01The sign
In the Quran, in deep waters where a person cannot see his own hand, Allah can still give light. Skeptics claim that whoever wrote the Quran made a mistake, sunlight can only reach 200 meters. Deeper than this there is no fire or any source of light so there cannot be any light below 200 meters. Today scientists discovered bioluminescent animals that produce their own light; thousands of metres deep.
02Scientific evidence
"Bioluminescence Distribution Bioluminescence occurs widely among animals, especially in the open sea, including fish, jellyfish, comb jellies, crustaceans, and cephalopod molluscs; in some fungi and bacteria; and in various terrestrial invertebrates including insects. In marine coastal habitats, about 2.5% of organisms are estimated to be bioluminescent, whereas in pelagic habitats in the eastern Pacific, about 76% of the main taxa of deep-sea animals have been found to be capable of producing light. More than 700 animal genera have been recorded with light-producing species. Most marine light-emission is in the blue and green light spectrum. However, some loose-jawed fish emit red and infrared light, and the genus Tomopteris emits yellow light."
Animals can produce their own light by bioluminescence. This was known recently however this was portrayed in the Quran 1400 years before it was discovered:
03Qur'an passage · Quran 24:40
أَوْ كَظُلُمَاتٍ فِي بَحْرٍ لُجِّيٍّ يَغْشَاهُ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ سَحَابٌ ۚ ظُلُمَاتٌ بَعْضُهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ إِذَا أَخْرَجَ يَدَهُ لَمْ يَكَدْ يَرَاهَا ۗ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَجْعَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ نُورًا فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ نُورٍ ٤٠
Or like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with waves topped by waves, topped by clouds: depths of darkness, one above another: if a man stretches out his hand, he will not see it! If Allah does not give light to a person he will not have light!
04Reflection
"If a man stretches out his hand, he will not see it! If Allah does not give light to a person he will not have light!" in this verse a person cannot see his hand using sunlight but Allah can still give light. This implies that in deep waters there is light but not from sunlight. Today scientists confirm that in deep waters animals can produce their own light by bioluminescence.
Additional references
Original article: Miracles of Quran. The Wikipedia excerpt is credited to Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; our translations of that excerpt use the same license. The summaries below are separate additions.
Additional evidence — summary
ٱللَّهُ نُورُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ
Opening excerpt: Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth.
The opening of Quran 24:35 describes Allah as the light of the heavens and the earth. The rest of the verse speaks of guidance and uses a parable of light. This adds the surrounding Quranic context for reflection on light; it does not name a biological light-producing reaction.
Additional evidence — summary
Ibn Kathir reads the darkness in 24:40 as a parable about disbelief and lack of guidance. The original article’s connection with glowing animals is a modern interpretation. Marine research establishes that these animals produce light; it does not establish that this was the verse’s intended scientific meaning or date the first human knowledge of it.
Additional evidence — summary
In 2017, Séverine Martini and Steven H. D. Haddock analysed more than 350,000 animal observations from 240 remotely operated vehicle dives near Monterey Canyon. Using known light-producing abilities, they found that roughly three quarters of observed animals could produce light, from the surface down to 4,000 metres. This is a finding about the surveyed animals and place, not every species in every ocean.
Additional evidence — summary
NOAA explains that some sunlight can reach about 1,000 metres under suitable conditions, although little remains below 200 metres. So the original article’s 200-metre statement is not an absolute limit. Below the sunlit waters, living things can supply their own light; sunlight and light made by animals are different sources.
05 · Ponder