Tafseer of The letter Saad · Saad · 38:36
So We subjected to him the wind blowing by his command, gently, wherever he directed,
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 His statement, exalted is He: فَسَخَّرْنَا لَهُ الرِّيحَ تَجْرِي بِأَمْرِهِ رُخَاءً حَيْثُ أَصَابَ (36) ("And We made the wind subservient to him, flowing gently at his command wherever he wished")
He, exalted is His remembrance, says: We answered his supplication, and gave him a kingdom that belongs to no one after him. ( فَسَخَّرْنَا لَهُ الرِّيحَ ) ("And We made the wind subservient to him") in place of the horses that had kept him from the prayer (ṣalāh), ( تَجْرِي بِأَمْرِهِ رُخَاءً ) ("flowing gently at his command") — that is to say: soft and mild; it comes from rakhāwa (softness).
As Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Bazīʿ related to us, saying: Bishr ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: ʿAwf related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: that the Prophet of Allah Sulaymān ﷺ, when the horses were presented to him and looking at them kept him from the afternoon prayer (ʿaṣr), حَتَّى تَوَارَتْ بِالْحِجَابِ ("until it [the sun] disappeared behind the veil"), became angry for the sake of Allah, and ordered that they [the horses] have their hamstrings cut, whereupon they were slaughtered. And Allah gave him in exchange for them something swifter than they: He made the wind subservient, which flowed gently at his command wherever he wished. Thus he would set out in the morning from Īliyāʾ (Jerusalem), take his midday rest in Qazwīn, then travel on in the afternoon from Qazwīn and spend the night in Kabul.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥasan, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His statement وَهَبْ لِي مُلْكًا لا يَنْبَغِي لأَحَدٍ مِنْ بَعْدِي ("and grant me a kingdom that belongs to no one after me"): he supplicated on the day that he supplicated, and at that time the wind, and every builder and diver among the satans (shayāṭīn), did not yet belong to his kingdom. Then he supplicated to his Lord at the time of his repentance and his asking for forgiveness, and Allah granted him what he asked, and his kingdom was completed.
The scholars of interpretation differed concerning the meaning of rukhāʾ (gentle). Some of them said concerning it something that agrees with what we have said concerning it.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement ( تَجْرِي بِأَمْرِهِ رُخَاءً ) ("flowing gently at his command"), he said: pleasant.
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, something similar.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ( فَسَخَّرْنَا لَهُ الرِّيحَ تَجْرِي بِأَمْرِهِ رُخَاءً حَيْثُ أَصَابَ ) ("And We made the wind subservient to him, flowing gently at his command wherever he wished"), he said: swift and pleasant; he said: neither stormy nor slow.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement ( رُخَاءً ) ("gently"), he said: the rukhāʾ is the soft one.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀmir related to us, saying: Qurra related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His statement ( رُخَاءً حَيْثُ أَصَابَ ) ("gently, wherever he wished"), he said: it is not stormy, nor is it the weak one; between the two it is rukhāʾ.
Others said: the meaning of it is: obedient to Sulaymān.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement ( رُخَاءً ) ("gently"), he said: obedient to him.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: ( تَجْرِي بِأَمْرِهِ رُخَاءً ) ("flowing gently at his command"), he said: by rukhāʾ is meant: the obedient one.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū al-Nuʿmān al-Ḥakam ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His statement ( تَجْرِي بِأَمْرِهِ رُخَاءً ) ("flowing gently at his command"), he said: obedient.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His statement ( رُخَاءً ) ("gently"): he says: obedient.
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His statement ( رُخَاءً ) ("gently"), he said: willingly obedient. And His statement ( حَيْثُ أَصَابَ ) ("wherever he wished") means: wherever he desired, derived from their saying: "aṣāba Allāhu bika khayran" (may Allah apportion good to you), that is to say: Allah desired good for you.
And in agreement with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement ( حَيْثُ أَصَابَ ) ("wherever he wished"), he said: wherever he desired.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement ( حَيْثُ أَصَابَ ) ("wherever he wished"), he said: wherever he desired; it would halt there.
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 His statement ( حَيْثُ أَصَابَ ) ("wherever he wished"), he said: wherever he wished.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū al-Nuʿmān al-Ḥakam ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His statement ( حَيْثُ أَصَابَ ) ("wherever he wished"), he said: wherever he desired.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ( حَيْثُ أَصَابَ ) ("wherever he wished"), he said: to wherever he desired.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His statement ( حَيْثُ أَصَابَ ) ("wherever he wished"), he said: wherever he desired.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of one of the people of knowledge, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih: ( حَيْثُ أَصَابَ ) ("wherever he wished"): that is to say: wherever he desired.
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: ( حَيْثُ أَصَابَ ) ("wherever he wished"), he said: wherever he desired.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement ( حَيْثُ أَصَابَ ) ("wherever he wished"), he said: wherever he desired.
