Cloud Heaven

By the end of this khutbah, you will have a revived appreciation of clouds in your life, not as whitespace, but instead as powerful instruments highlighted by the Creator.

Just thinking about Professor Val Yum’s History history of law lectures is enough to invoke sleep. As with any technical presentation, this khutbah needs passion. The clouds have been ignored for far too long. You are the clouds defense attorney. Look up as if you can see the cloud, lean in, and modulate your voice. Most importantly, remind the jury what this message is really about and you will win their hearts.

Khutbah tul Haajah

Innaal-hamdu Lillaahi nahmaduhu wa nasta’eenahu wa nastaghfiruhu

wa na’oodhu billaahi min shuroori anfusinaa wa min sayi’aati a’maalinaa

Man yahdih Illaahu falaa mudilla lahu wa man yudlil falaa haadiya lahu

Wa ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allah wahdahu la sharika lahu

wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasooluhu

Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo ittaqoo Allaha waqooloo qawlan sadeedan

Yuslih Lakum A’malukum wa yaghfir lakum dhunubakum wa mayin yuti illaha wa rasulahu faqad faza fauzan adheema.

Amma ba’ad.

Fainna khairal hadeethi kitabullah, wa khairal hadi, hadi Muhammad (saw), wa sharrul umur muhdathatuha, wa kullu bida’atin dalaala, wa kullu dalalatin finnar

Falling Through a Cloud

In 1959, Lt. Colonel Bill Rankin was flying a high-altitude mission somewhere over South Carolina when his jet-fighter stalled. His instrument panel was completely dead, and pilots know that a free-falling plane is a coffin. He ejected into below freezing air at almost 9 miles up. Normally, he would have fallen for a few minutes, deployed his parachute, and been on his way back to the base within the hour. Unfortunately, he fell into a massive storm system.

What happened next is truly phenomenal.

At first, Colonel Rankin saw so much lightning that it resembled a strobe light. Although he didn’t get struck, the air was so electrostatically charged that it felt eerie and dangerous. Then he was pummeled by hail the size of softballs that came from every direction, leaving his body badly bruised from head to toe. The storm was so dense that he actually fell through water, breathing in mouthfuls at a time, so much so that he actually thought he might drown to death at 30,000 feet up. And he wasn’t always falling downward. Strong gusts of wind would shoot him back up thousands of feet at a time. It was estimated that he was in the storm cloud for 45 minutes. At one point, he felt the air getting warmer, so he released his parachute which sucked him back into the system. Eventually, he passed through and slammed into a thick section of trees – his head actually hit a trunk. He stayed conscious long enough to walk to a road and get a ride to a hospital. Even through today, very few people have descended through a storm this massive and lived to tell their story. [1]

Cumulonimbus Clouds

Most clouds are your friends. But the massive cumulonimbus clouds bring thunderous tidings of hail, flash floods, sleet, snow, lightning, and often times, tornadoes and hurricanes. If you thought Mount Everest was big, then the average cumulonimbus cloud is about 5 times bigger [2]. It’s like an upside down mountain in the sky but with more snow and ice, and the energy of a dozen Hiroshima nuclear bombs. There are tens of thousands of these cloud systems in the sky every single day.

Allah says in Surah An-Nuur: Alam tará ‘ann-nallaha yuzje sahabaan thumma Yu’uallifu baynahu thumma Yaj-al-lu-hu rukamaa. “Can’t you see?! Allah gently floats the clouds, joins them together, and layers them one on top of another.” The verse continues, “But then the rain starts coming out from between them. He can send down snow from the sky from stores as large as mountains. The hail strikes or gets averted from whom He wills. And the lightning flash almost takes away your eyesight.” [24:43]

Seeking understanding is a good thing, but too often, our knowledge gets in the way. Science can take the awesomeness out of our lives. It’s not hard to explain how a thunderstorm forms or how lightning is generated. But when we put that aside, we then start to appreciate the everyday miracles. Rainbows are miracles. The northern lights are miracles. Solar and lunar eclipses are miracles. And for all of our accumulated knowledge and scientific insight, not a single person or app can accurately tell us something as simple as the weather tomorrow.

