The Seven Layers of Earth

The Seven Layers of Earth

Written by Abdul-Dayem Al-Kaheel

Probing the depths of the Earth and taking pains to uncover the secrets of its internal structure and composition, scientists came to realize that the old myths about the Earth are scientifically baseless. Scientists in the twentieth century decided that the Earth consists of only three layers. Having discovered the sphericity of the Earth, they suggested that this sphere comprises three parts; the core, the crust which is very thin compared to the total volume of the Earth and a third layer in between the two called The Mantle.

Evolution of the scientific facts

However, the three-layer theory didn’t hold true for long, owing to recent discoveries in Geology. Measurements and recent tests showed that the pressure of the material of the Earth’s core is immense and reaches three million times the pressure at the surface.

Under such pressure the material transforms into the solid state, which means that the core of the Earth is solid and is enclosed by a liquid layer of extremely high temperature. This also means that the core of the Earth consists of 2 layers not just one; a solid inner core and a liquid upper core.

Measurement devices developed and scientists were able to observe a clear distinction between the different parts of the Earth’s interior. A layer of hot rocks underneath the crust was discovered, that is the Lithosphere. Underneath the Lithosphere are three layers distinct in density, pressure and temperature.

Having discovered these layers, scientists found themselves dividing the Earth into seven layers and no more. The Cut-away view below shows these layers drawn to scale according to the recent findings of scientists. The fact that the Earth comprises seven layers is established. It is taught at universities and observed through seismographs and through studying the magnetic field of the Earth.

Scientists also found out that the atom consists of seven layers which confirms the uniformity of the creation because the system that governs the creation of the whole universe is one, the earth consists of seven layers and each atom on it consists of seven layers too.

The figure demonstrates the seven layers of the Earth. We note the thin crust then the four layers of the Mantle increasing gradually in thickness. Next is the liquid outer core then the solid inner core. They all add up to seven layers.

The layers of the Earth are radically different in composition, density, temperature and material. Hence, the Earth can not be considered as one layer as was previously believed. The notion of the seven layers is relatively new and didn’t exist at the time the Quran was revealed. Scientists in the twenty-first century concluded that the Earth consists of seven layers, but what does the Quran have to say about that?

What the Quran says:

Telling of the seven layers of the Heavens and the Earth, God says in the Holy Quran:

1- He (Allah) Who created the seven heavens one above the other – [Al Mulk: 3]

2- Allah is He Who created seven heavens and the earth the like of them – [ Al Talaaq: 12]

The first verse is talking about two characteristics of the heavens; their number, that is seven, and the arrangement of them (one above the other) or ‘in layers’. The second verse asserts the similarity between the Earth and the heavens (And the Earth the like of them), so as the heavens consist of seven layers, the earth identically consists of seven layers.

Let’s ponder on (one above the other). It denotes the layering of the Earth, and this is what today’s scientists discovered. Now we can see that the Quran had determined the structure of the Earth, which is in layers, and had also determined the number of these layers, that is seven. In other words, the Quran had given a precise description of the earth’s interior, thus it preceded the scientists of the twenty-first century by fourteen centuries in proving this fact. Isn’t this a splendid miracle of the Quran?

What the Hadith says:

Pondering on the Hadith (sayings) of Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), we’ll find one that asserts the existence of the seven layers of the earth concentric and one above the other. The prophet (PBUH) said: (Whoever usurps even one span of the land, his neck will be encircled because of it with seven earths) [narrated by Al Bukhari]. Here the prophet gave another characteristic of the layers, encirclement, by saying (will be encircled with it) and this is how the layers truly look like, they are concentric and each one encircles the one underneath it.

The question here is: Isn’t this a great miracle of the prophet? Not just that the Hadith determines the number of the earth’s layers, seven, and determines the arrangement of these layers, but it also bears an indication to the sphericity of the earth.

From this article we find that the Holy Quran and the Hadith reached these facts about the earth long before modern science did. The Quran had given us the precise description of the earth’s internal structure (layers one above the other) and also had given us the exact number of these layers, seven, while it took scientists long years of theorizing and re-theorizing to come up with the same conclusions. So exalted be Allah who said in His Holy Book : (And in the earth are portents for those whose faith is sure- and also in yourselves, can ye then not see) [Al Thariaat: 21-22].

