By the time you finish reading this sentence, you will have been carried over the earth, passed the sun, and moved through actual space of 1000 kms! In the time it takes you to ponder upon this, you will have moved another 1000 km through real space. Fast isn’t it? This is the speed at which one arm of our galaxy moves through space every second, and we don’t even feel a thing!

The motion of stars in their dedicated orbits, black holes, nebulas, and infinite number of other phenomena in the outer space display spectacular and equally thoughtful exhibitions thanks to Hubble and other new technologies. An increasing number of studies are thus devoted to stars, supernovas and interstellar space in recent years. Our contemplation of the universe deepens as we accrue more knowledge about it. Just as a cell is the functional building unit of the body, the main building blocks of the universe are galaxies. Just like every other living thing, galaxies will not be around for eternity; they form, develop, and cease within the cosmic laws that are put in place by their Creator.

According latest findings, it is estimated that around 100 billion galaxies exist in the observable universe and that there are galaxies 100,000 light years in size. A year has 31,536,000 seconds. Light travels 300,000 kilometers per second, therefore one light year equals to 946,080,000,000,000,000 (quadrillion) kilometers. Apart from the dispersal of stars, intergalactic distances of galaxies are not much bigger than their own galactic size. For example, the big Andromeda galaxy (the galaxy which is the closest to us) appear from the earth as wide as the sun or moon in the sky and can even be noticed with the naked eye. Latest research in astrophysics revealed that stars are not dispersed equally but rather found together in galaxies as an open system that exchanges energy and matter with its surroundings. A big portion of the galactic space is filled with gas and dust clouds which enable such exchanges to take place. This interstellar stage in which stars are born and die bears vital importance in sustaining and maintaining a galactic presence.

Some amazing characteristics of galaxies

Stars with different masses exist in a galaxy. Smallest one can be one tenth of the Sun’s mass whereas the biggest can be 100 times bigger than the sun. The most important feature of a star in a galaxy is its mass. Brightness of stars increase with their mass and this relation is three dimensional (cubic mass). Therefore if a star is twice as big, it is eight times brighter. Another feature is the relation between the age and mass of a star. The bigger the star, the shorter its life. These big stars live shorter compared to smaller ones despite their giant fuel reserves because they consume it very fast. Similar relations can be observed in the human body, which is an index of the universe, such that overweight people who consume more calories than people with less calorie intake eventually consumes more energy and become subject to deterioration in health and faster aging. The lifespan of a star is inversely proportional with its square mass (1/m2). For example, if a star is twice as massive, it lives only for one fourth of the time. Calculations show that our sun has a lifespan of 10 billion years. Compared to this, if a star is 30 times bigger than sun, it will only live for 10 million years.

The timescale of events that are occurring in galaxies can vary from thousands of years up to millions of years. Time required for the creation of a star is perhaps like a day in a galactic scale. This long time frame is considered short when compared with the age of galaxies. Furthermore, verses in the Qur’an (Al-Ma’arij 70:4) open new horizons in this matter and point out to the fact that time can change depending on different ratios and scales; so a day can indeed vary in length from being 1000 years or 50,000 years.

The movement and behavior of galaxies are quite complicated. Such that even if the galaxy formation process is completed, the creation and expiration process of stars within the galaxy still continues. It takes tens of thousands of years for a gas cloud to collapse inwards under its own gravitational force and become a star under normal conditions. Even five-ten billion years after the creation of a galaxy, it amazes scientists that there is still plenty of gas to remain in the interstellar stage, enough for a star to be born. On the other hand there are galaxies in which star formation is much faster than our Milky Way galaxy. These galaxies are called “starburst” galaxies and new stars are created in variable speeds over a long period of time. The uniqueness that is observed in the specific characterization of animal and plant species can also be witnessed in the creation of stars at different speeds, making spiral galaxies even more mysterious. This is because while a steady and balanced speed in the creation of stars is maintained in spiral galaxies, all the gas and dust available is consumed for the formation of stars in other galaxies. In a galaxy where stars continue to be created, the regions where large stars are created can be observed better compared to other regions in the night sky.

