the Rain
The sixth Function. Brother, take a look on the wide variety of plants around you that flourish due to the rain. Are those plants benefit you? Are they yield fruits or grains of which you enjoy gladly?
But there are also plenty of plants which existence disturb or even endanger your life; some of them are spiky, and some yield small fruits, big fruits, with sweet, acid, sour, bitter, poisonous, or intoxicating taste.
All of those grow whereas the rainwater which watered and helped them to grow is just the same water. But from it, emerge various different yields. Have you ever questioned, how come such magnificent thing happened?
I am sure that you know it’s causal:
- The different origin of the seeds.
- The fertility of the soil.
- And treatment and environmental factor.
Brother, all of those occurrences happened for purpose. Allah the Exalted created them all to serve as a reflecting mirror for human being on their attitude and manner.
If the rain which is the source of physical life of the organisms including men might yielded different fruits and plants, so is the Qur’an. Qur’an which is the life source of the soul also yielded different fruits and plants.
From those being showered with Allah’s divine decree, some are tending to believe and motivated to do good. While some others choose to disbelieve and oppose Allah’s religion, Exalted and Glorified be He. And there are also some of them who received the Qur’an, but because their souls are not purely decent ones, and their environment is infertile, became unable to produce many beneficial things.
This phenomenon of relationship between religion that serves as the rain for men’s souls were expressed by the Messenger of Allah in one of his saying below: sabdanya,
إِنَّ مَثَلَ مَا بَعَثَنِى اللَّهُ بِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْعِلْمِ كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَصَابَ أَرْضًا فَكَانَتْ مِنْهَا طَائِفَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ قَبِلَتِ الْمَاءَ فَأَنْبَتَتِ الْكَلأَ وَالْعُشْبَ الْكَثِيرَ وَكَانَ مِنْهَا أَجَادِبُ أَمْسَكَتِ الْمَاءَ فَنَفَعَ اللَّهُ بِهَا النَّاسَ فَشَرِبُوا مِنْهَا وَسَقَوْا وَرَعَوْا وَأَصَابَ طَائِفَةً مِنْهَا أُخْرَى إِنَّمَا هِىَ قِيعَانٌ لاَ تُمْسِكُ مَاءً وَلاَ تُنْبِتُ كَلأً فَذَلِكَ مَثَلُ مَنْ فَقُهَ فِى دِينِ اللَّهِ وَنَفَعَهُ بِمَا بَعَثَنِى اللَّهُ بِهِ فَعَلِمَ وَعَلَّمَ وَمَثَلُ مَنْ لَمْ يَرْفَعْ بِذَلِكَ رَأْسًا وَلَمْ يَقْبَلْ هُدَى اللَّهِ الَّذِى أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ
“The example of guidance and knowledge with which Allah has sent me is like abundant rain falling on the earth, some of which was fertile soil that absorbed rain-water and brought forth vegetation and grass in abundance. (And) another portion of it was hard and held the rain-water and Allah benefited the people with it and they utilized it for drinking, making their animals drink from it and to irrigate the land for cultivation. (And) a portion of it was barren which could neither hold the water nor bring forth vegetation (then that land gave no benefits). The first is the example of the person who comprehends Allah’s religion (Islam) and gets benefit (from the knowledge) which Allah تعالى has revealed through me (the Prophet ) and learns and then teaches it to others. The (last example is that of a) person who does not care for it and does not take Allah’s guidance revealed through me (He is like that barren land.)’‘ (Muttafaqun ‘alayh)
If the difference of the seeds’ origin caused different fruit, so as the difference of the basic and inherited character of men. One who inherited pious characters, if being showered with Allah’s divine decree, will grow into an excellent believer. In contrast, one who has inherited the bad characters since birth, although being showered with the divine decrees, will not yield but the bad too.
والناس معادن خيارهم في الجاهلية خيارهم في الإسلام إذا فقهوا
“Man is like a source of mineral, the best during the ignorance, will usually become the best after they embraced Islam if they possessed the knowledge about their religion.” (‘Muttafaqun’alyh)
As the plants are influenced by it’s surrounding, so as the men who usually colored by the condition of their household, best friend and people around them. Hence, Islam advised you to be selective in choosing your neighbor, social life, and spouse.
