Surah Al-Furqan, Ayah 53

The universality of the Prophet's Message, how He was supported in His Mission and Allah's Blessings to Mankind

Allah says:

وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَبَعَثْنَا فِى كُلِّ قَرْيَةٍ نَّذِيراً

(And had We willed, We would have raised a warner in every town.) `Calling them to Allah, but We have singled you out, O Muhammad, to be sent to all the people of earth, and We have commanded you to convey the Qur'an,'

لاٌّنذِرَكُمْ بِهِ وَمَن بَلَغَ

(that I may therewith warn you and whomsoever it may reach) (6:19).

وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِهِ مِنَ الاٌّحْزَابِ فَالنَّارُ مَوْعِدُهُ

(but those of the sects that reject it, the Fire will be their promised meeting place) (11:17).

لِّتُنذِرَ أُمَّ الْقُرَى وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا

(that you may warn the Mother of the Towns and all around it) (42:7).

وَهُوَ الَّذِي مَرَ‌جَ الْبَحْرَ‌يْنِ هَـٰذَا عَذْبٌ فُرَ‌اتٌ وَهَـٰذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْ‌زَخًا وَحِجْرً‌ا مَّحْجُورً‌ا ﴿53﴾

And He is the One who joined the two seas - this is sweat, very sweat and this is bitter, very bitter - and made between them a buffer and a barrier, prohibited (to cross) - 25:53.

The word مَرَج (maraja) means to let off or allow to roam freely and hence pasture is called رَج (maraj) that is where animals can graze and roam about. عَذْبٌ ('adhb) is sweet water, while فُراَت means delicious and pleasant; and مِلح (milh) means salty and أُجَاجٌ means bitter.

Allah Ta’ ala in His own Wisdom has created two types of waters. One is enormous in size called oceans and cover up about two third of the global space while the rest of the one third space is made up of land mass on which people live. The water of the oceans and seas is extremely brackish, bitter and of a bad taste. On the other hand the water found on land in different forms is potable, pleasant and tasty. This water is just right for the needs of mankind and animals alike who drink it and use it for cleaning. If the water of the seas and oceans were not brackish, it would have decayed very quickly leaving behind a pungent and foul odor making the life unbearable for humans and animals on land. Moreover, the creatures living in ocean and sea water, and number manifold than those living on land could not have survived because when they die, they perish in the brackish water. If they were to die in sweet water their decomposition would have contaminated the water making the survival of the marine life impossible and its stink would have been unbearable for the life on land. Then the garbage of the land is generally dumped in the sea where it is decomposed (except for a few modern age items which need special treatment). Therefore, brackish water of the oceans and seas is a great blessing of Allah Ta’ ala for all creatures, whether living in the sea or on the land. Without the presence of brackish water mass, there would have been no marine or land life.

In this verse it is elucidated that it is a great blessing and grace of Allah Ta` a1a to have provided two types of waters in accordance with the needs of mankind. Then it is a perfect demonstration of His complete power that when a river of sweet water falls into the sea, the two waters .(the sweet and the brackish) do not mingle immediately where they meet, but for miles they remain separated from each other, despite the fact that there is no physical curtain between them. This is yet another example of His omnipotence.

When two rivers meet or a river flows down into the sea, at the point of confluence, in spite of coming together, the two waters remain separate and a line of demarcation can be seen for quite a distance. The writer of these words has witnessed this scene at the meeting place of the rivers Ganges and Yamuna at Allahabad. This happens under the natural law which in the present age is known as ‘surface tension’. Similarly, at the sea coast when the tides are rising the salt sea water rides over the coastal river’s fresh water. But the surface tension keeps the two waters separate, and when the tide goes out, the saltish water withdraws from above (without affecting the water below), and the fresh water below maintains its natural character. Due to this surface tension law, it has been possible to find reservoirs of fresh water in the very midst of salt sea waters to meet the needs of voyagers.