Rain: Between Punishment, Gradual Lure, and Social Reform
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Whenever I see the rain, I fear that it is a punishment from Allah, for we are not worthy of it. Is this rain a gradual lure from Allah for us? I see that there is no enjoining of good or forbidding of evil. The riba (usury or interest) banks have multiplied. The husband of al-Nasa'i’s wife. Nakedness, so what is the work to do to reform our society?!
Answer:
In any case, we praise Allah for His vastness, and I seek refuge in Allah. Among the people are the righteous, among them are the good, among them are the poor and the needy, among them are the animals, and among them are the heroes. May Allah have mercy on you, other than the righteous among them and the good among them. Allah may withhold the rain because of the severity of the open sinners and the oppression of the oppressors, perhaps they will return, perhaps they will become aware, perhaps they will repent. But our Lord is vast. He may protect the disbelievers and bestow upon them great blessings while they are disbelievers. He pours water upon them, causes vegetation to grow for them, and sends down their sustenance until the argument is established against them, and until the 'Umrah (lesser pilgrimage) becomes more. There is no power and no strength except with Allah.
Whenever I see the rain, I fear that it is a punishment from Allah, for we are not worthy of it. Is this rain a gradual lure from Allah for us? I see that there is no enjoining of good or forbidding of evil. The riba (usury or interest) banks have multiplied. The husband of al-Nasa'i’s wife. Nakedness, so what is the work to do to reform our society?!
Answer:
In any case, we praise Allah for His vastness, and I seek refuge in Allah. Among the people are the righteous, among them are the good, among them are the poor and the needy, among them are the animals, and among them are the heroes. May Allah have mercy on you, other than the righteous among them and the good among them. Allah may withhold the rain because of the severity of the open sinners and the oppression of the oppressors, perhaps they will return, perhaps they will become aware, perhaps they will repent. But our Lord is vast. He may protect the disbelievers and bestow upon them great blessings while they are disbelievers. He pours water upon them, causes vegetation to grow for them, and sends down their sustenance until the argument is established against them, and until the 'Umrah (lesser pilgrimage) becomes more. There is no power and no strength except with Allah.
Source
ندوات الجامع الكبير مع الأسئلة - 73 — archive.org (8:39)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.