Water, Nature's wonder drink! Holy Qur'an 55/19 to 21   Peace, Tranquility, serenity, wishes of Mercy and Grace to be showered upon you by ALMIGHTY LORD. It is implied when we say ‘Assalam alaikum wa rehmatullah wa Barakatuhu.   Dear viewers, I wish to make an appeal to human wisdom and invite your attention to some of the amazing wonders of Nature and what they mean to us. I seek refuge of The LORD of the entire universe against every evil and satanic force, with awe filled consciousness of my Creator, The Creator of the humanity who made them inhabitants of this earth, and provided them with all kind of sustenance their nature may ever demand. Of course the Creator, along with sustenance, has also sent down the Guidance for mankind by appointing HIS Messengers among them and revealed on them The Books full of wisdom. From among which we have with us The Holy Qur’an in its original unaltered form.   It is a message from the Wise LORD unto Whom praise and thanks are due for the bounties HE has bestowed on mankind. It is the undoubted Guidance for mankind, with a universal and eternal meaning and substance. It proclaims the common source of religion and confirms the remaining truth of the earlier Revelations. It was revealed to the Last Messenger of The LORD born in Makkah in Arabian Peninsula in 7th century. His name was Mohammed (s.a.w.s), son of Abdullah who belonged to the tribe of Banu-Hashim. The completion of the Final Testament was within 23 years.   The history of Arabian Peninsula was quite dark. All sorts of social evils, ignorance and utter lawlessness prevailed. But the eloquent verses coming from the Mighty Throne of The LORD of the universe, recited on the people by The Prophet (s.a.w.s) were so powerful that they changed the very course of history of the entire world.   The verses of the Qur’an appeal to the intellect of man, his common sense, his logic and his reasoning. The eloquence of the verses exhorts man to reflect over objects of nature which lie in front of him, the earth below his feet and the heavens above him. The Qur'an also gives insight into natural phenomena also about which man knew nothing until then. These indications correspond precisely with scientific discoveries. I would like to discuss only one out of the ocean of scientific information.   Let us take the example of ocean, which is with its enormity and mystery, has ever been part of human consciousness. The oceans are the very foundation of human life vastly covering 140 million square miles, which is some 72 per cent of the earth's surface. Climate and weather, even the quality of the air people breathe, depend in great measure, on an inter play between the ocean and the atmosphere, in ways still not fully discovered by us. Not only has the oceans always been a prime source of nourishment for the life it helped generate, but from earliest recorded history it has served for trade and commerce, adventure and discovery. It has kept people apart and brought them together. Even now, when the continents have been mapped and their interiors made accessible by road, river and air, most of the world's people live no more than 200 miles from the sea and relate closely to it.   This large amount of water is not accidental or in vain, but according to precise measure in order that the earth holds it and thus affords an environment suitable for life to nourish and flourish on it. This large amount of water prevents the occurrence of large differences in air temperature between winter and summer and provides the atmosphere with water vapor sufficient for the fresh water cycle.   Out of the many Qur’anic verses which talk about the ocean, I would like to quote 3 verses from Chapter 55 verse 19, 20 and 21 say:       It is not humanly possible to render the exact meaning of these Divine Verses in any earthly language. My humble attempt to get closer to its meaning is:   “ALMIGHTY GOD has given freedom to the two great bodies of water so that they might meet. Yet between them is a barrier that they may not transgress. Then which of your LORD’s mysteries you will deny!”   Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity, and density. For example, Mediterranean Sea water is warm, saline and less dense, compared to Atlantic Ocean water. When Mediterranean Sea water enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill, it moves several hundred kilometers into the Atlantic at a depth of about 1,000 meters with its own warm, saline and less dense characteristics and do not mix up. This wonder can be observed in day light with bare eyes at Kanyakumari, the southern coastal city of India where the water of Arabian sea meets with the Indian ocean. Even in depths up to 1,400 meters and at distances ranging from a minus100 to plus 2,500 meters, we find that both bodies of water maintain their individual temperatures and salinity.   But the narration of this phenomenon of partition in the waters in the Qur'an has much depth in itself. Let us consider verse 25/53 also.   “And it is GOD ALMIGHTY, Who has given freedom of movement to the two great bodies of water, the one sweet and potable, and the other salty and bitter, but GOD ALMIGHTY has placed a barrier, a forbidding partition, that is not permeable.”   Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh (sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different from what is found in places where two seas meet. It has been discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in estuaries is a "pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity separating the two layers this mixing of fresh and salt water creates a transition zone between land and sea known as an estuary. Estuaries are unique places, strongly affected by tidal action, where land and river and sea merge into a dynamic natural complex.   The mixing of lighter and light infused fresh water and heavier salt water trap and circulate nutrients to create a self-enriching ecosystem. This separation zone with difference in density favors the growth of an important algae called phytoplankton which lies at the core of the marine food chain. Smaller aquatic life forms which are food for other fishes depend this alga found in abundance in estuaries for their survival. These are places where fish, birds and animals of all sorts congregate to feed, find refuge, grow to adulthood, and stage migrations. Estuaries rank along with tropical rainforests and coral reefs as the world's most productive ecosystems, more productive than both the rivers and the ocean that influence them from either side.   We know that all among us are not scientists, nor The Qur’an is a book of science. It is the Book of Divine Admonition for all human beings, regardless of their social, economical and educational status. It calls the common intellect of all the persons of all the ages. We also don’t want to go in scientific data and figures. Let us concentrate on the verses for our own lesson.   On this revolving planet called earth, there are both the water bodies, salty and sweet. There is surface water in the shape of rivers, ponds, snow, springs etc. Channels, reservoirs and their inter connections under the earth are also known to us now. We also know that all the rivers fall in the oceans in due course. We also discussed how it is kept separate under particular depth. But the reservoir of underground sweet water also has an unseen barrier, which separates it from the sea water. Our all port cities utilize the underground water for their domestic use, while just there is coast in front of them, sea or ocean, full of salty water. In the verse, ALMIGHTY GOD wants us to rethink who it is! Putting the barrier in between? Who is the Designer? Who put in them the particular density and other specifications? Who designed them, so that they could not mix up with each other? Who made the system of evaporation in it, which comes back on the earth, in the shape of unpolluted rains? Should we not feel in ourselves HIS Might, HIS Powers? Should we not bow down with our heart, soul and body, and surrender ourselves to that Super Supreme LORD? How we can deny? HE asks us in chapter 55:   “O mankind and other creatures, which favors of your LORD will you deny?”   We see that the entire cycle of marine ecosystem is so well balanced. Similar is the case of the natural phenomena we see around us and the working of the entire universe. Can we find an explanation of the great universe? Is there any convincing interpretation of the secret of existence?   We realize that no family can function properly without a responsible head, that no city can prosper without sound administration, and that no state can survive without a leader of some kind. We also realize that nothing comes into being on its own. Moreover, we observe that the universe exists and functions in the most orderly manner, and that it has survived for hundreds of thousand of years. Can we then say that all this is accidental and haphazard? Can we attribute the existence of man and the whole world to mere chance? Man represents only a very small portion of the great universe. And if he can make plans and appreciate the merits of planning, then his own existence and the survival of the universe must also be a planned policy. This means that there is an extraordinary power to bring things into being and keep them moving in order.   We may call that Super Supreme Power by any name, but how can we deny HIS existence and HIS role in planning, creating and handling the Universe. Name does not matter as HE HIMself says in HIS Book, verse 17/110.   “O Prophet, say to mankind: "Call HIM by name of ALLAH or AR-Rahman - by whichever name you call HIM, (it does not matter) HIS are all the attributes of perfection and beautiful names……”   Further, the Qur’an gives a more common and apparent example of the utility of oceans to mankind in verse 16/14:   “And it is ALMIGHTY GOD Who has made the sea subservient to His laws, so that the mankind might get fresh meat from it, and take out from it gems, which they may use for their garments. And on that very sea, one can see that ships are sailing through the waves, so that they might be able to go forth in quest of some of the Bounties of their LORD, and thus have cause to be grateful ( to Him)”   We know that from ancient times, inter continental trade and transport is through ocean. It is high time to think that how many benefits we are enjoying due to salinity of ocean waters. Its salinity is also very much of our necessity. In modern days, we realized that the salinity of a water body increases its buoyancy. If a ship is loaded in a salt water port, say, in Japan, and then comes across the ocean to unload in a fresh water port, such as the San Joaquin Delta, they could run into serious problems if the ship was loaded too heavily at the beginning. Ships can run aground, spill their cargo, or even worse, break a hole in the hull and leak fuel and oil. The difference in salinity between loading a ship in fresh water and then proceeding to sea causes an increase in freeboard of about 8.5 inches, called the FWA (fresh water allowance). The ship will rise in the salt water that much or sink that much if proceeding from sea to a fresh water dock where harbors and shallow areas have fresh water input, boats have to be partially unloaded out to sea (a process called lightering) to keep them from getting stuck on the bottom as they sail up from the ocean. Hence its salty water is also serving the humanity in many ways.     “And always does HE give you everything your nature can ever ask HIM for; and if you try to count favors and blessings of ALLAH, you would never be able to number them. Yet, behold, man is indeed most persistent in wrongdoing, stubbornly ingrate!” (Holy Qur’an, verse14/34)   It is very much apparent that every thing on the earth and the space related to us is serving us ceaselessly. No doubt we are in millions and trillions. But all the things were very much present when there was only a single pair of humanity.   Whatever the bounties of our LORD, we are enjoying, we take them for granted. Without HIS bounties and favors, we can not survive on this earth even for a day. A sensible person should be grateful to the CREATOR, the Most Merciful LORD, Full of Bounties, Most Benevolent. The ALMIGHTY reminds us in HIS Last Testament, verse 56/68 to 70:   “Have you ever considered the water you drink? Is it you who cause it to come down from the clouds, or WE send it? Did so WE will, WE would make it bitter! So why are you not thankful to US?   The fresh water cycle is one of the wonders of GOD ALMIGHTY. It is the root-cause of life on earth. Rainfall, as we know, is the result of the condensation of water-vapor, ascending from the vast areas of water on the surface of the Earth, and under certain climatic conditions, it falls down in the form of rain drops, hail or snow.   Rainfall in itself is amazing! It shows perfect order of ALMIGHTY in the universe. The CREATOR has subjected the Sun to sub-serve mankind in many ways. One of them is that, it is a direct cause of water evaporation from rivers, ponds, seas and oceans. In the process of evaporation, it ascends leaving all the salinity and dirt. Can we deny the perfect planning of the Great NATURE?   Water and Air which we do not pay for, consume to the maximum, but take it for granted. We do not pay due heed to these two very important gifts of our CREATER. Our lungs inhale 2 million liters of air every day! What if the air would turn foul or the water would turn bitter!   It is the verdict of common sense that each privilege and favor entails accountability. If the ALMIGHTY has endowed man with so many favors, HE shall definitely reward those who fulfill the duties imposed, by these favors. And surely HE will punish those who adopt an ungrateful attitude to their own LORD. It is high time for us, not to deny the favors, and act not boastfully. The Qur'an addresses human nature and invites an answer, from its very depths in chapter 55 asking multiple times     “O mankind and other creatures, which favors of your LORD will you deny?”   Man is proud of his scientific discoveries and advances. In his unending quest for, is power and immortality. He fails to recognize the reality that every thing that begins has an end. Death is destined by the CREATOR and none can deny it. But death is not the end. The Creator of life and death informs us in HIS Final Testament in 21/35:   “Every human being is bound to taste death. And WE test you all, through the bad and good things of life, by way of trail, and unto US you all must return.”   Yes, we have to die at a time and place destined by The LORD Supreme. We can not avoid it at all. But this our death, makes our return journey towards our CREATOR, on a fateful Day, we will be called to account. Our death is not the end of our journey, but it will shift us in another state. We don’t have any source to know what will happen with us there. Here rests our need of Divine Information, and it is very much with us. It is the Words of our LORD Supreme, in Arabic, in the shape of a Book called The Qur’an. We have to rediscover it and know our fate.   Death can come to us at any moment, no matter who we are or what we are doing! While we are busy pursuing the world and its glitter, a fate awaits us. Wise is the person who prepares for this journey and wakes up from the deception and narrowness of this world, and accepts the Ultimate Reality!   Gratitude must come in our day to day life. It has nothing to do with utterances of words. It reflects in our attitude. Life, which ALMIGHTY GOD has given to us, is the greatest gift, and then comes our talents, resources, wealth, power, position and many things. The way in which we utilize our lives, and that comes along with it, will show how grateful we are!   Our Creater has already shown us the right path, may he give us the strength to follow it. Aameen.     Thank you very much. STOCK Hence to attain success in our life and the hereafter our attitude to the favours of GOD including scientific knowledge should be like the Attitute of King Solomon as exemplified in the Qur’an   “…………This is an outcome of my SUSTAINER’s bounty , to test me as to whether is I am grateful or ungrateful !   And he further says However , he who is grateful is for his own good and he who is ungrateful is (should know that ), verily my SUSTAINER is self sufficient most generous in giving!” 27/40.     (Principles of Oceanography - Davis, pp. 92-93) (Principles of Oceanography p. 93).