When shown evidence that collisional-type mountains are associated with earthquakes some Islamist will then claim that the Quranic verses do not refer to earthquakes at all. They will claim that tameeda also means stagger, roll, sway, or tilt, and that there's significant difference between them and the short sharp shock of an earthquake (i.e. tameeda refers to some phenomenon, assumed to be associated with geological timescale, that is presently unknown to and undefined by our present understanding of geological science).
Rebuttal:
The relevant verses are as follows:
Sura Luqman 31:10 "He has created the heavens without supports that you can see, and has cast (alqa) onto the earth firm mountains (rawasiya) lest it should shake with you (tamida bikum **) ..."
In the Prophets (Al-Anibiya') 21:31 "And We have set on the earth firm mountains (rawasiya), lest it should shake with them (tamida bihim**)."
In the Bee (Al-Nahl) 16:15 "And He has cast onto the earth firm mountains (rawasiya) lest it should shake with you… (tamida bikum**) "
The phrase "tamida bi" from mada, yamidu, is only used in the above three Quranic verses which are marked **. Hans Wehr's "Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic" gives the meaning of the verbal phrase "mada bi" as: to shake something violently. "Mada bi" is the very form used in these verses.
It is clear that the term ‘tameeda’ is associated with people (i.e. less it should shake with YOU). Thus, tameeda cannot possibly refer to shaking in a geological timescale as people do not live in geological timescales. For this reason I suggest tameeda and zalzala are synonyms, just as the English terms, seismic activity and earth tremors are synonyms for earthquakes.
Even some Islamists do not consider tameeda to mean shaking in geological timescale.
(And We have placed on the earth firm mountains,) means, mountains which stabilize the earth and keep it steady and lend it weight, lest it should shake with the people, i.e., move and tremble so that they would not be able to stand firm on it -- because it is covered with water, apart from one-quarter of its surface. {Tafsir Ibn Kathir}
Admittedly Ibn Kathir was not a geologist, but he certainly knew Classical Arabic and his reading of the relevant verses suggests that tameeda is not associated with a geological timescale.
G. Islamist’s claim: The word, ‘stabilize’ does not mean ‘prevent earthquakes.’
The stabilization is over a geological timescale because of the term ‘tameeda’ as opposed to ‘zalzala’.
Rebuttal:
For the same reason as F, the term ‘stabilize’ must mean ‘prevent earthquakes’ as tameeda cannot be associated with geological timescales.
CONCLUSION
This article refutes the Islamist claim that the Quran had foreshadowed the scientific knowledge about Mountains as Pegs stabilizing the crust or even the earth. There are two elements to this ‘Quranic Science’ claim:
A. Mountains are Pegs.
This is untrue as not all mountains have peg-like roots. B. Mountains stabilize the crust or the earth.
This is unproven. There is no scientific evidence for this assertion, therefore the Quran cannot be validated by scientific evidence that does not exist. The mere fact of isostacy is
NOT proof that mountains stabilize the crust or the earth. The mere fact that collision- type mountains are formed at the edges of tectonic plates is NOT proof that mountains stabilize the plates. The mere fact that mountains have deep roots is NOT proof that mountains stabilize anything.
Lastly, is the Quran really the first scripture to make the assertion that Mountains
stabilize the earth? Well, some Christians don’t think so, and the Bible predates the Quran by at least 400 years.
Quote:
Genesis 1:9-13 DAY 3 Pillars of the Earth ---
The Bible also talks about the pillars of the earth. In Job 9 it says, "Who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars (ydwmu) tremble." The LXX says, "Who shakes the earth under heaven from its foundations and its pillars (stuloi) totter." In Psalm 75:3 it says, "The earth and all its inhabitants are melting away; I set firm its pillars (ydwmu)." The LXX says, "I have strengthened its pillars (stuloi)." In I Samuel 2:8 it says, "For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s and he had set the world upon them." The Hebrew word for pillar is yqxm. The root is qx meaning "to melt" (BDB 1980, 848). Therefore, yqxm means, "a molten like pillar." The only other place it occurs is in I Samuel 14:5 referring to a mountain. Probably the pillars of the earth are the same thing as the foundations of the earth which were mountains.
In Ugaritic we have seen that there are two mountains, trgzz and trmg that bind the earth. Gibson says that these twin mountains were founded in the earth-encircling ocean, and held up the firmament, and also marked the entrance to the underworld (1978, 66). The mountains are said to bind the earth. This may indicate that the mountains surrounded, and supported the earth as well as confine the netherworld. The mountains were seen as the foundations of the earth, and the support pillars for the heavens. The Hebrews probably held a very similar view as the verses above indicate, as well as later Hebrew writings. So the phrase "pillars of heaven" and "pillars of earth" are referring to the same mountains. One emphasizes the height of the mountains holding up heaven, the other
emphasizes the depth of the mountains that hold the earth firm.