Tafsir of Al-Furqan 25:48

(And it is He who sent the winds) Ibn Kathir recited it in the singular, intending the genus (the nature of the wind) via the generic al (definite article), or by generalization, thus carrying the meaning of the plural in accordance with the majority reading. Ibn Atiyyah said: "The plural reading is more eloquent, for whenever the word 'wind' (singular) appears in the Quran, it is for punishment, and whenever it is for rain and mercy, it comes in the plural. This is because the wind of rain branches out, fluctuates, scatters, comes gently from here and there, and arrives in succession. Conversely, the wind of punishment comes as a single, solid entity that does not fluctuate—do you not see that it destroys and demolishes everything it encounters?"

Al-Rummani said: "The winds of mercy are gathered in the plural because they are three, which bring fertilization: the Southern (Janub), the Easterly (Saba), and the Westerly (Dabur); whereas the wind of punishment is singular because it is only one and does not fertilize, which is the Westerly (Dabur)." In the Prophet’s saying (peace be upon him) when the wind blew: "O Allah, make it winds (plural) and do not make it a wind (singular)," there is an indication of what has been mentioned. You know that there is an oversight in Ibn Atiyyah’s discourse regarding the interpretation through which the two readings are reconciled. It has been stated in Al-Bahr that it is not permissible to claim that one reading is more eloquent than the other, given that both are mutawatir (mass-transmitted). The al in "the wind" is for the genus, thus it is general. What has been mentioned regarding the differentiation between the singular and the plural is [only] prevalent, or [applicable] when there is no context, or regarding the indefinite, as occurred in the hadith. We will mention later, God willing, in Surah Ar-Rum, what pertains to this topic.

(As glad tidings) (Bushran), lightened, with two dammahs, is the plural of bashur, meaning "bringer of glad tidings"—that is, He sent the winds as glad tidings. It was also read as (nushran) with a nun and lightened, the plural of nashur like rasul and rusul; and (nushuran) with a dammah on the nun and shin, which is also the plural of that. Meaning, He sent them spreading the clouds, from nashr (meaning sending forth/reviving), because it gathers them as if it were reviving them, not from nashr (meaning scattering), because that is not appropriate unless intended metaphorically as "driving." And (nashran) with a fatha on the nun and a sukoon on the shin [is read] as an infinitive (masdar) used as a description, serving as an intensive form or as a cognate object (maful mutlaq) for "sent," because it carries the meaning of "spreading." All of these are mutawatir.

It is narrated from Ibn al-Sumayqa that he read it as (bushra) with the feminine alif.

(Before His mercy) That is, before the rain. Mercy has been metaphorically applied to rain, and the metaphor is supported in the best manner. It is possible that the discourse contains a representational metaphor, and "as glad tidings" is part of the metaphor and included in its entirety.

The transition to the "We" of majesty in His saying: (And We sent down from the sky) is to highlight the perfection of care in the sending down, because it is the result of what was mentioned regarding the sending of the winds. That is: We sent it down by Our majesty, through what We ordained of sending the winds from the direction of the heights, which is not the typical place for water, or from the clouds, or from the known celestial body. The detailed discussion regarding this has preceded.

(Pure water) The apparent meaning is that it is an adjective for "water." Based on this, it is said that its meaning is "highly pure" or "excessively pure." In Al-Bahr, the intensiveness is explained as returning to the quality [of the water], considering that it does not resemble anything else in its source, its path, or what is cast into it, unlike the waters of the earth. Tha'lab interpreted it as that which is pure in itself and purifies others. Al-Zamakhshari refuted this, saying that if what he said was an explanation of its eloquence in purity, it would be correct; otherwise, the fa'ul form does not indicate "instrument of purification" (taf'il) in any way. Others said: "The inclusion of 'purification' (tathir) is rejected by the necessity of purity (tahara); the intensiveness of a necessary attribute does not necessitate a transitive action."

The author of Al-Kashf responded that since purity itself is not subject to increase, the intensiveness in it returns to the addition of the meaning of "purifying others," not that the necessary [adjective] became transitive. Al-Dawwani refuted this, stating that there is reflection to be had here, in that since the addition of the meaning of purification was derived from the intensiveness signifying "not accepting increase," the intensiveness in the sentence was the cause of transitivity. He then said: "It is possible to escape this by saying that the necessary meaning remains as it is, and the intensiveness necessitated the addition of the transitive meaning to it, not the transitivity of that necessary [attribute]; there are two differences between them." Some eminent scholars mentioned that the claim that intensiveness indicates the action’s relationship to an object (ta'alluq) is not supported by language or custom. Where is this relationship in the saying of Jarir: "To the heavy-hipped, elegant ones among the gazelles, sweet of teeth, their saliva is tahur (pure/purifying)?" Similar to it is His saying: "And their Lord gave them a pure drink." Because of this and its likes, some chose that the intensiveness returns to the quality, as you heard from Al-Bahr.

Some researchers said that tahur here is a noun for that with which one is purified, as in his saying (peace be upon him): "The earth is the tahur (purifier) of the believer." And fa'ul, as Al-Azhari said in the book Al-Zahir, can be an instrument noun for that with which a thing is done—like ghasul (washing agent), wudu' (water for ablution), futur (breakfast), and suhur (pre-dawn meal)—just as it can be an adjective in the sense of the active participle (like akul), or the passive participle (like sabub, meaning 'poured'), or a collective noun (like danub), or an infinitive (which is rare, like qabul). Thus, it indicates the purification of others by convention. It is possible to interpret what was narrated from Tha'lab based on this, and consider it being pure in itself, because its being a purifier for others is a branch of that. On this basis, it is made a substitute (badal) for "water" or an explanatory noun (atf bayan) for it, not an adjective. Thus, the structure is like: "I sent to you water, [a] washing-agent."

You know that the most obvious [reading] in what we are dealing with is that it is an adjective. If that is possible in this manner through some form of interpretation, it would be further from empty disputation. Sibawayh reported that tahur came as the infinitive of being purified in their saying: "I purified myself a good purification." He mentioned that the Prophet's saying, "There is no prayer except with tahur," is from this. Applying what is in the verse to that is not appropriate. Regardless, in describing water with it, there is a magnifying of the favor, as is not hidden.