Reflecting on Wind(s)
Part One
Praise be to Allah who alone enjoys Majesty and perfect Beauty, as a sign of His Greatness and Grandeur, and who alone conducts matters in their detail and generality in ordinance and disposition, and who is Supreme in His Greatness and Glory; it is He who revealed the Furqan (i.e. Qur'ān) to His servant (Muhammad ) in order for it to be a warning for the Worlds; and I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone with no partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger who is supported by miracles and given victory by the wind from the Lord of all creatures; on him from Allah is the best Salat (Graces, Honors, and Mercy) and Peace; on his household the Good, the Pure; on his wives the mothers of the believers; and on his Companions and those who followed them in good faith till the Day of Judgment.
Fear Allah, O servants of Allah! And know that the best of the speech is embodied in the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance given by Muhammad () and the worst evils are innovations (in Faith), and every innovation is a heresy, and every heresy is straying from the right path; seek the company of the community of Muslims, for Allah's Hand is on the hand of the (Muslim) community: And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم ) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers’ way, We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell - what an evil destination! [An-Nisâ: 115].
O People!
One of Allah's Ayats (signs) in this great universe on which depends life in the living human body is an Ayat (a sign) which arouses energy and motion and
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grants determination after languor. It is a sign whose existence gives man strength after weakness and relief after distress. If man reflects on it, his faith in his Lord increases and he will realize that He is the Creator and Owner of everything and that there is no true deity except Him. It is a sign on earth and in heaven by which Allah took oath in His Holy Book. Allah, the Creator (), mentioned it in the Holy Qur'ān in twenty nine different places. Each oath Allah takes in His Book is great: And verily that is indeed a great oath, if you but know. [Al-Wâqi'ah: 76].
Allah () can swear by whatever He wills of His creations and signs which He made as lessons and examples for those of understanding, and as proof and sorrow for every oblivious one who does not remember Allah by such signs, and do not return to Him by reflecting on them. Thus they are among those about whom Allah () truly says: And how many a sign in the heavens and the earth they pass by, while they are averse therefrom. [Yûsuf: 105]. And most of them believe not in Allâh except that they attribute partners unto Him [i.e. they are Mushrikûn i.e. polytheists. See Verse 6: 121]. [Yûsuf:106]
Indeed, Allah has taken an oath by this great sign four times in his Holy Book. He () said: By the winds (or angels or the Messengers of Allâh) sent forth one after another.(1)And by the winds that blow violently.(2) And by the winds that scatter clouds and rain.[Al-Mursalât: 1-3]. And He () said: By (the winds) that scatter dust.[Ath-Thâriyât: 1]. It is the sign of the wind(s), O servants of Allah!
It is the wind which, being obedient to Allah (), is moved around by Him howsoever He wills. He says unto it: “Be, and it is”, in full submission to its Creator and Conductor just as the heavens and the earth have already submitted to Him (): Then He rose over (Istawâ) towards the heaven when it was smoke, and said to it and to the earth: "Come both of you willingly or unwillingly." They both said: "We come willingly." [Fussilat: 11]
Allah () has made the movement of winds among His signs intended for people of understanding. The wind can be cold and hot; it can blow from North,
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South, West, or East. It stirs up the clouds, joins them together, and then makes them into a heap of layers so the rain comes forth from between them. It acts as a fertilizer of rain and plants (carries the pollen), and a source of electrical power, mills, ships' sailing, aviation; however, all this does not exclude it from being one of Allah’s signs, and an object of thinking and reflecting on the dominions of the heavens and the earth and everything that Allah created.
If anything strikes you with astonishment, O servants of Allah, then it is indeed astonishing how the thinking of some Muslims has reached a level of intellectual disgrace and scientific inferiority, for they have been deceived by certain studies, beliefs, and cultures that have nothing to do with Islam and that which practice uniquely a purely materialistic outlook at the universe' phenomena and observed natural catastrophes in relation to their sources, causes, and the way of dealing with them. (We li At a time when some non-Muslims realize in their studies and discoveries the conditions of these phenomena and that such phenomena are not the work of Nature, neither in their beginning nor in their ending, and that behind this wind there lies a wisdom and a Wise Conductor who knows while they don’t know.
Perhaps the astonishment of non-Muslims will increase, or perhaps some of them might embrace Islam upon knowing that Islam has established the origin of such phenomena, and that the wind is one of Allah's miraculous creations in His great universe.
Some of them, after investing much effort, conducting a lot of research, and spending many years of their lives thereon, might think that they have discovered the secrets of the wind. However, the wind can have four states: a still wind, a favorable wind, a stormy wind, and a roaring wind.
