What
the Qur'an Says About
The Clouds and Their Formation
Modern science has identified the complex workings of clouds and their formation. Interestingly enough, the very same information is spelled out in the Qur'an! For example, rain-bearing clouds are formed only when atmospheric conditions are right. One of the major types of rain-bearing clouds is called the cumulonimbus cloud. Scientists have studied how these clouds are formed and how they produce rain, hail, thunder and lightning.
Cumulonimbus clouds, it was discovered, must go through the following process before they can produce rain:
1) The clouds must be driven or "pushed" by the wind: Cumulonimbus clouds form when prevailing winds push smaller fragments of clouds (called cumulus clouds) to a place where these clouds mix together. (See below)
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Example: This is a satellite photo showing clouds as they move towards the convergence areas labeled B, C, and D. The tiny arrows indicate the various directions of the winds. Photos taken from the book entitled, "The Use of Satellite Pictures in Weather Analysis and Forecasting", Anderson. |
2) Joining: The smaller clouds join together to form a larger cloud. (see below)
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Examples: Small fragments of cumulus clouds are shown here as they move towards the mixing area near the top of the photo. There we can see the beginnings of a large cumulonimbus cloud. Picture taken from the book entitled, "Clouds and Storms", Ludlam. |
3) Stacking: When the small clouds join together, updrafts inside the larger cloud continue to grow and expand. The updrafts near the center are greater in strength than those near the outside edges. These updrafts make the cloud's body grow vertically, so the cloud is literally becoming "stacked". Ultimately, this growth upward makes the moisture condensate and thus droplets of rain or nuggets of hail are formed. When they become too heavy to be supported by the updrafts, they fall to Earth. These clouds are stacked as high as 25,000 feet or more! Like mountains!
Allah says in the Qur'an:
"Haven't you seen how Allah 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...." (24:43)
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Example: Figure A represents isolated small cloud fragments. Figure B shows what happens when the small clouds join together. Huge updrafts within the larger cloud increase, so the cloud is literally being "stacked". Diagram taken from the book entitled, "The Atmosphere", Anthes. |
The following verse, after mentioning clouds and rain, speaks about hail and lightning:
"....And He sends down hail from mountainous (clouds) in the sky, and He strikes with it whoever He wants to, and turns it away from whoever He wants. The vivid flash of its lightning nearly blinds the sight." (24:43)
Example: A cumulonimbus cloud. After the cloud is stacked upward, rain comes out of it. Diagram taken from the book entitled, "Weather and Climate", Bodin. |
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The verse quoted above makes the inference that lightning is also created in the cloud and is connected to the phenomenon of hail. Interestingly enough, it is when hail passes through a cloud that electro-magnetic processes are set in motion to create lightning. no one in the seventh century could have known any of this. Thus is explained another wonder of the Qur'an and modern science.
