Home > Surah 25 - The Criterion
The Quran Verse
Surah 25:53:
And it is He who has released the two seas, one fresh and sweet and one salty and bitter, and He placed between them a barrier and a forbidding partition."
Modern apologists often claim this refers to "haloclines" in the deep ocean, but historical-critical analysis suggests a much simpler, local observation.
To a 7th-century Arab, this "miracle" is likely an observation of an estuary—where a freshwater river flows into the salty sea. While they may appear distinct due to turbidity or color, they do mix; they create "brackish water."
The verse claims there is a "forbidding partition" (ḥijran maḥjūran) that prevents them from mixing. In reality, there is no physical or magical barrier—it is a dynamic zone of gradual mixing. The Quran describes a static, magical barrier where science shows a physical mixing process.