Verse Number 43-45
The Command to follow the Straight Path before the Day of Resurrection
Here Allah commands His servants to hasten to obedience to Him and to hasten to do good deeds.
فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينَ الْقِيِّمِ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِىَ يَوْمٌ لاَّ مَرَدَّ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ
(So, set you your face to the straight and right religion, before there comes from Allah a Day which none can avert.) The Day of Resurrection, for when Allah wants it to happen, no one will be able to avert it.
يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصَّدَّعُونَ
(On that Day men shall be divided.) means, they will be separated, with one group in Paradise and another in Hell. Allah says:
مَن كَفَرَ فَعَلَيْهِ كُفْرُهُ وَمَنْ عَمِلَ صَـلِحاً فَلاًّنفُسِهِمْ يَمْهَدُونَ لِيَجْزِىَ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ مِن فَضْلِهِ
(Whosoever disbelieves will suffer from his disbelief, and whosoever does righteous good deeds, then such will prepare a good place for themselves. That He may reward those who believe. and do righteous good deeds, out of His bounty.) meaning that He may reward them from His bounty, in return for one good deed, he will get the reward for ten, up to seven hundred like it, as much as Allah wills.
إِنَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْكَـفِرِينَ
(Verily, He likes not the disbelievers.) yet He is still just with them and does not oppress them.
Verse Number 46-47
Among the Signs of Allah are the Winds
Here Allah mentions the favor He does for His creatures by sending winds to them, as harbingers of His mercy, meaning that they will be followed by rain. Allah says:
وَلِيُذِيقَكُمْ مِّن رَّحْمَتِهِ
(giving you a taste of His mercy,) that is, the rain which will come down and revive people and the land.
وَلِتَجْرِىَ الْفُلْكُ بِأَمْرِهِ
(and that the ships may sail at His command,) means, on the sea, for they are driven by the wind.
وَلِتَبْتَغُواْ مِن فَضْلِهِ
(and that you may seek of His bounty,) means, by trading, earning a living and traveling from one country to another, one region to another.
وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
(in order that you may be thankful.) means, that you may give thanks to Allah for the innumerable favors He has done for you, both visible and hidden. Then Allah says:
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ رُسُلاً إِلَى قَوْمِهِمْ فَجَآءُوهُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَانتَقَمْنَا مِنَ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُواْ
(And indeed We did send Messengers before you to their own peoples. They came to them with clear proofs, then, We took vengeance on those who committed crimes;) These are words of consolation from Allah to His servant and Messenger Muhammad ﷺ. They tell him that if many of his people and of mankind disbelieve in him, the previous Messengers were also rejected, despite the clear signs that they brought, but Allah punished those who rejected and opposed them, and saved those who believed in them.
وَكَانَ حَقّاً عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنينَ
(and it was incumbent upon Us to help the believers.) This is a duty which Allah took upon Himself as a blessing and a favor to them. This is like the Ayah,
كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ
(your Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself) (6:54). Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Abu Ad-Darda’, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “I heard Allah’s Messenger ﷺ saying:
«مَا مِنِ امْرِىءٍ مُسْلِمٍ يَرُدُّ عَنْ عِرْضِ أَخِيهِ إِلَّا كَانَ حَقًّا عَلَى اللهِ أَنْ يَرُدَّ عَنْهُ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة»
(No Muslim man defends the honor of his brother except that there would be a right upon Allah to defend him from the fire of Hell on the Day of Resurrection.) Then he recited this Ayah:
وَكَانَ حَقّاً عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنينَ
(and it was incumbent upon Us to help the believers.)”
Verse Number 48-51
The Revival of the Earth is a Sign of the Resurrection
Here Allah explains how He creates the clouds that rain the water.
اللَّهُ الَّذِى يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَـحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَاباً
(Allah is He Who sends the winds, so that they raise clouds) either from the sea, as was mentioned by more than one (of the scholars), or from whatever Allah wills.
