Tafseer of The Romans · Ar-Room · 30:48
It is Allah who sends the winds, and they stir the clouds and spread them in the sky however He wills, and He makes them fragments so you see the rain emerge from within them. And when He causes it to fall upon whom He wills of His servants, immediately they rejoice
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the statement of the Exalted: اللَّهُ الَّذِي يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا فَيَبْسُطُهُ فِي السَّمَاءِ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ وَيَجْعَلُهُ كِسَفًا فَتَرَى الْوَدْقَ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خِلالِهِ فَإِذَا أَصَابَ بِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ (30:48) ("Allah is the One who sends the winds, which then stir up clouds, which He then spreads in the sky as He wills, and which He breaks into pieces; and then you see the rain coming forth from within it. And when He strikes with it whomever He wills among His servants, behold, then they rejoice.")
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: اللَّهُ الَّذِي يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا ("Allah is the One who sends the winds, which then stir up clouds") — that is to say: then the winds raise up clouds (saḥāb, the plural of saḥāba). فَيَبْسُطُهُ فِي السَّمَاءِ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ ("which He then spreads in the sky as He wills") — that is to say: then Allah disperses them and gathers them in the sky as He wills. He said فَيَبْسُطُهُ (with a singular masculine reference "it"), placing the hāʾ in the singular and giving it the form of a masculine reference, while "saḥāb" is a plural as I have described — as a reference to the word "saḥāb" [as a collective noun] and not to its meaning, as one says: "These are good dates" (hādhā tamr jayyid).
And in agreement with what we have said concerning the explanation of His statement فَيَبْسُطُهُ, the exegetes have spoken.
* The mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning فَيَبْسُطُهُ فِي السَّمَاءِ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ: and He gathers them.
His statement وَيَجْعَلُهُ كِسَفًا ("and which He breaks into pieces") — that is to say: and He makes the clouds into scattered pieces.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَيَجْعَلُهُ كِسَفًا: that is to say, pieces.
His statement فَتَرَى الْوَدْقَ ("and then you see the rain") — by it the rain is meant; يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خِلالِهِ ("which comes forth from within it") — that is to say: from between the clouds.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning فَتَرَى الْوَدْقَ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خِلالِهِ.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Qaṭan, on the authority of Ḥabīb, on the authority of ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr, concerning يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا, he said: The winds are four: Allah sends a wind that thoroughly sweeps the earth; then Allah sends the second wind, which stirs up clouds and breaks them into pieces in the sky; then Allah sends the third wind, which joins them together and makes them into piled-up masses; then He sends the fourth wind, which makes [the rain] fall.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning فَتَرَى الْوَدْقَ, he said: the raindrops.
His statement فَإِذَا أَصَابَ بِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ ("And when He strikes with it whomever He wills among His servants, behold, then they rejoice") — that is to say: when He directs that rain toward the land of whomever among His creatures He wills to strike with it, then you see them rejoicing that He has directed it toward them, and that they are gladdened.
