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The Quran's Mention of Hail and Snow

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The Quran’s Mention of Hail and Snow — A Scientific Miracle

Table of Contents

The Quranic Verse — Hail from the Sky

The Quran on Hail “And He sends down from the sky mountains wherein is hail of snow.”
What Is Hail? Hail is the fine snow that falls with rain — a meteorological phenomenon that forms high in the atmosphere. The Quran accurately describes it as coming from “mountains” in the sky — a precise description of the towering cumulonimbus clouds from which hail forms.

The Prophetic Supplication — Snow and Hail

The Opening Supplication of Prayer The Prophet ﷺ would begin his prayer with the supplication:

“O Allah, wash away my sins with water and snow and hail.”

The Significance The Prophet ﷺ — living in the hot, dry environment of the Arabian Peninsula — specifically mentioned snow and hail in this supplication. This detail becomes remarkable when examined alongside what Ibn Abbas said.

The Scientific Miracle — Ibn Abbas Never Saw Snow

The Key Statement The translator of the Quran and scholar of the nation, Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), said:
Ibn Abbas — Tafsir al-Sam’ani (3/538) “Snow is a white thing that descends from the sky. I have never seen it.”

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Why This Is a Scientific Miracle Ibn Abbas was:
  • The cousin of the Prophet ﷺ
  • One of the greatest scholars and Quranic interpreters in Islamic history
  • Someone who interpreted this very verse — yet had never seen snow himself
  • He was 13 years old when the Prophet ﷺ died, and never saw snow after that

This means the Prophet ﷺ described and referenced snow and hail in both the Quran and his supplications — in precise and accurate terms — in an environment where even his closest companions had never witnessed it.

Snow in the Arabian Peninsula — It Does Happen

Snow Does Occur in the Arabian Peninsula Although rare, snow and severe frost do occur in parts of the Arabian Peninsula:
  • Tabuk receives snow during certain periods
  • Al-Qassim has experienced severe frost that shattered cars

This demonstrates that the geography of the Arabian Peninsula is not entirely incompatible with such phenomena — but it also confirms how extraordinary it was for the Prophet ﷺ to reference snow so precisely in a region where most of his companions had never once seen it.

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Summary The Prophet ﷺ mentioned snow and hail in both the Quran and his daily supplications with accuracy and detail. Yet Ibn Abbas — the greatest interpreter of the Quran, the Prophet’s own cousin — explicitly stated he had never seen snow in his life. The precision of the Quranic description could not have come from the lived experience of those around the Prophet ﷺ. It is a mark of divine revelation.