The Gilbraltar Barrier
Allah Subhanahu Says: "He has let forth the two seas that they should meet together. There is a barrier between them which they do not overpass."
Let us perceive this phenomenon in scientific terms. The French scientist Jacques-Yves Cousteau, famous for his underwater researches, has discovered that the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean differ in terms of their chemical and biological constitution. Captain Cousteau conducted various undersea investigations at the Straits of Gibraltar in order to explain this phenomenon, concluding in effect that:" Unexpected fresh water springs issue from the Southern (Morocco) and Northern coasts (Spain) of the Gibraltar. These mammoth water spouts gush forth towards each other at angles of 45, forming a reciprocal dam like the teeth of a comb. Due to this fact, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean cannot intermingle". Indeed, subsequent to this assessment, Cousteau was amazed upon being shown the above verses, and was filled with admiration for the Quran, and accepted Islam.
The separation of two seas by the straits connecting them has an inner meaning. The sea bears more living things than does land. With the almost infinitely tiny organisms we call plankton, their countless flora and fauna of all kinds, the seas are a theater of divine handiwork in their own right. It is also obvious that different organisms will inhibit differing environments. This is one of the reasons why divine power does not allow the seas to mix. This meaning, however, further invites our attention in Verse 22- especially to the plankton composition of the seas and to the flora and fish distributions that change with variations in temperature. This verse announces the presence of pearls and coral in both seas. Hence, the reason for separation is not simply the chemical composition of the sea, since pearls and coral exist or disappear in accordance with the chemical properties of the sea. In this way, the non mixing seas prepare the living environment of the most beautiful undersea gardens and fish, sources of endless pleasure when viewed in their natural medium.
There are specific flowers covered with squat plants under the sea. Some of these (Lepas fasicularis) are lotus-like flowers which are prettier than orchids. On the ocean floor where sunlight cannot penetrate, ornate insects and wonderful spiders living thousands of meters beneath the sea lead their lives by means of the radar systems they are equipped with.
Again the fish Acanthurus triostegus has thousands of fluorescent spots on a red background that both light up its environment and ease its life. Nearly thirty different color hues have been distinguished on a fish living at such lightless depths. These creatures, representing the pure art of the Allah Subhanahu, are the manifestation of the inner meaning of the oceans' non transgression secret.
How do these divine patterns and decorations come to be displayed at the bottom of the sea, normally inaccessible to eyesight? The Surah al-Rahman discloses the infinite beauty of our Creator's art by relating these insights in Verses 19 through 25. Then, after 14 centuries have elapsed, atlases showing the creatures of the ocean are published, and the secret of these verses is experienced.
