Tafsir of Surah Al-Furqan - Verse 48

This is also part of His complete power and supreme authority:

Allah sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, i.e., they bring the clouds behind them. The winds are of many different types, depending on the purpose for which they are sent. Some of them form the clouds, others carry the clouds or drive them, and others come ahead of the clouds as heralds announcing their coming. Some of them come before that to stir up the earth, and some of them fertilize or "seed" the clouds to make it rain. Allah says:

وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً طَهُوراً

(and We send down pure water from the sky), meaning, as a means of purifying it. Abu Sa`id said, "It was said: "O Messenger of Allah, can we perform Wudu' with the water of the well of Buda`ah For it is a well in which rubbish and the flesh of dogs are thrown. He said:

«إِنَّ الْمَاءَ طَهُورٌ لَا يُنَجِّسُهُ شَيْء»

(Water is pure and nothing makes it impure.) This was recorded by Ash-Shafi`i and Ahmad, who graded it Sahih, and also by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi, who graded it Hasan, and by An-Nasa'i. His saying:

لِّنُحْيِىَ بِهِ بَلْدَةً مَّيْتاً

(That We may give life thereby to a dead land,) means, a land that waited a long time for rain. It is devoid of vegetation or anything at all. When the rain comes to it, it becomes alive and its hills are covered with all kinds of colorful flowers, as Allah says:

فَإِذَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَآءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ

(but when We send down water to it, it is stirred to life and growth...) (41:39). His saying:

وَنُسْقِيَهِ مِمَّا خَلَقْنَآ أَنْعَـماً وَأَنَاسِىَّ كَثِيراً

(and We give to drink thereof many of the cattle and men that We had created. ) means, so that animals such as cattle can drink from it, and people who are in desperate need of water can drink from it and water their crops and fruits. This is like the Ayah:

وَهُوَ الَّذِى يُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ مِن بَعْدِ مَا قَنَطُواْ

(And He it is Who sends down the rain after they have despaired,) (42:28)

فَانظُرْ إِلَى ءَاثَـرِ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُحْىِ الاٌّرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَآ

(Look then at the effects of Allah's mercy, how He revives the earth after its death.) (30:50) His saying:

وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَـهُ بَيْنَهُمْ لِيَذَّكَّرُواْ

(And indeed We have distributed it among them in order that they may remember) means, `We cause rain to fall on this land and not on that, and We cause the clouds to pass over one land and go to another, where We cause sufficient rain to fall so that its people have plenty, but not one drop falls on the first land.' There is a reason and great wisdom behind this. Ibn `Abbas and Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with them said: "One year does not have more rain than another, but Allah distributes the rain as He wills. Then he recited this Ayah:

وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَـهُ بَيْنَهُمْ لِيَذَّكَّرُواْ فَأَبَى أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ إِلاَّ كُفُوراً

(And indeed We have distributed it (rain or water) amongst them in order that they may remember the grace of Allah, but most men refuse (out of) ingratitude. )" meaning, so that they may be reminded, when Allah brings the dead earth back to life, that He is able to bring the dead and dry bones back to life, or that those from whom rain is withheld are suffering this because of some sin they have committed, so that they may give it up.

فَأَبَى أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ إِلاَّ كُفُورًا

(but most men refuse (out of) ingratitude.) `Ikrimah said, "This refers to those who say that rain comes because of such and such a star." This view of `Ikrimah is similar to the authentic Hadith recorded in Sahih Muslim; one day after a night's rain, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to his Companions:

«أَتَدْرُونَ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ؟»

(Do you know what your Lord says) They said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said:

«قَالَ: أَصْبَحَ مِنْ عِبَادِي مُؤْمِنٌ بِي وَكَافِرٌ، فَأَمَّا مَنْ قَالَ: مُطِرْنَا بِفَضْلِ اللهِ وَرَحْمَتِهِ فَذَاكَ مُؤْمِنٌ بِي، كَافِرٌ بِالْكَوْكَبِ، وَأَمَّا مَنْ قَالَ: مُطِرْنَا بِنَوْءِ كَذَا وَكَذَا، فَذَاكَ كَافِرٌ بِي، مُؤْمِنٌ بِالْكَوْكَب»

(He says: "This morning some of My servants became believers in Me, and some became disbelievers. As for the one who said, `We have been given rain by the mercy and grace of Allah,' he is a believer in Me and a disbeliever in the stars. As for the one who said, `We have been given rain by such and such a star,' he is a disbeliever in Me and a believer in the stars.")

وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً طَهُورً‌ا (And We have sent down purifying water from the heavens - 25:48). In Arabic طَهُور (Tahur) means something which is pure by itself and which also purifies other things. Allah Ta’ ala has given this quality to water that it is clean by itself and possesses the property to cleanse other things also. The water we use comes down from the clouds in the form of rain, hail or snow. Then some of it flows on the surface of the earth and the rest seeps down into the ground. Under the ground there is a natural drainage system which takes the underground water to every nook of the earth and then it reappears on the surface in the form of springs, fountains etc. Sometimes the underground water is drawn out by digging wells to reach it. All these waters i.e. that which falls in the form of rain, or that which flows on the surface of earth in the form of rivers, streams or canals, or that which is preserved underground are pure in Shari` ah and have inherent property of cleaning other things. There is consensus of opinion in ummah on this matter and it is the express purport of the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah.

When the water is in large quantity as in the case of a pond, pool or a canal, it remains pure even if something filthy has fallen in it. On this point also there is a general consensus, unless the effect of filth is perceptible and the colour, taste and smell of water changes. However, if the quantity of water is small and some filth drops in it, then there is a difference of opinion among the jurists (مُجتھدین) on the nature and quantity of filth as well as the quantity of water in which the filth falls. Details on this issue are described by Mazhari and Qurtubi in their commentaries and are also available in the books on Fiqh.

The phenomenon which in the present age is known as the axial rotation of the earth has been set down here in layman’s language. The earth rotates on its axis once in twenty-four hours, due to which day and night follow upon each other. This is a wonderful miracle of Almighty God’s power. Had there been no axial rotation of the earth, half of it would have been continuously under the blazing sun, while the other half would have been continuously enveloped by night. Thus it would have been extremely difficult to live on the earth. There are many lessons in this system of the earth. Just as the light of day necessarily follows the darkness of night; in the same way untruth will be followed by Truth. Similarly, waking up in the morning after sleeping at night is symbolic of resurrection in the life after death. Likewise, there is a lesson hidden in the system of the rains. Just as the dead earth is revived thanks to the rains, so also does God’s guidance instil faith and fear of God in a heart which otherwise would have become as lifeless as an arid land.