Rain in the Holy Quran

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Rain in the Holy Quran

Rain is indeed one of the most important factors for life on the earth. Rain is a prerequisite for the permanence of life in a region. Rain, which carries great importance for all living things including human beings, is mentioned in various verses of the Quran where substantial information is given about the formation of rain, its proportion and effects. The fact that it was not possible for any of this information to have been discovered at the time of the revelation of the Quran shows that the Quran is the word of Allah. Now, let us examine the information given in the Quran about rain.

THE PROPORTION OF RAIN

In the eleventh verse of Surah az-Zukhruf, rain is defined as water send down in due measure. The verse is as follows: And He who sends down (from time to time) water from the sky in due measure, and We raise to life therewith a land that is dead. Even so will you be raised (from the dead). (43:11)
This measure mentioned in the verse has to do with a couple of characteristics of rain. First of all, the amount of rain that falls on the earth is always the same. It is estimated that in one second, 16 million tons of water evaporates from the earth. This number is equal to the amount of water that drops on the earth in one second. This means that water continuously circulates in a balanced cycle according to a measure. Another measure related with rain is about its falling speed. The minimum altitude of rain clouds is 1200 meters. When dropped from this height, an object having the same weight and size as a rain drop, would continuously accelerate and fall on the ground with a speed of 558 km/h. Certainly, any object that hits the ground with that speed would cause big damage. If rain happened to fall in the same way, all harvested lands would be destroyed, residential areas, houses, and cars would be damaged, people would not be able to walk around without taking necessary precautions. What is more, these calculations are made just for clouds of 1200 meters high, whereas there are also rain clouds at and altitude of 10,000 meters. A rain drop falling from such a height could normally reach a very destructive speed.
But this is not how it works; no matter from how high they fall, average speed of rain drops is only 8-10 km/h when they reach the ground. The reason for this is the special form they take. This special form increases the friction effect of the atmosphere and prevents acceleration when the rain drops reach a certain speed limit. (Today parachutes are designed by using this technique.)
This is not all about the measures of rain. For instance, in the atmospheric layers where it starts to rain, the temperature may fall so low as 40 C degrees. Despite this, rain drops never turn into ice particles. (This would certainly mean a fatal threat for the living things on the earth).

The reason is that the water in the atmosphere is pure water. As known, pure water hardly freezes even in very low temperatures.

THE FORMATION OF RAIN

How rain forms remained a great mystery for people for a long time. Only after air radar were limited, could it have been possible to learn by with stages rain formed.
The formation of rain takes place in three stages: First, the raw material of rain rises up in the air. Later, clouds are formed and lastly, rain drops appear. These stages are clearly defined in the Quran in which precise information was given about the formation of rain centuries in advance;

“It is Allah Who sends the Winds, and they raise the Clouds: then does He spread them in the sky as He wills, and break them into fragments, until you see rain drops issue from the midst thereof; then when he has made them reach such of his servants as he wills behold, they do rejoice”!”
Now, let us look at the three stages mentioned in the verse;

1ST STAGE
It is Allah Who sends the winds Countless air bubbles formed by the foaming in 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 move upwards in the atmosphere. These particles which are called aerosols for clouds by collecting around themselves the water vapor  that again ascends from the seas  as tiny drops, by a mechanism called water trap.

2ND STAGE

 and they raise the Clouds: then does He spread them in the sky as He wills, and break them into fragments The clouds form from the water vapor that condenses around the salt crystals or the dust particles in the air. Because the water drops in these are very small (with a diameter between 0.01 and 0.02 mm), the clouds are suspended in the air and they spread in the sky. Thus the sky is covered with clouds.

3RD STAGE

Until you see rain-drops issue from the midst thereof. Water particles that surround salt crystals and dust particles thicken and form rain drops. So, the drops which become heavier than air depart from the clouds, and start to fall on the ground as rain.
The conclusion to be arrived here is that; Every stage in the formation of rain is told in the verses of the Quran. Furthermore, these stages are explained in the order they take place Just like in many other natural phenomena in the world, it is again the Quran that provides the most correct explanation about this phenomena as well, and more, that has announced these facts to people centuries before they were discovered by science.

LIFE GIVEN TO A DEAD LAND

In the Quran, a lot of verses call our attention to a particular function of rain, which is giving life to a dead land. It is stated in a verse as  We send down pure water from the sky. That with it We may give life to a dead land, and slake the thirst of things We have created, – cattle and men in great numbers. (25:48-49) In addition to furnishing the earth with water, rain also has a fertilization effect.
Rain drops that reach the clouds after being evaporated from the seas, contain certain substances that will give life to a dead land. These life-giving drops form on the top level of the sea surface which is called the micro layer by biologists. In this layer, which is thinner than one tenth of a millimeter, there are many organic leftovers caused from the pollution of microscopic algae’s and zooplanktons. Some of these leftovers select and collect within themselves some elements which are very rare in the sea water such as phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and some heavy metals like copper, zinc, cobalt and lead.
These fertilizer laden drops are lifted up into the sky by the winds and after a while they drop on the ground inside the rain drops. Seeds and plants on the earth find numerous metallic salts and elements essential for their growth here in these rain drops. This even is informed I another verse of the Quran as follows: And We send down from the sky rain chartered with blessing, and We produce therewith gardens and grain for harvests. (50:9)
Salts that fall with rain are small examples of some fertilizers (calcium, magnesium, potassium etc.) used for increasing fertility. The heavy metals found in these types of aerosols, on the other hand, are other elements that increase fertility in the development and production of plants.
Forests also develop and are fed with the help of these sea-originated aerosols. It this way, 150 million tons of fertilizer falls on the total surface of lands every year. If there was not a natural fertilization like this, there would be very little vegetation on the earth, and the ecological balance would be damaged.
What is more interesting is that this truth, which could only be discovered by modern science, was informed by Allah in the Quran centuries ago.

By: Harun Yahya