“And the water Allah sends down from the sky, by which He revives the earth after its death, and in it He scatters every kind of creature; and the changing of the winds, and the clouds held in subjection between heaven and earth—surely in all that are signs for a people who use their reason.” (al-Baqarah 164)

Thus the Almighty has graciously reminded His servants of the bounty He created for them in the seas and the rivers. The great ocean that encircles every quarter of the earth, together with its outflows along the coasts, is altogether salty and bitter to the taste. In this lies profound wisdom that safeguards the purity of the air: had its water been sweet, the atmosphere would have putrefied because of the countless creatures that die within it, leading to the extinction of humankind. The far-reaching divine wisdom therefore decreed that it be of this nature for that very benefit.

For that reason, when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about the sea he replied, “Its water is purifying and its dead creatures are lawful (to eat).” (1)

As for the rivers, their water is sweet, wholesome, and fresh—pleasant to drink for whoever wishes. Allah makes them flow unrestrained: He causes them to spring forth in one land and carries them through another as provision for His servants. Some of them are large, others small, each according to need and benefit.

Scholars of astronomy and terrestrial surveying (2) have enumerated the major seas and rivers, traced the sources of their springs, and followed their courses to their endpoints—discussions that reveal wisdom and bear witness to the power of the Creator, showing that He acts by will and with purpose.

Regarding Allah’s words, “and by the sea set aflame” (al-Ṭūr 6), there are two interpretations. The first is that it refers to the sea beneath the Throne mentioned in the ḥadīth of the mountain goats (3). It lies above the seven heavens, the distance between its upper and lower parts being like the gap between one heaven and the next; from it rain will fall before the Resurrection, and through it bodies will be revived in their graves. This view was favored by al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas (4). The second is that “the sea” is a generic term that includes all the earthly seas, which is the opinion of the majority.

As for the word al-masjūr, some say it means “filled to the brim”; others say that on the Day of Resurrection it will become a blazing fire, surrounding the people at the gathering, as we related in the Tafsīr (5) from ʿAlī, Ibn ʿAbbās, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, Ibn Mujāhid, and others. Still others hold that it denotes the sea that is restrained and kept in check, guarded lest it overflow and inundate the earth and those upon it.