[ابوالوليد المسلم]

The wind is one of Allah's Signs (1)

Dr. Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Al Huqil



Praise be to Allah, the Lord and the King of everything. He created the creation in the best shape and managed their affairs well. "He to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and Who has begotten no son (children or offspring) and for Whom there is no partner in the dominion. He has created everything, and has measured it exactly according to its due measurements." [Surat Al Furqan: 2]. We praise Him abundantly and frequently as He loves and satisfies. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone who has no partner as a recognition of His Lordship and divinity. "Say (O Muhammad): Who provides for you from the sky and from the earth? Or who owns hearing and sight? And who brings out the living from the dead and brings out the dead from the living? And who disposes the affairs? They will say: Allah. Say: Will you not then be afraid of Allah's Punishment (for setting up rivals in worship with Allah)? * Such is Allah, your Lord in truth. So after the truth, what else can there be, save error? How then are you turned away?" [Surat Yunus: 31 - 32]. I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger who was the most knowledgeable of His Lord (may He be Glorified and Exalted) and the most god-fearing. He feared the torment although Allah forgave his past and future sins; may Allah's Peace and blessings be upon him, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them righteously until the Day of Recompense.
O people, I commend you to fear Allah (Glory be to Him), for His Signs and favors are great and numerous, and people see them in the sky, on earth and in themselves. All these signs and favors are proofs to the glory, power, knowledge, encompassment, and perfect creation of Allah. "It is He, Who shows you His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and sends down (rain with which grows) provision for you from the sky. And none remembers but those who turn (to Allah) in obedience and in repentance (by begging His Pardon and by worshipping and obeying Him Alone and none else)." [Surat Ghafir: 13]. "And He shows you His Signs and Proofs (of His Oneness in all the above mentioned things). Which, then of the Signs and Proofs of Allah do you deny?" [Surat Ghafir: 81]. "We will show them Our Signs in the universe, and in their ownselves, until it becomes manifest to them that this (the Quran) is the truth. Is it not sufficient in regard to your Lord that He is a Witness over all things?" [Surat Fussilat: 53]. All these signs entail the worship of Allah alone without associating partners with Him, thanking Him for His Grace, and warning against disobeying Him. "He sends down the angels with inspiration of His Command to whom of His slaves He pleases (saying): Warn mankind that La ilaha illa Ana (none has the right to be worshipped but I), so fear Me (by abstaining from sins and evil deeds)." [Surat An-Nahl: 2].
O people, Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) has magnificent signs in His Creation, incredible miracles that dazzle people's minds, possess souls, frighten people, and vanquish the powerful of them. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) has soldiers on earth and in heavens from angels, humans, jinns, animals, beasts, birds, crawlers, insects, parasites, inanimate, planets, stars, meteors, seas, the wind, earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, epidemics, in land and sea, which no one knows their number and power but Allah. All these troops receive the commands from Allah (Glory be to Him) and are directed to whomever Allah wills of His creation, so nothing can stand before them until their mission is over. "But when Allah wills a people's punishment, there can be no turning back of it, and they will find besides Him no protector." [Surat Ar-Ra`d: 11].
The wind is one of Allah's Creation which no human can see but they can feel it and see its effect. The wind may become a mercy and may become a torment by the command of its creator and manager [Glory be to Him]. It is one of the greatest sings indicating the greatness and the power of Allah and the necessity of directing the worship solely for Him alone without associating any partner with Him.
Therefore, the mention of the wind came when Allah spoke about the signs that indicate His Lordship and Divinity: "and in the turning about of the winds (i.e. sometimes towards the east or north, and sometimes towards the south or west etc., sometimes bringing glad tidings of rain etc., and sometimes bringing the torment), are signs for a people who understand." [Surat Al Jathiyah: 5].
The wind is a sign for Allah's Mercy when it comes with goodness: "And among His Signs is this, that He sends the winds as glad tidings, giving you a taste of His Mercy (i.e. rain)." [Surat Ar-Rum: 46]. He says in another Ayah: "Is not He (better than your gods) Who guides you in the darkness of the land and the sea, and Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain)? Is there any ilah (god) with Allah? High Exalted be Allah above all that they associate as partners (to Him)!" [Surat An-Naml: 63].