The sea which is fire

The sea which is fire

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

(We swear by the Altor mountain (1) And decree inscribed (2) In scroll which is unfolded (3) And Al-Baitul Ma'moor (Celestial structure resembling and directly above the Holy Ka'ba in heaven) (4) And heavens elevated (5) And seas sitting on bed of fire (6)) The Mount

To grasp the splendor in this verse we must examine the Arabic Adjective used for the sea in the Quranic text which is cSLfQ" ", pronounced "masjoor". The word is used for something which lies on, and is subsequently heated by, combustion or heat of some other substance underneath.

For centuries, Arabs and Muslims were mystified and could not comprehend how fire and water could co-exist.

Then came modern age geology and the discovery of faults in Earth's crust; an intricate interconnected network of seemingly separate faults stretching for hundreds of kilometers and going 65-150 kilometers deep into earth. It being one major fault is plainly stated in another verse where God Almighty swears by the Earth and the Fault in its structure. Scientists have come to liken this fault to an intricate design welded around the sphere of a tennis ball.

The cracks allow molten lave to gush through so that there is constant collision between cool sea water. Too much heat for the water to quell and too much water, even for temperatures of over 1000 centigrade, to be turned into steam, this is a phenomenon astounding scientists till today.

In one experiment, Russian Geologist Anatol Sbagovich, Russian Geologist and Biologist Yuri Bagdanov and US scientist Rona Clint ventured 1750 kilometers off the coast of Miami and then boarded a sophisticated submarine and descended two miles below surface. The submarine rested on the end of a rock shelf and the submarine's acrylic window was the only barrier between them and scorching hot water springing from cracks at the seabed at temperatures around 231 centigrade.

The team noticed cool surface water rushing down to about a mile deep before it heats up and springs up again taking along debris and some molten matter. Science proved that this is a phenomenon to be found in all seas and oceans, though it is more frequent in certain places.

It was also found that volcanoes are more numerous and more active under water and that volcanoes stretch the entire seabed. With insufficient oxygen at such great depths, the lava gushing through is black-hot with no direct combustion. This serves as a tray, if you will, which heats up by the heat of lava underneath and heats up sea water, the exact image rendered in the Quranic diction and Arabic adjective cSLfQ"".

Great is His glory!

The change of weather

The change of weather

With an introduction By: Magdy Abd Al-Shafy

Its only in recent years that the problem of pollution so brazenly began to challenge life in all of its forms, chemicals are widely used with the result that new disease have appeared . All forms of life are in danger because of the unwise use of chemicals that contaminated the air and the sea and the land. The worst of all is the global warming that has affected the weather all over the world and this ,in its turn, has affected all forms of life and many disasters are lurking and lying in ambush. For the sake of brevity we mention some effects of the use of chemicals on human life as well as the animal life.

Pesticides, widely used pollutants , not only has affected the weather but also the human health.

In terms of general human health effects, pesticides can ...

affect and damage the nervous system;

cause liver damage;

damage DNA and cause a variety of cancers;

cause reproductive and endocrine damage;

cause other acutely toxic or chronic effects.

The effects of Mercury on human health

central nervous system effects like Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease;

heart disease;

• and, in severe cases, causing death or irreversibly damaging areas of the brain.

The effect of

PCBs, Dioxins, and Other POPs

PCBs, dioxins, DDT, and a number of other persist ant organic pollutants don't readily break down in the environment and tend to collect in the fatty tissues of animals. All of these chemicals are toxic for the animals that harbor them. In cases where humans might eat, say, a PCB-contaminated frames salmon

, their systems must deal with the chemical insult.

Here are a few specific examples of the effects of POPs-related water pollution:

• PCB contamination in Puget Sound exceeds the level known to suppress immune function in the harbor seal. PCBs are also thought to be a factor in the decline of Puget Sound killer whales, whose numbers declined by 14% between 1995 and 2003.

• Elevated levels of PCBs and DDT may be contributing to the deaths of California southern sea otters.

• The breeding success of Baltic seals declined sharply in the 1960s and 1970s. Scientists suspect that PCBs were the main culprit.

