The
Holy Quran foretells about the Oil
Reading
these verses, a person who knows geology will immediately
perceive that this sentence is describing Oil. Of course,
the important thing is that this information is provided
in the Quran, sent down 14 centuries ago. As everyone knows,
the first Flora on earth was the giant ferns and pastures
of algae. These vast pasture, the forerunners of life on
earth, were later pushed underground through great geological
upheavals, and transformed into Oil through a special process
of chemical reduction.
Fields
of ferns were the first of the vast pastures to be formed
on earth. If these pastures had remained as they were, the
oxygen in the atmosphere would have increased uncontrollably
and the atmosphere would have ignited at some point. In
accordance with the measure and preordination explains in
verse 3 of the same Surah, all the flora was buried underground
after fulfilling its function. It was transformed into gussa
(oil) under the influence of the great geological events.
Hence, subjects that could fill volumes have been summarized
as major headings in these verses. The science of geology
accepts that 5 billion years have elapsed since the primeval
fireball stage of the earth. This time has been into four
classic eras, and these have been subdivided extensively
into various periods. The first, encrusted, period of the
earth is excluded from these four eras. This era is believed
to have lasted 4.5 billion years.
The
first era is estimated at half a billion years. In general,
this was the age of the giant flora, and petroleum was also
formed in this era. There is general agreement that the
second period lasted 170 million years and the third, 65
million years. The fourth period is recognized as pertaining
to the present form of the earth, with the history of 2.5
million years. Various methods are used for computing these
periods. Oil was mainly formed by the decomposition of coastal
ferns and algae trapped between rock strata through the
action of various bacteria. Several theories exist about
the formation and accumulation of oil, none of which is
proved unequivocally. It has been claimed that seaweed also
played an important part in oil formation. Of course this
view would also conform the sacred verse. These latter views
on oil are more significant. According to these views, oil
was formed by the decomposition of seaweed and the coastal
algae and fern, and then accommodated itself to the structure
of the geological strata, flowing as rivers to form subterranean
lakes of oil. As a result, the remains of small sea animals
can sometimes be found in oil beds.
Let
us now reread the sacred verse: "And then He turned
it into black flood water" Oil, which is a black fluid,
flows in black subterranean rivers. "Floodwater"
is the clearest expression describing this underground flow
of oil. Hence this verse has also informed us of the flow
of oil rivers, called 'oil migration' in the industry, 14
centuries ago!