Challenge

This is one verse from Surah An Nuur – a true cumulonimbus symphony. You have read that surah before. You have read that aya before, but how many times have you stopped and asked ‘mountain in the sky’ – what does that mean? That is one type of cloud described in the Qur’an. Allah mentions 5 different types of clouds in the Qur’an in at least 11 different verses [3]. Some are clumped together and others are spread out. Why would the Creator spend so much time giving us so many references to clouds?

Most of us never notice clouds, or we notice only when they are dark and coming towards us full of watery doom. After this khutbah, I hope that we never ignore the sky, or look up as wise knowledgeable scientists. I pray that we stay curious. I pray that we are never so busy that we just ‘can’t see anything’. Oh Allah, help us be appreciative.

Cumulus Clouds

Clouds are diverse creations of Allah. They are classified according to their height and appearance. Among the lowest to the ground are the cumulus clouds. They are the most common and can easily be identified by their cauliflower or cotton-candy shape on fair-weather days.

No 6-year old’s family portrait is complete without a few cumulus clouds. A famous musician said that clouds are life’s background music. The Sufis say that clouds are Allah’s poetry. Some of my friends are like cumulus clouds. They are soft and warm on the outside, although some of them have dark centers. They have been known to zap each other when they get tired or hungry. But when they get together they are a strong force, and give me shade on tough days. Clouds are a gift to all of us.

According to ancient Hindu beliefs, cumulus clouds are the spiritual cousins of elephants. Alarmingly, an average cumulus cloud weighs about as much as 80 elephants. Since clouds are just water vapor, how do you get 80 elephants to fly? On cold days, you can see your breath for a few moments – that’s basically a cloud, but how does Allah keep those massive clouds together in the sky? And why do they move, or, is the earth spinning beneath them? Airline pilots carefully study rivers of air known as currents or jet streams. If you watch the sky for a few moments then you’ll see the currents in the different layers of clouds.

There is a saying that the angels carry the wind and push the clouds. If we pause our busy lives and look at the clouds moving gracefully, we might believe it too.

Stratus Clouds

Did you know that aircraft trails in the sky are man-made clouds? While these are a relatively new phenomena, cloud-seeding has been going on since the 40’s. The most common weather modification program is fog dispersal which occurs at major airports every day.

Fog is the common name for a thin layer of cloud, called the stratus cloud. Fog is a powerful reminder that we don’t live under the sky, we live in it. If you’ve ever dreamed of jumping on clouds or running through them, then fog can be fun. Most people, however, consider it a nuisance and complain that we can’t see at all. It actually puts many people in a bad mood, but let me tell you the rest of the story. When it ascends high in the stratosphere, this cloud blocks the sun’s direct light, but in doing so, it enables you to actually see the sun’s light. In fact, without the stratus cloud, the world would be too bright to see.

Dr. Norman Rosenthal identified a combination of depressed moods and a cluster of physical symptoms that recur with changing seasons. He noticed the condition was most prevalent in parts of the world that have dense fog. He called this condition Seasonal Affective Disorder (aka SAD) [4]. Isn’t it amazing that we can get emotionally drained or depressed by the weather, particularly stratus clouds, and not even know why? We don’t notice the clouds but we feel their affect.

Cirrus Clouds

With weather satellites and 24/7 news & weather, we have become meteorologically autistic. The overwhelming majority of us have never heard of cirrus clouds, so I’ll share two facts that you will not only want to see for yourself but also pass along. If you look deep into the sky, you will occasionally notice very thin fibrous clouds that look like wisps of angel hair, or some type of heavenly silk. These are the cirrus clouds. They are made entirely of ice. And they rain too – they rain ice crystals which make them look long and thin. All that ice rain gets absorbed into lower atmospheres. Do you want to hear something even more amazing? These clouds are typically moving at 150 miles per hour.

Meteorologists always pay close attention to cirrus clouds. They are among the strongest indicators of changing weather. They even point in the direction that the change is coming from. Here’s a huge clue: if you are planning a picnic in the afternoon and you see cirrus clouds early in the morning, I would recommend you check the movie schedule instead. That means a cold front is coming in. There is a saying, “See in the sky the painter’s brush, the wind around you soon will rush.” But a better saying is in the Quran, “Allah sends the winds, so they raise the clouds, and spread them along the sky…” [30:48].

