# Internal Waves

> Waves beneath the surface of a layered ocean.

- Field: Geology
- Level: Intermediate
- Qur'an passage: Quran 24:40
- URL: https://dailymuslim.org/quran-miracles/internal-waves-layered-ocean

Adapted from Miracles of Quran, with independently checked scientific context.

The ocean’s surface is only part of its motion. Waves can also travel within the water itself. The source article connects these hidden movements with the waves above waves in Quran 24:40, offering a modern reflection on a striking natural image.

NASA explains that internal waves can travel along boundaries between water layers of different density. Temperature and salinity help create that layering; tides or currents flowing over uneven seafloor can generate the waves. Their existence is well established, but internal waves are not confined to completely dark water.

### Additional evidence — research summaries

> In a satellite image acquired near the Andaman Islands in 2007, NASA identifies long bands associated with internal waves. The image records alternating smooth and rough patches at the surface, produced by the waves below; it is not a direct photograph through the water of a submerged wave.

— [NASA Earth Observatory — internal waves in the Indian Ocean](https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/internal-waves-in-the-indian-ocean-44567/)

### Additional evidence — research summaries

> A 2021 study by Chang and colleagues directly measured internal solitary waves in the South China Sea. The instruments recorded instabilities and intense turbulent mixing as the waves moved towards shallower water. This is direct field evidence for wave dynamics, not a measurement of every internal wave or a test of a religious interpretation.

— [Chang and colleagues, 2021 — direct measurements of internal waves](https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-020-00083-6)

### Additional evidence — research summaries

> Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution also describes internal waves in the upper ocean. Density layering, rather than the absence of sunlight, is the relevant physical condition.

— [WHOI Oceanus — beneath the sea surface](https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/through-the-looking-glass-of-the-sea-surface/)

## Qur'an passage · Quran 24:40

٤٠ 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

*Meaning in our own words: Or like darkness in a deep sea, covered by a wave, above which is another wave, with clouds above. Darkness lies in layers; a person holding out a hand can scarcely see it. Whoever Allah does not grant light has no light.*

### Reading the verse in context — summary

> Quran 24:39–40 uses a mirage and deep darkness as parables. Ibn Kathir explains the darkness in relation to disbelief and the need for Allah’s guidance. The scientific connection offered here is a modern reflection; it does not establish that the verse specifies an oceanographic mechanism or that the phenomenon was unknown in antiquity.

— [Quran.com — Ibn Kathir, commentary on 24:39–40](https://quran.com/an-nur/40/tafsirs/en-tafisr-ibn-kathir)

Reading about waves beneath waves can deepen our wonder at the sea’s hidden complexity. The verse itself does not name density layers or internal waves as technical categories. Its call to consider darkness and Allah’s light remains the centre of this reflection.

## Ponder

**How might the sea’s unseen movement deepen our attention to the signs around us?**

## Sources and further reading

- [Quran 24:40 · Quran.com](https://quran.com/24/40)
- [NASA — internal ocean waves](https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/internal-ocean-waves/)
- [Miracles of Quran](https://www.miracles-of-quran.com/internal_waves.html)

— Miracle of Quran, Daily Muslim · https://dailymuslim.org/quran-miracles/internal-waves-layered-ocean