Spiral galaxies

Galaxies are generally divided into three groups: irregular shaped, elliptical, and spiral. Irregular shaped galaxies are composed of many young stars, gas and dust clouds without a definite shape. Elliptical galaxies are made up of old stars and limited number of gas and dust clouds. They are created in different shapes such as round, flat or like a baseball. Spiral galaxies are in the shape of a disc composed of spiral arms extending out of the center as they rotate. Solar system is located inside such a spiral-like galaxy. In these types of galaxies, stars contain spiral signatures. Bright spiral arms found in many images taken of galaxies generally show star forming regions and not the locations of the stars themselves. That is why the exceptional quality of spiral galaxies is hidden in the continual formation and expiration process of stars. Spiral displays which show star creation regions do not revolve along other stars in the galaxy. However spiral galaxies do exhibit a special rotation. Observations point out that spiral signature within the galaxy deteriorates gradually and reshapes in a slower fashion than the galaxy rotation speed. With these new findings, it is possible to say that it is more appropriate to understand galaxies as dynamic systems which change in time instead of being static under the constant and instantaneous intervention and control of the infinite power and wisdom of the Almighty.

One of the most impressive features of spiral galaxies is that the regions where stars are created in the main spiral contain new sublevel spiral patterns. Just like clouds, it is possible for different spiral forms to be created. Sometimes very symmetric spiral arms or rectangular stick-like formations via extensions of spiral arms along with regular spiral looking shapes are generated. Despite this spiral variety, when observed from outside, stars are seen to be surrounding a flat disc and forming together as a giant globular halo. This halo was generated billions of years ago from short and longer aged stars. It is the dimmer region of the galaxy yet this halo is considered to contain most of the galactic material. Stars are located in a fashion that resembles a disc in this halo of dust and gas. The layer of dust slowly rotates around an axis that passes through the center of the halo. This rotation is not coincidental; it is controlled in such a way that the speed of stars nearby do not differ in the rotation speed of the whole disc any more than 10%. In other words, the disc does not have a constant speed. It exhibits flexibility and variations from within. Stars and gas clouds are made to revolve in similar average speeds no matter how far they are away from the center. These notions are confirmed with the use of motion laws that Newton discovered and named after himself.

Numerous types of stars from different age and mass groups exist in the disc section of a galaxy. The age of stars is determined by analyses of the light spectrum that they emit. According to the results from these analyses, the creation speed of stars has been found nearly constant around the disc section in a spiral galaxy. In many galaxies, disc material has been discovered to be around 10% gas and dust cloud and that 80-90% of the rest remains outside the disc in an invisible form, unlike stars and gasses. This is because it absorbs the majority of the light to be reflected. This kind of material is called “dark matter.” It is thought to be a very old black hole, with expired stars or an extremely cold dust cloud or a combination of these. Aside from this, it has been discussed that they are created from neutrinos or undiscovered particles. According to common notion, dark matter as generated by expired stars in the galaxy does not have any relation to the movement of spiral galaxies and their kinetic behavior, it only has gravitational effects.

Gas cloud in the disc is not dispersed proportionately; instead, it is collected in a thin layer. Furthermore, it is understood that these clouds are composed mainly of carbon, silicon, iron and many other elements, and these particles get ripped from surfaces and flown around via star winds or thrown towards interstellar space. Surprisingly, the interstellar space is a scarcely populated place. Even in areas that are considered to be empty, one atom exists in 1,000 cm3, and it can vary from one million atoms to a couple hundred per cm3 in denser regions. The density of interstellar spaces from the highest to the lowest can vary within a factor of a billion. This ratio is much greater than the density difference between air and a piece of rock.

