Cloud formation is a special feature of the earth. How rain was formed remained a great mystery for quite some time. Only after the weather radar was invented was it possible to discover the stages by which rain is formed. According to this discovery, the formation of rain takes place in three stages.
- First, the “raw material” of rain rises up into the air with the wind.
- Later, clouds are formed, and
- Finally raindrops appear
Almighty Allah says in the Qur’an:
Verse #1 Allah is the One Who sends the winds and they raise the clouds. Then He spreads this (cloud) in the atmosphere in the sky as He likes. Then He breaks it up into (various) pieces (layer upon layer). Then you see the rain pouring down from its midst. Then, when He sends it to those of His servants whom He pleases…►{Surah Rum Chapter 30 :Verse 48}
Verse #2 Have you not seen that Allah is the One Who drives the cloud (first) gently, then joins its (various pieces) together, and then forms them into layers upon layers? Then you see that from spaces between them rain issues forth and falls down.….►{Chapter 24, Surah Noor: Verse 43}
Meteorologists have only recently come to know these details of cloud formation, structure, and function by using advanced equipment like planes, satellites, computers, balloons, and other equipment, to study wind and its direction, to measure humidity and its variations, and to determine the levels and variations of atmospheric pressure. Scientists have studied cloud types and have realized that rain clouds are formed and shaped according to definite systems and certain steps connected with certain types of wind and clouds. Let us examine these three stages outlined in the verse in more detail.
Sequence of Cloud Formation and Rainfall in the Qur’an
FIRST STAGE: “It is Allah Who sends the winds and they raise the clouds…” Countless air bubbles formed by the foaming of the oceans continuously burst and cause water particles to be ejected towards the sky. These particles, which are rich in salt, are then carried away by winds and rise upward in the atmosphere. These particles, which are called aerosols, function as water traps, and form cloud drops by collecting around the water vapour themselves, which rises from the seas as tiny droplets.
SECOND STAGE:“….Then He spreads this (cloud) in the atmosphere in the sky as He likes. Then He breaks it up into (various) pieces (layer upon layer).”The clouds are formed from water vapour that condenses around the salt crystals or dust particles in the air. Because the water droplets in these clouds are very small (with a diameter between 0.01 and 0.02 mm), the clouds are suspended in the air, and spread across the sky. Thus, the sky is covered in clouds.
THIRD STAGE:“…and you see the rain come pouring out from the middle of them“. The water particles that surround salt crystals and dust particles thicken and form raindrops, so, drops that become heavier than the air leave the clouds and start to fall to the ground as rain. As already discussed, every stage in the formation of rain is related in the verses of the Qur’an.
Cloud formation according to scientists
According to the scientists today: “Water evaporates from the oceans and rivers forming tiny clouds. The small clouds join together and the updrafts within the larger cloud increase. The updrafts closer to the center are stronger, because they are protected from the cooling effects by the outer portion of the cloud. These updrafts cause the cloud body to grow vertically, so the cloud is stacked up. This vertical growth causes the cloud body to stretch into cooler regions of the atmosphere where drops of water and hail formulate and begin to grow larger and larger. When these drops of water and hail become too heavy for the updrafts to support them, they begin to fall from the cloud as rain, hail, etc.” [From “The Atmosphere” p. 269 and “Elements of Meteorology” pp. 141-142] These stages are explained in exactly the right sequence in the Glorious Qur’an. Just as with many other natural phenomena on the Earth, Allah gave the most correct explanation of this phenomenon, and made it known in the Qur’an centuries before it was discovered.
Quranic Encyclopaedia by Shaykh ul Islam Dr Tahir ul Qadri,
Chapter: Scientific Realities
Section: Climate/Weather–
