Al-Hijr (The Rock)
Verse 22
Table of Contents
22. “And We send winds fertilizing, and We send down water from the sky, so We give it to you to drink of, while you are not its treasurers.”
The Arabic term /law aqih/ is derived from /liq ah/ which means: fertilizing of the clouds by joining together of the positive and negative pieces of cloud,1 or it also refers to the fertilization of plants through the act of transferring of plant pollination.
Following the discussion about some of the secrets of creation and other kinds of the blessings of Allah in previous verses, the holy Qur’an alludes to the blow of the winds and their effective role in raining, when it implies that Allah sends down the winds while they are fertilizing. They join pieces of clouds together and fertilize them.
The verse says:
“And We send winds fertilizing…”
Then it continues following that Allah sends down rain, and by that He quenches the thirst of all of men, while they are unable to protect and preserve it.
The verse says:
“…and We send down water from the sky, so We give it to you to drink of, while you are not its treasurers.”
That is, you are unable to collect and preserve rain in great quantities after raining. It is Allah Who by freezing it in the form of snow and ice, or through sending that to the depth of the earth, makes them come out and flow in the form of springs and wells. It is He Who collects and stores them.
Explanations
1- Man is often unable to preserve his most necessary requirements.
2- Man cannot store water within clouds for a long time. Nor can he store it on the surface of the earth. This cannot be done on the earth since it penetrates the earth, and it can not be done on stone and rocky valleys either as it evaporates.
Footnotes
Surah Az-Zariyat, No. 51, verse 41 implies that the wind is at times of no use and causes no fertilization, while at other times, it is also serving as sources of blessings. Again Surah An-Nūr, No. 24, verse 43 says: ↩