Tafsir of Al-Furqan 25:50

"And We have certainly distributed it among them..."

The pronoun refers to the water sent down from the sky, as with the two preceding pronouns. Its distribution is the alteration of its states and its times, and its sending down in various manners. That is: And by Allah, the Exalted, We have distributed the rain among them—that is, among the people in different lands, at varying times, and with differing qualities, such as heavy downpour, dew, and others—so that they may be reminded, meaning so that they may take heed by it. "But most of the people refuse except disbelief"—that is, they do nothing but disbelieve in the blessing and deny it altogether by attributing it to other than Him, the Exalted and Majestic. This is done by saying, "We were given rain by such-and-such naw' (star/asterism)," while believing that the stars are agents of this and affect it by their own essences. This belief, we seek refuge in Allah the Exalted, is disbelief.

In al-Kashshaf and elsewhere, it is stated that whoever believes that Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, is the Creator of the rains and has established the anwa' (stars) as signs and indications of them, and intends by his saying "We were given rain by such-and-such naw'," that "we were given rain at the time of the setting of such-and-such star in the west at dawn," does not commit disbelief. The apparent meaning is that he does not commit a sin either. The Imam said: Whoever considers the celestial spheres and planets to be independent in necessitating these things, there is no doubt in his disbelief. As for the one who says that He, Glory be to Him, has ingrained in them properties and qualities that necessitate these occurrences, perhaps his error does not reach the level of disbelief.

God willing, there will follow from us, in this matter, a discourse which I hope the people of understanding will find commendable, and by which the speech of the Imam will be strengthened. The reference of the pronoun in "We sent it down" to the water sent down is narrated from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas’ud, Mujahid, and Ikrimah.

A group narrated from the former (Ibn Abbas)—and al-Hakim authenticated it—that he said: "There is no year with less rain than another, but Allah, the Exalted, distributes it wherever He wills," then he recited this verse. Al-Kharaiti also narrated the like from the latter (Ibn Mas’ud) in Makarim al-Akhlaq. From this, it is understood that the distribution refers to allocation.

Others have said: It refers to the "discourse" (the Quran) understood from the context, which is what was mentioned regarding the creation of clouds and the sending down of rain for the noble ends mentioned. Its distribution is its repetition and mention in different forms and diverse ways. The meaning is: We have repeated this discourse and mentioned it in various manners in the Quran and other heavenly scriptures among the people—the former and the latter—so that they may reflect and thereby recognize the perfection of His, the Exalted’s, power and the vastness of His, the Exalted and Majestic’s, mercy in it. Yet most of them, from those who preceded and those who followed, refused except to disbelieve in the blessing and show little concern for it, or to deny it altogether by attributing it to other than the Exalted, the Manifest in His Glory.

Al-Zamakhshari chose this opinion, and Abu al-Sa’ud said: It is the most apparent. Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from ‘Ata al-Khurasani that it refers to the Quran; do you not see His, the Exalted’s, saying: "And strive against them with it [the Quran]"? This was also narrated in al-Bahr from Ibn Abbas, though the famous view from him is the one preceding this. Perhaps what is meant is the evidence it contains regarding the perfection of His, the Exalted’s, power and the vastness of His, the Exalted and Majestic’s, mercy, or something of that nature—so reflect. As for what was said that it refers to the wind, it is of no significance.