Surah Ar-Rum, Ayah 46

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.)"

Commentary

ظَهَرَ‌ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ‌ وَالْبَحْرِ‌ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ (Plight has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of the people have earned 30:41). The author of Ruh ul-Ma’ ani has explained that the word fasad' (translated in the text as 'plight' ) means all sorts of calamities, such as famine, epidemic diseases, frequency of the incidents of fire, drowning, lack of Allah's blessing in everything, and reduction in profits and incurring of losses in lucrative businesses. It can also be deduced from this verse that the cause of falling of calamities in the world is commission of sins and other evil acts by the people. Shirk (association of partners with Allah) and infidelity are the most severe of them all, and other sins follow after them.

In the present world there is a mixture of good and bad people. In the Hereafter these two types of people will be separated. On that day, God’s reward will be bestowed upon those who lived in this world entirely as men of God, and those whose interests were linked to any beings other than God will be eternally deprived of God’s blessings.