BİRİNCİ FEN · ÜÇÜNCÜ BÂB · BEŞİNCİ FASIL · Dördüncü Madde
Herein lies the fourth article:
Concerning the shifting of seas and lands, and their taking each other's place.
O revered one! Know that philosophers and astronomers have said that seas and lands do shift (with time). For, through the influence of water, great changes occur in the land (gradually) over the ages.
The first change is that some parts of the earth are barren and exceedingly dry, while temperate airs from the seas come to them. With time, these dry and barren lands transform into their opposite. In this way, the earth resembles a man, sometimes a youthful sprout (civân), and at other times an aged mortal (pîr-i fânî).
The second change is that some places are open terrain, while others are covered by seas. Sometimes, those places covered by seas are revealed and become inhabited as the waters recede. For the movements of the seas arise from the power of celestial bodies; when the influence of the stars that incite storms and tempests coincides with the movement of the seas, they surge beyond their usual bounds and advance upon the shore. Sometimes they engulf a land and incorporate it into themselves, and sometimes they withdraw from another shore and reveal that terrain, as if bestowing it upon humankind.
The third change is that some places attached to the mainland become islands over time, separating completely, like Cyprus. Conversely, many islands detached from the land join together forming large landmasses and attaching to the countries on the land.
The fourth change is that the seas seem to take back cities and islands, as if in return for the lands they have given. Like the towns around the Sea of Azov, which the seas have engulfed and drawn into themselves.
Therefore, some say that previously, from the Strait of Jibraltar towards the Mediterranean Sea was land, and Greece was its place. With the passage of a long time, the Atlantic Ocean surged forth, broke through the Strait of Jibraltar, and arrived at its present location. Near the edge of the Atlantic Sea there existed a large island, which, at an unknown time in history, the Atlantic Sea overwhelmed and incorporated entirely. Thus, those who explore the depths of that sea have found the seabed to be muddy and covered with vegetation, a testament to the fact that it was once swallowed by the sea and added to its domain.
Imam al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) has said: “One fourth of the inhabited world today was, in ancient times (thousands of years ago), covered and submerged by waters.” This view is corroborated by the fact that many stones, if broken, reveal fossils of marine creatures. For, in truth, these are now rocks which were once mud brought up from beneath the sea, which have turned to stone through the influence of the sun over a long period of time.
Mas’udi, in his book "Muruj," says: “The water of the sea has become fluid and mobile with the passage of long centuries upon it. However, because of the vastness of the area covered by the seas and the slow movement of these large bodies of water, their translocation is not easily perceived, and they are assumed to remain fixed in their old places.”
Mas’udi continues: “Thus, when Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) went to conquer Hira during the caliphate of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), he reached Najaf. He saw an elderly man named Abdulmesih and inquired about some strange news within his knowledge. One of the strange accounts related by that aged man is: ‘Among the astonishing things I witnessed in my youth, is that the shores of the Persian Gulf (the Bay of Basra) were where you now descend and lodge. Indeed, waves would crash where your feet now tread. Ships laden with goods from Sind and Hind would come and go to these places.’”
Mas’udi says: “The distance between the sea and Hira is now so much. Those who travel to Najaf will witness how true his words were.”
There was a road between Arish in Egypt and the island of Cyprus; the people of Arish followed it, traveling by land to Cyprus. A very strong bridge made of twelve miles of stone stretched across the Strait of Jibraltar, allowing people from Andalusia to pass westward and those from the west to pass eastward. The waters of the Mediterranean (the Sea of Rum) flowed under that bridge into the ocean. However, with the passage of long years, the sea waters one day swallowed that bridge and its surroundings. It is said that in times when the sea is calm, remnants of that bridge can still be seen. There are many other examples similar to what we have stated, indicating that the waters of the Mediterranean Sea flow from west to east.
The most ancient of the Indian rulers (known) is Great Brahman, who has known and spoken of the wise workings, explained the influence of celestial bodies on earthly ones in due form, and proven the initial beginning. In his book "Hind u Sind," he wrote the essentials and details of the science of wisdom, saying: “The sun traverses each terrestrial sign for two thousand years, completing its cycle in twenty-five thousand two hundred solar years. When the sun passes from the northern signs to the southern ones, then the fertile regions of the earth also shift from north to south. For those places that are now inhabited will become covered by seas, and those places which are now covered by seas will be opened up for habitation and settlement.”
Here's the English translation of the provided text, aiming for faithfulness and preservation of meaning within a classical/Sufi context:
"Masudi states: 'In this instance, the sun’s antipodes drawing the seas is according to that established rule. For the points of antipole and perigee mentioned undergo shifts gradually. This is why now, some lands are submerged while others, once covered by water, become inhabited; and the emergence of a world other than our own is also an event occurring incrementally, not in a single occurrence.'"
"Therefore, since the sun’s antipodes currently lie towards the southern constellations, then the southern regions of the earth are warmer than the north. The sun's heat draws the sea water toward itself, and the element of water moves in that direction. And it is accepted that the inhabitation of the earth’s regions depends on the shift of the sun’s antipodal point; as the perigee passes into the northern constellations, the inhabited areas also migrate towards them."
"The purpose of writing and describing this process is not to insist upon its absolute certainty. Rather, it is so that you might attain the blessing of recognizing the wondrous artistry and astonishing wisdom of the All-Wise Creator, finding all of it within your own being—to know yourself—and from this understanding, gain the honor of knowing God, and find every desire fulfilled within your heart."