creation and phenomenon of the nature bring forth manifestations of moderation and objectivity, hinting at the artistry, craftsmanship and handiwork of a Creator.

In a nutshell, at a time when this new scientific discovery is helping the scientists in finding new facts and evidences about Earth’s creation, and also assisting them in solving mysteries of the creation, it is bringing forth the scientific marvels of Holy Qur’an and hadith as well, and providing new arguments of their being revelations from the Almighty.

Footnotes:
1- The Mighty Oceans, Readers Digest.
2- The Guardian, UK, 13 June 2014.