“He has created the skies without any supports that you can see, and has placed firm mountains on earth, lest it sway with you,…” (Surah 31 – Luqman – Ayah 10)
The actual words “bi-ghair i amad-in tarauna-ha” in the text may have two meanings:
(1) “You can see for yourself that they stand without pillar”; and
(2) “They stand on the pillars which you cannot see”
Ibn Abbas and Mujahid have favoured the second meaning, and many other commentators take the first meaning. If the meaning is expressed in terms of the natural sciences of the present day, it can be said that the countless stars and planets in the heaven have been established in their positions and orbits without any visible support and prop: there are no strings and wires which might have tied them together; there are no iron bars which might be withholding them from falling on one another. It is the law of gravitation which is supporting the system. This interpretation is according to the present-day knowledge. It may be that tomorrow some new addition to our knowledge enables us to interpret the reality better.
The God’s book clearly states that these mountains stabilise the earth so that it does not sway. Thus, the rise of a mountain in one place balances shrinkage in another. However, God’s word remains supreme. He is indeed the One who always states the truth. The real function of mountains is to regulate the motion and speed of the earth. We have come to this conclusion, for the Qur’ān has made this benefit of mountains very prominent in many places.
Shot was taken at Safapora (near Srinagar)
Text and Photos by Syed Akbar Hassan.