Systems established without thermal equilibrium

Interstellar space is not in a state of thermodynamic balance. Very sizable molecular clouds are constantly shaped and get scattered into the medium. This way material exchange is carried out in between different phases on a smaller scale. Maintenance of a system where different components are preserved in a stable state with no equilibrium is a mystery to all. This elusive phenomenon has been studied by both physicists and chemists for the last 40-50 years. Data obtained so far recommends that two processes are particularly used to establish and maintain stable compounds away from an equilibrium state. The first is that such systems should include material recycling mechanisms between different components. Second is the regulation of processing speed with feedback. These two events should be executed with a balanced fashion so that the amount of material in each composition does not change. Thus, these two phenomena are executed in the most finely calibrated manner in spiral galaxies that can never be possible out of coincidence.

Plasma, one of the phases of matter, is about a couple million degrees Celsius. However, it is a much diluted phase; only one atom exists in a volume of 1,000 cm3. Temperatures rising to these levels are made possible by the energy provided from supernovas. A supernova explosion releases such energy into the space that it forms a hot gas cloud and this starts to expand. This gas cloud releases its electrons into its surroundings as it dissipates. A phase of diluted hot plasma in a bumpy shape is generated as gas cloud expands throughout the matter. One of the reasons that interstellar space took so long to be discovered is because we are still located in a hot bubble. This bubble has a magnitude of 300 light years. Studies so far have mapped this bubble and discovered it to have an irregular shape.

Aside from this, recently a new neutron star was discovered and this star is thought to be remnant of a supernova explosion that created this bubble. It should not be surprising that we are located in such a hot bubble because this only occupies 70% of our galactic disc volume. A supernova is created once every 30 or 40 years in our galaxy. Supernovas have the task of supplying the energy needed to keep the entire interstellar space under a constant pressure. It is an incredible phenomenon to ponder that a habitable planet exists in the depths of a cold space.

Interstellar spaces resemble an ecosystem from a standpoint of events that are taking place inside it. Each galaxy could be viewed as a dynamic system where stars are constantly born and extinguished in the presence of a determined cycle of energy and matter. Events that are executed with Divine wisdom in these heavenly systems (galaxies, stars, interstellar spaces) testify in their own languages to their Creator who fashioned them in the form of an art with wisdom and generously. Galaxies behave as if they are living organisms; they are born like humans and they die like humans. Continual composition and decomposition of galaxies with their contents stand as major proof to the cosmos of present and absent worlds. The heavens and the earth, the stars and galaxies all make up the Divine canvas painted and repainted on the easel of God’s command: “Be and it is.”

References

• Smolin, Lee. 1997. The Life of The Cosmos, Oxford University Press, New York.
• Syed, Ibrahim B. 2003. “Understanding String Theory,” The Fountain, Issue 41, January-March 2003.

There are many identified species of phytoplanktons. Phytoplanktons live for a day or two under normal conditions, and when they die they sink to the bottom. As a single-celled organism, phytoplankton is not only one of the main components of marine food chain, it is also assigned with an important role in carbon cycle which keeps atmospheric temperature in balance and the level of oxygen under control. Because of their significance, scientists have always showed considerable attention to phytoplanktons.

Photosynthesis in phytoplanktons

All living things need energy and organic building blocks in order to grow and maintain their lives. Plants transform sunlight into chemical energy and inorganic materials to organic materials. This process is called photosynthesis. Other living organisms consume plants to meet their food and energy needs. Like terrestrial plants, phytoplanktons also have chlorophyll pigments to process photosynthesis. This is how fish and other animals in the oceans obtain their food.

Global effects

The larger the world’s phytoplankton population, the more carbon dioxide gets pulled from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is responsible for as much as 50% of the total greenhouse effect. There is a divine wisdom behind existence of phytoplanktons in big populations which help with the adjustment of carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere and thereby the greenhouse effect.

