The Quran

Preface

أَلَم تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُزجي سَحابًا ثُمَّ يُؤَلِّفُ بَينَهُ ثُمَّ يَجعَلُهُ رُكامًا فَتَرَى الوَدقَ يَخرُجُ مِن خِلالِهِ وَيُنَزِّلُ مِنَ السَّماءِ مِن جِبالٍ فيها مِن بَرَدٍ فَيُصيبُ بِهِ مَن يَشاءُ وَيَصرِفُهُ عَن مَن يَشاءُ ۖ يَكادُ سَنا بَرقِهِ يَذهَبُ بِالأَبصارِ

Yusuf Ali

Seest thou not that God makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap? - then wilt thou see rain issue forth¹ from their midst. And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is hail: He strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns it away from whom He pleases, the vivid flash of His lightning well-nigh blinds the sight.

Artists, or lovers of nature, or observers of clouds will appreciate this description of cloud effects? thin clouds floating about in fantastic shapes, joining together and taking body and substance, then emerging as heavy clouds heaped up, which condense and pour forth their rain. Then the heavy dark clouds in the upper regions, that bring hail?how distinct and yet how similar! They are truly like mountain masses! And when the hailstones fall, how local their area! It hits some localities and leaves free others almost interlaced! And the lightning?how blinding flashes come from thunderous clouds! In this Book of Nature can we not see the hand of the powerful and beneficent God?