[Al-Quran 50:6-8] Have they not looked at the heaven above them - how We structured it and adorned it and how it has no rifts? And the earth - We spread it out and cast therein firmly set mountains and made grow therein [something] of every beautiful kind, Giving insight and a reminder for every servant who turns [to Allah].

Showing posts with label revelation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label revelation. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Hailstones from the Sky

Warnings & Examples 

Abstract 
The Quran is replete with clear signs, warnings and examples. Mountains of hailstones from the sky is specifically mentioned as an act of Allah. Megacryometeors and hailstorms causing damage and destruction are witnessed in many parts of the world… 


Full Text 
The Quran is replete with clear signs, warnings and examples of the might of the All-Powerful Allah. While in His Mercy, He grants us a lifetime to repent and earn His forgiveness to be rewarded with eternal bliss, He also repeatedly warns us of the judgement to come and the consequent severe punishment of the criminals. The life of this world presents mild examples of a much more extreme Hereafter, both in terms of rewards and punishments. Surah anNoor mentions hail as a clear example:  


أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُزْجِي سَحَابًا ثُمَّ يُؤَلِّفُ بَيْنَهُ ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهُ رُكَامًا فَتَرَى الْوَدْقَ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خِلَالِهِ 
وَيُنَزِّلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مِن جِبَالٍ فِيهَا مِن بَرَدٍ فَيُصِيبُ بِهِ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَصْرِفُهُ عَن مَّن يَشَاءُ 
يَكَادُ سَنَا بَرْقِهِ يَذْهَبُ بِالْأَبْصَارِ
يُقَلِّبُ اللَّهُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَعِبْرَةً لِّأُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ
Do not you see that Allah drives clouds then joins between them then makes them (into) a mass, then you see the rain come forth from their midst? 
And He sends down from (the) sky, [from] mountains within it [of] (is) hail and He strikes with it whom He wills and averts it from whom He wills. 
Nearly (the) flash (of) its lighting takes away the sight. 
Allah alternates the night and the day. Indeed, in that surely is a lesson for those who have vision. 
[Al-Quran 24:43-44]

Surah alHajj questions thus:

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ سَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَالْفُلْكَ تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِأَمْرِهِ وَيُمْسِكُ السَّمَاءَ أَن تَقَعَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ 
إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Do not you see that Allah (has) subjected to you what (is) in the earth, and the ships that sail through the sea by His Command? And He withholds the sky lest it falls on the earth except by His permission. 
Indeed, Allah to mankind (is) Full of Kindness, Most Merciful.
[Al-Quran 22:65]



Surah atTur informs us: 

وَإِن يَرَوْا كِسْفًا مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ سَاقِطًا يَقُولُوا سَحَابٌ مَّرْكُومٌ
And if they were to see a portion from the sky falling, they will say, "Clouds heaped up."
[Al-Quran 52:44] 


Bible
The Bible mentions hail in Exodus 9:18, Exodus 9:22, Job 38:22, Ezekiel 13:13, Revelation 8:7, Revelation 11:19 & Revelation 16:21.  


Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. ... It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. ...
Any thunderstorm which produces hail that reaches the ground is known as a hailstorm. Hail has a diameter of 5 millimetres (0.20 in) or more. Hailstones can grow to 15 centimetres (6 in) and weigh more than 0.5 kilograms (1.1 lb). 


Megacryometeor 


A megacryometeor is a very large chunk of ice which, despite sharing many textural, hydro-chemical and isotopic features detected in large hailstones, is formed under unusual atmospheric conditions which clearly differ from those of the cumulonimbus cloud scenario (i.e. clear-sky conditions). They are sometimes called huge hailstones, but do not need to form under thunderstorm conditions. ... pioneered research into megacryometeors in January 2000 after ice chunks weighing up to 6.6 pounds (3.0 kg) rained on Spain out of cloudless skies for ten days. ...
More than 50 megacryometeors have been recorded since the year 2000. They vary in mass between 0.5 kilograms (1.1 lb) to several tens of kilograms. One in Brazil weighed in at more than 50 kilograms (110 lb). Chunks about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in size fell in Scotland on 13 August 1849. 
------------

