Zoology · Animal Physiology

Fastest Drinkers

The Quran compares the drinking of people in Hell to thirsty camels. Only recently did science discover why that comparison is precise camels are the fastest drinkers on Earth.

56:54-55 · Surah Al-Waqi'ah

فَشَارِبُونَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْحَمِيمِ فَشَارِبُونَ شُرْبَ الْهِيمِ

"They will drink on top of it boiling water. Drinking the drink of thirsty camels."

The Discovery

The word الهِيمِ (al-haym) specifically means extremely thirsty camels. A 600 kg camel can drink 200 liters of water in just three minutes the fastest drinking rate of any mammal. This was unknown in the 7th century.

What does Quran 56:55 specifically compare the drinking to?

Watch how much water a thirsty camel takes in.

The animation compresses three minutes into a few seconds. In reality, the camel drinks continuously without pause.

Water intake

0

liters

Time taken

3

minutes

200 liters in 3 minutes

That is roughly 66 liters per minute no other mammal on Earth comes close. The Quran's word: "the drink of thirsty camels."

What makes the comparison to camels in 56:55 scientifically precise?

A

Camels can survive the longest without water

True, but not what the verse's comparison highlights

B

Thirsty camels drink faster than any other mammal

200 liters in 3 minutes an unmatched rate

C

Camels store water in their humps for later use

A common myth humps store fat, not water

Lesson complete · +30 XP

The Quran chose the fastest drinker on Earth.

The word الهِيمِ refers to camels driven to extreme thirst, capable of consuming 200 liters in just three minutes a rate no other mammal matches. The verse could have said "drinking of the thirsty" and still been true. Instead it specified camels the one animal whose drinking speed is unmatched. Choosing camels, out of all animals, for a drinking comparison could only come from someone who already knew the fact.

0

liters in 3 minutes

0

years before science confirmed it

Statement in Quran 56:55	Modern science confirms
Uses الهِيمِ (thirsty camels), not general thirst	Camels are the fastest drinkers among all mammals	✓
Implies an extreme, distinctive drinking speed	200L in 3 min ≈ 66.7 L/min, unmatched in nature	✓
Specifically names camels not horses, not dogs	No other mammal drinks at anything near this rate	✓

"شُرْبَ الْهِيمِ" the fastest drinker, named 1,400 years early.

The verse could have said "drinking of the thirsty" and still been technically correct. Instead it specified camels the one animal whose drinking speed is extraordinary. That specificity has only one explanation: the author already knew the fact. No one in the 7th century had the equipment or methods to measure comparative drinking rates across species.

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