A Deep Thinking

THE FECUNDATING WINDS

In one verse of the Qur'an, the "fecundating"
characteristic of the winds, and the resulting formation of rain are
mentioned.

And We send the fecundating winds, then cause water to descend
from the sky, therewith providing you with water in abundance. (Qur'an,
15:22)

This verse points out that the first stage in the formation of rain is wind.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, the only relationship known between the
wind and the rain was that it was the wind that drove the clouds. However,
modern meteorological findings have demonstrated the "fecundating" role of the
wind in the formation of rain.

As explained earlier, this fecundating function of the wind works in the
following way:

On the surface of oceans and seas, a large number of air bubbles form because
of the water's foaming action. The moment these bubbles burst, thousands of tiny
particles, with a diameter of just one hundredth of a millimetre, are thrown up
into the air. These particles, known as "aerosols," mix with dust carried from
the land by the wind, and are carried to the upper layers of the atmosphere.
These particles carried to higher altitudes by winds come into contact with
water vapour up there. Water vapour condenses around these particles and turns
into water droplets. These water droplets first come together and form clouds,
and then fall to the Earth in the form of rain. As mentioned, winds "fecundate"
the water vapour floating in the air with the particles they carry from the sea,
and eventually help the formation of rain clouds.

If winds did not possess this property, water droplets in the upper
atmosphere would never form, and there would be no rain.

The most important point to be recognized here is that this critical role of
the wind in the formation of rain was stated centuries ago in the Qur'an, at a
time when very little was known about natural phenomena…

The picture above shows the stages in the formation of a wave. Waves are formed by the wind blowing above the surface of the water. With the wind, water particles start to move in a circular motion. This movement soon forms waves, one after the other, and bubbles formed by the waves spread in the air. This is the first stage in the formation of rain. This process is declared in the verse as "We send the fecundating winds and then cause water to descend from the sky."

Further information provided in the verse about the fertilising quality of
the wind is its role in the pollination of flowers. Many plants on Earth
disperse their pollen by means of the wind in order to ensure the survival of
their species. Several open-seeded plants, pine trees, palm and similar trees,
seeded plants that produce flowers, and grass-like plants are entirely
pollinated by the wind. The wind carries the pollen from the plants to others of
the species, thus fertilising them.

Until recently, the way that the wind was able to fertilise plants was
unknown. When it was realised, however, that plants are divided into males and
females, the fertilising role of the wind was also discovered. This truth was
already indicated in the Qur'an: "… [He] sent down water
from the sky by which We have brought forth various different types of plants in
pairs." (Qur'an, 20:53)