Weight of clouds in the Quran

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The Quran talks about "heavy clouds" (سحاب ثقال). Basically everyone in the 7th century knew, that rain comes from the clouds and that the water coming from the clouds is heavy, so it was very easy to deduce that the cloud must carry all that weight of the rain and therefore is heavy. Early Muslims and Muslim scholars easily understood that "heavy clouds" means heavy with rainwater, but some 21st century Islamic apologists are trying to claim that it's humanly impossible to come up with the simple phrase "heavy clouds" and therefore the author of that phrase must be the creator of the universe.

Sources

The Quranic text claims that Allah produces the clouds, so the text ignores the water cycle, which is completely natural, and explains the existence of clouds by supernatural creation instead:

It is He who shows you the lightening, causing fear and hope. And He produces the heavy clouds.


Ibn Kathir didn't have knowledge of modern science and he had no problem understanding the verse, that it means "heavy with rainwater". He didn't say that the meaning is unclear or mysterious:

(And it is He Who brings up the clouds, heavy.) meaning, He originates the clouds that are heavy and close to the ground because of being laden with rain. Mujahid said that this part of the Ayah is about clouds that are heavy with rain.


Ibn Kathir on 13:12

Tafsir Al-Jalalayn also understood the verse without any problem, without knowledge of modern science:

He it is Who shows you the lightning inspiring fear in travellers of thunderbolts and hope for those who are at home of rain; and He produces He creates the clouds that are heavy with rain.


Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on 13:12


Apologetic question:

How could an illiterate man who lived 1400 years ago have known that clouds are heavy?


miracles-of-quran.com [1]

By simply observing rain coming from the clouds and deducing that all the heavy water must have been in that cloud before it started raining from it.

See also

External:

References