يُرسِلِ السَّماءَ عَلَيكُم مِدرارًا

He will send for you abundant rains from the sky.

EXEGESIS

The literal translation of the verse is: He will send the skies on you abundantly. So the word water (māʾ) has been ellipsed so that water of the skies (māʾ al-samāʾ), meaning rain, is given as only skies (samāʾ). This is understood, since rain is a bounty of the skies and what the skies send down. It was common for the Arabs to even substitute clouds for skies when meaning rain-clouds.^{‎[1]Mizan, 20/30.} An example is a poet’s words:

Idhā nazala as-samāʾu bi-arḍi qawmin

       Faḥullu ḥaythumā nazala as-samāʾu

When [you see] the skies descend on the land of a people

       Then settle wherever the sky descends^{‎[2]Alusi, 15/81; Razi, 30/652; Hairi, 11/255.}

Meaning, settle in the lands where it rains frequently, or the poet wishes to say: since the rains won’t come to you, you must go to the rains.

This sending down, given in this verse as yursilu (he will send), is from arsala, which was explained at the start of the surah under verse 1 as a free-flowing and unrestricted pouring forth.

Midrāra (abundantly) is from darra (pl. dirar), which is the teat or udder of camels and cattle. Midrār therefore originally referred to the copious flow of milk,^{‎[3]Raghib, d-r-r.} and the term was then borrowed as a metaphor to suggest any abundant flowing including that of water, blood, sweat, tears, and so on.^{‎[4]Lane, d-r-r.}

And darr, which was the milk produced from the darra (udder), became a metaphor for any abundant yield and profit, and any achievement and accomplishment. From this came the expression li-llāhi darruhu (how capable or excellent he is!), which more literally translates as ‘his achievement is due to God’.^{‎[5]Hans Wehr, d-r-r; Raghib, d-r-r.}

And similarly, the opposite of darra is ghirār, to mean a poor yield of milk; and so the expression sabaqat dirratahu ghirāruhu (literally: his poor yield of milk precedes his copious yield of the same) and is used to describe one whose evil precedes and exceeds his good.^{‎[6]Raghib, d-r-r.}

As a term, midrāra also suggests continuity and that which is free from interruption (besides being copious). Used with yursil (a free-flowing downpour) in this verse, it amplifies the idea of a blessing from God that would keep the land fertile abundantly and on a continuous and ongoing basis.

EXPOSITION

Ironically, when people repent and God blesses them, oftentimes it is these very blessings that lead them astray, when they begin to take them for granted, relying on them as a source of wealth and forgetting their benefactor, arrogantly attributing their success to themselves, and rebelling due to their illusion of seeing themselves needless (96:6-7).

As a clear example, Prophet Noah (a) here promises his people abundant rains from the sky if they repent. Yet, with the same words, we read: how many a generation We have destroyed before them whom We had granted power in the land … and We sent abundant rains for them from the sky and made streams run for them. Then We destroyed them for their sins and brought forth another generation after them (6:6).

This fact, that Prophet Noah (a) ties material blessings in this verse and the next to God’s forgiveness, clearly demonstrates the Quran’s assertion of a connection between man’s submission to God and his alignment to attracting blessings from nature, that are already seen as being submissive to God (41:11) (cf. 13:15, 17:44, 19:93). When man aligns himself with the rest of creation, he is in perfect harmony to draw from its blessings, and conversely, when he rebels, he creates conflict for himself that blocks the benefits of the rest of creation from reaching him.

In Faḍl-Allāh’s understanding, pure faith makes man the repository of God’s attribute of mercy and a magnet that attracts His blessings; whereas disobedience attracts God’s wrath and painful suffering.^{‎[7]Fadlallah, 23/126.} This makes perfect sense to the Muslim mystic who believes that what makes man unique is his ability to reflect divine attributes. Beyond the pleading of forgiveness lies the realm of tawbah (repentance), which literally means to turn around. When man turns around and returns to God in submission, reflecting His mercy, the heavens and the earth start moving towards him as well, showering their blessings on him. See the Exposition of 2:37 for more on tawbah.

In other words, when people rise to fulfil the purpose of their existence (51:56), the universe conspires in their favour. God is rabb al-ʿālamīn (see 1:2) and sustains His creation. But their ability to draw from this sustenance is commensurate with their submission and openness to receiving these as blessings and not as a trial or curse.

This verse may therefore intentionally be saying: He will send down the sky upon you abundantly, without the explicit mention of water, to mean all divine blessings and not just rain. Most verses suggest blessings as descending from above, or beneath the peoples’ feet (5:66, 7:96). And whilst the source of all blessings, as God’s treasures, are held in unlimited quantities and quality, We do not send it down except in a known measure (15:21). The reason for a metaphorical reference to the ‘aboveness’ for all blessings and, at times, even for God Himself, is explained in more detail under the Exposition of 69:43.

Other prophets brought the same message as Prophet Noah’s (a) in this verse and the next. Prophet Hūd (a), for example, says to his people: O my people! Plead with your Lord for forgiveness, then to Him penitently: He will send copious rains for you from the sky, and add power to your [present] power (11:52).

The opposite is also true: when man rebels, it affects the heavens and the earth. They say: ‘The All-beneficent has taken a son!’ You have certainly advanced something hideous! The heavens are about to be rent apart at it, the earth to split open, and the mountains to collapse into bits, that they should ascribe a son to the All-beneficent! (19:88-91).

