# Dead Sea

> Lowest point on Earth.

- Field: Geology
- Level: Simple
- Qur'an passage: Quran 30:2-3
- URL: https://dailymuslim.org/quran-miracles/dead-sea-lowest-land

1400 years ago nobody knew about the lowest point on Earth however it was portrayed in the Quran.

After the Romans were defeated by the Persians the Quran correctly predicted that they will be victorious again. This battle took place near the Dead Sea.

## Qur'an passage · Quran 30:2-3

٢ غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ  
٣ فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ

*The Romans were defeated in the lowest of land and they will be, after this defeat, victorious again*

Adna in Arabic أَدْنَى has two meanings: the nearest and the lowest. Today we know that the Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth (423 m or 1388 ft. below sea level).

### Additional references

> Original article: Miracles of Quran, shared under the source website’s no-copyright notice. The linked scientific and language notes below are separate additions.

— [Miracles of Quran — About Us](https://www.miracles-of-quran.com/about.html)

### Additional evidence — summary

> The U.S. Geological Survey identifies the Dead Sea’s water surface as the lowest natural land or water surface on Earth, more than 400 metres below sea level. The exact level changes as the lake shrinks, so the original article’s 423-metre figure is a dated measurement rather than a permanent value.

— [USGS Earthshots — Dead Sea](https://eros.usgs.gov/earthshots/dead-sea-israel-jordan-west-bank)

### USGS Open-File Report — Dead Sea depositional sequence

> A USGS scientific report describes the Dead Sea as an enclosed salt lake whose shores occupy the lowest land elevations on Earth. This independently supports the geographical fact about the Dead Sea depression, but it does not establish the precise site of a seventh-century battle.

— [USGS Open-File Report — Dead Sea depositional sequence](https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2015/1092/pdf/ofr2015-1092.pdf)

### Quranic Arabic Corpus and Ibn Kathir — 30:3 wording

> The Quranic Arabic Corpus lists seven English translations of 30:3; they render أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ as “nearest,” “nearer,” or “close by.” Ibn Kathir likewise explains it as the nearest land. Reading adnā as “lowest” is a modern interpretive possibility based on the word’s range, not the only meaning of the verse. The geology confirms the Dead Sea’s elevation; it does not by itself prove that this is the location intended by the verse.

— [Quranic Arabic Corpus and Ibn Kathir — 30:3 wording](https://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=30&verse=3)

### Ibn Kathir — commentary on Ar-Rum 30:2-4

> Ibn Kathir’s linked commentary preserves the wording “in the nearest land” and discusses the Roman-Persian defeat and later victory. It supplies the classical tafsir link used for the language note above.

— [Ibn Kathir — commentary on Ar-Rum 30:2-4](https://quran.com/ms/30%3A4/tafsirs/en-tafisr-ibn-kathir)

## Ponder

**How could an illiterate man who lived 1400 years ago have known about lowest point on Earth?**

## Sources and further reading

- [Quran 30:2-3 · Quran.com](https://quran.com/30/2-3)
- [USGS Earthshots — Dead Sea](https://eros.usgs.gov/earthshots/dead-sea-israel-jordan-west-bank)
- [Miracles of Quran](https://www.miracles-of-quran.com/dead_sea.html)

— Miracle of Quran, Daily Muslim · https://dailymuslim.org/quran-miracles/dead-sea-lowest-land