Scientific Explanation of Hail Based on Verse 43 of Surah al-Nūr from the Noble Qurʼan

Abstract

Hail is one atmospheric rainfall with complex mechanism. The Greeks were among the pioneers of knowledge in ancient times and they have stated for "hail" some comments such as frozen rain (Anaximander) and instant freezing of water and moisture (Aristotle, n.d.). These two meanings are inconsistent with current scientific facts. Noble Qur'an is the most authentic text and to encourage Muslims believers to think in creation and strengthen their faith in the eternal power of the Creator. For instance the verse No. 43 of Surah Al-Nur, the mechanism of hail raining has been expressed with specific and gradual indications. In this research, first, by library method, different explanations of this verse were obtained from valid interpretive sources and then, the scientific findings of meteorologists and climatologists on hail were extracted from reference scientific texts in atmospheric sciences. During third stage and based on comparative method, the scientific rules were placed next to interpretations to test the novelty of the allusions of this verse and also the degree of allusions.   We found that the stages of hail raining included: "invisible water vapor rises from the sea", "water vapor ascends into the atmosphere", "reaching the condensation stage", "cloud formation", "convergence of ascending currents", "formation of cumulonimbus cloud", "growth of hailstones during successive ascents and descents by adsorption and freezing of ice needles", and finally "their fall down over ground" respectively. Meanwhile, the steps in the Noble Qur'an and it is mentioned in verse 43 of Surah Al-Nur respectively are: "clouds movement slowly", "clouds convergence", "clouds accumulation", "the formation of mountain-like clouds", and "hail raining from the clouds" respectively. The results also showed that simile of cumulonimbus cloud in (Al-Nur, 43) to "mountain" have four respects that they were beyond the comprehension of the people at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an. Nowadays, these features are known to stationary and satellite meteorological instruments. These four characteristics are "cloud layer temperature", "their constituent phase", "troughs and ridges inside the cloud" and "cloud height up to the tropopose". Based on these four characteristics, the Noble Qur'an considered the cloud of cumulunimbus as similar as "mountains". Meteorologists divide any cumulonimbus cloud into three floors, including cold at the bottom, super-cold at the top, and intermediate in the middle. We find these three floors in the same way in the high mountains. These floors are the current rivers (liquid phase), snow and ice reserves (solid phase) and in the middle region a combination of two liquid and solid phases, namely water and ice. Images from the cumulonimbus from above the atmosphere show dark and deep valleys and light and raised ridges. The fourth feature is to be said, none of the surface phenomena are as high as the mountains. Finally, meteorological findings show that it is the only cumulonimbus that rises from the ground to a height of 12,000 meters and more.