• Deformed fish and other aquatic life have been found near Swedish pulp mills that use chlorine as a bleaching agent—a practice that results in discharges of dioxins and other highly toxic substances.

• The following diagram shows to what extent chemicals may affect human health.

Global warming is imparting extra heat to our oceans, which have absorbed about 20 times as much heat as the atmosphere over the past half-century. The ocean is a complex system, and scientists don't know yet what all of the effects of this type of "water pollution" will be, but here are some likely ones:

• Sea levels will rise (because of thermal expansion and melting ice), increasing coastal flooding and inundation.

• There will be more intense hurricanes as they gather additional strength from warmer surface waters.

• Temperature-sensitive species like corals will see tougher times. The Pew Oceans Commission notes that an increase in the mean sea-surface temperature of only 2 degrees F could cause the global destruction of coral reef ecosystems.

• Increasing sea-surface temperatures are associated with the northward spread of a oyster pathogen in the eastern US. Similar cases are highly likely

A scientific study says that changes in the weather may have led to disappearance of many creatures by the year 2050. After a long keen study in six places in the world , it is reported that one fourth of the living creatures that live on the earth will be extinct. They also say that applying the strict procedures of restricting and reducing the rate of the gases that cause global worming may save many species of animals. The united Nations affirms that not only is animal life in danger but also human life also is too. This study was aided with data taken from the British Commission for the study of the weather change.

In another report, titled “ The expected danger of the disappearance of animals and the change in weather, scientists published a study that was applied on places where various living beings live; this area approaches(20%) of the total area of the earth. Electronic advanced technology were used in the study on mammals , plants, birds, reptiles, frogs and butterflies. This study was concerned with animals and birds’ reaction to any change in the temperature of the weather. Scientists have set three probabilities of the consequences of weather changes; these are consequences resulting from weak changes in the weather change, consequences resulting from moderate change in the temperature of the weather and the consequences resulting from the utmost degree in the change of the temperature of the weather.

The search team affirms that between (15%-37%) of the animals in the area that search was done on are liable to extinction because of the weather change in the few coming years, if we generalize these data on the world, says the leader of the team, a lot of species will be extinct as their habitation will no longer suit them ,in addition , many species won’t be able to emigrate into other suitable habitation.

The consequences of the weather change are really gruesome; the least change in weather would bring forth the loss of (18%) of living creatures till 2050, moderate change in weather temperature would bring about (24%) of animal loss. In case of the utmost change in weather temperature, the loss of animals will be (35%).

In this study, One of the scientists who studied weather change says matters will go on as if we can’t do any thing to avert that debacle, we should do anything to keep the least scenario of that disaster.

Another study says if a million of creatures are extinct, milliard of people, especially those who live in developing countries, will face famines because they depend on nature for food and medicine and many other things

Marine damage

Scientists affirm that the quantity of carbon dioxide that oceans absorb has decreased to (50%), with help of

technologically equipped ships that measured the ratios of carbon dioxide, we have got 90 samples that all affirm this fact.

A ten-year keen study on the north of the Atlantic ocean shows that between the middle of the 90s to 2005 , the rate decreased to (50%), scientists say the rise of the earth temperature will go on if the quantity of the absorbed gases that causes global warming goes on.

Researches published in the National Geographic say the results they have reached were stunning as there were some reasons that assure that it is enough ,oceans are absorbed with gases emissions, scientists still affirm the fact that the less oceans absorb gases, the more the global warming rises.

BBC head of environmentalist says that researchers are at loss concerning the etiology standing behind this change; some attribute it to changes in the weather while others attribute to other changes, yet they all say these researches worry them so much as in the course of time the oceans will be saturated with our gases emissions, thus these oceans will be unable to absorb any more and the left gases will surely rise the temperature of the weather, half of the quantity of Carbon dioxide will turn into coal residue.

Another study from Proudman lab for oceanology says that the international level of see level remained stable on the span of the last 2000 years; the change was only 2 CM during this long period yet by the turn of the present century ,we expect that sea level may rise to (0.8-1.5 meter), this fast change in the rate of the sea level is connected with the rate of ice melting in the two polars.

This rise in the sea level will badly affect the lower regions of countries .