Phytoplanktons have an interactive relationship with their environment. This interactive relationship either increases or decreases the population of phytoplanktons in accordance with environmental changes. Scientists have found that a given population of phytoplankton can double once per day. Large populations of this organism, sustained over long periods of time, could significantly lower atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and, in turn, lower average temperatures. Populations of this marine plant will grow or diminish rapidly in response to changes in its environment. Changes in the trends for a given phytoplankton population-such as its density, spatial distribution, and rate of population growth or diminishment-will alert scientists that environmental conditions are changing there.

Phytoplanktons and sulfur cycle

Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is a sulfuric compound which is synthesized by phytoplanktons. This compound has an important role in softening climate and cloud formation. It has a peculiar odor and although it is frequently perceived as a harmfully polluting chemical, it fulfills a very important task within the bio-geo-chemical cycle on Earth. In order to better recognize climate changes on a global scale and to develop smarter environmental politics, we need to know more about this gas compound.

The production of DMS is dependent upon co-existence of various organisms. Some species of phytoplanktons synthesize the dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) molecule, from which DMS is broken down. Bacteria and phytoplanktons participate in this break down which assimilates DMSP into DMS or other compounds. Some of the produced DMS vaporizes into the atmosphere from the salty sea water and become tropospheric sulfate gas after oxidization. Consequently, this gas plays a direct role in the global radiation balance by the upward scatter of solar radiation, and an indirect role as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Clouds affect the Earth’s radiation balance and thereby greatly influence its temperature and climate. DMS represents 95% of the natural marine flux of sulfur gases to the atmosphere, and scientists estimate that the flux of marine DMS supplies about 50% of the global biogenic source of sulfur to the atmosphere.

In order for the sulfuric cycle in nature to continue, it is necessary that sulfuric compounds are transferred from the ocean to land through the atmosphere. DMS, the source for 95% of natural sulfuric gas coming from the oceans, served as cloud condensation nuclei and helps carry sulfuric compounds move to the land with rain.

DMS emissions that originate from phytoplanktons play a significant role in climate formations. One third of the radiation coming from the sun reflects back into the space from the clouds, ice, and snow. The remaining two thirds is absorbed to some extent by the atmosphere, and to a greater extent by oceans and rocks. This energy is converted to heat some of which is later reflected by land and ocean as ultraviolet rays towards the space warming the atmosphere. If the Earth intakes more energy than it loses, the end result is global warming; the opposite is global cooling.

The size of clouds and water driblets indicate global climate changes. The more cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), the smaller the water droplets and the denser a cloud. This, in turn, influences the cloud’s radioactivity.

DMS containing chemical reactions from poles to tropical waters are important for us to estimate man-based and natural effects on the chemistry of atmosphere and the climate more accurately. It sounds somewhat weird for us that we first destroy the environmental balance God has established before we try to discover what we have done using the natural laws He has enjoined.

References

• Norris, K.B., 2003. “Dimethylsulfide emission: Climate control by marine algae?” ASFA: Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts, http://www.csa. com/discoveryguides/dimethyl/overview.php
• http://www.oceansonline.com/phytoplankton.htm
• http://www.sciencephotolibrary.com
• http://www.cedareden.com/phyto.html

After the sixth phase, the typical characteristic in the universe was a temperature that reached as high as 4,000 C. At that temperature space was not as dark as it is today, rather it gleamed brightly. As matter condensed into gases and cooled down as time passed, the density values increased and the planets that we know today started to form out of the increasingly solidifying matter. The universe, presumably, was still a homogeneous gas cloud of helium and hydrogen when it reached an age of 700,000 years. Yet, the universe did not become a single galaxy by collapsing on a single point; rather billions of galactic centers were created. So, what made the universe wait as a gas cloud in just that state? Why did it not collapse in on a single point?