The following photos were licensed for reuse. 
For more photos, follow the links listed under References & Links at the bottom of this post  


At the time of this photo, this was the largest hailstone ever recovered, 7 inches in diameter and almost 19 inches in circumference. This record has since been surpassed.
Attribution: 


A record-setting hailstone that fell in Vivian, South Dakota on July 23, 2010. The hailstone broke the United States records for largest hailstone by diameter (7.9 inches) and weight (1 pound 15 ounces).
Attribution:
By NWS Aberdeen, SD - http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/abr/Vivian/Diameter.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11055933


Golf ball sized hail.
Attribution:
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=408616


Small hail, fractured to show internal structure
Attribution:
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=979776


A hailshaft on the rear flank of a storm.
Attribution:
By Bidgee, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1325739


A Dying Star Shrouded by a Blanket of Hailstones Forms the Bug Nebula (NGC 6302)
Attribution:
By NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons 




References & Links






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Last updated on July 15, 2018

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Wednesday, September 28, 2016

The Qur’an: a Revelation

A Literal Text, Not A Poem

Related posts:
Explained in Detail

Abstract
The Qur’an is a revelation, a literal text, which needs to be read as is. It is not poetry, and the Qur’an itself refutes any such assumption about it.      


Full Text
Surah At-Taariq
13 Lo! this (Qur'an) is a conclusive word,
14 It is no pleasantry.

 The Qur’an repeatedly draws attention to the signs all around and within us, urging us to pay heed to them. In Q51:4, it states:

Surah Adh-Dhaariyat
23 And by the Lord of the heavens and the earth, it is the truth, even as (it is true) that ye speak.

Unfortunately, many people assume that the Qur’an is difficult to understand. They claim that it is a poem, full of symbolism and analogies, and thus needs to be interpreted. The Qur’an itself refutes all such claims:

Surah Al-Anbiya
5 Nay, say they, (these are but) muddled dreams; nay, he hath but invented it; nay, he is but a poet. Let him bring us a portent even as those of old (who were Allah's messengers) were sent (with portents).
6 Not a township believed of those which We destroyed before them (though We sent them portents): would they then believe?      
7 And We sent not (as Our messengers) before thee other than men, whom We inspired. Ask the followers of the Reminder if ye know not?

Surah Ash-Shu’arah
2 These are revelations of the Scripture that maketh plain
…
224 As for poets, the erring follow them.
225 Hast thou not seen how they stray in every valley,
226 And how they say that which they do not?
227 Save those who believe and do good works, and remember Allah much, and vindicate themselves after they have been wronged. Those who do wrong will come to know by what a (great) reverse they will be overturned!

Surah Ya-sin
69 And We have not taught him (Muhammad) poetry, nor is it meet for him. This is naught else than a Reminder and a Lecture making plain,           
70 To warn whosoever liveth, and that the word may be fulfilled against the disbelievers.

Surah As-Saaffaat
35 For when it was said unto them, There is no Allah save Allah, they were scornful
36 And said: Shall we forsake our gods for a mad poet?
37 Nay, but he brought the Truth, and he confirmed those sent (before him).

Surah At-Tur
29 Therefor warn (men, O Muhammad). By the grace of Allah thou art neither soothsayer nor madman.
30 Or say they: (he is) a poet, (one) for whom we may expect the accident of time?
31 Say (unto them): Except (your fill)! Lo! I am with you among the expectant.
32 Do their minds command them to do this, or are they an outrageous folk?           
33 Or say they: He hath invented it? Nay, but they will not believe!     
34 Then let them produce speech the like thereof, if they are truthful.

Surah Al-Haaqqa
40 That it is indeed the speech of an illustrious messenger.      
41 It is not poet's speech - little is it that ye believe!       
42 Nor diviner's speech - little is it that ye remember!   
43 It is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.
44 And if he had invented false sayings concerning Us, 
45 We assuredly had taken him by the right hand         
46 And then severed his life-artery,          
47 And not one of you could have held Us off from him.

As clearly stated in the above quotes, the Qur’an is a revelation, a literal text, which needs to be read as is. It is not poetry!


[translations: Pickthal]



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