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In these verses, there is a description of a tornado containing fire. Skeptics argue that whoever wrote the Quran made a mistake, claiming that tornadoes only bring rain or hail, but never fire. However, modern science confirms the existence of fire whirls, which are tornadoes containing fire.
A fire whirl, also known as a fire tornado or fire twister, is a rare phenomenon that occurs when a wildfire or firestorm creates its own wind, which then turns into a vortex of flames. This phenomenon can result in a massive swirling column of fire, much like a tornado, and has been observed in several catastrophic events, such as the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake in Japan, where a fire whirl killed thousands of people in a matter of minutes.
The Quran mentions a “tornado containing fire” in Surah 2:266:
Would any of you wish to have a garden with palm trees, grapevines, and all kinds of fruits with rivers flowing underneath and as they grow very old with dependent children, a fiery whirlwind hits the garden, burning it all up? This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so perhaps you will reflect.2:266
At the time of the Quran’s revelation, tornadoes were known to bring rain or hail, but the concept of a tornado containing fire was unknown. Today, we understand that this is describing a fire whirl, a phenomenon that has only been documented in modern times.
The Quran’s reference to a "tornado containing fire" was a remarkable and accurate description of a fire whirl, a phenomenon that has been confirmed by science only in recent times. This highlights the miraculous nature of the Quran, as these insights were recorded over 1400 years ago, long before they were understood by modern science.