That's not how I meant it Brother. I came across some people that said that just like pegs hold clothes on a clothes line the mountains hold the earths crust to the earth but I have found no scientific writings on this so I simply concluded as you have that this is describing the appearance of mountains.
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The mountains resemble pegs, they have deep roots. And those roots go beneath different layers of the Earth (pegs go beneath different layers of wood when put in them). Think about it for a second, 2 plates collide with each other. When they collide, they slow down and stabilize and earthquakes stop.
Allah Almighty said: "Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs? (The Noble Quran, 78:6-7)"
He the Almighty also said: "And He has set firm mountains in the earth so it would not shift with you....(The Noble Quran, 16:15)",---So here it is saying that the mountain's function is so that we don't shake with the earth
The Qur'an draws attention to a very important geological function of mountains:
We placed firmly embedded mountains on the earth, so it would not move under them… (Verse: 21:31)
… [He] cast firmly embedded mountains on the earth so that it would not move under you… (Qur'an, 31:10)
Take a look at this picture and tell me what you think would happen if the mountain root wasn't there. How well would the Earth's cruse move under the mantle if the mountain wasn't there? Would the earth have an easier time moving if it wasn't for the root (think like a physicist)
Also take a look at this link:
http://www.livescience.com/18747-colliding-continents-slow.htmlLet me just say one thing that will crystallize it all:
1.) Mountains are as a result of tectonic plate movement
2.) When 2 plates move towards each other, the plates slow down and stabilize (as the laws of physics states and the article above say)
3.) Since the plates slow down and stabilize, the earth land is shifting/moving less. Just remember the word for Earth quake in the Quran is 'zalzala', that word was not used in the verse.
So:
-Mountains resemble pegs
-when two plates collide forming a mountain they stabolizeMountains are not as studied as they should be in science, but we see no contradiction in the verses. The verses were meant to be both figurative and literal.