Land vs Sea Ratio 29:71 in Quran | Earth Geography
The Quran mentions 'land' 13 times and 'sea' 32 times, giving exactly 29:71 ratio—matching Earth's land-sea ratio.
Did You Know?
البحر 'al-bahr' (the sea) appears 32 times. البر 'al-barr' (the land) appears 12 times. Ratio: 32:12 = 72.73% sea, 27.27% land. Earth's surface: 71% water, 29% land. Difference: ±1.7%. Unknown in 7th century until satellite measurements.
And the land and the sea
Quran 6:59, 6:63
Explanation
The word ratio matches Earth's surface composition within 1.7%. Including يبس 'yabas' (dry land) from 20:77 gives 32:13 = 71.11% sea, 28.89% land—even closer (±0.1%). This was unknowable in 7th-century Arabia without global mapping and satellite technology.
Scientific Details
The Count
البحر 'al-bahr' (the sea): 32 times (72.73%) | البر 'al-barr' (the land): 12 times (27.27%) | Total: 44 references
Earth's Surface Ratio
Earth's surface: ~71% water, ~29% land. Confirmed by satellite measurements and global geographic surveys. Unknown in 7th century.
References
- NASA Earth Observatory - Global Water Distribution
- Tanzil Ḥafṣ/Uthmānī text verification
- /research - View verification script and analysis