DUE MEASURE IN RAIN

11- And He is the One who sends down water in due measure from the sky, to revive dead
lands therewith. Similarly you will be raised.
43-Vanity, 11

Rain is one of the gifts of God to man. In the verse above, God says that the rain has its own
mathematics and that it is sent according to “due measure.” Water on earth is subject to an
impeccable process and passes in due order from the state of liquid to the state of gas and
solid. It has a marvelous balancing power, as it balances energy while satisfying the vital
needs of the living being.

You would not have gotten an answer if you were, a century back, to ask a scientist whose
field of interest was rainfall in particular, “Is there a measure in the rainfall; can it be
quantified?” Being ignorant of the meteorological phenomena going on in every part of the
world, the scientist would not have been in a position to say anything on the issue. The
Quran told us 1400 years ago that the rainfall had a certain measure. Research conducted in
the last century revealed the process of rainfall, shedding light over the cycling
characteristics of water. One of the facts discovered was that the earth’s annual rainfall was
always of the same amount. The amount per second varied between 16-17 million tons.
Thus, the amount of rain falling was above 500 trillion tons a year while an equal amount
evaporated. These yearly values remain constant. This constancy was of great significance in
establishing the ecological balance of the world. The scientist of a few centuries back could
not have estimated the amount of the rainfall in the region where he lived since the
precipitation yearly changed according to region. He might have concluded, therefore, that
rain is not quantifiable.

CALCULATIONS RELATED TO WATER CYCLE

The rainfall and cycle of water involve complicated calculations. To give you an example,
researchers were curious to know the reason for the maximum temperature of the upper
portion of the tropical ozone layer which was maximum 28 degrees Celsius, despite the sun’s
continual warming of the water. Their research produced the following finding: the factor that
prevented the overheating of the ozone layer in warmer regions was not merely water vapor,
but at the same time the shadow cast by clouds. In the shade, the temperature dropped. The
shield prevented the earth from overheating. Water vapor also exerts a greenhouse effect.
Along with carbon dioxide, methane and other gases, it creates an invisible insulation layer in
the atmosphere. This layer prevents the totality of every radiation coming down on earth
under normal conditions from getting lost in the space where cold is reigning. Water vapor
forms 60% of the “natural greenhouse effect,” making the basic climate of the earth
relatively warm. All these things are finely calculated; we can gain an insight into this if we
examine the greenhouse clouds revolving around the planet Venus. The dense clouds muffle
it, so that only half of the sun’s rays reach it. The quantity of 97% carbon dioxide there
creates a super greenhouse effect and the temperature rises up to 500 degrees Celsius. This
temperature far exceeds the temperature range in which man can live. The water cycle on
earth, passing through the states of liquid, cloud and water vapor, is calculated with
precision. In contradistinction with the general properties of water, the clouds do not freeze,
even at a temperature of - 30 degrees Celsius. As it is stated in the Quran, there are masses
of clouds as large as mountains, but they do not freeze into mountains of ice to fall upon the
earth. Had it not been for this precise calculation in the formation of clouds and the rainfall
and for the ideal arrangement of the chemical composition of water by its Creator, the
system would certainly not function.

When we throw an object of a few kilograms from a balcony, we can follow its descent. If we
empty a large pan full of water from the balcony, we can observe the splash on the ground.
The fall of tons of water from above, thanks to God’s programming, is so arranged that water
coming down in drops from above is a blessing rather than a natural disaster. This is the
wonderful artistry in the physical rules imposed by God. Such a balancing of acceleration is
definable in physical formulas. This definability, this calculation is due to God’s creation of
rain in “due measure.”

RAIN IS LIFE
In the same verse, God speaks of the rain’s regenerative power. It is a well-known fact that
dry land is revitalized by rain and the vegetation becomes lush once again. The basic
element of the animate being is DNA in which the hydrogen bonds keep changing,
perpetuating life. This hydrogen is exchanged with the hydrogen that emerges during the
ionization of water. A dehydrated living being is like a frozen skeleton even though it may
preserve its DNA and genetic code; it cannot reproduce or move. Only when the water comes
up and lends the hydrogen from its disintegrated ions can the code be activated. Such
characteristics can be observed in living microorganisms like microbes. The more developed
living beings cannot recover their vitality when fresh water is supplied, as their tissue
surfaces have already deteriorated. Rain is thus the source of regeneration of plants and
bacteria. The last sentence of the verse that reads: “Similarly you will be raised” evokes the
following association in our mind: God sends down rain in predetermined amounts, by which
plants and bacteria that are near death are resuscitated. The rising of man from the dead is
no problem for God, who knows the measure of all things.

God, who devised the system of regeneration of plants and bacteria through a well-
calculated amount of rain, will raise man from the dead according to the measures and
knowledge in His wisdom. The sprouting of vegetation from the dead soil is something our
eyes behold. What we see is the evidence of the facility by which our Creator will re-create
His creation whose measure, calculation and formula are known only to Him.