The Connection Between Islamic Creed and Rain and Showers

Machine translationRead the Arabic original

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh Salih, may Allah bless you. Rain or showers are a divine blessing and a manifestation of the lordship of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, as well as His blessing upon His creation and His vast mercy for them. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says in the clear revelation, which is

And it is He who sends the winds as good tidings before His mercy until, when they have carried heavy rainclouds, We drive them to a dead land and We send down rain therein and bring forth thereby [some] of all the fruits. Thus will We bring forth the dead; perhaps you may be reminded.

الَّذِي يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرًا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ رَحْمَتِهِ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا أَقَلَّتْ سَحَابًا ثِقَالًا سُقْنَاهُ لِبَلَدٍ مَّيِّتٍ فَأَنزَلْنَا بِهِ الْمَاءَ فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ كَذَٰلِكَ نُخْرِجُ الْمَوْتَىٰ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

[Al-A'raf 7:57]

May Allah bless you. To what extent is Islamic creed connected to rain, may Allah preserve you?

The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Before we begin, there is some echo in the microphone now; they will remove it, if Allah wills. Yes, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, made the sending down of rain among His signs indicating His lordship, indicating His power, and indicating His mercy. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:

And it is He who sends down the rain after they had despaired and spreads His mercy

وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ مِن بَعْدِ مَا قَنَطُوا وَيَنشُرُ رَحْمَتَهُ

[Ash-Shuraa 42:28]

And He is the Protector, the Praiseworthy. So the sending down of rain is among the greatest blessings upon the servants. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:

And when He causes it to fall upon whom He wills of His servants, immediately they rejoice ⁽⁴⁹⁾ Although they were, before it was sent down upon them - before that, in despair. ⁽⁵⁰⁾ So observe the effects of the mercy of Allah - how He gives life to the earth after its lifelessness

فَإِذَا أَصَابَ بِهِ مَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ وَإِن كَانُوا مِن قَبْلِ أَن يُنَزَّلَ عَلَيْهِم مِّن قَبْلِهِ لَمُبْلِسِينَ فَانظُرْ إِلَىٰ آثَارِ رَحْمَتِ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا

[Ar-Rum 30:48-50]

Indeed, that [same one] will give life to the dead, and He is over all things competent.

إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

[Ar-Rum 30:50]

. So Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, made it so that I am unable to speak while he is interrupting me.

The presenter:
Yes, yes, please proceed, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh:
Yes, so Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, made the sending down of rain among the great signs indicating His power, indicating His mercy, and indicating His excellence toward His creation. And in the hadith, it is said that a people are not prevented from

the Zakah of their wealth, but rain will be withheld from the sky

زكاة أموالهم إلا منعوا القطر من السماء

Sunan Ibn Majah 4019Sahih (Darussalam)

and were it not for the animals, no rain would fall on them

ولولا البهائم لم يمطروا

Sunan Ibn Majah 4019Sahih (Darussalam)

The echo is still there, O Shaykh. And among the signs of Allah in this rain and this shower, and the life of the earth through it after its death, is a clear indication of the Resurrection. Yes, because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He,

gives life to the earth after its lifelessness

يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا

[Ar-Rum 30:50]

He is the One who gives life and causes death, Glorified and Exalted is He. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:

And of His signs is that you see the earth stilled, but when We send down upon it rain, it quivers and grows

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنَّكَ تَرَى الْأَرْضَ خَاشِعَةً فَإِذَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَاءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ

[Fussilat 41:39]

Indeed, the One who gave it life will give life to the dead. Indeed, He is over all things competent. This rain, so this rain contains lessons, admonitions, and mercy for the servants and the lands. So it indicates the power of Allah, the mercy of Allah, and the lordship of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
And likewise, it indicates that Allah disposes of this universe as He wills. So you see, for example, clouds laden with water pass by and not a drop falls from them, and they move on to another land where the water in them falls. Why? Because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, drives them

and We drive them to a dead land and give life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness

فَسُقْنَاهُ إِلَىٰ بَلَدٍ مَّيِّتٍ فَأَحْيَيْنَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا

[Fatir 35:9]

So Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, drives them to the land in which He wants to send down rain, and they pass over a land in which He does not want to send down rain, so not a drop falls. So this rain and this shower contain signs, lessons, and admonitions for those of understanding. Yes. May Allah reward you, and we ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to benefit us with this rain and what has been sent down, and to bless it.

Source قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما وجه ارتباط الغيث بالعقيدة الإسلامية؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

Flag this fatwa