Tafseer of The Announcement · An-Naba · 78:14
And sent down, from the rain clouds, pouring water
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.
His statement: وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ ("And We have sent down from the muʿṣirāt"). The exegetes differed concerning what is meant by al-muʿṣirāt. Some said: what is meant by it are the winds that squeeze in their blowing.
* Mention of who said that:
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: وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ — al-muʿṣirāt is the wind.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, on the authority of Yazīd, on the authority of ʿIkrima, that he used to read وَأَنزَلْنَا بِالْمُعْصِرَاتِ ("And We have sent down by means of the muʿṣirāt"), namely: the winds.
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: مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ — he said: the wind.
And 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, the same.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: it is, in some readings, وَأَنزَلْنَا بِالْمُعْصِرَاتِ: the winds.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ — he said: al-muʿṣirāt are the winds, and he recited the word of Allah: الَّذِي يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا ("He who sends the winds so that they drive up clouds") to the end of the verse.
And others said: no, they are the clouds that swell with rain, while they have not yet rained, like the woman who approaches her menstruation (muʿṣir) and has not yet menstruated.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān: مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ — he said: al-muʿṣirāt are the clouds.
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: وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ — he says: from the clouds.
He said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: الْمُعْصِرَاتِ — the clouds.
And others said: no, it is the sky.
* Mention of who said that:
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, he said: I heard al-Ḥasan say: وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ — he said: from the sky.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ — he said: from the heavens.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ — he said: from the sky.
And the most correct of the statements concerning this is to say: that Allah informed that He sent down water from the muʿṣirāt — that is, the clouds that have swollen with water.
We have designated that as the most correct, because the statement concerning this rests upon one of the three mentioned statements, and the winds contain no water that would descend from them; only something descends along with them. And it would be correct that they were the winds if the reading were وَأَنزَلْنَا بِالْمُعْصِرَاتِ ("by means of the muʿṣirāt"); but since the reading is مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ ("from the muʿṣirāt"), it is known that what is meant by it is what I have described.
And if someone supposes that the bāʾ ("by") sometimes, in such a place, takes the place of "min" ("from") — even if that be so — then the most prevalent meaning of "min" is other than that, and the interpretation rests upon the most prevalent meaning of the word. And if he says: but the sky may be meant by it — then we say: even if that be so, the most prevalent thing is that the rain descends from the clouds and not from anything else.
And as for His statement: مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا ("pouring water"). He says: pouring water that follows one upon another, like the gushing (thajj) of the blood of the sacrificial animal (badana), namely the shedding of it.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes spoke.
* 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: مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا — he said: pouring.
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: مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا — water from the sky, pouring.
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: مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا — he said: pouring.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا — he said: al-thajjāj is the pouring.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا — he said: pouring.
He said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān: مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا — he said: successive.
And some of them said: by al-thajjāj the abundant is meant.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us: مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا — he said: abundant. But in the language of the Arabs, al-thajj is not known as a characteristic of abundance; al-thajj is rather the successive pouring. To this belongs the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: "The best of the ḥajj is al-ʿajj and al-thajj" — by which, by al-thajj, is meant: the shedding of the blood of the offerings (hadāyā) and the sacrificial animals (budn) by slaughtering them. One says of this: "thajajtu dama-hu, fa-anā athujju-hu thajjan", and "thajja al-damu, fa-huwa yathujju thujūjan".