Saymon Holgete says that there are tenable proofs that there are some changes in the level of water in sea in the last few thousand years that preceded the last three hundred years, there are some archeological proofs deduced from the study of fish rearing basins that the Roman built, these shows so little rise in water during the last two thousand years, if this ratio is compared with the rise in water during the last three hundred years , it would be awful rate, the rate of water has reached (3CM) a year, concerned scientists even expect that this rise may increase in the future.

Fauna and flora at danger

A new scientific study says that the change in the weather has led to changes in the life of animal and plants , the rise in temperature by one degree may lead to the extinction of some animals, moreover this rise affects the development of some animals in their mother’s wombs.

The Holy Quran, though condemns the unwise human being interference in nature, it has prophesied the change in weather and the corollaries that will be ensued both on the land and the sea and even determined who is responsible, God says in Quran what means “ Evil has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned.”

(2) The holy Quran is the first book that has warned against tampering with the conditions of the earth after God had made it fine-tuned and tailored it to fit the human life, God says in this regard what means” Do no mischief on the earth, after it hath been set in order” (Al-Araf:56)

The Holy Quran is the first book that warn against extravagance, God says what means"But waste not by excess, for Allah loveth not the wasters."

The holy Quran says that people will go beyond every limit in earning wealth; rich countries that based its ideology on secularism are the ones that tampered with nature to earn huge wealth and they polluted the nature, The Holy Quran says in this regard what means”yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land.” ( Al-Ma’eda:31)

The Holy Quran has warned against those who do mischief in the earth for the purpose of the excessive extravagance and luxuriousness and the milliards spent on what displeases God, in the following verse God has correlated between doing mischief in the earth and tampering with nature, including the fauna and flora…this holy verse implies the extinction of some animals because of the human tampering with nature.

The following verse really expresses the dilema and condemns it so much, God says in the Holy Quran what means"

And when he turns back, he runs along in the land that he may cause mischief in it and destroy the tilth and the stock, and Allah does not love mischief-making.