The wind is also one of the great signs of Allah when it comes as a torment where Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) counted a set of signs as proofs to His Power and mentioned of them the destruction of `Ad with the wind: "And in `Ad (there is also a sign) when We sent against them the barren wind * It spared nothing that it reached, but blew it into broken spreads of rotten ruins." [Surat Az-Zariyat: 42]. The wind has great benefits to the people of the earth and by losing them, the earth and all thereon will die. The wind is the cause of the blessed rain by the command of Allah (may He be Exalted) and it is the glad tiding which Allah mentioned: "And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain), and We send down pure water from the sky," [Surat Al Furqan: 48]. He says in another Ayah: "Allah is He Who sends the winds, so they raise clouds, and spread them along the sky as He wills, and then break them into fragments, until you see rain drops come forth from their midst! Then when He has made them fall on whom of His slaves as He will, lo! they rejoice!" [Surat Ar-Rum: 48]. So, people rejoice with the blow of the wind because of the following mercy and the blessed rain that will nourish their lives and the lives of their cattle, trees, plants, the increase of their money and the prosperity of their living standard.
The wind is responsible for driving clouds of the sky to wherever Allah wills to water whomever of His Servants. "And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain). Till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud, We drive it to a land that is dead, then We cause water (rain) to descend thereon." [Surat Al A`raf: 57]. He says in another Ayah: "And it is Allah Who sends the winds, so that they raise up the clouds, and We drive them to a dead land, and revive therewith the earth after its death. As such (will be) the Resurrection!" [Surat Fatir: 9].
The wind fertilizes clouds by the command of Allah (may He be Exalted), and water comes down to fertilize plants and trees and brings forth ripe fruits and seeds are transferred from land to land and greenness prevails. Whatever humans do with their all capabilities, they cannot plant deserts, which extend for a long distance, with useful kinds of plants in east and west. However, the wind does this by the command, power, and management of Allah. "And We send the winds fertilizing (to fill heavily the clouds with water), then caused the water (rain) to descend from the sky, and We gave it to you to drink, and it is not you who are the owners of its stores [i.e. to give water to whom you like or to withhold it from whom you like]."
[Surat Al Hijr: 22]. `Ubayd ibn `Umayr Al Laythy (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said: Allah (may He be Exalted) sends the wind to sweep the earth then Allah (may He be Exalted) sends the wind to form clouds, then Allah (may He be Exalted) sends the wind to mix together, then Allah (may He be Exalted) sends the wind to fertilize clouds.
The wind is the cause for water cycle on earth and had not it been for that, water will become rotten and the living cannot benefit therefrom. Moreover, all the living cannot do without the wind otherwise they will be destroyed. Ka`b Al Ahbar (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said: "If the wind is withheld from people for three days, everything between the heaven and the earth will become rotten." The wind contains countless benefits for people, and carries the clouds which give life to earth, waters the seeds, and contains the provisions of people, animals, and birds. Allah (may He be Exalted) swore by them: "By (the winds) that scatter dust. * And (the clouds) that bear heavy weight of water" [Surat Az-Zariyat: 1 - 2]. In another Surah: "By the winds (or angels or the Messengers of Allah) sent forth one after another. * And by the winds that blow violently," [Surat Al Mursalat: 1 - 2]. When Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) described the generosity of the Prophet (peace be upon him), he borrowed the description of the sent wind, he said: "When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) met Gabriel, he was the most generous of all the people like the sent wind." [Reported by Al Bukhari and Muslim]. The description of Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) indicates that the wind contains great benefit for the earth and all that thereon.
The wind is one of Allah's soldiers which He sends gently to some people to run their ships wherever they want: "If He wills, He causes the wind to cease, then they would become motionless on the back (of the sea)." [Surat Ash-Shura: 33].
In a moment Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) commands it to move after stillness and to change from a good and calm wind to a storm that could sink ships, so there is no shelter for them except in Allah (may He be Exalted). "He it is Who enables you to travel through land and sea, till when you are in the ships and they sail with them with a favorable wind, and they are glad therein, then comes a stormy wind and the waves come to them from all sides, and they think that they are encircled therein, they invoke Allah, making their Faith pure for Him Alone, saying: If You (Allah) deliver us from this, we shall truly be of the grateful." [Surat Yunus: 22]. Therefore, Allah (may He be Exalted) warned people against disbelieving in Him or feel secure about His Plan and warned them against a wind that may sink them: "Or do you feel secure that He will not send you back a second time to sea and send against you a hurricane of wind and drown you because of your disbelief, then you will not find any avenger therein against Us?" [Surat Al Isra': 69].