فَيَبْسُطُهُ فِى السَّمَآءِ كَيْفَ يَشَآءُ
(and spread them along the sky as He wills,) means, He spreads them and causes them to increase and grow. From a little He makes a lot, and creates the clouds that look like shields. Then He spreads them out until they fill the horizon. Sometimes the clouds come from the sea, heavy and full, as Allah says:
وَهُوَ الَّذِى يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرىً بَيْنَ يَدَىْ رَحْمَتِهِ حَتَّى إِذَآ أَقَلَّتْ سَحَابًا ثِقَالاً سُقْنَـهُ لِبَلَدٍ مَّيِّتٍ
(And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy. Till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud, We drive it to a land that is dead) until:
كَذَلِكَ نُخْرِجُ الْموْتَى لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
(Similarly, We shall raise up the dead, so that you may remember or take heed.) (7:57) Allah says here:
اللَّهُ الَّذِى يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَـحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَاباً فَيَبْسُطُهُ فِى السَّمَآءِ كَيْفَ يَشَآءُ وَيَجْعَلُهُ كِسَفاً
(Allah is He Who sends the winds, so that they raise clouds and spread them along the sky as He wills, and then break them into fragments) Mujahid, Abu `Amr bin Al-`Ala’, Matar Al-Warraq and Qatadah said, “This means pieces.” Others said that it means `piled up,’ as Ad-Dahhak said. Others said that it means black, because they contained so much water, and sometimes they are heavy and close to the earth. His saying:
فَتَرَى الْوَدْقَ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خِلاَلِهِ
(until you see rain drops come forth from their midst!) means, `so you see the drops, i.e., the rain, which come from the midst of those clouds.’
فَإِذَآ أَصَابَ بِهِ مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ
(Then when He has made them fall on whom of His servants as He wills, lo, they rejoice!) They rejoice at the rain when it comes to them because of their need for it.
وَإِن كَانُواْ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يُنَزَّلَ عَلَيْهِمْ مِّن قَبْلِهِ لَمُبْلِسِينَ
(And verily, before that — just before it was sent down upon them — they were in despair!) The people to whom this rain came were in despair, thinking that it rain would never fall, just before it came to them. When it came to them, it came at the time of greatest need, so it was a tremendous event for them What this means is that they were in need of it before it fell, and there had been no rainfall for a long time, so they were waiting for it at the time when it was due, but it did not come to them at that time. The rain was late, and a long time passed. Then the rain came to them suddenly, after they began to despair, and after their land became dry and barren, it was stirred to life, and it swelled and produced every lovely kind of growth. Allah says:
فَانظُرْ إِلَى ءَاثَـرِ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ
(Look then at the effects of Allah’s mercy,) meaning, the rain.
كَيْفَ يُحْىِ الاٌّرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَآ
(how He revives the earth after its death.) Thus Allah draws attention to the revival of people’s bodies after they have died and disintegrated into nothing.
إِنَّ ذَلِكَ لَمُحْىِ الْمَوْتَى
(Verily, that (Allah) shall indeed raise the dead.) means, the One Who does that is able to raise the dead.
إِنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
(and He is able to do all things.)
وَلَئِنْ أَرْسَلْنَا رِيحًا فَرَأَوْهُ مُصْفَرّاً لَّظَلُّواْ مِن بَعْدِهِ يَكْفُرُونَ
(And if We send a wind, and they see it turn yellow — behold, they then would become unthankful (disbelievers).)
وَلَئِنْ أَرْسَلْنَا رِيحًا
(And if We send a wind,) means, a wind which dries up the crops which they have tended and cultivated and which have matured, and they see them turn yellow, and start to rot, if this were to happen, they would become ungrateful, i.e., they would deny the previous blessings that they were given. This is like the Ayah,
أَفَرَءَيْتُم مَّا تَحْرُثُونَ
(Then tell Me about the seed that you sow in the ground.) until:
بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ
(Nay, but we are deprived!) (56:63-67)