Tafsir of Al-Hijr 15:22

{Fertilizing (lawāqiḥ)}: There are two opinions regarding this:

• First: The wind is "fertilizing" (lāqiḥ) when it brings goodness, such as the formation of rain-bearing clouds. This is in contrast to what is called a "barren wind" (rīḥ ʿaqīm), which brings no good.
• Second: "Fertilizing" (lawāqiḥ) is in the sense of "impregnating" (mulāqiḥ), as in the poet's saying:

  And one who is struck by what the "destroyers" (ṭawāʾiḥ) cast down. (He means muṭāwiḥ, the plural of muṭīḥah).

Variant Reading: It has been recited as "the wind" (al-rīḥ) in the singular, interpreted as a collective noun.

{And We have given you drink of it (fa-asqaynākumūhu)}: We have made it a source of water for you.

{And you are not its keepers (wa-mā antum lahu bi-khāzinīn)}: He denies them what He affirmed for Himself in His saying: "And there is not a thing but that with Us are its depositories" (15:21). It is as if He said: "We are the keepers of the water," meaning We are the ones capable of creating it in the sky and sending it down from there, while you are not capable of doing so. This is a demonstration of His immense power and an exposure of their incapacity.

{And indeed, it is We who give life and cause death, and We are the Inheritors. And We have already known the preceding among you, and We have already known the succeeding. And indeed, your Lord will gather them; indeed, He is Wise, Knowing.}