Scientific Miracle

Hail is an atmospheric rainfall with a complex mechanism. The Greeks were among the pioneers of knowledge in ancient times and they termed “hail” as “frozen rain” (Anaximander) and “instant freezing of water and moisture” (Aristotle, n.d.). These two meanings are inconsistent with current scientific facts. The Noble Qurʼan is the most authentic text to encourage Muslim believers to think about creation and strengthen their faith in the eternal power of the Creator. For instance, the mechanism of hail falling has been expressed in the verse (Q.24:43) with specific and gradual indications. In this research, first, by library method, different explanations of this verse were obtained from valid interpretive sources and then, the scientific findings of meteorologists and climatologists on hail were extracted from reference scientific texts on atmospheric sciences. In the third stage and based on comparative method, the scientific rules were placed next to interpretations to test the novelty and degree of the allusions of this verse. We found that the stages of hail falling included:“invisible water vapor rises from the sea,” “water vapor ascends into the atmosphere,” “reaching the condensation stage,” “cloud formation,” “convergence of ascending currents,” “formation of cumulonimbus cloud,” “growth of hailstones during successive ascents and descents by adsorption and freezing of ice needles,” and finally “their fall down over ground” respectively. Meanwhile, the steps in the Noble Qurʼan are mentioned in verse (Q.24:43) in the following order:“clouds movement slowly,” “clouds convergence,” “clouds accumulation,” “the formation of mountain-like clouds,” and “hail falling from the clouds.” The results also showed that likening cumulonimbus cloud in the verse (Q.24:43) to “mountain” have four respects that were beyond the comprehension of the people at the time of the revelation of the Qurʼan. Nowadays, these features are known to stationary and satellite meteorological instruments. These four characteristics are “cloud layer temperature,” “their constituent phase,” “troughs and ridges inside the cloud” and “cloud height up to the tropopause.” Based on these four characteristics, the Noble Qurʼan considered the cloud of cumulonimbus as similar as “mountains.” Meteorologists divide any cumulonimbus cloud into three floors, including cold at the bottom, super-cold at the top and intermediate in the middle. We find these three floors in the same way in the high mountains. These floors are the current rivers (liquid phase), snow and ice reserves (solid phase) and in the middle region a combination of two liquid and solid phases, namely water and ice. Images from the cumulonimbus from above the atmosphere show dark and deep valleys and light and raised ridges. The fourth feature is to be said, none of the surface phenomena are as high as the mountains. Finally, meteorological findings show that it is the only cumulonimbus that rises from the ground to a height of 12,000 meters and more. 

One of the phrases that has been considered by most commentators with the approach of empirical science is “the darkness of the three (the three veils of darkness)” in the verse (Q.39:6). They have interpreted this combination as the three darknesses of the abdomen, uterus and amnion-chorion. A view has also been put forward by contemporaries, which considers it as the spaces between the abdomen and uterus, the flesh of the uterus and the amnion, the amnion and the fetus, and has considered such an interpretation as an example of the scientific miracle of the Qur’an. In the meantime, another approach can be taken and based on the descriptive-analytical method and with the focus on the interdisciplinary approach, what is the “darkness of the three” is examined. Accordingly, by relying on the symbol of “complete and dense indifference and shapelessness before creation” for “darkness of the three,” this phrase can be considered as the platform for the formation of protein structures (based on genetic information contained in DNA codes), which are the cornerstone of the structure and biological processes of living organisms (without the production of proteins, no biological processes will be formed and no cells and organs will be made). It should be borne in mind that this interpretive possibility is also compatible with the components of the scientific miracle of the Qur’an. 

The Holy Qur’an, in addition to its primary purpose of guiding humanity, contains numerous scientific references that were not fully understood at the time of its revelation. Verse 25 of Surah al-Ḥadīd refers to the sending down of iron. The use of the verb anzala (to send down) instead of more commonly used verbs such as khalaqa (to create) and jaʿala (to make) has led to various interpretations of this verse throughout history. This research employs a descriptive-analytical method to examine the concept of the sending down of iron (inzāl al-ḥadīd) and its strong nature (ba's shadīd), as well as its relation to new scientific findings regarding the origin of iron on Earth. Additionally, it investigates whether people at the time of the Qur’an’s revelation had any knowledge of the extraterrestrial origin of iron.Contrary to some extreme approaches to the scientific interpretation and miracles of the Qur’an in recent centuries, this research advocates a balanced perspective that utilizes scientific findings, without any imposition, to better understand the verses of the Qur’an. Recent scientific discoveries indicate that iron is primarily produced in the cores of massive stars, and it cannot be produced in the solar system. Therefore, the use of the verb anzala may allude to the extraterrestrial origin of iron. The results of this research reveal that, from a scientific standpoint, various phenomena are involved in the process of iron's incorporation into Earth that could embody the concept of "sending down," including the production of iron in massive stars and its transfer to Earth through certain cosmic processes, the collision of iron-rich meteorites and asteroids with Earth, and the sinking of iron towards the Earth's core. Regarding the knowledge of people about the extraterrestrial origin of iron at the time of revelation, although it has been claimed that the term used for iron in ancient Egypt means "metal from heaven," the findings of this research indicate that this claim is merely a possibility and, despite extensive research, has not been definitively verified.