An-Noor 24:43
The Light · ayah 43 of 64
Alam tara anna Allaha yuzjee sahabanthumma yu-allifu baynahu thumma yajAAaluhu rukaman fataraalwadqa yakhruju min khilalihi wayunazzilu mina assama-imin jibalin feeha min baradin fayuseebu bihiman yashao wayasrifuhu AAan man yashao yakadusana barqihi yathhabu bil-absar
Saheeh International translation
Other English translations
Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+
"Do you not see that God drives the clouds, then gathers them together and piles them up until you see rain pour from their midst? He sends hail down from [such] mountains in the sky, pouring it on whoever He wishes and diverting it from whoever He wishes- the flash of its lightning almost snatches sight away."
Pickthall (classic)+
"Hast thou not seen how Allah wafteth the clouds, then gathereth them, then maketh them layers, and thou seest the rain come forth from between them; He sendeth down from the heaven mountains wherein is hail, and smiteth therewith whom He will, and averteth it from whom He will. The flashing of His lightning all but snatcheth away the sight."
Yusuf Ali (classic)+
"Seest thou not that Allah makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap? - then wilt thou see rain issue forth from their midst. And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is hail: He strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns it away from whom He pleases, the vivid flash of His lightning well-nigh blinds the sight."
Tafsīr · classical commentary
Ibn Kathir
Abridged English, public domain
+
Ibn Kathir
Abridged English, public domain
The Power of Allah to create the Clouds and that which comes from Them
Allah tells us that He drives the clouds from the beginning, when they are formed and are still weak. This is the "Gentle driving."
(then joins them together,) means, He brings them together after they have been scattered.
(then makes them into a heap of layers,) means, He piles them up on top of one another.
(and you see the Wadq) meaning the rain,
(come forth from between them;) means, from the gaps between them. This is how it was understood by Ibn `Abbas and Ad-Dahhak. `Ubayd bin `Umayr Al-Laythi said: "Allah sends the scatterer wind, which stirs up that which is on the surface of the earth. Then he sends the generator wind, which forms the clouds. Then He sends the joiner wind which brings them together. Then He sends the fertilizer wind which fertilizes or `seeds' the clouds." This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Jarir.
(and He sends down from Min the sky, from Min mountains in it of Min ice,) Some of the grammarians said that the first Min describes the place from which it is coming, the second specifies from which part of the sky it comes, and the third means some kind of mountains. This is based on the view of those scholars of Tafsir who say that,
(from Min mountains in it of Min ice) means that there are mountains of hail in the sky from which Allah sends down ice. As for those who say that "mountains" here is used as a metaphor for clouds, they think that the second Min is also used to describe the place from which the ice is coming, and is thus interchangeable with the first. And Allah knows best.
(and strikes therewith whom He wills, and averts it from whom He wills.) It may be that the phrase
(and strikes therewith) means, with what He sends down from the sky of different kinds of rain and hail. So then the phrase
(and strikes therewith whom He wills) means, by His mercy towards them, and
(and averts it from whom He wills. ) means, He withholds rain from them. Or it may be that
(and strikes therewith) means, with hail, as a punishment towards whomever He wills, striking their fruits and destroying their crops and trees. And He averts it from whomever He wills as a mercy towards them.
(The vivid flash of its lightning nearly blinds the sight.) the brightness of its lightning almost takes away their sight if the eyes follow it and try to look at it.
(Allah causes the night and the day to succeed each other.) He is controlling them, so that He takes something from the length of one and adds it to the other, which is short, until they become equal, then He does the opposite so that the one which was short becomes long and vice versa. Allah is the One Who is controlling that by His command, power, might and knowledge.
(Truly, in this is indeed a lesson for those who have insight.) means, this is an indication of His greatness, may He be exalted. This is like the Ayah:
(Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding.) 3:190 and thereafter.