Al-Furqan · Makki · ayah 48 of 77

Al-Furqan 25:48

وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَرْسَلَ ٱلرِّيَـٰحَ بُشْرًۢا بَيْنَ يَدَىْ رَحْمَتِهِۦ ۚ وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً طَهُورًا

“And it is He who sends the winds as good tidings before His mercy [i.e., rainfall], and We send down from the sky pure water”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah sends the winds ahead of His mercy with good news, then sends down water from the sky, pure and purifying.

A reflection

The King who sends heralds for your sake

At a primary school sports day, a local councillor arrives late. Before he will walk onto the field, he asks for his arrival to be announced over the loudspeaker. The races pause. The children squint at the gate. He waves, and the eggs and spoons resume.

We know why people want heralds. An announcement says: someone important is coming, make room. It is about the one who arrives.

This ayah describes heralds of a very different kind. He sends the winds as good news, ahead of His mercy. The winds go before the rain as a messenger goes before a king's gift. But they do not announce Allah's importance. They announce relief to the people who need it. The farmer feels the change in the air and knows the dry spell is ending. The herald serves the receivers, not the Giver.

Then the ayah changes voice: wa anzalnā, 'and We sent down'. One commentator explains this shift to the plural of majesty. It shows, he says, the full care taken over the sending down, the result of all that went before. The wind is sent by 'He'. The water is sent down by 'We', in the voice of a King.

Here is the ego's lesson. The One who owes no one any notice gives notice anyway, so that His servants can prepare and rejoice. We, who are owed nothing, often want to be announced. A person who has felt the wind go before the rain should find it harder to demand a fanfare.

Is all this praise for Allah's own sake, as if He needed applause? He is the Rich, free of need, and it is people who are poor towards Him (35:15). The rain does not make Him greater. Knowing who sends it makes us more grateful, and less proud.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.