As regards the origin of the seas in the initial stage of Creation he believed that it was done under a Divine Plan. Initially when the earth was created out of void and chaos, God purposely elevated some portions above the surface of the water so that the sunken areas where the water remained accumulated became seas.⁵⁷ The continuous motion of the Sun and other heavenly bodies cause upper air circulation in water and thus redistribution of water amongst the seas always goes on.

It is a significant point to note here that Alberuni does not attribute to seas a divine origin only. It may be inferred from his writings that in the initial stage of creation this may have had the upper hand but Alberuni also notes the catastrophic and disruptive forces at the back of the origin of seas. He observes that when parts of the...