Their astonishment reaches its apex, and the surprise its peak when they know that the Book of Allah () fifteen hundred years ago mentioned these kinds of wind in that particular order at a time of an illiterate nation (Arab Nation) that does not read or write. He () said of the still wind: And among His Signs are the ships in the sea like mountains. [Ash-Shûra: 32] If He wills, He causes the wind to cease, then they would become motionless on the back (of the
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sea). Verily, in this are signs for everyone patient and grateful. [Ash-Shûra: 33].
Most of the scholars of Qur’ānic exegesis who interpreted the Book of Allah () long ago understood that what was meant by "ships" were sailing ships that cannot sail on the sea when the wind ceases. However the scientific miraculous nature of the Holy Qur'ān dazzles us by coming far ahead of modern scientific discoveries in showing that when the wind completely ceases, then ships will not be able to sail on the sea, neither sailing ships, steam ships, nor giant ships that use atomic energy. The reason is that all sources of energy used to push these ships need air oxygen, and when the wind ceases, oxygen ceases as a result, and the ships become motionless. The same can be said about airplanes, wind mills, and the like.
As for the gentle and stormy winds, Allah mentions them in these words: 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 favourable 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 [Yûnus: 22], where waves reach in their height to a level above the ships coupled with a speed that leads to drowning when the winds have become stormy after being favorable.
The roaring wind is called a hurricane which takes a vertical shape towards the sky and makes sea waves very high, thus destroying ships and causing them to sink. A hurricane might be coupled with fire, or might not, which is most common.
Among the modern discoveries of the pioneers of geographical and geological research is that a hurricane that is coupled with fire is caused and generated by dense forest fires. It is self-evident that the Qur'an was revealed to a nation that mostly resided in the desert where no forests existed, yet Allah () said in the time of early Muslims: Would any of you wish to have a garden with date-palms and vines, with rivers flowing underneath, and all kinds of fruits for him therein, while he is stricken with old age, and his children are
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weak (not able to look after themselves), then it is struck with a fiery whirlwind, so that it is burnt? Thus does Allâh make clear His Ayât (proofs, evidence, verses) to you that you may give thought1.[Al-Baqarah: 266]
Here is the Book of Allah which came fifteen hundred years ago before these scientists. It is the True Religion of values, the Sibghah (religion) of Allah: and which Sibghah (religion) can be better than Allâh’s? And we are His worshippers. [Al-Baqarah: 138]
And then, may Allah protect you!
The wind is truly one of Allah’s soldiers. It can be a mercy for His believing servants and a herald of glad tidings, sent before His Mercy (rain). It carries a heavy-laden cloud, and Allah drives it to a land that is dead. He gives to drink thereof many of the cattle and men that He had created. Thus it is a blessing from Allah to His believing servants. It is also among the soldiers of Allah (), the Lord of al-'ālamîn when He sends it against their enemies and oppressors. It has been verified that the Prophet () said: “I have been helped by Assaba (the easterly wind).” [narrated by Muslim]
(The sheikh quotes two lines of poetry that say):
Only Allah, the All-Knowing, the All-Conquering, the Accepter of all repentance
Can count the number of soldiers in His Kingdom.
Allah has achieved a great victory against the confederate (Al-Ahzâb)
On behalf of His Servant (Prophet Muhammad () ) with His soldiers, in the form of winds.
The wind can also be revenge and torment that Allah sends unto whom He wills of His servants, for it is He Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Indeed,
1 V.2:266) ‘Umar رضي الله عنه said, "This is an example for a rich man who does good deeds out of obedience to Allâh, and then Allâh sends him Satan whereupon he commits sins till all his good deeds are lost." (Sahih Al-Bukhâri, Vol. 6, Hadîth No.62).
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He destroyed the people of ‘Âd by Ad-Dabur, a (westerly), barren, furious wind: And as for ‘Âd, they were destroyed by a furious violent wind! [Al- Haqqa: 6]. He also destroyed the confederates who plotted against the Prophet () and his Companions. Allah said about them: O you who believe! Remember Allâh’s Favour 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-Ahzâb (the Confederates)]. And Allâh is Ever All-Seer of what you do. [Al-Ahzab: 9].
The wind is also of the signs of the prophethood Prophet Muhammad (). Jabir () reported that Allah's Messenger () was returning came from a journey and as he drew near Medina, a violent wind in a way that could bury the rider. Allah's Messenger () said: “This wind has perhaps been made to blow for the death of a hypocrite.” When he reached Medina, he found that one of the most notorious hypocrites had died. [Narrated by Muslim]
Fear Allah, O servants of Allah! And contemplate Allah’s favour on His servants through the favourable wind, as Allah says: And among His Signs is this, that He sends the winds as glad tidings, giving you a taste of His Mercy (i.e. rain), and that the ships may sail at His Command, and that you may seek of His Bounty, in order that you may be thankful. [Al-Rum: 46]
Some of our ancestors said in explanation of the above verses And among His Signs is this, that He sends the winds as glad tidings that people rejoice because of such wind, giving you a taste of His Mercy means the rain that the wind carries, and that the ships may sail at His Command means the ships that the wind moves, and that you may seek of His Bounty means sea trade whose ships are moved by the wind, and in order that you may be thankful. means you Allah for the favour of sending winds.
