Topic: As A Blessing And A Sign

3:191; 10:7; 30:23; 45:6.

Important Words:

اختلاف (alternation) is derived from خلف. They say خلفه i.e. he or it was or became his or its successor. خلف الرجل means, he came after or remained after the man and stood in his place. اختلفه means, he followed him as his successor. اختلفوا means (1) they came one after another by turn; (2) they differed or disagreed (Aqrab).

الفلك (ships) is derived from the verb فلك meaning, it became round or circular. الفلك (al-fulk) means a ship, or a boat, probably because it looks round and shapeless when seen at sea from a distance. The word is both singular and plural. الفلك (al-falak) means, the vault of heaven or the firmament in which the stars move. This is also probably owing to the apparently round shape of the sky (Aqrab, Mufradat & Lane).

دابة (beast) is the active participle from دب which means, he or it crept or crawled or walked slowly like an ant or a reptile or a child or a weak or sickly person. دابة means, all such animals or insects as creep or crawl or walk slowly (Aqrab). The word is used about all moving animals, whether big or small, whether walking on two legs or on four legs or creeping on the belly, etc. (24:46). It is also used about beasts used for riding or for carrying burden, like the horse, the mule, the donkey, etc. (Lane).

المسخر (pressed into service) is the passive participle from سخر sakhkhara. They say سخره (sakhkhara-hu or سخره sakhara-hu, not سخر sakhira which gives a different meaning), i.e. (1) he employed him or imposed on him a task without compensation; (2) he subjugated him and made him subservient to himself. Thus مسخر is that who or which has been made subservient to another, being unable to free himself or itself from constraint (Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse gives a twofold meaning, one literal and the other metaphorical. In the former sense, it supplies an argument in support of the existence of God referred to in the preceding verse. A careful study of the universe unfailingly points to a Creator on the one hand and to man being created with a definite object on the other. It also proves that, having created the world, God did not leave it alone but continues to watch over and control its affairs and is the First Cause of all change and every working in the universe. Heaven and earth, night and day (with alternating light and darkness), the supply of provisions, rainfall with its power of quickening and devastating, the means of communications, the blowing of winds, and shade and sunshine, all point to one controlling agency, God, the Maker of heavens and earth. And if God has done so much for the material requirements of man, He cannot be imagined to have neglected his spiritual needs which are much more important. Let all thinking men think and ponder and again think and ponder.

The Quran takes the universe as a whole to prove its theme. The objects of nature taken individually do not furnish such conclusive evidence of the existence of God as the whole universe taken together. The earth may be said to owe its existence to a fortuitous concourse of atoms, or a similar reason may be given for the origin of the sun and the moon and so on. But when the universe as one united whole and the deep order that permeates it are taken into consideration, it becomes impossible to escape the conclusion that this universe has not come into existence accidentally. Indeed, the consummate harmony that prevails throughout the universe, forcefully points to the fact that the whole system has been created and is being directed by one Intelligent Being Who is All-Powerful and All-Knowing.

Taken in the metaphorical sense, the ship mentioned in the verse will be taken to stand for Prophets who help men to cross the gulfs of carnal desires and materialistic concepts of things which separate men from God, rain being likened to God’s revelation which comes down like rain and gives life to the world after it has become dead. The clouds send down no new water. Water already exists in the vast oceans of the earth but, as it is impure, men cannot make use of it. God purifies it and changes it into clouds and then sends it back to earth in the form of pure rainwater. Similarly, by sending a new revelation God purifies beliefs, which, with the passage of time, get mixed up with false notions and superstitious ideas. It is inconceivable that God Who supplies man with fresh rainwater for the maintenance of his physical life should have omitted to supply him with heavenly water which is so necessary for the preservation of his spiritual life. Similarly, night and day stand for the alternating periods of light and darkness, it being hinted that the coming of the Holy Prophet heralds the dawn of a new day.

Moreover, by laying special emphasis on the study of the phenomena of nature in the verse under comment, the attention of disbelievers is also drawn to the fact that they could not possibly hope to succeed in their designs against the Holy Prophet, because the whole universe is controlled by God and is working in favour of His Prophet and in furthering his cause.

15:23; 24:44; 25:49; 27:64; 30:47; 35:10.

Important Words:

اقلت (bear) is derived from قل. They say قل الشیء i.e. the thing was or became few, small or scanty. اقل الشیء means, he lifted, raised, bore or carried the thing (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The word رحمة (mercy) in this verse refers to rain. Just as in the physical world rain is preceded by cool breezes which serve as its harbingers, similarly before a Prophet of God is to make his appearance, there is a sort of general religious awakening among men. This religious awakening was witnessed among the Arabs before the appearance of the Holy Prophet. There appeared among them certain individuals called Hanifs who rejected idolatry and believed in and preached the Oneness of God. In the present time also, the advent of Ahmad, the Promised Messiah, was preceded by a general religious awakening among the nations of the world.

