THE WATER CYCLE
In 1580, Bernard Palissy was the
first man to describe the present day concept of ‘water cycle’. He
described how water evaporates from the oceans and cools to form clouds.
The clouds move inland where they rise, condense and fall as rain. This
water gathers as lakes and streams and flows back to the ocean in a
continuous cycle. In the 7th century B.C., Thales of Miletus believed
that surface spray of the oceans was picked up by the wind and carried
inland to fall as rain. In earlier times people did not know the source
of underground water. They thought the water of the oceans, under the
effect
of winds, was thrust towards the
interior of the continents. They also believed that the water returned
by a secret passage, or the Great Abyss. This passage is connected to
the oceans and has been called the ‘Tartarus’, since Plato’s time. Even
Descartes, a great thinker of the eighteenth century, subscribed to this
view. Till the nineteenth century, Aristotle’s theory was prevalent.
According to this theory, water
was condensed in cool mountain caverns and formed underground lakes that
fed springs. Today, we know that the rainwater that seeps into the
cracks of the ground is responsible for this.
The water cycle is described by
the Qur’an in the following verses:
“Seest thou not that Allah Sends
down rain from The sky, and leads it Through springs in the earth? Then
He causes to grow, therewith, produce of various Colors.”
[Al-Qur’an 39:21]
“He sends down rain From the sky And with it gives life to The earth
after it is dead: Verily in that are Signs For those who are wise.”
[Al- Qur’an 30:24]
“And We send down water From the sky according to (Due) measure, and We
cause it To soak in the soil; And We certainly are able To drain it off
(with ease).”
[Al-Qur’an 23:18]
No other text dating back 1400
years ago gives such an accurate description of the water cycle.
WINDS IMPREGNATE THE CLOUDS
“And We send the fecundating winds, Then cause the rain to descend From
the sky, therewith providing You with water (in abundance).”
[Al- Qur’an 15:22]
The Arabic word used here is
lawâqih, which is the plural of laqih from laqaha,
which means to impregnate or fecundate. In this context, impregnate
means that the wind pushes the clouds together increasing the
condensation that causes lightning and thus rain. A similar description
is found in the Qur’an: “It is Allah Who sends The Winds, and they
raise The Clouds: then does He Spread them in the sky As He wills, and
break them Into fragments, until thou seest Raindrops issue from the
midst Thereof: then when He has Made them reach such Of His servants as
He wills, Behold, they do rejoice!”
[Al-Qur’an 30:48]
The Qur’anic descriptions are
absolutely accurate and agree perfectly with modern data on hydrology.
The water cycle is described in several verses of the Glorious Qur’an,
including 3:9, 7:57, 13:17, 25:48- 49, 36:34, 50:9-11, 56:68-70, 67:30
and 86:11.