Mountains in the Qur’an

The Holy Qur’an is a guide for humanity toward felicity in all eras, and at the same time, it contains precise scientific indications intended to guide scholars. This study, using a descriptive-analytical method and drawing upon library-based sources, examines one such scientific indication in verse 27 of Sura al-Mursalāt. This verse addresses the conditions and characteristics of water storage in elevated mountains for the benefit of human populations dwelling in foothills and plains. The data collected for this study were categorized into two groups: Qur’anic and scientific. The Qur’anic data were extracted from both classical and contemporary exegetical sources, while the scientific data were derived from academic articles in the fields of geography and geology. In the first step, five key terms— jaʿalnā , rawāsī , shāmikhāt , asqaynākum , and furāt —were subjected to etymological and semantic analysis. In the second step, scientific findings were compared with these exegetical insights. The results indicate that the Qur’an in this verse alludes to the hydrological cycle, specifically the movement of water from high elevations on the Earth’s surface toward foothills and plains. Scientific findings clarify the significance of God’s designation of “uplifted mountains” as the primary source of water for humanity. This significance lies in two main aspects: first, such mountains have a higher capacity than plains for receiving precipitation—especially in the form of snow—which is generally more voluminous and less polluted; second, these mountains are more capable of storing water, enhancing its quality, and conveying it through surface and subterranean channels to consumer ecosystems, including vegetation, wildlife, and human settlements. In the absence of towering mountains, the global water cycle would be deficient and limited primarily to coastal regions. The results also indicated that the phrase rawāsī shāmikhāt reflects the Qur’an’s explicit reference to a remarkable scientific fact: the gradual growth of mountains. This progressive uplift is today corroborated by findings from geology and geodesy in the major mountain ranges of the world.