When the wind was one of Allah's soldiers, Allah subjugated it to some of His Messengers as He subjugated it to Sulayman (peace be upon him). "And to Sulayman (Solomon) (We subjected) the wind strongly raging, running by his command towards the land which We had blessed." [Surat Al Anbiya': 81]. In another Ayah: "So, We subjected to him the wind; it blew gently by his order whithersoever he willed," [Surat Sad: 36].
Allah (may He be Exalted) provided victory by the wind to Hud (peace be upon him) and destroyed the people of `Ad therewith when they lied. "So We sent upon them furious wind in days of evil omen (for them) that We might give them a taste of disgracing torment in this present worldly life." [Surat Fussilat: 16]. That wind was so powerful to the extent that it lifted a person to the sky then throw him dead on the ground until his head was cut from his body as Allah (may He be Exalted) described its mission. "Plucking out men as if they were uprooted stems of date-palms." [Surat Al Qamar: 20]. We ask Allah for safety of His Wrath and revenge.
In the beginning of the matter, the people thought that the wind was a bearer of glad tiding, but it turned to be one of the destructive matters and their joy turned into sadness and torment because it killed them, destroyed their civilization, and annihilated their crops "Then, when they saw it as a dense cloud coming towards their valleys, they said: This is a cloud bringing us rain! Nay, but it is that (torment) which you were asking to be hastened! a wind wherein is a painful torment! * Destroying everything by the Command of its Lord! So they became such that nothing could be seen except their dwellings! Thus do We recompense the people who are Mujrimun (polytheists, disbelievers, sinners, etc.)!" [Surat Al Ahqaf: 25].
The wind lasted for many days and they could not stop it or escape, so how powerful it is! How severer it is for the lairs and how obeying it is to its Lord. "And as for 'Ad, they were destroyed by a furious violent wind *Which Allah imposed on them for seven nights and eight days in succession, so that you could see men lying overthrown (destroyed), as if they were hollow trunks of date-palms!" [Surat Al Haqqah: 7].
Furthermore, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was given victory by the wind in the hardest situation that happened to Muslims when the masses of polytheists besieged Medina in the battle of Al Ahzab (the Confederates), the wind scattered their assembly, dismantled their coalition, and cracked their parties. "O you who believe! Remember Allah's Favor to you, when there came against you hosts, and We sent against them a wind and forces that you saw not [i.e. troops of angels during the battle of Al Ahzab (the Confederates)]. And Allah is Ever All Seer of what you do." [Surat Al Ahzab: 9]. Mujahid (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said: Allah (may He be Exalted) sent the wind to them to turn their vessels upside down and to take off their tents.
That wind was called "As-Siba" as narrated by Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "I was granted victory with As-Saba and the nation of `Ad was destroyed by Ad-Dabur (westerly wind)." [Reported by Al Bukhari and Muslim].
We saw few years ago what the wind had done with Tsunami and Katrina when it moved the sea creating huge waves like mountains to destroy coastal cities and islands, kill many people, destroy money, and leave a horrible destruction.
There were countries full of life before that wind comes and people used to travel to them from around the globe because of their beautiful lands, clear atmosphere, and good coasts but in less than a minute, they became abandoned and destroyed. Glory be to Allah who created the wind, subjugated it to His Command, and commanded it to destroy and kill. On the other hand, the wind left some survivals to narrate to the people thereafter what they had seen. Those survivals did not come out safe because of their power or the people died because they were weak, but it was the command of Allah which inflicts whomever He wills.
The wind is one of the wonders which people need but they fear it, and if they had done whatever they can to move it, they would have not moved it while it is still, and if it moves, they shall not be able to stop it or at least lessen its effect or change its course.
The only thing they can do is to escape from or take a shield in shelters to the extent that villages and cities are abandoned for fear of its effect then they wait helplessly for its coming and leave. When the storm becomes still, they bury their dead, cure their wounds, shelter their displaced, count their losses, fix whatever it destroyed, and cry for their disaster. When Katrina storm hit part of the major power [USA], it showed its inability, declared emergency, and accepted aid from poor countries, so how weak humans are before the wind. The wind is one of Allah's Signs and one of the countless troops of Allah. "And to Allah belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth. And Allah is Ever All-Knower, All-Wise." [Surat Al Fath: 7]."Thus Allah leads astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And none can know the hosts of your Lord but He. And this (Hell) is nothing else than a (warning) reminder to mankind." [Surat Al Muddathir: 31]. May Allah bless you and me!