THE WINDS 7:57-58

Clouds awaiting the winds and their orders from Allah SWT

This is the translation of the tafseer heard on Taleem ul Quran by Farhat Hashmi

May Allh SWT forgive me if I have made any mistakes and guide me to make none.

AL-ARAF (THE HEIGHTS)
Total Verses: 206 
Revealed At: MAKKA
007.057 
YUSUFALI: It is He Who sendeth the winds like heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy: when they have carried the heavy-laden clouds, We drive them to a land that is dead, make rain to descend thereon, and produce every kind of harvest therewith: thus shall We raise up the dead: perchance ye may remember.

007.058 
YUSUFALI: From the land that is clean and good, by the will of its Cherisher, springs up produce, (rich) after its kind: but from the land that is bad, springs up nothing but that which is niggardly: thus do we explain the signs by various (symbols) to those who are grateful.

Allah SWT can send the winds of mercy (rain, bringing coolness, crops etc) or of disaster (windstorm, tornadoes).
There are two additional references in the Quran which quote how the Winds can bring a different message from Allah SWT:

Winds with glad tidings from Allah SWT:

Surah AL-ROOM (THE ROMANS, THE BYZANTINES)
Total Verses: 60 
Revealed At: MAKKA

030.046 
YUSUFALI: Among His Signs is this, that He sends the Winds, as heralds of Glad Tidings, giving you a taste of His (Grace and) Mercy, – that the ships may sail (majestically) by His Command and that ye may seek of His Bounty: in order that ye may be grateful.

Winds with punishment from Allah SWT:

Houses of Aa'd

Surah AL-QAMAR (THE MOON)
Total Verses: 55 
Revealed At: MAKKA
Surah Qamar: 054.018 
YUSUFALI: The ‘Ad (people) (too) rejected (Truth): then how terrible was My Penalty and My Warning?
054.019 
YUSUFALI: For We sent against them a furious wind, on a Day of violent Disaster,
054.020 
YUSUFALI: Plucking out men as if they were roots of palm-trees torn up (from the ground)

Definition of Arabic words describing the Winds:

tornado (winds of azaab)

Rea’ah: winds of good news

Reeh: Winds of storm, winds of azaab (His SWT’s wrath)

RasololAllah’s (PBUH) dua when the wind would blow:
Supplication on seeing the approach of the Winds: Allah humma ja’alha Rea’ahan, wala tajalha Reehan
Allah makes this wind that of Rahma and not those winds bringing Azaab (His wrath).

Tafseer continuing:
The wind brings the good news of Allah’s mercy (rain). The water in the clouds appear light to the winds and they carry the water-laden clouds away to their destination.

It is Allah’s cycle of Rahma where Allah SWT creates the harmony of the following cycle:
The clouds pull in the water and the winds pull the water laden clouds and Allah SWT drives them to a place that is dry and dead which may even be very far away from the origin of the water laden clouds to a; place a city or country which is dry and dead.

Allah SWT has created a harmony of action in space, where the winds, the clouds, the water they carry and where the rain is released and the return of the winds to where they pull the water-laden clouds and leave for yet another destination. All this activity is done in harmony and in obedience of Allah.

From this dead land comes out vegetation and fruits of all sorts, and this is to give an example to human beings how Allah SWT will take the dead out of the earth, just like He takes plants out of the dead earth and this example is so that we believe in Him (SWT) (emaan) and understand His oneness and that he is The Creator.

The shower of spirituality produces good deeds if the land is good. From bad land or Na paak (impure) land the shower of spirituality does not grow much, or even if it grows something the fruits are sparse or poor in quality.

Balad is like insaan (human beings). When good people are showered with spirituality they become better and when the shower of spirituality falls on Khabees (disobedient, hedonistic) people they do not improve.

That is why Allah SWT brings these ayahs and examples again and again so that human beings should understand and be thankful

HADITH; Rasool Allah (PBUH) said: This hidaya and ilm that Allah SWT has sent me is like the rain that fell upon the earth, thus one part of the earth was good, and was thirsty and drank all the rain and grew all kinds of vegetation, another part was hard which stopped and pooled the water which was beneficial to others (using the ilm oneself and sharing others).
There was another flat hard rocky land that did not accept the rain and all of it ran off without benefiting the land and nor did it help others.

Thus are some people, like some of the kuffar of Mecca who while living in Mecca in the proximity of Prophet Muhammad who was the source of Allah’s ilm and Rahma did not benefit from the shower of ilm in their vicinity.

However when this shower of spirituality was sprinkled over Medina it flowered and grew and the fruits benefited generations to come.

Additional references with examples of raising life from a dead land and so will human beings be resurrected on the day o Judgment:

flowering plants blooming in the dead city (Syria)

FATIR (THE ANGELS, ORIGINATOR)
Total Verses: 45 
Revealed At: MAKKA
035.009 
YUSUFALI: It is Allah Who sends forth the Winds, so that they raise up the Clouds, and We drive them to a land that is dead, and revive the earth therewith after its death: even so (will be) the Resurrection!

Humans are like land, when people inclined towards good are showered with the mercy of Allah they become inclined towards Allah and follow the Deen.

End 7:58

Sometimes we meet people who despite reading the Quran and being knowledgeable about it do not practice it or benefit from it in their lives (e.g. the orientalists) thus Allah SWt gives examples in this ayah

MY TAKE:  Allah SWT combines visual and intellectual and scientific example to make human beings understand the following:
1.    The entire universe is in harmony because it struggles to complete its work and activity in the allocated time punctually, thus the sun does not delay its movement, nor dies the earth its rotation and do not collide because of a miscalculation or tardiness in fulfilling Allah SWT’s command………We as human beings are very gently being coerced to take the example of the harmony of movement created by the obedience of Allah and follow it by becoming obedient to our Creator (previous ayahs of Surah Al Araaf)

2.    This particular ayah gives the example of the Winds.

3.    Winds can bring mercy (rain) and make crops grow, or Azaab (His wrath) and destroy everything like windstorms and tornadoes.

4.    The winds, the clouds, the rain, the dry earth and the vegetation are all doing their job at the allocated time, speed and destination.

5.    Resurrection of the dead is like the growth of vegetation in dry land when rain falls on it.

6.    Some people despite the shower of ilm and hidaya from Allah SWT through His messengers ignore it ………these people have been compared to the dry hard, rocky land that neither grows, nor holds water for others after a rainfall, but all the water runs off and is wasted.

7.    The winds are commanded by Allah in their movement and direction.

8.    We should seek the mercy of Allah and make dua which Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to make when he felt the wind coming his way, supplication Allah SWT for this wind to bring mercy and not Azaab

My personal lesson: I must try to absorb, implement and pass on the ilm I gain from His (SWT) words and his (PBUH) Sunnah.

Please let me know if I am succeeding in my attempt at sharing some of the words of Allah with you?