ﳂ ﳃ ﳄ ﳅ ﳆ ﳇ ﳈ ﳉ ﳊ ﳋ ﳌ ﳍ ﳎ ﳏ ﳐ ﳑ ﳒ ﳓ ﳔ ﳕ ﳖ ﳗ ﳘ ﳙ ﳚ ﳛ ﳜ ﳝ ﳞ ﳟ ﳠ ﳡ ﳢ ﳣ ﳤ ﳥ ﳦ ﳧ ﳨ
Do you not see that Allah drives clouds? Then He brings them together, then He makes them into a mass, and you see the rain emerge from within it. And He sends down from the sky, mountains [of clouds] within which is hail, and He strikes with it whom He wills and averts it from whom He wills. The flash of its lightening almost takes away the eyesight.
Tafsir
Verse range: 24:43
{يُزْجِي} (He drives): Meaning He urges/pushes. From this comes the expression "merchandise that is muzjah (pushed/offered)," meaning merchandise that everyone pushes along because they are not satisfied with it.
Clouds may be singular, like al-‘ama’ (the dense cloud), or plural, like al-rabab (the scattered clouds). The meaning of "joining" the singular is that it exists as scattered fragments (quza’), then He joins one part to another. It is permissible to use the word "between" (bayna) even when it is singular because the meaning refers to the spaces between its parts, as was said in the verse: "Between al-Dakhul and Hawmal."
{الرُّكَامَ} (The piled-up): That which is heaped one part upon another.
{الْوَدْقَ} (The rain): The rain.
{مِنْ خِلَالِهِ} (From within it): From its openings and outlets. It is the plural of khall, like jibal (mountains) is to jabal (mountain). It is also recited as min khilalihi (singular).
{وَيُنَزِّلُ} (And He sends down): With the tashdid (doubling of the letter).
{وَيَكَادُ سَنَا} (And the flash... almost): With the idgham (assimilation).
{بَرْقِهِ} (His lightning): The plural of barqah, which is a single unit of lightning, like ghurfah (a handful) and luqmah (a morsel). It is also read as burqihi (with two dammas) for the sake of vowel harmony, as is said in the plural of fa’lah: fa’lat (like zulumat).
{سَنَا} (Flash): With the shortened alif (alif maqsurah), it means light. With the extended alif (alif mamdudah), it means height and elevation, from the saying: saniya, meaning "it became elevated."
{يَذْهَبُ بِالْأَبْصَارِ} (Takes away the sight): The ba’ is an augmentative particle, as in His saying: "And do not cast [with] your own hands into destruction" (Al-Baqarah: 195). This is according to Abu Ja’far al-Madani.
Exegesis: This is a enumeration of the proofs of His Lordship and the manifestation of His command. He mentions the glorification of those in the heavens and the earth, and all that flies between the sky and the earth, and their supplication and humble entreaty to Him. He mentions how He subjects the clouds to the subjection He described, and the actions He performs within them until rain descends from them. He distributes His mercy among His creation, withholding it or spreading it as His wisdom dictates. He shows them the lightning in the clouds, which almost snatches away their sight, so that they may take heed and be cautious. He alternates the night and the day, varying them in length and shortness. These are proofs of the utmost clarity regarding His existence and stability, and signs calling out His attributes to those who look, think, contemplate, and reflect.
If you ask: When did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) see the glorification and supplication of those in the heavens, the glorification and supplication of the birds, and the descent of rain from mountains of hail in the sky, such that it was said to him: "Do you not see?" I say: He knew it through Allah’s informing him of it by way of revelation.
If you ask: What is the difference between the first, second, and third "min" (from) in His saying: {مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مِنْ جِبَالٍ} (from the sky, from mountains) and {مِنْ بَرَدٍ} (of hail)? I say: The first is for the beginning of the limit (ibtida’ al-ghayah), the second is for partitive (tab’id), and the third is for clarification (bayan). Or, the first two are for the beginning of the limit, and the last is for partitive. The meaning is: He sends down hail from the sky, from mountains within it. According to the first view, the object of "sends down" is "from mountains."
If you ask: What is the meaning of {مِنْ جِبَالٍ فِيهَا مِنْ بَرَدٍ} (from mountains in it of hail)? I say: It has two meanings:
{وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَ كُلَّ دَابَّةٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَمْشِي عَلَى بَطْنِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَمْشِي عَلَى رِجْلَيْنِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَمْشِي عَلَى أَرْبَعٍ يَخْلُقُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ} (And Allah has created every living creature from water. So of them are those that move on their bellies, and of them are those that walk on two legs, and of them are those that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.)
