Parting of the Sea

MSA asked: ... Did Allah part the Red Sea and create a safe passage through it for Moses and Hebrew to escape from the Pharaoh? 

Answer: Yes, Allah did part the sea for Moses and the Bani Israel to escape from Pharaoh and his forces, and yes, we do take it also on faith.  

MSA asked: ... That said, let me address question on the parting of the Red Sea and ask you to take a look at the geographical location of it and then tell us: 

-If the Red Sea had parted and Moses and the Hebrews reached the promised land, how was he able to hold a meeting with Allah on Mount Sinai and receive a tablet of Torah from Him, when the Mount is located in the Egyptian desert? 

I have more questions on this issue. They will follow as we make progress in our conversation.

My Response: Do all agree that it is the Red Sea, and/or the geography of the area hasn't changed?

MSA wrote to someone else: ... One of my questions related to whether Moses and the Hebrews had crossed the Red Sea and then they sojourned at the foot of Mount Sinai, while Moses was receiving the Torah from Allah on its summit remains unanswered. 

One of the participants in the discussion opined that perhaps the geography of the region where the Red Sea was located has changed, and that person has said this, despite having an apparently scientific mind! 

The truthfulness of the so-called monotheistic religions depends on the answer to this question, and I am more that sure no one is going to answer it with a straight face!!

Answer: 

فَانتَقَمْنَا مِنْهُمْ فَأَغْرَقْنَاهُمْ فِي الْيَمِّ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَكَانُوا عَنْهَا غَافِلِينَ 

وَأَوْرَثْنَا الْقَوْمَ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا يُسْتَضْعَفُونَ مَشَارِقَ الْأَرْضِ وَمَغَارِبَهَا الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ الْحُسْنَىٰ عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا وَدَمَّرْنَا مَا كَانَ يَصْنَعُ فِرْعَوْنُ وَقَوْمُهُ وَمَا كَانُوا يَعْرِشُونَ

[Quran 7:136, 137] So We took retribution from them and We drowned them in the sea because they denied Our Signs, and they were to them heedless. And We made inheritors the people those who were considered weak - (the) eastern (parts) (of) the land and the western (parts) of it, which We blessed [in it]. And was fulfilled (the) word (of) your Lord - the best for (the) Children (of) Israel because they were patient. And We destroyed what used to make Firaun and his people, and what they used to erect.

[http://islamawakened.com/quran/7/136/ ; http://islamawakened.com/quran/7/137/ ] 

The Quran uses the same word: الْيَمِّ for the water in which the Baby Moses was thrown by his mother, as well as for the water which was parted during the Exodus.
[http://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=ymm#(7:136:5)].
Most translators translate the former as river and the latter as sea. I wonder why, however I would not jump to any conclusions.  

Geologic studies suggest that the Nile has moved since antiquity. http://ees.ac.uk/userfiles/file/EA-32pp03-05-Lutley.pdf However, Quran 7:137 informs us that the Bani Israel inherited the Eastern and Western parts of it. I hope it addresses your concerns regarding the geographical accuracy of the narration.   

As per Quran 7:137, all that the Pharaoh (Firaun) and his people built was destroyed. Historians teach us that the Pyramids were built by the Pharaohs. However, some researchers suggest that the Pyramids were not tombs built by the Pharaohs, but rather not only was the purpose of the Pyramids different from that suggested, they were also the legacy of an earlier, more advanced culture. [http://nuclearpyramid.com/great_pyramid.php] 

If everything that the Pharaoh and his people built was destroyed, it must have been a major cataclysmic event causing some major geographical changes in the region. 

Hope the above is instrumental in helping you place more faith in the verses of the Quran, a message from Lord of the Worlds. 

[Quran 61:8] They intend to put out (the) light (of) Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His Light although dislike the disbelievers.