The rain, clouds, hail, thunder and lightening

In the above elegant sentences mention is made of the rain, clouds, thunder, lightning, snow and hail, and wind and mountains, each of which with the help of angels performs a role in the magnanimous sphere of life. If any one of them stops functioning, the human life and that of the beasts are damaged tremendously.

The rain, clouds, thunder, lightning, snow and hail all work harmoniously and the function of each one should be discussed in a separate book. Here we will take up only some verses and narrations to discuss these points briefly. We shall refer you to the relevant sources to get further information.

The rain is caused by the clouds and clouds are the result of vapor and vapor is produced through the reflection of the sun over the surfaces of the oceans. All these, are done by the angels who act in accordance with God’s commands.

There are many verses in the Holy Qur’an concerning the rain, clouds and winds:

... وَأَنْزَلَ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنْ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقًا لَكُمْ ... [1]

“……Who sends down rain from the clouds then brings forth with is subsistence for you of the fruits…….”

... وَمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مِنْ مَاءٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّ دَابَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ وَالسَّحَابِ الْمُسَخَّرِ بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ  [2]

“……And the water that Allah sends down from the clouds, then gives life with it to the earth after its death and spreads in it all kinds of animals, and the changing of winds and the clouds made subservient between the heaven and the earth, there are signs for a people who understand.”

The sun heat makes the water on the earth to evaporate. The vapor reaches the cold high layers of the atmosphere and turn into clouds. Everybody knows the importance of rain. But do people realize that if the sun heat were not enough there would be no rain?

If water needed more heat to evaporate, there would be no any rain, either. If the vapors could not reach the cold high layers of the atmosphere, there would be no any rain, either.

If the clouds remained constant and did not mature sufficiently and did not undergo drastic changes, there would be no any rain. If the gravity of the earth did not attract the drops of rain, there would not be any rain, either. In short, if there were no hundreds of other factors involved in the formation of rain, there would be no rain at all.

The evaporation of water on the surface of the earth is a sign of Allah’s favor towards man. Cloud formation and cloud movement are other God’s favors towards man. Therefore, there are hundreds of favors involved in the production of rain.

Among the wonders of nature is the fact that sea water is salty by nature; however, the water rain is sweet. The source of all sweet water is the salty water.

Lands consist nearly two-sevenths of the earth surface. The rest of the earth – surface is covered with salty water.

The Almighty God distils the ocean water and prepares sweet and fresh water for plants, beasts and men.

The distillation system of nature is not limited in function like man’s own. The natural distillation system is so huge that it can contain the whole seas and oceans.

The sun which is many thousand times larger than the earth, warms up the water sea, the vapors are produced and then reach the higher strata of the atmosphere. The wind helps the vapors to ascent to the upper layers. The vapors then liquefy and subsequently clouds are formed.

The clouds then are put in motion; they satiate close to the earth; rivers then are formed; the earth becomes alive and puts on a green garment.

Some portion of the rain penetrates into the earth, forming the under – ground tables of water and reservoirs. Then springs and drains are formed.

The other portion of the water – rain returns to the sea through the rivers. The old cycle repeats itself once again. No drop of rainwater is wasted in the process: it is used by men, or beasts or plants or is absorbed by the earth or evaporates to return to the sea some times later.

Water constantly undergoes changes: the sea water evaporates, the vapors convert into clouds, the clouds change into rain, the rain forms the rivers and the rivers move toward the oceans.

Is it possible for the weak, and unconscious matter to undergo such drastic transformations? Never.[3]

أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ الْمَاءَ الَّذِي تَشْرَبُونَ، أَأَنْتُمْ أَنزَلْتُمُوهُ مِنْ الْمُزْنِ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْمُنزِلُونَ، لَوْ نَشَاءُ جَعَلْنَاهُ أُجَاجًا فَلَوْلَا تَشْكُرُونَ. [4]

“Have you considered the water which you drink? Is it you that send it down from the clouds, or are We the senders? If We pleased, We would have made it salty; why do you not then give thanks?

... وَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمْ مَاءً فُرَاتًا  [5]

[And made therein lofty mountains] and given you to drink of sweet water?

وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً بِقَدَرٍ فَأَسْكَنَّاهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَإِنَّا عَلَى ذَهَابٍ بِهِ لَقَادِرُونَ  [6]

“And we send down water from the cloud according to a measure, then We cause it to settle in the earth, and most surely We are able to carry it away.”

We know that the outer layer of the earth consists of two very different structures: the permeable (penetrable) layer and impermeable one. If the surface of the earth were covered with the permeable material, the rain could easily penetrate into the lower layers of the earth. Then draught would be the result.

And if the surface of the earth consisted solely of impermeable stuff, like clay, then the whole water would stay on the earth surface and then would get putrefied and infected. It would then make life intolerable for man; thus, the water which is now the source of life would have been deadly then.

But the compassionate God made the outer layer of the earth crust permeable and penetrable and the inner layer impermeable so that the water could penetrate into the inner layers and get trapped to be used later as water reservoirs for springs and wells without getting polluted.

The fresh and wholesome water that we drink today might have been collected of drops of rain in underground reservoirs thousands of years ago. Anyway, the One Who created us had prepared huge reservoirs of water long time before He created us.[7]

وَالَّذِي نَزَّلَ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً بِقَدَرٍ فَأَنشَرْنَا بِهِ بَلْدَةً مَيْتًا كَذَلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ  [8]

“And He Who sends down water from the cloud according to a measure, then We raise to life thereby a dead country; even thus shall you be brought forth.”

If rain and snow had been out of measure, they would have caused lots of calamities; floods would start destroying every corner of the cities and villages, and carrying the trees away; nothing would then be left for man.

Under such conditions, marshes would be formed which could then be the resorts for insects. These creatures would then leave nothing for man to feed on. Clay would cover the surface of the earth and would render cultivation impossible. No shelter would be left for the beasts and all of them would be destroyed. If the beasts had vanquished, so had mankind altogether.

Couldn’t the arrangement of the right amount of rain required for man to be taken as a sign of Him? Isn’t the continuation of this cycle for thousands of years a sign of His Philosophy, Knowledge and Might and Power?

If the amount of snow and rain were less than what it is now, the water reservoirs would be scarce. The surface water would become less than underground water due to evaporation. There would then be no huge river left. The draught would become worse each year. The under – ground water would then be either extremely low or non-existence at all.

Then famine would be inevitable, no plant would ever grow, the green plants would die and life would be impossible for the living things. However, God’s favors did not let this happen. He has given us the right measures of rain and snow.

Considering the fact that the outside layers of the sun are some thousands degree of temperature hot and its central heat being nearly seventy million degrees, we can assume the source of the heat of this marvelous oven should be of tremendous sources of energy, i.e., Hydrogen and Helium. The more these elements burn, the more energy and heat they will produce and the less becomes their life.

To solve these two problems, water can play a significant role to reduce the extreme heat and the reduction of these elements. The alternate rains that fall continuously over the surface of the sun are observable through telescopes. Donald Menzel, the American distinguished astronomer, declared at the conference of the astronomers:

The differences observed on the surface of some portions of the sun are due to the continuous rains that fall on the sun. Then he showed to the audience the film that he had taken from the sun, the surface of which was exposed to a heavy rain being poured on it from a distance of eighty thousand kilometers.[9]

وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ نَبَاتَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ... [10]

 “And He it is Who sends down water from the cloud, then We bring forth with it buds of all plants.”

In interpreting the expression “buds of all plants,” interpreters have offered two kinds of explanations:

In accordance with the first interpretation this expression(buds of all plants) is taken to mean all kinds of plants which grow in one piece of land, and are irrigated with the same water. Now, what is miraculous is the fact that from the same soil different plants grow with different forms and of different genres.

According to a second interpretation, the expression “buds of all plants” is taken to mean the plants needed by other creatures, such as birds, beasts, insects, the sea creatures and the desert dwellers. The interesting point is the fact that God has from the same land provided every creature with what they need.

A more interesting phenomenon to observe is the fact that not only the land and desert creatures make use of the rain, but the tiny creatures which reside within the sea waves, and on which the fishes feed, grow through the absorption of sun-rays and due to the exposure to rain drops. I will not forget the statement offered by the fisherman of the Persian Gulf who while complaining on the scarcity of fishes said: The scarcity of fishes is due to the draught. Besides, he was of the belief that the effect of rains on the sea was even more than that on the land.[11]