The Holy Quran on Clouds
Outline: Details pointed out in the Quran about cloud formation over 1400 years ago has only been recently uncovered by science.
Scientists have examined cloud types and are aware that rain clouds are formed and shaped as outlined by definite systems and certain steps associated with certain types of wind and clouds.
One kind of rain cloud is a cumulonimbus cloud. Meteorologists come with studied how cumulonimbus clouds are formed and that they produce rain, hail, and lightning.
They've found that cumulonimbus clouds have the following steps to produce rain:
1) The clouds are pressed by the wind: Cumulonimbus clouds commence to form when wind pushes some small items of clouds (cumulus clouds) to an area where these clouds gather (see figures 1 and 2).
Figure 1: Satellite photograph showing the clouds heading towards the convergency areas B, C, and D. The arrows display the directions of the wind. (The Use of Satellite photographs in Weather Analysis and predicting, Anderson and others, p. 188.)
Figure 2: Small components of clouds (cumulus clouds) moving in direction of a convergence zone close to the horizon, where we can see a large cumulonimbus cloud. (Clouds and Storms, Ludlam, plate 7.4.)
2) Joining: then this small clouds join together developing a larger cloud[1] (see figures 1 and 2).
Figure 2: (A) separated small pieces of clouds (cumulus clouds). (B) As soon as the small clouds join together, updrafts within the bigger cloud increase, so the cloud is stacked up. Water drops are suggested by ·. (The Atmosphere, Anthes and others, p. 269.)
3) Stacking: When the little clouds join together, updrafts inside the larger cloud increase. The updrafts close to the center of the cloud are more powerful than those near the edges.[2] These updrafts result in the cloud body to grow up and down, so the cloud is stacked up (see figures 2 (B), 3, and 4). This vertical growth reasons the cloud body to stretch into cooler areas of the atmosphere, where drops of water and hail come up with and begin to grow larger and larger. Once these drops of water and hail come to be too heavy for the updrafts to aid them, they begin to fall through the cloud as rain, hail, etc.[3]
Figure 3: A cumulonimbus cloud. Following the cloud is stacked up, rain is released of it. (Weather and Climate, Bodin, p.123.)
Allah has said in the Quran:
“Have you not seen how God makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a stack, and then you see the rain come out of it....” (Quran 24:43)
Meteorologists have lately come to know this level of detail of cloud formation, structure, and function by making use of advanced equipment like planes, satellites, computers, balloons, and other hardware or equipment, to study wind and its direction, to measure humidity and its variations, and to look for the levels and variations of atmospheric pressure.
The above verse, after mentioning clouds and rain, speaks about hail and lightning:
“....And He sends down hail from mountains (clouds) in the sky, and He strikes with it whomever He wills, and turns it from whomever He wills. The vivid flash of its lightning nearly blinds the sight.” (Quran 24:43)
Meteorologists have discovered that these cumulonimbus clouds, that shower hail, reach a height of 25,000 to 30,000 ft (4.7 to 5.7 miles),[5] like mountain tops, as the Holy quran said, “...And He sends down hail from mountains (clouds) in the sky...” (see figure 4 above).
This verse may raise an issue. Why does the verse say “its lightning” in a mention of the hail? Does this mean that hail will be the major factor in creating lightning? Let us notice what the book entitled Meteorology Today says relating to this. It says that a cloud ends up being electrified as hail falls through a region in the cloud of supercooled droplets and ice crystals.
As liquid droplets clash with a hailstone, they freeze on get a hold of and release latent heat. This keeps the top of hailstone warmer than that of the surrounding ice crystals. As soon as the hailstone comes in contact with an ice crystal, a significant phenomenon occurs: electrons flow from the colder target toward the warmer object. Hence, the hailstone ends up being negatively charged. Similar effect occurs when supercooled droplets are exposed to a hailstone and tiny splinters of positively charged ice break-off. These lighter favorably charged particles are then carried to the upper part of the cloud by updrafts. The hail, left with a negative charge, falls to the bottom of the cloud, thus the bottom part of the cloud becomes negatively charged. These negative charges are then discharged as lightning. We determine from this that hail is the major factor in generating lightning.
This information about lightning was discovered just lately. Until 1600 AD, Aristotle’s ideas on meteorology were dominant. For instance, he said that the atmosphere covers two kinds of exhalation, moist and dry. In addition, he said that thunder is the sound of the collision of the dry exhalation aided by the neighboring clouds, and lightning is the inflaming and burning for the dry exhalation with a thin and faint fire. Here are some of the ideas on meteorology which were dominant at the time of the Quran’s disclosure, 14 centuries ago.
EmoticonEmoticon