While cosmology has been asking this question for years, Roger Penrose, a theoretical physicist and black hole expert, tried to compute the first creation power in one of his studies in 1973. Some tiny particles, smaller than a proton, were discovered. Those particles had been formed not by the collapse of the stars, but during the first creation after The Big Bang. Although those tiny black particles were far smaller than atoms, they behaved like black holes and swallowed everything they encountered. Yet it seems that they left their footprints as they passed. It seems as if hydrogen and helium clouds had gathered around those enormous attraction centers and the cores of billions of galaxies had thus formed. The universe was being shaped and was expanding from particles made up of a cosmic soup, a gas cloud. The Qur’an also relates the great transformation that took place in shaping the universe:

Have the unbelievers not beheld that the heavens and the earth were a solid mass, then We separated them; and of water We produced every living thing, will they not believe, then? (21:30)

From Dust and Gas Clouds to Cosmic Systems

Stars, like living beings, grow older and demise. They go through an infancy, then youth and adulthood. Some gas and dust clouds, known as Nebulas lie among galaxies. Nebulas are considered to be the raw material of stars. In our galaxy, the Milky Way, gas and dust clouds are mostly located on the spiral arms that extend outward. An impact, called a shock wave, causes interstellar matter to come together and condense into huge clouds and spheres in space. The clouds that condense during the first formation of stars are so thin that they do not even have gravitational effect. Due to this lack of gravity, it has not yet been fully understood how these gas and dust clouds came together and condensed.

A condensed cloud heats up due to the collisions within it; these collisions increase as the cloud is compressed in a process that lasts millions of years. These collisions cause the cloud to sparkle and gleam. Initially, some rays, such as infrared or radio waves, are emitted.

While the star forms, the outer crust collapses very slowly, whereas the central parts collapse at a much greater rate. As the cloud condenses farther, it emits more light and starts to shine inside the dark, dusty covering that surrounds it. This nuclear cooking-pot, which has a temperature of 10 million C at its core, sparkles. With the flaring of the star, a disk forms around the newly created center. Strong winds, triggered by the powerful hot gases that are emitted from the upper and lower surfaces of the disk, blow in opposite directions; they sweep away most of the original gas cloud that formerly impeded the visibility of the new star. Thus, the star begins to be visible through an ordinary telescope. The energy produced in the center of the star after it has been formed and reaches a certain age, impedes greater collapse. This energy provides the necessary pressure to block the collapse of matter and seeks a way to escape. Hence, the star reaches an equilibrium.

We cannot observe stars being born in interstellar gas clouds with normal telescopes. This is because the gases in space and within the dust clouds act like the particles in cigarette smoke and absorb the light. Thus, we see the clouds as dark silhouettes on the surface of the star. Formations of stars can only be observed through infrared telescopes. An infrared telescope was first placed on a satellite sent into orbit in 1983. That telescope discovered thousands of young stars hiding in the depths of interstellar clouds.

A condensed gas cloud needs to be of a certain size in order to become a star. If the gathering gas clouds are not large enough, a different situation occurs: a planet is born! The stars and planet systems that orbit the stars are formed in this way. While stars are being formed, the planets are made out of smaller gas clouds.

The Sun is a typical small star that is relatively very young. We can see stars in space that are up to a hundred times as large as the Sun, or ones that are one-tenth its size. When stars are compared to the Sun, the dimmer ones that have a surface temperature of only 3,000 C are at the bottom of the range, while ones similar to the Sun, with a surface temperature of 6,000 C, occupy the middle range. Stars that are much larger than the Sun have a surface temperature surpassing 30,000 C. Contrary to general thought, larger stars live shorter lives, because the denser and the hotter the core is, the more intense are the nuclear reactions that take place.

Thus, these stars have brighter surfaces. A massive star that uses more nuclear power is more likely to run out of fuel sooner. On the other hand, a smaller star that uses its fuel sparsely has a longer life, even though it has less fuel. We know that there is a simple relation between the temperature and the pressure of a gas. If we heat up a gas in an enclosed container, the pressure will increase; if we cool it down, the pressure will decrease. When you think of a star with a temperature reaching millions of degrees Celsius at its center, you can understand how great the pressure is there. We know that heat is being produced through nuclear reactions. Every star is under the influence of an attraction force that approximates and compresses the elements of the atoms it contains. As the mass of the star increases so does the attraction force. This inward force is balanced by the force of outward nuclear explosions. The most significant reaction that ensures the vitality and continuity of the star is the transformation of hydrogen into helium through fusion. Yet, while this happens, the fuel lessens and the reactor will fail to function properly. At this point, the force of the pressure keeping the star in a balance is endangered and the star begins to lose its long struggle against the attraction within its mass.

