| |
Chapter
Eight
WHO
IS UPHOLDING
THE
GLOBE?
MYTHOLOGY
AND SCIENCE
Within the books of myths and fables published from the different parts
of the world and in various languages there are dozens of mysterious characters
upholding our Mother Earth, from time immemorial. These books do not tell
us if these mighty personalities have been taking their turns at this perpetual
mammoth task. However, we do learn from some of these legends that if one
of the superhuman personalities was to sneeze, we the inhabitants of this
earth would have a serious catastrophe called the earthquake, so believed
some of our early ancestors. One can now say that these mighty celebrities
were no match for this immortal Mother of ours. One by one they have slipped
away into perpetual stupor. Only their images are left behind for us to
peek into our past and reflect how imaginative the philosophers, writers
and artists were of the era of magic and mythologies, who created them.
The days (and also the nights) of bizarre myths and obscure fables are
long gone. We are presently living in the age of science. A question may
be asked; Today, is there something scientific upholding the load of our
continents? The answer is; Yes, they are called the Cratons. Having never
before heard that name, an inquisitive mind may be tempted to ask; Are
these the characters from some twentieth century science fiction movie
or a story book? No, the Cratons are the tangible things. The modern geologists
have discovered them. If you were to look for the descriptions of
these corporeal geographical materials in your daily usage English dictionary
or one volume encyclopedia, probably your search may end up without an
answer. It is one of those discoveries whose knowledge has been acquired
not long ago. While I was doing the "spelling-check" of this particular
text on my computer, the program recommended that I should replace the
word "cratons" with "cartons". I suggested my computer to "Learn"
this word.
THE
CRATONS...
Below are excerpts
from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia Deluxe, 1999 edition:
"The most stable subdivision of continents is that of cratons. These old
parts of continents have not withstood pronounced structural deformation
since Precambrian time, which ended about 570 million years ago. Composed
of ancient crystalline rocks that extend far downward, these so-called
Archean basement rocks seem to be the stuff of which continents are chiefly
made. Cratons, which occupy the greater part of every continent, have subdued
topographies and lie close to sea level. Sometimes referred to as the nucleus
of a continent, they date variously from about 200 million years back to
3.9 billion years. The shield areas provide a strong but not completely
rigid foundation and are susceptible to broad wavelike warping. They are
mostly free from modern volcanic and earthquake activity. Most shields
are deeply eroded roots of ancient mountain belts. Some of the larger shield
areas include the Canadian Shield of North America; the Guianan, Amazonian,
and Platian shields of South America; the Baltic and Angara shields of
Eurasia; the Ethiopian Shield of Africa; and the Indian and Australian
shields." (End of the excerpts).
Explanation:
Briefly, the upper subdivisions
of our continents upon which we reside are not as firm and stable as their
counterparts below. The lower subdivisions called Cratons are composed
of hard crystalline rocks that are pushed downward. These nuclei of the
continents act as their rigid foundations. Yet, they are not totally rigid
that would not permit the needed slackness during the volcanic activities.
If one was to look at the shape of these gigantic Cratons they look like
the shape of greatly enlarged "tent pegs or tent stakes". Analogically
speaking, the purpose of these Cratons is very similar to the tent stakes
that are firmly hammered into the ground by a tent pitcher, to uphold his
tent from being blown away by the gusting winds. As seen in the earlier
chapters, the Allknowing Author of the Quranic verses has been using simple
easy to understand analogies from our daily lives to explain the complex
scientific discoveries that were yet to be uncovered. The data and elucidation
thereof was to come to the later generations.
Nay they charge with falsehood that
whose knowledge they cannot compass even before the elucidation thereof
hath reached them... Holy
Qur'an 10: 39
It is recorded
that the some of the famous early commentators of the Qur'an (e.g. Tabari
of the tenth centry), used to acknowledge that it was not possible to comprehend
true interprtations of some of the verses of the Qur'an and hence better
to maintain the silence. To be honest, only after I read about the factual
structures and the actual purposes of the Cratons, I stopped wondering
what the true Message was behind the following verses of the Qur'an.
TENT PEGS...
And we set mountains on the earth
lest it should move with them...
Translation by Reverend J. M. Rodwell
And We set in the earth firm mountains lest
it should shake with them... Translation
by Arthur J. Arberry
And We have set on the earth mountains standing
firm lest it should shake with them...
Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Transliteration:
wa- jacalnaa fe al- 'ard. rawaasiya 'an
tamed bi- -him
Qur'an 21: 31
Have we not made the Earth a couch?
And the mountains its tent-stakes?
Translation by Reverend J. M. Rodwell
Have We not made the earth as a cradle,
and the mountains as pegs?
Translation by Arthur J. Arberry
Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse
and the mountains as pegs?
Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Transliteration: 'a-
lam najcal al- 'ard. mihaad(an)
wa- al- jibaal awtaad(an)
Qur'an 78: 6 and 7
Please click Chapter-9 to continue...
INDEX
|
|