Men Objectify Scantily Clad Women

Study: Men Objectify Scantily Clad Women

By Amel Abdullah Freelance Writer - United States

Memory tests performed on the men showed that most of them best remembered photographs of headless women in bikinis despite viewing each image for only a fraction of a second. Anecdotally, Muslim women often speak of feeling "protected," "safe," and "respected" when they wear the hijab (religiously mandated modest dress that covers the shape of the body and includes the headscarf or veil). Now there may also be evidence to show that their feelings are rooted in scientific fact. When psychologist Susan Fiske and a team of researchers at Princeton University performed MRI brain scans on heterosexual men who viewed a series of images showing both scantily clad and fully clothed men and women, they found that the men had an unmistakable response to women wearing less clothing. The less they wore, the more likely it was for the premotor cortex and the posterior middle temporal gyrus to light up. These are the areas of the brain associated with tool use, hand manipulation, and the urge to take action. (Cikara, Dell'Amore) "It was as if they immediately thought about how they might act on these bodies," Fiske explained during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science which was held in Chicago, February 12-16. "They are reacting to these photographs as people react to objects," she said. (Nicholson) Memory tests performed on the men showed that most of them best remembered photographs of headless women in bikinis despite viewing each image for only a fraction of a second. (Landau) Fiske and her team further examined the men for hostile sexist attitudes. They found that those rated as more hostile had little activity in areas of the brain that are associated with considering another person's thoughts and feelings (a phenomenon called mentalizing) when looking at sexualized photos of women in bikinis. "They are not thinking about their minds," said Fiske. (Cikara, Dell'Amore, Landau) Sexualized Women Viewed as Less Human Several studies further demonstrate the link between viewing pornography and committing violence against women, including rape and sexual assault. According to a lay summary of Fiske's study provided to IslamOnline.net, when a man's mentalizing network shuts down, this means he views sexualized women as "less human." (Cikara) This type of dehumanization is something Fiske says has rarely been observed in the laboratory setting—only "once before," according to a recent National Geographic article, which cited a study in which people were shown "off-putting photographs of homeless people and drug addicts." (Dell'Amore) In the case of scantily clad women, however, men do not demonstrate the same feelings of avoidance as they do with populations like the homeless, which are often shunned by society. Instead, they wish to act on them as one would "push," "handle," or "grab" an object—first-person action verbs that men associated with the images of women in swimsuits. (Dell'Amore, Landau) Mina Cikara, a Princeton University graduate student who was involved in conducting the study, added that men do not view their wives or sisters in the same manner they view sexualized images of women. In addition, men associated the images of women who were more fully clothed with third-person verbs, such as "she pushes," "she handles," and "she grabs," which, according to Fiske, implies that men view fully-clothed women as having more command over their own actions and not as objects to be manipulated. (Eshleman, Landau) More Clothing, More Respect "One of the main objectives of hijab is to safeguard women from the gazes of people of weak morals." According to Fiske, the results of the study have important implications for women, especially in the workplace as it has previously been shown that viewing sexualized images of women can affect how men perceive women and interact with them afterwards. (Landau, Sample) A sexism study conducted by Lawrence University professor, Peter Glick, also found that professional women who wear provocative attire in the workplace are perceived by their co-workers as being less competent and less intelligent, especially when they are in positions of power. According to DiversityJobs.com, Glick's study suggests that "women in higher level and high power jobs may need to dress more modestly and conservatively to win the respect of their colleagues." (DiversityJobs.com) Several studies further demonstrate the link between viewing pornography and committing violence against women, including rape and sexual assault. In the wars of Bosnia and Iraq, soldiers who committed atrocious crimes and dehumanized the other side were often found to be regular consumers of pornography, even viewing pornography on purpose to "psyche themselves up" for the work of killing. (Chew, Rejali) Fiske compared the results of her study to studies showing that viewing television can desensitize one to the effects of violence. "You have to be aware of the effect of these images on people," Fiske told The Daily Princetonian. "They’re not neutral. They do have an effect on how people think about other women." (Eshleman, Alleyne) Dignity and Confidence "There were times where I wish I was covered up more so that I could just get home without worrying about who might be following me." Despite mounting evidence showing the benefits of modest and conservative dress, media portrayals of the hijab frequently depict Muslim women as victims of oppression, mind-control, and abuse. Karen Danielson, however, maintains that wearing the hijab gives her both dignity and confidence. Danielson, an American living in Jordan, first wore the hijab more than two decades ago, shortly after embracing Islam in 1983. "When I walk in public, I cannot be looked at or judged based on my sensuality or lack of either, or how I attract or not attract men," she explained to IslamOnline.net. "I define myself based on my upright behavior and intelligence—what my dress upholds—and I am humbled in my modest dress." "I feel that I can be myself, a unique individual with her own voice to speak," added Sumayah Finnigan. "I am not conforming to the majority in what they say and wear and thus I am me - which is thoroughly liberating." Balqees Mohammed, an American who embraced Islam in 1979, holds similar views and told IslamOnline.net that the hijab "promotes modesty...for the woman as well as all those around her." Mohammed, who lives in Saudi Arabia and covers her face in addition to the rest of her body, says that her way of dressing "causes others, particularly men, to not be so free to engage in unnecessary discussion." Hijab and Safety "The message that the woman gives when she wears Islamic dress is as follows: 'Respect me for who I am. I am not a sex object.'" "I definitely feel safer wearing hijab and dressing modestly in general," Cari Abudeyeh, another American living in Jordan and a practicing Muslim of twelve years told IslamOnline.net. "I feel it is my barrier against men staring or disrespecting me and my boundaries. It is a barrier to prevent or change that first instinctive look men give you to check you out and see what you are 'about,' a barrier to prevent sexual feelings you didn't intend them to feel or ideas in their heads that are created by dressing provocatively." She went on to say that "It's a protection against men approaching you in an inappropriate manner, helping to influence their decision in the way they stand by you, talk to you, look at you, or even prevent them from touching you." Finnigan, who is from London, contrasts wearing the hijab, which she describes as "an act of obedience to the Creator" that "makes women safer in both the literal sense and the spiritual sense," with the feelings of vulnerability she used to experience before accepting Islam and the hijab in 1999. "There were times where I wish I was covered up more so that I could just get home without worrying about who might be following me," said Finnigan. "Every night I would venture out and return home always looking over my shoulder, afraid I would be attacked or raped." "There will always be those who will or may attack women regardless of their manners or style of dress," acknowledges Mohammed. However, she sees the Muslim hijab as "an added help to ward off possible physical approaches." "One of the main objectives of hijab is to safeguard women from the gazes of people of weak morals and from those seeking to indulge in unlawful worldly pleasures," says Sheikh Riyad Al-Musaymiri, a professor at Al-Imam University in Riyadh. (IslamToday.com) "The Muslim woman is distinguished from the impious woman, for which she deserves respect." (Al-Musaymiri) According to IslamToday.com, some Western observers have assumed that the head covering of a woman is meant to show her inferiority to men. “This could not be further from the truth. The Qur'an explicitly states that the reason for her dressing this way is so that she will be respected. The message that the woman gives when she wears Islamic dress is as follows: 'Respect me for who I am. I am not a sex object.'" (IslamToday.com) For Mohammed, the choice to wear the hijab was an obvious one. "For me, it was not a question of safety. I never even thought of it in that light," she explained. "It was a question of following Allah's directives. For me, I was [neither] happy nor satisfied in becoming a Muslim only half-way. Either I became a Muslim and followed the commands and directives the best that I could, or I remained as I was previously." "My dress helps to remind me about my behavior and my religion and it indicates to others the same," added Danielson. "And that is security on more levels than just safety in public; it is peace of mind and a protected heart that is molded. Alhamdulillah (Praise to God)!" Sources: Al-Musaymiri, Riyad. "Dress & Grooming." IslamToday.com. Accessed 12 March 2009. Alleyne, Richard. "Men Really do See Half Naked Women as 'Objects', Scientists Claim." The Telegraph. 16 Feb 2009. Accessed 12 March 2009.

