وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَرْسَلَ ٱلرِّيَٰحَ بُشْرًۢا بَيْنَ يَدَىْ رَحْمَتِهِۦ ۚ وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً طَهُورًا
7:59; 15:23; 24:44.
Commentary:
The verse continuing the theme of its predecessor speaks of the appearance of the Holy Prophet and likens his advent to the coming of rain. Just as in the physical world breezes herald the approach of rain, and twilight that of dawn, similarly in the spiritual world certain signs of spiritual awakening take place before the appearance of a Divine Reformer, and there is a certain revolt in the air against the existing corrupt state of affairs. Before the Holy Prophet was commissioned as a Divine Messenger, there had appeared a class of men who had declared their faith in the Unity of God and had discarded the worship of idols and had preached against it. They were known as hanif, i.e. those inclined to God. They acted as harbingers who gave the glad tidings that a great Messenger of God was about to appear.
"Rain" in the verse is spoken of as God’s mercy and elsewhere in the Quran the Holy Prophet has also been referred to as رحمة للعالمین i.e. mercy for all the worlds (21:108).
7:58; 15:23.