The Ka'bah: a Hill on the Surface of Water

It was narrated that the Prophet said, "The Ka'bah was but a cliff (or a hill) on the surface of water then the earth was expanded from underneath.

Explanation of the Hadith

Early Muslim scholars found the content of this hadîth strange and its meaning ambiguous. Actually, it contains a scientific fact, which was only perceived by man in the mid sixties of the 20th century. It took several centuries of continuous research and strenuous efforts of thousands of scientists to prove that at the beginning of its creation, the earth was like a huge ocean; none of its land was visible.
"An-Nihâyah Fi Gharib Al-Hadith Wa Al-Athar, Vol. 2, pp 34-35.
By the will of Allâh the Almighty, a violent volcanic explosion took place at the bottom of this ocean. This volcanic eruption kept on throwing volcanic lava, which accumulated forming a mountain chain (cordillera) in the middle of the ocean, which formed the first part of land. This land was in the shape of a volcanic island similar to the volcanic islands spread in the oceans today such as the islands of Japan, Philippine, Indonesia, Malaysia and Hawaii. Islands are still formed by the emergence of the sub oceanic mountain peaks.

As the volcanic activity continued, this primitive volcanic island started to grow gradually through expansion (i.e. growing by the effect of consecutive volcanic eruptions) until the first mother continent was formed, known as Pangaea.

By the will of Allâh the Almighty, when continental drift began, Pangaea broke up into Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Laurasia broke up into North America, Europe, and Asia and Gondwanaland broke up into India, Australia, Antarctica, Africa, and South America. This is known as the theory of plate tectonics, which is a theory of global dynamics having to do with the movement of a small number of semi-rigid sections of the earth's crust, with seismic activity and volcanism occurring primarily at the margins of these sections. This movement has resulted in continental drift and changes in the shape and size of ocean basins and continents.

The above hadîth narrated by the Prophet 1400 years ago, is a scientific miracle supporting the Divine Message revealed to him . It is needless to say that at his time, and for centuries followed, nobody realized this fact until the mid sixties of the 20th century. This hadîth adds to our knowledge another scientific indication that the land underneath the Ka'bah is the most ancient land containing the most ancient rocks on earth, a fact that has not been proven by science until now. Muslims must verify this fact by determining the absolute age of the rocks underneath the sacred Ka'bah through radiant elements present therein, if any. Thus, they can put forward this scientific fact to all people Muslims and non-Muslims, as further evidence to the truth of his Message.