As stars lose their fuel, they are exposed to different “deaths,” in proportion to their mass. The number 1.44 is the coefficient related to the mass of the Sun. Stars with a mass of less than 1.44 times the mass of the Sun become black or white dwarves, whereas those with a mass of more than 1.44 times the mass of the Sun become supernovas, neutron stars, and eventually black holes. If the mass of a star is more than 1.44 times the mass of the Sun, it will not remain as a dwarf. Its inner temperature and density will increase and the fuel, in the form of iron, nickel, chrome and cobalt, will not be able to burn anymore. Temperature and pressure turn the electrons and protons into neutrons by adhering them to one another. The iron core becomes a huge ball with a diameter measuring 100 kilometers. At a critical temperature the star explodes, emitting a billion times its normal light intensity. This is a supernova explosion. With the explosion, a terrific shock wave and the flow of neutrino (an elementary particle with zero charge and zero mass) spreads. The materials produced in the explosion flow into space as gas clouds.

The Event of the Supernova and the World

As a matter of fact, at one time we were physically part of a star. That star was probably larger than the Sun and was formed right after the creation of the universe, namely in the first few hundred thousand years.

At those times, the universe was almost completely made up of hydrogen. The solar system and the earth had been formed of this element. Hydrogen was the beginning of everything, and whatever material was available in the universe had been derived from the hydrogen atom. Only after being processed in the nuclear furnace for billions of years did hydrogen turn into helium.

Consequently, the star’s life was over. As the fuel in the depots was running out, demise emerged on the horizon. It began in fits and starts, and then when the furnace was about to go out, the mass of the huge star collapsed in on itself. Having increased in size after the collapse, the pressure triggered new nuclear reactions. Thus, a series of elements, ranging from carbon to iron, came to be part of the body. Finally, the star gave its all with an enormous explosion that we call a supernova. A billion-year life ended in just a few seconds. Atom particles at the core of the star melted and turned into neutrons in just a few seconds, and the parts closer to surface were thrown into space at a speed of ten million kilometers per second. It was a magnificent moment in which billions of degrees of heat was produced and in which a great light, as bright as one billion suns, shone. Some of the elements that are heavier than iron were also created during that time.

Supernova means death to a star. The enormous energy once unleashed heats up the outer layers of the star so much that the way is paved for new fusion and energy-absorbing reactions to occur instead of energy-freeing ones. Not only iron, but also other heavy elements, such as gold, lead, and uranium are manufactured in this furnace. These elements are thrown into space together with pre-synthesized and lighter ones, like carbon and oxygen, and combine with the wreckages of other supernovas. During the succeeding millenniums, new star and planet generations are created.

For our planet, fantastic and extraordinary cosmic events, such as supernovas, have been the starting point for the existence of some elements, like oxygen, gold and silver, and ultimately for the creation of life. The sources of carbon and oxygen that are essential to life, the silver and gold rings that we wear on our fingers, the lead plates on our roofs, and the uranium that fuels our nuclear reactors are all results of the death throes of stars that died prior to the birth of the Sun.

As we have seen, a supernova explosion causes matter to move from one point to another. As a result of such explosions, many of the remnants of stars are spread over space and new stars or star systems are created by the accumulation of such remnants. The Sun and the planets in our solar system and surely those in our universe exist as the result of a very early supernova. In this immense universe which houses humanity, the transformation that matter undergoes, and the gradual advance toward a certain destination, all indicate that the Divine Knowledge, Power and Will are intermingled with His Compassion and Grace.

