18 Preface وَأَنزَلنا مِنَ السَّماءِ ماءً بِقَدَرٍ فَأَسكَنّاهُ فِي الأَرضِ ۖ وَإِنّا عَلىٰ ذَهابٍ بِهِ لَقادِرونَYusuf AliAnd We send down water from the sky according to1 (due) measure, and We cause it to soak in the soil; and We certainly are able to drain it off (with ease).Normally the rain comes well distributed; it soaks into the soil; the moisture is retained for a long time in all high grounds; it soaks and penetrates through many layers of soil and forms the architecture of physical geography; the retentive powers of higher soil enable rivers to flow perennially even where, as in India, the rainfall is seasonal and confined to a few months in the year. Another form in which water comes down from the sky according to due measure is in snow and hail: these also have their place in the economy of air and soil. Were it not for snow and glaciers in the higher mountain regions, some of the rivers would fail in their abundant flow. As wonderful as the supply of water and moisture is its drainage. It returns to the sea and air in all sorts of ways, and the formation of mist and clouds repeats the cycle. Were it not for the drainage and the clearance of the waters, we should have floods and waterlogging, as happens when the normal processes of nature are temporarily obstructed. The same thing happens when the rain comes down in other than due measure. These abnormal conditions also have their value. But how grateful should man be for God’s gifts in the ceaseless processes of nature on such an enormous scale!