# Rust > Oxidized iron. - Field: Chemistry - Level: Simple - Qur'an passage: Quran 18:96 - URL: https://dailymuslim.org/quran-miracles/rust-iron-coating 1400 years ago nobody knew how to stop rust; however it was portrayed in the Quran. If iron is exposed to oxygen and water it will eventually convert to rust and disintegrate. ### Rust > Rust is an iron oxide, a usually red oxide formed by the redox reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water or air moisture. Several forms of rust are distinguishable both visually and by spectroscopy, and form under different circumstances. Rust consists of hydrated iron(III) oxides Fe_{2}O_{3}.nH_{2}O and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH), Fe(OH)_{3}). > Prevention Coatings and painting Rust formation can be controlled with coatings, such as paint, lacquer, varnish, or wax tapes that isolate the iron from the environment. — [Wikipedia, Rust, 2019](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust) To prevent rust you have to block the oxygen or water. One of the used methods is to coat the iron. This was known recently, however this was portrayed in the Quran 1400 years before it was discovered. In the story of Thu-Al-Karnain he poured tar over the iron. ## Qur'an passage · Quran 18:96 ٩٦ آتُونِي زُبَرَ الْحَدِيدِ ۖ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا سَاوَىٰ بَيْنَ الصَّدَفَيْنِ قَالَ انفُخُوا ۖ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَعَلَهُ نَارًا قَالَ آتُونِي أُفْرِغْ عَلَيْهِ قِطْرًا *Bring me blocks of iron." So that, when he split it equally between the two barriers, he said, "Blow." And having turned it into a fire, he said, "Bring me tar to pour over it."* He coated the iron with tar. Today we know why, tar prevents oxygen and water from reaching the iron, thus preventing rust. ### Additional references > Original article: Miracles of Quran, shared under the source website’s no-copyright notice. The source English above is preserved exactly; the scientific, metallurgical and tafsir notes below are separate additions. — [Miracles of Quran — source permission](https://www.miracles-of-quran.com/) ### Wikipedia — reuse licence > The original article’s quoted rust passage remains attributed to Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is reusable under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0, subject to its terms. — [Wikipedia — reuse licence](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) ### Scientific structure — reaction, protection, textual limit ### 1. Mechanism — how iron rusts > The Canadian Conservation Institute explains corrosion as an electrochemical process. On a wet iron surface, iron atoms lose electrons at anodic sites; water and oxygen use those electrons at cathodic sites, producing hydroxide ions and then corrosion products. Water acts as the electrolyte and oxygen participates in the reaction. This supports the original article’s basic chemistry. — [1. Mechanism — how iron rusts](https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/preventive-conservation/guidelines-collections/metal-objects.html) ### 2. Protection — what a barrier coating can do > AMPP, the international corrosion authority, explains that protective coatings form a solid barrier that can inhibit contact with water and the environment. Performance depends on material choice, surface preparation, application, curing, inspection and maintenance. A coating is therefore an engineering system, not an automatic guarantee against rust. — [2. Protection — what a barrier coating can do](https://ampp.org/technical-research/what-is-corrosion/how-to-protect-metals-from-corroding) ### 3. Muslim scientific journal — a modern Fe–Cu composite model > A 2025 peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Qur’anic Studies, published with Shahid Beheshti University and the Scientific Association of Miracles of the Qur’an of Iran, re-evaluates 18:96 as an iron–copper composite rather than a homogeneous alloy. The paper is a modern materials-science interpretation of the text; it is not archaeological proof that a recovered barrier used this construction. — [3. Muslim scientific journal — a modern Fe–Cu composite model](https://doi.org/10.37264/JIQS.V4I2.9) ### 4. Classical tafsir — qiṭr is mainly molten copper, not tar > Ibn Kathir reports that Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ikrimah, al-Dahhak, Qatadah and al-Suddi understood qiṭr as copper, with some specifying molten copper. Al-Qurtubi also says most exegetes took it as molten copper, while recording minority views such as molten lead or iron. The source article’s English word ‘tar’ is therefore not the dominant classical reading and should not be used as the basis of a corrosion claim. — [4. Classical tafsir — qiṭr is mainly molten copper, not tar](https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/qortobi/sura18-aya96.html) ### 5. Metallurgical limit — copper can also accelerate iron corrosion > An NIH technical bulletin states that carbon-steel corrosion requires exposure to oxygen and water, but also warns that contact with a more cathodic metal such as copper can accelerate corrosion. A continuous, well-adhered layer may separate iron from the environment; a damaged or porous copper layer can instead create a galvanic couple. The verse describes heating iron and pouring qiṭr, but does not say that rust prevention was the purpose. The anti-rust reading is possible modern reflection, not an established conclusion of the verse or classical tafsir. — [5. Metallurgical limit — copper can also accelerate iron corrosion](https://orf.od.nih.gov/TechnicalResources/Documents/Technical%20Bulletins/18TB/Corrosion%20Protection%20of%20Steel%20February%202018%20Technical%20Bulletin_508.pdf) ## Ponder **How could an illiterate man who lived 1400 years ago have known about rust?** ## Sources and further reading - [Quran 18:96 · Quran.com](https://quran.com/18/96) - [1. Mechanism — how iron rusts](https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/preventive-conservation/guidelines-collections/metal-objects.html) - [Miracles of Quran](https://www.miracles-of-quran.com/rust.html) — Miracle of Quran, Daily Muslim · https://dailymuslim.org/quran-miracles/rust-iron-coating