The words, a dead land, literally mean, physically dead, but metaphorically the words also signify a spiritually dead land. Just as rainwater puts new life into a dead land and causes fruits, vegetables and corn to grow from it, similarly, the heavenly water of revelation breathes a new life into a people devoid of spiritual life. The verse thus holds out the promise that the bleak, arid and barren land of Arabia would soon blossom forth into a garden full of trees laden with fruit, and plants bearing fragrant flowers in consequence of the heavenly water that had descended on it. No wonder, indeed, that the Arabs, who had hitherto been regarded as the dregs and scum of humanity, suddenly emerged as teachers and leaders thereof.

7:58; 24:44; 25:49.

Important Words:

لواقح (impregnating) is the plural of لاقح which is the active-participle from لقح. They say لقحت الناقة i.e. the she camel became pregnant; or she received into her womb the seed of the stallion. لقحت النخیل means, the palm-trees became fecundated by means of the لقاح or spadix of the male tree which is bruised or brayed and sprinkled upon the spadix of the female. لاقحmeans, a she-camel having just conceived, or become pregnant. ریاح لواقح means, pregnant winds; impregnating or fecundating winds; winds which collect vapours and then form into clouds and send down rain. حرب لواقح means, a war pregnant with great events. لاقح also means, a man to whom offspring is born (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary

The word لواقح as explained under Important Words signifies such winds as carry pollen from the male to the female trees in order to fecundate them. It also means the winds which carry vapours rising from the earth to the upper air where they assume the form of clouds. In the present verse the word may be taken in the latter sense or in both senses. The verse would thus mean that it is God Who sends winds which carry the pollen from male to female trees as well as the winds which raise vapours from the earth which become transformed into clouds that send down rain, fertilizing the fecundated plants and making them bear fruit in abundance. The verse proceeds to point out that when with such a common necessity as water it is not in the power of man to preserve it in its purity, it cannot be possible for him to preserve the spiritual blessings of God in their original purity without His help and protection.

The verse is addressed to both believers and disbelievers. To the latter it answers the question of what was the need for the Quran to be revealed in the presence of previous Scriptures? They are told that just as in the presence of oceans of water on the earth there is still need for fresh water from heaven, even so the Quran was needed in the presence of the previous Scriptures. To believers it says that just as even heavenly water becomes impure and has to be renewed afresh from time to time, similarly, whenever the so-called believers would pollute the pure sense of the Quran by the interpolation of their own impure thoughts and false notions into its teachings, God would arrange to have its true meaning restored to its pristine purity by fresh revelation from heaven.

30:49.

13:14.

Important Words:

رکاماً (piles up) is derived from رکم. They say رکم الشیء i.e. he heaped up, piled up or accumulated the thing; he collected together the thing and put one part of it upon another. رکام means, clouds or sand collected together and piled up (Lane & Aqrab).

ودق (rain) is derived from the root ودق (wadaqa). They say ودق الیه i.e. he became near to him. ودق السماء means, it rained. ودق السیف means, the sword became sharp. الودق means, rain, violent or gentle (Lane & Aqrab).

سنا (flash) is infinitive noun from سنا (sana). They say سنت النار i.e. the fire became high in its light. سنا البرق means, the lightning shone, shone brightly or gleamed or shot up. سنا means, light, or the light of lightning; or light shining or diffusing itself and rising, a high light; shining of weapons (Lane).

Commentary:

The verse gives another simile about the spiritual development of man and about the changes and processes which it undergoes to reach its perfection. The knowledge of such changes and processes is essential to the spiritual pilgrim because without such knowledge he may not know what turnings and crossroads he may have to meet on the way and consequently may despair of success. The verse purports to say that man’s spiritual development is like the formation of clouds from vapours. It begins in this way. The sun of God’s love and grace shines upon that inexhaustible store of man’s capacity to receive and assimilate the Divine Word with which he has been endowed and then it raises vapours which are moved about by the winds of Divine mercy. Just as in the earlier stages the vapours are not visible, so does the change wrought in the pilgrim’s mind by the Sun of Divine love and grace remain unfelt in the earlier stages of his spiritual development with the result that the impatient spiritual wayfarer sometimes loses patience and gives up the endeavour in despair. The simile points out that like invisible vapours which assume a visible form, the change in man’s moral and spiritual progress under Divine mercy assumes a palpable form and begins to be dimly perceptible. But the character and nature of the change is still in a formative stage, where it has not yet attained fixity and strength enough to be helpful to others. The progress, however, continues till like vapours that condense and take the form of showers of rain and sometimes of hail, the God-intoxicated spiritual wayfarer, who has donned the mantle of a Divine Messenger, becomes بشیر i.e. the Bearer of good news for the believers and نذیر i.e. Warner for those who reject the heavenly messages. Even among the believers his influence is not uniform; some benefit by his precept and practice more than the others according to their natural aptitudes, as are the different parts of earth benefited by rain according to the nature of the soil.

