Page 203 - For Men of Understanding

WATER’S LATE WARMING UP AND FREEZING
Another feature of water is its slow evaporation and freezing. It is a known
fact that in the summer months, the sand that rapidly warms up during the day
also rapidly cools down at night. The temperature of seawater, on the other
hand, only varies two to three degrees between day and night. The reason for
this is that water somehow maintains its temperature in sudden rises and falls
in temperature, and delays evaporation and freezing. When this quality of
water is considered at the level of the entire world, it can be seen that water,
either in liquid form or as steam, in oceans and the atmosphere, has the most
important role in the earth’s temperature. Waters that cover the earth prevent
overheating by absorbing the heat in that part of
the world exposed to the sun. Similarly, in those
parts that are not subjected to the sun as directly And He has made
as elsewhere, oceans and other waters function, everything in the
with the heat they possess, as a radiator and pre- heavens and everything
vent the temperature from falling too low. This on the earth subservient
way, the temperature difference between day and to you. It is all from
night always remains within reasonable limits Him. There are
which human beings and other living things can
certainly signs in that
tolerate. If the amount of water on the earth were
for people who reflect.
less than the land area, then the temperature dif-
(Surat al-Jathiyah: 13)
ference between night and day would increase a
great deal, transforming the earth into a desert
and making life impossible or, at least very difficult.

THE WEIGHT OF CLOUDS
Clouds can be incredibly heavy. For instance, in a storm cloud called
"Cumulo-nimbus" up to 300,000 tons of water accumulates.
The establishment of an order whereby a mass of 300,000 tons can rest in
the sky is no doubt quite amazing. A verse in the Qur’an draws our attention
to the weight of clouds:
"It He is Who sends out the winds, bringing advance news of His
mercy, so that when they have lifted up the heavy clouds, We dis-
patch them to a dead land and send down water to it, by means of
which We bring forth all kinds of fruit. In the same way We will bring
forth the dead, so that hopefully you will pay heed." (Surat al-A’raf:
57)

The Earth 201