A person living fifty years ago would have found nothing extraordinary in this verse. Yet it is, read in the light of what we know now of atmospheric physics, extraordinarily rich in meaning and significance.

The materialists of the last century regarded rain as the simple precipitation of water vapour and even expected, in their godless arrogance, to be able to produce rain at will. Moreover, they ridiculed those who would pray for rain. It was not realized at that time that the phenomenon of rainfall, i.e. the conversion of a cloud into rain, is not such a simple event after all. An atheistic science was unable to pose, let alone seek to answer, a number of key questions:

1. How can vapour, which is regarded as gaseous water, remain in the same form in atmospheric strata, such as the Siberian skies, where temperatures can drop to forty degrees below zero? Why does it not fall as ice blocks?

2. How does the size of raindrops come about, and in what measure and form do raindrops descend to earth? What are the preconditions for the formation of raindrops of such a convenient size and shape?

3. How does a cloud vaporize, and how and whence does the salt in clouds come to be there, seeing that salt cannot be vaporized at the boiling point of water?

Over the last twenty years, rational-if still only partial-answers have been found to these puzzling questions. Let us now re-read the sacred verse, and identify its relevant points:

a. God regards rain as a physical event of the same order of significance as the resurrection of the dead. That is the meaning of His saying that we will be brought forth from the earth just as He has sent water from the sky in due measure and brought a dead land to life.

b. The Qur’an describes rain as a carefully measured descent of water, the idea of ‘measure’ being conveyed in the phrase bi-qadarin which indicates an ordered and calculated, willed and deliberate, measuring-the definition of a mathematical program.

c. ‘…and We raise to lift therewith a dead land.’ This sentence, the central portion of the verse, is likewise no ordinary statement. It refers directly and specifically to a dead land being raised to life; it does not say ‘plants emerge from it’. We shall examine the implications of this choice of phrasing below.

Let us now briefly review the scientific aspects of the miracle of rain. The results of the latest research have shed light on many previously unknown points relating water, clouds and rain. In doing so, they provide a wonderful exposition of the verse we are considering. We may summarise these points as follows:

1. A study done in the United States by Vincent J. Schaeffer has revealed that particles of water do not freeze down to -40 C when they are very fine and pure. Water has to be impure and formed of large masses in order to freeze at 0 C. A cloud is a special physical structure that is formed of water vapour which is immediately converted into minute water droplets. It therefore does not share the properties of ordinary water. Atmospheric clouds do not freeze and descend even at -30 C.

2. Clouds are formed by the agglomeration of tiny water droplets around particles of salt or cosmic dust. These tiny nuclei constitute the basis for rain. The origin of cosmic dust is unknown; also, the way in which the dust particles become lodged in the cloud is not yet well understood. However, it is believed that the water at the ocean surface participates in the vaporization process by contributing particles of salt.

3. It is conjectured that there are about one billion water particles per cubic millimeter during cloud formation. There are 50-500 cloud droplets per cubic centimeter in clouds. How these droplets are converted into raindrops is a matter of considerable controversy.

4. Up until 1950, the theory of Bergeron-Findeisen was the most widely accepted explanation of cloud droplets. According to Bergeron-Findeisen, the water droplets first form condensation nuclei, and raindrops then coalesce around them.

However, according to more recent studies, the growth of a cloud droplet over time proceeds concomitantly with various circumstances. A drop of water gradually assumes the nuclear state, overcoming conditions even of forty degrees below zero, and produces rain through a very complex equation:

5. As for the production of rain, minute water particles first coalesce around the condensation nucleus. Then, as they grow, the surface area of these water particles increases as they approach the ground. The increase in surface area in turn allows the velocity of the raindrop to be checked by air friction, with the result that rainfall acquires a gentle descent. This balancing process is a miracle of Divine compassion: by the time the raindrop touches ground, it has slowed down to make a soft landing, almost as if by a parachute. The equation for this descent and balanced speed is:

In the light of current scientific knowledge, the sentence Who sends down rain from the sky in due measure can only mean to us that the descent of rain is a matter of the finest, most subtle calculation. Linking it to the latter part of the verse, it is a miracle of Divine science akin to the raising of the dead.

