The Quran

Preface

وَما يَستَوِي البَحرانِ هٰذا عَذبٌ فُراتٌ سائِغٌ شَرابُهُ وَهٰذا مِلحٌ أُجاجٌ ۖ وَمِن كُلٍّ تَأكُلونَ لَحمًا طَرِيًّا وَتَستَخرِجونَ حِليَةً تَلبَسونَها ۖ وَتَرَى الفُلكَ فيهِ مَواخِرَ لِتَبتَغوا مِن فَضلِهِ وَلَعَلَّكُم تَشكُرونَ

Yusuf Ali

Nor are the two bodies¹ of flowing water alike,- the one palatable, sweet, and pleasant to drink, and the other, salt and bitter. Yet from each (kind of water) do ye eat flesh fresh and tender,² and ye extract ornaments³ to wear; and thou seest the ships therein that plough the waves, that ye may seek (thus) of the Bounty of God that ye may be grateful.

See 25:53 and notes 3111 and 3112. The great salt Ocean with its seas and gulfs is all one; and the great masses of sweet water in rivers, lakes, ponds, and underground springs are also one; and each is connected with the other by the constant circulation going on, which sucks up vapours, carries them about in clouds or atmospheric moisture, and again brings them condensed into water or snow or hail to mingle with rivers and streams and get back into the Ocean.
For this whole passage see 16:14 and notes 2034 and 2035. Both from the sea and from rivers and lakes we get fish, of which some kinds have a flesh particularly fresh and tender, and of a most delicate flavour.
Such as pearls and coral from the sea, and such delicately tinted stones as the 'Aqiq (car-nelian), the agate, the goldstone, or other varieties of quartz pebbles found in riverbeds, and considered as gems. Many such are found in the Ken river in Banda District (in India). Some river sands also yield minute quantities of gold. In large navigable rivers and big lakes like those of North America, as well as in the sea, there are highways for shipping and commerce. (R).