The benefits of the verse: “Or like a rain from the sky, in which are darknesses and thunder and lightning. They put their fingers in their ears because of the thunderclaps, fearing death. And Allah is encompassing of the disbelievers”

Among the benefits of this verse is what has been mentioned previously regarding the perfection of the eloquence and clarity of the Qur'an, achieved by using tangible examples to reach an understanding of abstract concepts. Another benefit of this verse is the establishment of analogical reasoning (qiyas) in the Shari'ah. We have previously mentioned the principle that every example in the Qur'an indicates the establishment of analogical reasoning, because the intent is to apply one thing to another. Another benefit of this noble verse is that the greater the darknesses, the more terrified a person becomes, as indicated by His saying: . Another benefit is that the fear of thunder and lightning is a natural reaction to the lightning bolts that sometimes occur with the thunder. If it were merely a sound or light, people would not be afraid. But what are people afraid of? They are afraid of the lightning bolts. As for the mere sound, even if it were louder than this, people would not be terrified, but they are terrified of the bolts. However, it has been said: When you hear the sound of thunder, you are safe from the lightning bolt. Is that correct?
The student: Correct.The Shaykh : Why? The student: Because light is faster.The Shaykh : Because light is faster; in this electrical charge, it reaches the earth before you hear the sound. So when you hear the sound, know that you are safe from this lightning bolt that is in this thunder. Another benefit of this verse is the explanation of a person's stinginess with his life, as indicated by His saying: . Otherwise, it is known that if a person puts his finger in his ear, he will feel pain, but he endures the pain out of fear of something more painful, which is death. Can it be inferred from this that one commits the lesser of two harms to avert the greater? Yes, it is possible. But as you know, this is a natural matter, not a Shari'ah ruling that can be used as evidence for committing the lesser of two harms to avert the greater. This is unlike what happened with al-Khidr when he breached the ship to protect them, because the ship would pass by a king who took sound ships by force. So when it passed by him in a breached state, he left it. Thus, damaging part of it was for the sake of preserving the whole. Another benefit of this noble verse is the warning of the disbelievers that Allah is encompassing of them, as indicated by His saying, the Exalted: . Another benefit is the transition from the tangible meaning to the abstract meaning, because Allah did not say “encompassing of them” but rather said: . The example He gave is an example for any person; any person, if darknesses, thunder, and lightning occur, will be afraid and grieved.