The Formation of Rain

The Formation of Rain

How rain forms remained a great mystery for a long time. Only after weather radar was invented was it possible to discover the stages by which rain is formed.

According to this, 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.

The Qur'an's account of the formation of rain refers exactly to this process. In one verse, this formation is described in this way:

(It is God Who sends the winds which stir up clouds which He spreads about the sky however He wills. He forms them into dark clumps and you see the rain come pouring out from the middle of them. When He makes it fall on those of His slaves He wills, they rejoice.) (The Qur'an, 30:48)

Now, let us examine these three stages outlined in the verse more technically.

FIRST STAGE: " It is God Who sends the winds..."

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: ".... which stir up clouds which He spreads about the sky however He wills. He forms them into dark clumps..."

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 our 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 we have seen, every stage in the formation of rain is related in the verses of the Qur'an. Furthermore, these stages are explained in exactly the right sequence. Just as with many other natural phenomena on the Earth, God gives the most correct explanation of this phenomenon as well, and made it known to people in the Qur'an centuries before it was discovered.

In another verse, the following information is given about the formation of rain:

(Have you not seen how God drives along the clouds, then joins them together, then makes them into a stack, and then you see the rain come out of it? And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) with cold hail in them, striking with it anyone He wills and averting it from anyone He wills. The brightness of His lightning almost blinds the sight.) (The Qur'an, 24:43)

Scientists studying cloud types came across surprising results regarding the formation of rain clouds. Rain clouds are formed and shaped according to definite systems and stages. The formation stages of cumulonimbus, one kind of rain cloud, are these:

1.STAGE, Being driven along: Clouds are carried along, that is, they are driven along, by the wind.

2.STAGE, Joining:Then, small clouds (cumulus clouds) driven along by the wind join together, forming a larger cloud.⁽¹⁾

3.STAGE, Stacking:When the small clouds join together, updrafts within the larger cloud increase. The updrafts near the centre of the cloud are stronger than those near the edges. 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.⁽²⁾

We must remember that meteorologists have only recently come to know these details of cloud formation, structure and function, by using advanced equipment like planes, satellites, computers etc. It is evident that God has given us a piece of information that could not have been known 1,400 years ago.

(A) Isolated small pieces of clouds (cumulus clouds) (B) When the small clouds join together, updrafts within the larger cloud increase, and so the cloud is stacked up.

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. This scientific fact was announced in verse 43 of Sura Nur fourteen centuries ago by God in this way: "...then (He) makes them into a stack, and then you see the rain come out of it"