Allah is in a constant state of praise by the angels and all that is in the heavens and earth, animate or inanimate, conscious of their state of worship or not, even though we do not perceive it 2:58,13:13-15,16:48-50,17:44,22:18,24:41,45:37,55:6,29,62:1,64:1.
That universal glorification of God spoken of in the Quran had reached particular beauty in the times of the prophet David whom most of creation joined in his praise of God 21:79,34:10,38:17-9, who was known according to Jewish scriptures and oral tradition for his talent for music and divinely inspired poetry very early on 1Sam16:16-23. David is often quoted refering to that universal and unfathomable glorification of God in the Hebrew Bible in
Psalms19,148,69:35"Heaven and earth will praise Him, the seas and everything that moves therein".
Other passages allude to this glorification too, including Job38:7.
In the Quran, whenever attention is directed to a natural phenomenon, it is to propound a higher spiritual implication. Lightning has always and will always inspire people with both fear and hope. Fear because it sometimes causes death and destruction, hope because it also heralds relieving rain. The heavy clouds that most often come with lightning are similarly perceived both ways; they might bring the much needed rain or cause disasters, floods and death
13:12-13"He it is who shows you the lightning causing fear and hope, and brings up the heavy cloud. And the thunder declares His glory with His praise, and the angels too for awe of Him. And He sends the thunderbolts, striking with them whom He pleases".
Now of course, anyone hearing or reading these passages already knows these physical realities but what the Quran is doing, as it always does, is drawing a parallel between observable reality and the spiritual realm. Dark clouds and thunder are a metaphor for the hardships one might have to pass through in this life as a result of pursuing the right course. As he tries overcoming these hardships with God-consciousness, the believer is instilled with hope for Allah's pleasure, and fear of His just retribution. The believer never feels complacent and self-righteous in the face of divine perfection. But the one shallow in faith has little hope during these difficulties, he will be debilitated by the fear of having to go through them
2:19-20"like abundant rain from the cloud in which is utter darkness and thunder and lightning; they put their fingers in their ears because of the thunder peal, for fear of death...the lightning almost takes away their sight. Whenever it shines on them they walk in it, and when it darkens they stand still".
The believer sees a metaphor of the higher realities in all aspects of nature, is constantly reminded and increased in God-consciousness the more he looks around and ponders
2:115"so whichever way you turn, there is the Face of Allah".
The hadith, as a side note, in which ibn Abbas quotes the prophet as saying that thunder
"is one of Allah's angels in charge of the clouds"
has been criticized by the scholars on several counts, including that its chain does not reach the prophet. Assuming it is authentic, it still does not conflict with science. Believers in God accept that every aspect of existence is maintained by Allah, whether its is the rain that falls, cloud that moves or wind that blows.
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