مَا مِنْ مَوْلُودٍ إِلاَّ يُولَدُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ ، فَأَبَوَاهُ يُهَوِّدَانِهِ أَوْ يُنَصِّرَانِهِ أَوْ يُمَجِّسَانِهِ
“None of the children born to the world but with was born upon their natural tendency (being a muslim). But the parents are those who persuade them to be a jew, a christian, or a zoroastrian.” ((Muttafaqun ‘alaih)
In another saying he said,
مَثَلُ الْجَلِيسِ الصَّالِحِ وَالسَّوْءِ كَحَامِلِ الْمِسْكِ وَنَافِخِ الْكِيرِ ، فَحَامِلُ الْمِسْكِ إِمَّا أَنْ يُحْذِيَكَ ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَبْتَاعَ مِنْهُ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَجِدَ مِنْهُ رِيحًا طَيِّبَةً ، وَنَافِخُ الْكِيرِ إِمَّا أَنْ يُحْرِقَ ثِيَابَكَ ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَجِدَ رِيحًا خَبِيثَةً
“The example of a good companion (who sits with you) in comparison with a bad one, is like that of the owner of musk (perfume seller) and the owner of bellows (or furnace) (blacksmith); from the first you would either buy musk or enjoy its good smell, while the owner of bellows (blacksmith) would either burn your clothes or your house, or you get a bad nasty smell thereof.” (Muttafaqun ‘alaih)
This phenomenon proves to you how vital it is to make betterment of yourself, to be a pious man and to be free from evil characters. Hence, spiritual enhancer such as the Qur’an recitation, the sayings of the Prophet, and the verses of Allah the Exalted that occurred elsewhere in this universe might enrich your faith and piety.
The Seventh Function: Rain is a real illustration of the resurrection of men on the Last Day
The resurrection
Brother, haven’t you think about the verses I’ve presented previously to you? Those verses spoke about the rain are always ended with the words, “In this manner do We raise the dead that you may take heed.” For example is the following verse: ,
وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرًا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ رَحْمَتِهِ حَتَّى إِذَا أَقَلَّتْ سَحَابًا ثِقَالاً سُقْنَاهُ لِبَلَدٍ مَّيِّتٍ فَأَنزَلْنَا بِهِ الْمَاء فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ كَذَلِكَ نُخْرِجُ الْموْتَى لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
“And it is He Who sends forth winds as glad tidings in advance of His mercy, and when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud We drive it to a dead land, then We send down rain from it and therewith bring forth fruits of every kind. In this manner do We raise the dead that you may take heed.” (QS. Al A’araf/The Height: 57)
Don’t you see, how the grains were hiding under the earth during the drought, but soon after the rain came, they sprouted out onto the surface and grew profusely. Such will occur to you on the Last Day. Abu Huraira narrated from the Prophet:
ما بين النفختين أربعون قالوا يا أبا هريرة أربعون يوما ؟ قال أبيت قالوا أربعون شهرا ؟ قال أبيت قالوا أربعون سنة ؟ قال أبيت ثم ينزل الله من السماء ماء فينبتون كما ينبت البقل قال وليس من الإنسان شيء إلا يبلى إلا عظما واحدا وهو عجب الذنب ومنه يركب الخلق يوم القيامة
““Between the two sounds of the Trumpet, there will be forty.’ ’’ Somebody asked Abu Hurairah, “Forty days?” But he refused to reply. Then he asked, “Forty months?” He refused to reply. Then he asked, “Forty years?” Again, he refused to reply. Abu Hurairah added, “Then (after this period), Allah will send water from the sky and then the dead bodies will grow like vegetation grows. There is nothing of the human body that does not wastes away or perish or decay except one bone; that is the last coccyx bone (of the tail), and from that bone Allah will reconstruct the human body on the Day of Resurrection.”’(Muttafaqun alaih)
In another narration it is said,
ثُمَّ يُرْسِلُ اللَّهُ مَاءً مِنْ تَحْتِ الْعَرْشِ يُمْنِي كَمَنِيِّ الرَّجُلِ، فَتَنْبُتُ جُسْمَانُهُمْ، وَلُحْمَانُهُمْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الْمَاءِ ك
“And then Allah sent down water from below e Great Throne that gushed as the seminal fluid of men, thus men’s body and flesh regrow due to the sprinkle of that water.” (Narrated by Al Hakim and others).
Epilogue
I hope that this article might restore your faith, and become a precious lesson throughout your life. I wish that by understanding these functions of rain, we might be grateful to it, and by that, Allah will always multiply His graces upon us.
وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ
““Also call to mind when your Lord proclaimed: “If you give thanks, I will certainly grant you more; but if you are ungrateful for My favors, My chastisement is terrible.”(QS. Ibrahim: 7)
And hopefully, this rain, which for now has been the initial phase of disaster for our nation, will soon return to it’s nature, as the carrier of blessings just as Allah depicted through the saying of Prophet Noah -peace be upon him- below:
فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًا {10} يُرْسِلِ السَّمَاء عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًا {11} وَيُمْدِدْكُمْ بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَارًا
““I said to them: “Ask forgiveness from your Lord; surely He is Most Forgiving. He will shower upon you torrents from heaven, and will provide you with wealth and children, and will bestow upon you gardens and rivers.” (QS. Nuh/Noah: 10-12)
At last, I’d like to apologize for all shortages and mistakes (in this article), and Allah knows best.
Author: DR. Muhammad Arifin Baderi, MA
Article of www.whatisquran.com