Planets

Some people think that the most beautiful summer days are the ones without any clouds. But have you ever considered that every minute every person on this planet gets a unique view of the world outdoors? That’s only because of the clouds. And did you know that every picture of the earth from space is unique? Even the stars are predictable, but because of the clouds no two pictures of earth can ever be identical.

What would our world be like without clouds? Mercury has virtually no clouds, and therefore no atmosphere. The surface temperature ranges from -270o to 800oF. Even during the daytime on Mercury, the sky is totally black. The only planet hotter than Mercury is Venus, which is covered by clouds so thick, they completely obscure the planet from our view. Those are carbon monoxide clouds which rain sulphuric acid. The temperature throughout Venus, day and night, summer and winter, stays almost at 900 degrees F. [5]

CloudSat is a satellite built and managed by NASA. The satellite studies climates by looking at clouds from space. The bottom line is clouds make our planet habitable. Stratus clouds reflect most of the sun’s heat back into space, while cirrus clouds high in the atmosphere trap enough heat to keep the planet warm. NASA built and launched a satellite to study our clouds from space called CloudSat. It has very clearly shown that in the past 5 years, we have lost half of the cloud cover over the Arctic Circle, and the direct result has been a rise in the ocean temperature [6].

Book Recommendation

One of the easiest ways to become a weather observer is to notice the clouds. With just a glance, they can tell you what will happen in the next few hours or days. If I could only keep 5 books for the rest of my life, then the Cloudspotters Guide would be one of them. It’s a ready reference for all nerds. It’s easy to read, full of pictures, and there’s a neat game too. I have given this book to middle-schoolers and within ten minutes of a car ride, they were already correctly identifying various clouds. Let’s pause for a few seconds to realize what an accomplishment that is – to get kids away from their iPads to notice the sky.

I always prefer window seats on flights now because I can read the sky. There is a better story happening outside the window than in the SkyMall magazine. I can see why the pilot took us higher to avoid a storm, or when we’re riding a jetstream. I notice snowstorms and vertical gusts. But every time we fly through a cloud, I am reminded about Colonel Rankin’s experience. He got something which few of us will ever get – he didn’t just witness the miracle of clouds, rather he came face-to-face with a verse from the Qur’an.

A cool ou koule hadha, astaghfirullahe wallkum, astaghfiruhu innahu wal-Ghafur rur-Raheem.

[sit]

Alhamdolillah, summa alhamdolillah. Amma baadh.

Notice

One random morning on my way to work, I was stuck in traffic and randomly looked up. But I didn’t just look — I actually observed. I had one of those moments where time slows down and you actually leave your body and see yourself sitting in the car on the Westpark Tollway. I immediately called my wife. Then I called my dad, then my cousin, then a friend. No one had noticed. “How could you NOT see it?” I argued. It was incredible. “Look up. Go look out your window right now!” My wife texted back that she was busy. My cousin put me on hold, then came back in 3 seconds and said, “Dude, I don’t see anything.” I gave up on them, but I rushed to my office, grabbed a coffee, pulled a chair up to the window, and I watched the show.

There was a smooth tubular cloud stretching across the horizon, slowly moving from east to west. From my office on the 28th floor, I could see that it was continuous and perfectly straight with absolutely nothing in front of it and many types of clouds behind it. At first, I was surprised that no one else had noticed, then, I was amazed that even after I pointed it out, no one seemed to care.

Sunsets

What needs to happen for people to notice the majestic presence and influence of seemingly unassuming clouds? We are so driven by ‘little shows’ that we lose sight of the obvious. Some of the most amazing sunsets you will ever see, actually have very little to do with the sun. If it wasn’t for the clouds, you couldn’t even look at the setting sun. Altocumulus clouds capture and highlight every wavelength of the visible spectrum. They add the drama, flair, comedy, and awe-inspiring wonder to our sky. This show happens twice every day just for you. Bigger than IMAX. It’s in 3D. And it’s free! How many of us are awake to see it? How many of us even look out the window? Most of us are so lost in our screens, that we’re not even sure which side the sunrise occurs? It could be rising from the opposite side of the sky, and we would have no clue.

