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The Mountains: Pegs of the Earth - Al-Shia The Scientific and Cultural Website of Shia belief The Mountains: Pegs of the Earth 2022-11-19 414 Views Mountains in Qur'an , The Earth The glorious Qur’an has a particular conception of the nature of mountains, their formation, and the geological role they play.

For instance, it is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an that: “The mountains which you take to be firm will pass away like clouds” (27: 88) And: “Did we not spread the earth like a bed and raise the mountains like pegs” (78:7). In pre-historic times man used to live in caves and take shelter in them. He did not know how to build houses until the end of the Stone Age.

And, he used to live in caves or dig such shelters to protect himself from the wrath of nature and its fluctuations; like the cold, the snow, the rain, and the heat as well as floods and hurricanes, and to protect himself against beasts and wild animals. The Quran expresses these meanings in the following verses: “They hewed their dwellings into the mountains and lived in safety” (15:82) Also: “I shall seek refuge in a mountain which will protect me from the flood” (11:43).

The mountains are an integral part of the solid shell of the earth (The crust). If the crust shakes or if the earth trembles the mountains will shake too. “The day when the earth shakes with all its mountains” (73:14) The mountains’ rocks contain all kinds of metals, such as gold, silver, copper, iron… e.t.c.

“In the mountains, there are streaks of various shades of red and white, and jet-black rocks” (35:27) The rotation of the mountains although they seem to be unmoving, indicates that earth too is rotating and travelling in vast space.

“The mountains which you take to be firm will pass away like clouds” (27:88) One of the most important functions of the mountains is to hold together the solid outer layers of the crust of the earth, in the same way, the pegs hold the tents and act as the pillars that support them: “Did We not spread the earth like beds and raise the mountains like pegs” (78:7) Mountains also help in preserving the stability of the earth’s crust.

As we know the crust undergoes an ongoing change as a result of many factors. This change creates a state of instability between its rising parts (the mountains) and its falling ones (the seas), which creates earthquakes and causes volcanoes to erupt.