What the cloud and thunder (ra‘d) are

Question

Question: (1) What is a cloud? Is it the vapour of the sea? Does the cloud drink water from the sea and then rain, or does water rain down from the sky? (2) Is ra‘d (thunder) the fire of Hell, or the sword of Hazrat ‘Ali ﵁ that roars in the cloud?

Answer

(1) The cloud drinks water from the sea and rains, and rain also comes from the sky; by this rain crops and the like grow. But this is not a question of fiqh; what benefit is there in investigating it? (2) Ra‘d is the name of the angel appointed over the cloud; some said it is the name of that angel’s voice.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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