An elderly Scoutmaster taught us that when air pressure goes up, sounds travel further. He pulled us out of our tents one morning to feel the buildup of charged ions before a storm. What a wild sensation! Only one or two generations ago, people felt the atmospheric temperatures changing. They smelled the grass and dirt and knew that the day would get interesting. They knew how to read the sky during the day and the night. The smallest example here is just knowing the prayer times based on the sun’s path. How many of us can look out the window and know when the next prayer time will be?

I know we can find apps to live our lives for us, but despite the convenience, auto-pilot sucks. If we are living on auto-pilot, we will wake up tomorrow and be 50 years older. Living like this robs us of appreciating life’s grandeur. I recently pointed out an atmospheric hailstorm to a colleague, and he grabbed his cell-phone and took a picture. Then he spent the next 5 minutes praising his cell phone camera and his picture quality. When you are living in fast-forward, you take 500 pictures of the Grand Canyon; 1,000 pictures of your infant. You fill your hard drives with pictures – which no one ever sees. We don’t see them ourselves, and no one else cares. Auto-pilot allows us to smoothly breeze past life so that we never truly notice, see, or reflect.

Look closer at the verse from Surah Noor: Allah begins with ‘Alam tara’ – Don’t you see? There’s a mountain in the sky coming directly at you! Leave your email for two seconds and look! That phase is similar to ‘Alam yara’ – Don’t they see? There are so many verses in the Qur’an that start with ‘Look!’ Go through it and see how the Creator reminds us again and again and again to look, to notice, to see. In fact, I lost count after 35. If you get nothing else out of this message today, then let it be just these two tiny words – ‘alam tara’.

Turbulence

Life is like being in an airplane. We are all passengers cruising at 500 mph. For most of us, a few gentle reminders feels like driving over a pothole [7]. But when air turbulence causes the oxygen masks to drop, even passengers that are not religious put down their headphones and make some very sincere prayers. Cancer, divorce, death – is that what it takes to get us to wake up? Too often, it’s turbulent moments that finally get people to even notice life.

My challenge for you is to notice now. You don’t need to get away to an exotic island to appreciate your blessings. Just look up. Notice. Noctilucent clouds are 50 miles above the earth’s surface (at the fringe of space) and only visible at night. How is that possible? They are neither lit by moonlight, nor by the reflected light from cities. We will never see them if our eyes are only accustomed to the light from our cell phones. Pay attention to clouds, because when you do, then something amazing will happen – you will begin to notice life. Once you start to notice then Allah will let you take a stroll on a cloud. He will give your flat concrete city an erupting mountain range more grand than the Andes. He will give you bright sunshine inside a rain shower. You will notice sunsets that no one could have photoshopped. He will give you birds flying between double rainbows. He will give you big smiling moons and angry shooting stars. My challenge to you is to look up.

Innal-lahu wa Malaaikatuhu yassaloona aln-Nabi Yaa aiyuhal latheena aamanoo, salloo alaihy, wa sallimou tasleema Allahumma Salli ‘Ala Muhammad, wa ‘Ala alee Muhammad, Kama sallaita ‘Ala Ibrahima wa ‘ala alee Ibrahim Fil ‘alameena innaka hamidun Majeed.

O Allah, forgive us for our shortcomings.

Ya Rahmaanu Ya Raheem, from now on let us do deeds of the people of Paradise.

Ya Rub bil-Alimeen, purify our hearts and our souls.

Ya Malik Ya Salaam, make the trials of our parents easier in their old age.

Ya Dhul-Jalal wal-Ikraam, give us Jannah through our parents.

Ya Aqeemas salati yarhumukumullah.

Sure you can see a few pictures of clouds here and there and even ‘like’ your faves, but consider a more serious commitment through a membership to the Cloud Appreciation Society. When applying for jobs, you’ll finally have something impressive to fill in the membership/affiliation box. It’s the perfect gift for people that are hard to shop for. Most importantly, hanging your membership certificate will encourage you to ‘look up’ and notice life.

Jazakumullahu khairun. Wasalam.