Tradition

وَ وَتَّدَ بِالصُّخُورِ مَيَدانَ اَرْضِهِ

Imam ‘Ali (‘a) is narrated to have said: “Through means of the mountains, the earth is prevented from shaking and moving.”1

Brief Commentary

Today, it has been proven that the moon exerts an influence on the tides and causes their rise and fall each day and night. Due to the effects of the pull of the moon, water levels in the ocean can rise one meter, and in some cases, even up to fifteen meters in height. In the same way that the moon’s pull affects the tides, it also affects the earth’s crust as well. The crust is pulled up at least thirty centimeters, after which it contracts back to its normal position.

What keeps the earth’s surface stable and firm is the existence of the mountains whose roots are connected to one another and which form a network all around the earth. The presence of these mountains prevents the earth’s crust from shaking and causes it be stable and firm. If the mountains did not exist and the earth continuously was expanding and contracting, then the people would not have been able to live for very long on this earth. This is a reality which the Imams (‘a) mentioned many centuries ago.

• 1. Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 1, Al-Ihtijaj, vol. 1, p. 198, Sharh Nahj Al-Balaghah, vol. 1, p.57.