“There is not a single line in the Bible or the Qur’an that couldn’t have been authored by a first century person”
Sam Harris
Well lets see this verse from the 55th chapter of the Qur’an.
“He has let free (maraja) the two seas meeting together: Between them is a barrier which they do not transgress.” (Qur’an 55:19-20)
This was a difficult verse for the early commentators. Traditionally, there have been two major interpretations of this verse. One opinion states that according to the literal meaning of the term maraja, seas do meet and mix with each other. But the fact the Qur’aan goes on to state that there is barrier between them, means that this barrier will simply prevent the seas from encroaching upon each other or flooding over each other.
Proponents of the second opinion ask how could there be a barrier between the seas so that they do not encroach upon each other, while the verse indicates that the seas meet together? They concluded that the seas simply do not meet and sought another meaning for the term maraja, but now modern science provides us with enough information to settle this issue. The seas do meet together but they also do not freely mix with each other.
“Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity, and density.”
(Principles of Oceanography - Davis, pp. 92-93)
For example, Mediterranean sea water is warm, saline and less dense, compared to Atlantic ocean water. When Mediterranean sea water enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill, it moves several hundred kilometers into the Atlantic at a depth of about 1,000 meters with its own warm, saline and less dense characteristics. The Mediterranean water stabilizes at this depth
(Principles of Oceanography p. 93).
Even in depths up to 1,400 meters and at distances ranging from a minus -100 to +2,500 meters, we find that both bodies of water maintain their individual temperatures and salinity.
Although there are large waves, strong currents, and tides in these seas, they do not mix or transgress this barrier.
Now lets look at another verse
“He is the one who has let free the two bodies of flowing water, one sweet and palatable, and the other salty and bitter. And He has made between them a barrier and a forbidding partition.” (Qur’an 25:53)
Interestingly when the Qur’an speaks about the divider between fresh and salt water, it mentions the existence of “a forbidding partition” with the barrier.
On may ask, why did the Qur’an mention the partition when speaking about the divider between fresh and salt water, but did not mention it when speaking about the divider between the two seas?
Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different from what is found in places where two seas meet. It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a “pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers.” (Oceanography p. 242)
This partition (zone of separation) has a different salinity from the fresh water and from the salt water (Oceanography p. 244 and Introductory Oceanography pp. 300-301)
This information has been discovered only recently using advanced equipment to measure temperature, salinity, density, oxygen dissolubility, etc. The human eye cannot see the difference between the two seas that meet, rather the two seas appear to us as one homogeneous sea. Likewise the human eye cannot see the division of water in estuaries into the three kinds: the fresh water, the salt water, the partition (zone of separation).
“Soon will We show them our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that thy Lord is witness over all things?” 41:53
