What is the source of the rain that descends from the sky? Is it from the vapor of the sea or from the sky? And how are lightning and thunder created? Is there anything in the Qur'an that points to this?
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The questioner : The second question says: The rain that descends from the sky, what is its source? Is it, as is said, from the vapor of the sea, or is it from the sky? And how are lightning and thunder created? If there is anything in the Qur'an that points to this?
The Shaykh : Allah the Exalted said:[Ar-Rum 30:48] So this rain descends from the clouds.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the clouds were stirred up by the winds by the command of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). I have no knowledge of anything beyond that. But if it is known that there are natural causes, then there is no harm in accepting them, provided they are correct. For Allah the Exalted may make something have two causes: a legal cause and a cosmic, decreed cause, such as an eclipse, an eclipse of the sun or the moon.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It has a legal cause, which is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in his saying:Sahih Muslim 901f And this is what a person should know; his ignorance of it is a deficiency. As for the cosmic cause of a solar eclipse, it is the interposition of the moon between the sun and the earth in a solar eclipse.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Therefore, a solar eclipse does not occur except in ... at the end of the month, because that is possible. And the cause of a lunar eclipse is the interposition of the earth between the sun and the moon. Therefore, it does not occur except on the nights of the new moon, because that is possible. The important point is that the legal cause is the beneficial one that serves as a cause for the rectification of hearts. On this basis, we say that the cause of the descent of rain is what Allah the Exalted mentioned in the Qur'an. As for thunder and lightning, it was reported in a hadith that it is the voice of an angel, that thunder is the voice of an angel in charge of the clouds, and that lightning is his whip. But I do not have at hand the authenticity of this hadith. If it is authentic, it is obligatory to act according to its implications. If it is not authentic, then Allah knows best.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Allah the Exalted said:
It is Allah who sends the winds, and they stir the clouds and spread them in the sky however He wills, and He makes them fragments so you see the rain emerge from within them
الله الذي يرسل الرياح فتثير سحاباً فيبسطه في السماء كيف يشاء ويجعله كسفاً فترى الودق يخرج من خلالهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the clouds were stirred up by the winds by the command of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). I have no knowledge of anything beyond that. But if it is known that there are natural causes, then there is no harm in accepting them, provided they are correct. For Allah the Exalted may make something have two causes: a legal cause and a cosmic, decreed cause, such as an eclipse, an eclipse of the sun or the moon.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It has a legal cause, which is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in his saying:
with which Allah terrifies His servants
يُخوّف الله بهما عبادهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Therefore, a solar eclipse does not occur except in ... at the end of the month, because that is possible. And the cause of a lunar eclipse is the interposition of the earth between the sun and the moon. Therefore, it does not occur except on the nights of the new moon, because that is possible. The important point is that the legal cause is the beneficial one that serves as a cause for the rectification of hearts. On this basis, we say that the cause of the descent of rain is what Allah the Exalted mentioned in the Qur'an. As for thunder and lightning, it was reported in a hadith that it is the voice of an angel, that thunder is the voice of an angel in charge of the clouds, and that lightning is his whip. But I do not have at hand the authenticity of this hadith. If it is authentic, it is obligatory to act according to its implications. If it is not authentic, then Allah knows best.
The questioner : Yes.