Or the significance of the verse may be that for some the revealed Law serves as timely rain which proves highly beneficial and for others it takes the form of hail and storm which brings in its wake destruction and ruin.

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).

Commentary:

It is significant that when the word ریح (wind) is used in the singular number in the Quran, it generally signifies Divine punishment (17:70; 54:20; 69:7, etc.), but when it is used in the plural number it generally signifies Divine blessings, particularly the advent of a heavenly Messenger.

In the present and the preceding verses three kinds of argument and evidence have been adduced to prove the existence and Unity of God—evidence from external nature, man’s inner self and from his collective life.

17:67; 31:32; 45:13.

Commentary:

The words, "He sends the winds with glad tidings," point to a divine law which works with as much effect in the physical universe as it does in the spiritual world. Just as winds precede rain, heralding its advent, similarly before the advent of a Divine Reformer there come into existence conditions which are favourable to the spread of his teachings and there appear good and righteous men who prepare the ground and "make the paths straight for him." This has happened in the time of every Prophet.

24:44.

Important Words:

کسفا (pieces) is derived from کسف (kasafa). They say کسف الثوب i.e. he cut up the cloth. کسف أمله means, his hope was blasted. کسفة means, piece, fragment, part (Aqrab).

ودق (rain) is infinitive-noun from ودق (wadaqa). They say ودق السماء i.e. the cloud rained. ودق السیف means, the sword became sharp (Aqrab).

22:7; 57:18.

Important Words:

نشور (Resurrection) is an infinitive noun from نشر. They say نشر الخبر i.e. he spread or spread out or published the news. نشرت الارض means, the land, being rained upon, its herbage or pasturage became green after it had dried up. نشر الله الموتیmeans, God raised the dead to life. نشور means, raising the dead: Resurrection. The word has also been used in the sense of spiritual resurrection in this life (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

In the Quran the plural form ریاح (winds) is generally used in good sense as in the present verse and in vv. 7:58; 25:49; etc. while the singular has been used to denote Divine punishment as in 17:70; 33:10; 41:17; 46:25; 51:42; 54:20 & 69:7. The word النشور (Resurrection) if taken to mean the resurrection of a people from a state of spiritual decline and degradation, the verse would mean that just as dead and dry land blossoms into new life when rain falls upon it, so will a people, morally and spiritually dead and steeped in sin and wickedness as the Arabs are, rise to a new life by means of the heavenly water of Divine revelation—the Quran.

21:82; 27:18; 34:13.

Important Words:

رخاء (blowing gently) is derived from رخا which means, it was or became soft, flabby or brittle. رخاالعیش means, the life became affluent and pleasant, the life became easy or plentiful. رخاء means, a soft or gentle wind or a soft or gentle and quick wind or gentle wind that does not move anything (Lane & Aqrab).

الریح means, (1) wind, (2) a good and pure thing, (3) mercy, (4) aid against an enemy, (5) victory or conquest, (6) predominance and power, (7) a turn of good fortune, etc. (Lane & Aqrab). See also 34:13.

Commentary:

According to the different meanings of the word ریح given above, the expression, سخرنا له الریح would mean:

1. God granted to Solomon good and pure things of the world;

2. He aided Solomon against his enemies;

3. He was merciful to Solomon;

4. Solomon made great conquests and won victories over his enemies;

5. Solomon possessed great power, prestige and predominance.

6. The words also signify that Solomon possessed a large and powerful navy (1 Kings 9:26-28). See also 34:13.

Important Words:

رواکد (motionless) is the plural of راکدة which is fem. active participle from رکد which means, it was or became still, motionless, fixed or stationary (Lane).

Commentary:

In this and several other verses the Quran points to the great part that ships were to play in international intercourse. This truth, revealed to a son of the desert, as far back as fourteen hundred years ago, speaks volumes for the Divine origin of the Quran.

2:165; 3:191; 10:7.

16:66; 22:6; 30:51; 35:28; 39:22.

Commentary:

This verse further says that as light follows darkness, similarly when spiritual darkness spreads over the entire earth, God creates new light in the form of a Prophet or Divine Reformer to whom He reveals Himself. And just as winds carry pollen from male to female trees in order to fecundate them, in the same way the spiritually elevating ideas that emanate from a Divine Reformer impregnate the minds of men and bring about spiritual revolution in them.