Surah Al-Furqaan (25) — Ayah 50

(Ayah 50) ➊ {وَ لَقَدْ صَرَّفْنٰهُ بَيْنَهُمْ … :} There are two interpretations of this verse and both are correct. If in {’’ صَرَّفْنٰهُ ‘‘} the pronoun in {’’هٗ ‘‘} refers to the previously mentioned evidences, as is the tendency of most commentators, then the meaning will be that We have explained the evidences of monotheism in the Qur’an in various ways, so that they may take heed, but most people did not accept monotheism and they accepted nothing except ingratitude and disbelief. And if the pronoun in {’’ صَرَّفْنٰهُ ‘‘ } refers to {’’ مَآءً ‘‘}, then the meaning will be that We have distributed this water among them in various ways, so that it rains more in some places and less in others. It does not rain everywhere equally or at the same time; in some places, rain causes floods, while in other places not a single drop falls and drought occurs. Somewhere it is in liquid form, somewhere in the form of snow like stone, and somewhere in the form of vapor. In short, all these are manifestations of Allah’s wisdom and His power. Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that Ibn Abbas and Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with them) said: [ مَا مِنْ عَامٍ أَمْطَرَ مِنْ عَامٍ وَ لٰكِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَصْرِفُهُ حَيْثُ يَشَاءُ ثُمَّ قَرَأَ : «{ وَ لَقَدْ صَرَّفْنٰهُ بَيْنَهُمْ لِيَذَّكَّرُوْا } » ] [ مستدرک حاکم : 403/2، ح : ۳۵۲۰۔ طبري : ۲۱۲۱۶۔ سلسلۃ الأحادیث الصحیحۃ : 460/5، ح : ۲۴۶۱ ] “That is, there is no year in which there is more rain than another year, but Allah distributes it as He wills.” Then he recited this verse: «{ وَ لَقَدْ صَرَّفْنٰهُ بَيْنَهُمْ لِيَذَّكَّرُوْا }» [ الفرقان : ۵۰ ] “And indeed, We have distributed it among them so that they may take heed.” Dr. Hikmat bin Basheer, while referencing this hadith, has written that the statement of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) has been narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim with an authentic chain through Sa’id bin Jubair, and Hakim has narrated it with the same chain and declared it Sahih, and Dhahabi has agreed with him, and the statement of Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) has been narrated by Tabari and Bayhaqi through two chains, and Imam Bayhaqi has declared it Sahih. [ السنن الکبریٰ للبیہقي : 363/3 ]
According to the statements of these two great companions, this interpretation is more authentic, because obviously they could not have said this on their own, so it is considered as marfu’ (attributed to the Prophet). Ibn Ashur writes: “Modern research has proven that the total rainfall on earth every year is the same, and this was revealed through revelation hundreds of years ago.”
➋ { لِيَذَّكَّرُوْا:} That is, the purpose of distributing rain in this way, more or less in different places, is so that people may take heed, consider rain as only the result of Allah’s mercy and grace, give thanks to Allah when it rains, and repent and seek forgiveness when it does not.
➌ {فَاَبٰۤى اَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ اِلَّا كُفُوْرًا: ’’ كُفُوْرًا ‘‘} and {’’ كُفْرٌ‘‘ } are both verbal nouns; in {’’ كُفُوْرًا ‘‘} the extra letter indicates emphasis, meaning severe ingratitude. Ingratitude is to attribute this rain to the effect of stars. Zayd bin Khalid al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in the morning prayer at Hudaybiyyah after a rain that had fallen during the night. When he finished, he turned to the people and said: [ هَلْ تَدْرُوْنَ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ؟ قَالُوا اللّٰهُ وَ رَسُوْلُهُ أَعْلَمُ، قَالَ : قَالَ أَصْبَحَ مِنْ عِبَادِيْ مُؤْمِنٌ بِيْ وَ كَافِرٌ، فَأَمَّا مَنْ قَالَ مُطِرْنَا بِفَضْلِ اللّٰهِ وَ رَحْمَتِهِ، فَذٰلِكَ مُؤْمِنٌ بِيْ وَكَافِرٌ بِالْكَوْكَبِ، وَ أَمَّا مَنْ قَالَ مُطِرْنَا بِنَوْءِ كَذَا وَ كَذَا، فَذٰلِكَ كَافِرٌ بِيْ وَ مُؤْمِنٌ بِالْكَوْكَبِ ] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب بیان کفر من قال مطرنا بالنوء : ۷۱۔ بخاري : ۸۴۶ ] “Do you know what your Lord said last night?” They said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “He said: ‘This morning some of My servants have become believers in Me and some disbelievers. Whoever said, ‘We have received rain by the grace and mercy of Allah,’ he is a believer in Me and a disbeliever in the stars. And whoever said, ‘We have received rain due to such and such star,’ he is a believer in the stars and a disbeliever in Me.’”

50-1. That is, the Noble Quran, and some have considered the antecedent of "ھا" in "صٓرفناہ" to be rain, which would mean that We send down rain repeatedly, that is, sometimes in one region, sometimes in another, to the extent that sometimes it happens that in one part of a city it rains and in other parts it does not, and sometimes it rains in other parts and not in the first part. This is Allah's wisdom and will; He sends rain wherever and however He wills, sometimes in one region, sometimes in another.

50-2. And another form of disbelief and ingratitude is to attribute rain to the movement of stars instead of the will of Allah, as the people of ignorance used to say, as mentioned in the hadith.

We have certainly explained this in various ways before them so that they might take heed [63], but most people refused, insisting on nothing but disbelief.

[63] The signs of Allah have also been mentioned above. For attaining the recognition of Allah and learning lessons from them, they are not few but more than sufficient. However, the majority of people neither pay attention to these matters nor show gratitude for Allah’s blessings. And some people are entangled in such false beliefs that they think rain occurs due to a certain star entering a certain constellation. Even in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, such beliefs were common, and every good or bad event was attributed to the movement of the planets. At the place of Hudaybiyyah, where the Prophet ﷺ arrived with fourteen hundred companions with the intention of performing ‘Umrah, one night it rained, which in a barren land like Arabia was considered a great blessing. In the morning, the Prophet ﷺ announced that Allah, the Exalted, says: “Among My servants, some have believed in Me and disbelieved in the stars. That is, whoever said that this rain occurred by the grace and mercy of Allah, he has believed in Me and disbelieved in the stars. And whoever said that this rain occurred due to such-and-such star entering such-and-such constellation, he has disbelieved in Me and believed in the planets.” [بخاری۔ کتاب الصلوۃ۔ باب یستقبل الامام الناس اذاسلم]

Thus, accepting the influence of the stars and believing in Allah are two contradictory things; only one of them can be accepted. Whoever accepts the influence of the stars is not a Muslim, and whoever is a Muslim cannot accept these influences.