Present day atmospheric physics also regards rain formation and rainfall as a scientific wonder, and many volumes have been devoted to the subject. Interested readers may usefully consult Robert Byes’ Elements of Cloud Physics and Louis J. Nin’s Cloud Physics and Cloud Seeding.

We now come to the implications of the second sentence in the verse: and we raise to life therewith a dead land.

When soil is dry, it is apparently lifeless. In fact the soil is very much alive, needing rain for its life to he activated. What does science have to say about this?

There are a million times a million bacteria in a gram of soil. These bacteria become wholly inactive, dormant, when it does not rain for a long time. It is as if they change into lifeless genetic codes. All these microbes revive when rain falls, and initiate a large production campaign beginning with nitrogen fixation. Their activity gives life in turn to thousands of small organisms. It is as if a dead underground city has come to life. Fertilizers form, the seeds of innumerable small plants revive, opening channels under the ground with their roots, like the roads of a city. Next, small insects and ants, each with their own nests, burrow under the earth, making it comparable to a large city. This is how a ‘dead land’ is revived.

What is the life-giving secret of rain? This part of the verse directs our attention to the connection of rain, and so of water, with life.

The basic chemical substance of living things is a bridge of hydrogen, lending continuity to the life of an organism, which we call the ‘hydrogen bonds’. The hydrogen is changed frequently, forming new bonds and transferring vitality. Since this hydrogen can be replaced only by the hydrogen produced during the ionization of water, water is indispensable for life.

This rule holds for all living things. A dehydrated organism is like a frozen skeleton even if it preserves its DNA and its genetic code: it can neither move nor reproduce. When water arrives and donates hydrogen from its separating H and OH ions, the code of life jumps into action. This is easily seen, particularly in the case of microbes. In more developed organisms, vitality cannot be restored even when water arrives because the tissue layers have been damaged by dehydration. The ‘revival of the dead land’ alludes to such profound biological laws.

We now turn to the last part of the verse: even so will you be raised [from the dead]. Our resurrection, the verse here declares, is a similar activation by Divine command of our codes remaining in the soil. It declares that just as the rain activates the genetic codes in a dead land and suddenly regenerates life, the codes will be processed and revived with the speed of a computer as soon as the Divine Will gives the order: ‘Come to life, arise.’ And finally, the analogy with rain means that God, Who gives life under the ground by sending a hydrogen ion, can doubtless also restore us to life when He wills.

Approximately ten billion human beings have lived on earth since Adam. The size of each individual’s code is about 1 micron; if you collected them all, they would not fill a glass. If God were to pour the genetic codes of all the humans He created from a glass into the soil, including those whose codes have been lost, and were to say ‘Now, Be!’, all human beings would be recreated in the twinkling of an eye

This is the similitude that God provides through this verse, for those possessed of knowledge with understanding. In effect, He is declaring: ‘Just as I have given life to an entirely lifeless land by means of a raindrop, it is no trouble at all for Me to reactivate the hydrogen in your biological genetic codes.’

Those who have been detained half-way have been hindered by conjectures.

Who truly seeks will truly find Him, while the indolent can do neither.

For His slaves on their spiritual journey, He is the final destination.

The souls who do not recognize Him as Friend, who do not die to themselves to be raised again in Him,

The souls who did not live nor will die for His sake are utterly bereft and destitute.

Come, friends, let’s set out to reach the realm of the Beloved;

And let us see the rose of His beauty for a moment in light.

The world is pitiless and cruel, all around is fog and cloud;

It is but a loss and waste of time to stay here even for a short while.

We are travellers, and our home coming is with Him alone

What an honour to reach Him; and

Faith is the only means of arriving, this aim by His leave and grace.