The People of the Book are also admonished: Had they observed the Torah and the Evangel, and what was sent down to them from their Lord, they would surely have drawn nourishment from above them [the heavens] and from beneath their feet [the lands and seas] (5:66). And so are the polytheists: If the people of the towns had been faithful and God-wary, We would have opened to them blessings from the heaven and the earth (7:96)

So in creating an intimate bond between man and his environment, it is as if God has, masterfully, ensured that whatever man chooses to do with his free will, he can only benefit or harm himself both in this world and in the next. And they did not wrong Us, but they used to wrong [only] themselves (2:57), Whatever affliction that may visit you is because of what your hands have earned (42:30).

God of course does not retire from His involvement with His creation – He is still the rabb (2:1), meaning the sustainer who keeps all things in motion and from falling apart (35:41). But He allows man to reap the consequences of his wrongdoings because it also serves as a deterrent: Corruption has appeared in the land and sea because of the doings of the people’s hands, that He may make them taste something of what they have done, so that they may come back (30:41).

Ibn Kathīr also notes that the reason it is recommended to recite this surah in ṣalāt al-istisqāʾ (the prayer for rain during droughts), is because of this verse (verse 11) in the surah.^{‎[8]Ibn Kathir, 8/246.}

The irony must not be lost that when the people of Prophet Noah (a) were punished, abundant rains were still sent down from the heavens. But this time, instead of becoming a blessing, it became a chastisement, descending torrentially, unceasingly, and without any moderation. The oven gushed (11:40) and they drowned in it until it was said: ‘O earth, swallow your water! O sky, leave off!’ (11:44).

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From Imam Ali (a), in a sermon before he prayed for rain: ‘Beware! The earth which bears you and the sky which overshadows you are obedient to their Sustainer [Allah]. They have not been bestowing their blessings on you for any feeling of pity on you or inclination towards you, nor for any good which they expect from you, but they were commanded to bestow benefits on you and they are obeying and were asked to maintain your good and so they are maintaining it. Certainly, Allah tries His creatures in respect of their evil deeds by decreasing fruits, holding back blessings, and closing the treasures of good, so that he who wishes to repent may repent, he who wishes to turn away [from evils] may turn away, he who wishes to recall [forgotten good] may recall, and he who wishes to abstain [from evil] may abstain. Allah, the glorified, has made the seeking of [His] forgiveness a means for the pouring down of livelihood and mercy on the people for He has said: Plead to your Lord for forgiveness. Indeed He is all-forgiver. He will send for you abundant rains from the sky, and aid you with wealth and sons [verses 10-12].’^{‎[9]Nahj, sermon 143.}
2. From Imam al-Bāqir (a) from the Holy Prophet, on the relationship of man’s obedience to Allah and the world giving its blessings: ‘When fornication increases, sudden deaths will increase [too].’^{‎[10] Kafi, 2/374.}
3. From Imam al-Ṣādiq (a): ‘When fornication becomes widespread, earthquakes will appear [more frequently or more violently].’^{‎[11] Tahdhib, 3/148, h. 318.}

Note: The last two traditions above are quoted here only to, once again, note Islam’s belief that the cosmos is surrendered to its Creator. When man submits his free will to God, he is aligned with the universe and its blessings come to him naturally and abundantly (5:66, 7:96). Conversely, when man rebels and disobeys his Lord, this misalignment is reflected in the world and in man’s environment, and he only brings about calamities and suffering to himself (42:30). Also noteworthy is that these consequences may take years, even decades, to manifest, as is seen in the case of all past nations on whom befell God’s wrath. God’s mercy does not allow for His chastisement to be rushed and this, in turn, may be why communities in which sinful practices prevail feel a false sense of security before they are struck.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Some exegetes, like Suyūṭī, have suggested that the reason why Prophet Noah (a) promised them, He will send for you abundant rains from the sky, is because, before this, they had been deprived of rain and suffered extreme drought.^{‎[12] Jalalayn, p. 574.}

This idea is discussed in greater detail under the Review of Tafsīr Literature for the next verse and it is akin to the calamities that befell Pharaoh and his people before their final destruction: So We sent against them a flood and locusts, lice, frogs, and blood, as distinct signs. But they acted arrogantly, and they were a guilty lot (7:133).

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

According to the Hebrew Bible, the earth was covered with thistles and thorns before Noah (a), and it was only after the deluge when Noah (a) took up tilling the land and farming that this practice became widespread amongst humans. If it is true that the earth was so harsh and unusable, it may have been, at least in part, because of the scarcity of rain that Noah (a) was promising relief from in this verse. For Biblical references to this, see Jewish Views on Prophet Noah (a) under Prophet Noah (a) In Other Traditions.

[1] Mizan, 20/30.
[2] Alusi, 15/81; Razi, 30/652; Hairi, 11/255.
[3] Raghib, d-r-r.
[4] Lane, d-r-r.
[5] Hans Wehr, d-r-r; Raghib, d-r-r.
[6] Raghib, d-r-r.
[7] Fadlallah, 23/126.
[8] Ibn Kathir, 8/246.
[9] Nahj, sermon 143.
[10] Kafi, 2/374.
[11] Tahdhib, 3/148, h. 318.
[12] Jalalayn, p. 574.