Surah An-Noor (24) — Ayah 43

(Ayah 43) ➊ {اَلَمْ تَرَ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ يُزْجِيْ سَحَابًا …: ’’ أَزْجٰي يُزْجِيْ ‘‘} To drive gently, to urge, to push. {’’ ألَّفَ يُؤَلِّفُ‘‘} To join two or more things together. By joining the clouds is meant joining their pieces together. {’’رَكْمٌ‘‘ } Means to place one thing over another. { ’’رُكَامًا ‘‘} Layer upon layer. {’’خِلاَلٌ‘‘ ’’خَلَلٌ‘‘} is the plural, just as: {’’جِبَالٌ‘‘ ’’جَبَلٌ‘‘} is the plural. {’’خَلَلٌ‘‘} means a crack, fissure, or hole.
➋ Winds perform several functions. Allah first sends winds, which sweep over the earth and thoroughly clean it. Then He sends more winds, which lift up the clouds. The third winds join the clouds together and make them layer upon layer. Then the fourth winds cause them to rain. See Surah Al-A'raf (57), Ar-Rum (48), and Fatir (9).
This is the second proof of Tawheed, that is, Allah drives the clouds, then joins them together in layers, and it is also His favor that He causes the reservoirs of water in the layered clouds to fall upon the earth in the form of drops, by which the dead earth is revived and humans, animals, and plants receive life. If He were to drop the billions of tons of water contained in clouds spread over hundreds of thousands of square miles all at once upon the earth, no living being could bear that burden, nor would any plant or building remain in which anyone could reside.
➌ { وَ يُنَزِّلُ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مِنْ جِبَالٍ فِيْهَا مِنْۢ بَرَدٍ: ’’ بَرَدٍ ‘‘} "Hailstones." As you go higher from the earth, the cold increases, and sometimes by Allah's command, the clouds take the form of mountains of ice. Now, it is Allah's grace that instead of dropping avalanches of ice from these mountains, He causes it to fall in the form of hailstones, which causes the least damage. And this is also proof of His power: it is the same sea, the same sun whose heat causes water to rise as vapor, the same earth upon which it rains, every part of the earth is at the same distance from the sea as before, the mountains which scientists mention as causing rain to fall are also in the same place, and despite all the causes being the same, it never rains the same everywhere, nor do hailstones fall everywhere. In some places, sometimes there is rain that brings prosperity, sometimes there is drought that brings famine, sometimes there is a flood that causes destruction, and sometimes there is devastation in the form of hailstones. All this is proof of Allah, the Sovereign's Tawheed, His power, and His authority.
➍ { فَيُصِيْبُ بِهٖ مَنْ يَّشَآءُ وَ يَصْرِفُهٗ عَنْ مَّنْ يَّشَآءُ :} In this, Allah has mentioned His authority, that He causes those hailstones to fall upon whomever He wills and averts them from whomever He wills; the estimates of the meteorological department are rendered useless.
➎ {يَكَادُ سَنَا بَرْقِهٖ يَذْهَبُ بِالْاَبْصَارِ: ’’ سَنَا ‘‘} with the pattern of {’’ عَصَا ‘‘} means shine, brightness, and {’’ سَنَاءٌ‘‘} with the pattern of {’’جَلاَءٌ‘‘} means height and exalted status. This phrase of the verse is like the phrase in which it is said: «{ يَكَادُ الْبَرْقُ يَخْطَفُ اَبْصَارَهُمْ }» [ البقرۃ : ۲۰ ] See also Surah Ar-Ra'd (12, 13).

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

43. Do you not see that Allah drives the clouds gently [70], then joins them together, then makes them into layers? Then you see the rain coming out from within them. And He sends down from the sky hail out of the mountains within it, striking with it whom He wills and turning it away from whom He wills. The flash of its lightning almost blinds the eyes [71].

[70] The difficulty arises that our scholars of astronomy have discovered such physical laws in every sign of Allah that the hand of Allah’s power does not seem to be at work anywhere, and these very laws are taught to children in schools and colleges. For example, the physical laws discovered for rain are that, due to the heat of the sun, vapors rise from the sea. Then the direction of the winds carries these vapors towards a specific direction, until these vapors reach a cold atmospheric region. Upon reaching there, these vapors turn back into water, and it starts to rain. If they reach an extremely cold region, then hail begins to fall. According to these principles, in our country Pakistan, rain occurs in such a way that in the hot months of June and July, vapors rise from the Arabian Sea, which collide with the Himalayas. Here, the winds then turn their direction towards Pakistan, and when they reach the cold parts of these mountains, they turn into water, and thus, during the rainy season or in July or August, we have rains. In this respect, the factors for rain at a particular place are: the distance from the sea to that place, the altitude above sea level, the direction of the winds, the direction and height of the mountains. According to these principles, it is necessary that at a particular place and in a particular season, there should be the same amount of rain every year, because neither the expanse of the sea changes, nor the heat of the sun, nor the height and direction of the mountains, and even the cold winds, according to physical law, always take a specific direction. But our observation is that the same amount of rain does not occur every year. In one year, due to excessive rain at that particular place, there is flooding, and in another year, it passes completely dry, with no rain at all. Then why does this increase, decrease, and change occur in the results of these physical laws? After all, why can’t it be concluded from these things that there is such a powerful and supreme Being who has full authority to change the results of these lifeless laws?

Is Rain Merely the Result of Physical Laws?

Another point worth considering is that the clouds, which are laden with millions of tons of water vapor, when they reach a cold region, turn into water. So why does this water, when it falls, take the form of drops? If the amount of water vapor is small, one could say so, but why does this huge quantity of water not fall all at once at a particular place? To send down this large amount of water in such a manner that it proves beneficial, rather than harmful, for the creation of Allah, the trees, and the vegetation of the earth—after all, which lifeless physical law is responsible for this? Then, when these vapors reach an extremely cold region, the water freezes. Regarding this very condition, the Noble Quran has described it in these words: that there are mountains of hail in the heights, whose benefit is very little and harm is much greater. That is, the very thing which was Allah’s mercy, begins to fall as Allah’s punishment, and instead of benefiting the crops, it destroys them. And these hailstones also fall only at the place where Allah wills. Allah, according to His will, immediately changes the direction of the winds, and whomever He wills, He saves from the punishment of these hailstones, and upon whichever nation He wills, He sends down this punishment.
[71]
Harmful Aspects of Clouds and Rain:

That is, from the collision of water vapors or frozen clouds, electricity is also produced, which, when it falls, burns and destroys everything, and its light is so intense and dazzling to the eyes that if a person looks at it for a while, it can destroy the light of his eyesight as well. That is, rain, which contains an aspect of goodness for all the inhabitants of the earth, also contains many aspects of harm for them. That is, in this rainwater, there is also electricity and fire. In it, there is such intense light that it can blind the eyes. Then this very water, when it becomes hail, turns into something harmful. Therefore, in times of happiness, a person should never become arrogant, but should always remain fearful of Allah’s grasp.