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. Then We produce every kind of fruit therewith. Similarly, We
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shall raise up the dead, so that you may remember or take heed. [Al-Araf: 57]
May Allah bless you and me by the Noble Qur'ān and Sunnah, and make the Qur'ān's verses and wise sayings beneficial to you and me. This is said, I ask forgiveness from Almighty Allah. Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving.
Part Two
Praise be to Allah alone, and may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon His Chosen Prophet, his family, his Companions and those who followed him!
O People!
O Allah! How great and wonderful this religion is! How vast and comprehensive it is! It left no evil without warning against it, and no good without leading to it. Abu Dhar (one of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad) () said: “When the Prophet () passed away, no bird flapping its wings in the sky but would transmit to us some knowledge imparted by him.” [Narrated by Ahmad and Ibn Habban]
Some Mushrikûn (polytheists) asked Salman (): “Your Prophet taught you everything, even about excreting?!” He replied: “Yes, he has forbidden us to face the Qibla at the time of excretion or urination ...” [Narrated by Muslim in his Sahih].
Our honorable Sharia also included guidance about how to deal with the wind. It has been verified that, if the wind blew, the Prophet () used to say: “O Allah, I ask You for its goodness, the good within it, and the good it was sent with, and I take refuge with You from its evil, the evil within it, and from the evil it was sent with.” [Narrated by Muslim]
The Prophet () forbade us to curse the wind with any kind of abuse or disparagement. And So much so that if it was a windy or a cloudy day, it would show on his face (); he would move forward and backward (in a state of
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anxiety); so if it rained, he would rejoice and his face cleared. 'A'isha (may Allah be pleas with her) said: "I asked him the reason of this anxiety and he said: “I was afraid that it might be a calamity that might fall upon my Ummah.”
Among his guidance () is that his usual call to people when it was a rainy or a cold, windy night used to be: "Pray in your dwellings."
The scholars mentioned the permission of combing the prayers in a severe cold wind and they forbade Muslims from urinating against the wind in order not to become impure.
This is our religion and this is our Islamic Sharia Your Lord is He Who drives the ship for you through the sea, in order that you may seek of His Bounty. Truly He is Ever Most Merciful towards you. And when harm touches you upon the sea, those that you call upon vanish from you except Him (Allâh Alone). But when He brings you safe to land, you turn away (from Him). And man is ever ungrateful. Do you then feel secure that He will not cause a side of the land to swallow you up, or that He will not send against you a violent sand-storm? Then, you shall find no Wakîl (guardian - one to guard you from the torment). 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. [Al- Isra: 66-69]
Ask Him –may Allah have mercy on you– to send His Salat (Graces, Honours and Mercy) and Peace on the best creature of Allah and the purest of mankind, Muhammad ibn `Abd Allāh, who has the intercession, for Allah sent His Salat (Graces, Honours and Mercy) and Peace on him and then ordered His angles, that are praising His sanctity, to do likewise and called out to you to ask Him to send His Salat (Graces, Honours and Mercy) and Peace on him. O believers! Allah the Almighty () says O you who believe! Send your Salât[1] on (ask Allâh to bless) him (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم ), and (you
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should) greet (salute) him with the Islâmic way of greeting (salutation i.e. As-Salâmu ‘Alaikum). [Al- Ahzab :56]
O Allah! Send Your Salat (Graces, Honours, and Mercy) and Peace on Your servant and Messenger Muhammad! O Allah! Be pleased with his four Caliphs –Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali, all of Your Prophet's () Companions, the tab’în2 and those who righteously follow them till the Day of Judgment. O Allah! Be also pleased with us all, along with them, by Your Pardon, Generosity and Bounty, O You, the Most Merciful, Most Compassionate!
O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims! O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims! O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims, and fail polytheism and polytheists (who associate partners with You)! O Allah! Grant victory to Your religion, Your Book, the Sunnah of Your Prophet Muhammad () and Your truthful believing servants!
O Allah! Put an end to the suffering of Muslims! Rescue those in distress, and help those indebted pay back their debts! Cure those of us and those of the Muslims who are ill, O You Most Merciful, Most Compassionate.
O Allah! Grant victory to our Muslim brothers who are oppressed in their religion everywhere! O Allah! Grant victory to our Muslim brothers who are oppressed in their religion everywhere! O Allah! Grant victory to the Muslims in Burma! O Allah! Grant victory to the Muslims in Syria! O Allah! Grant them power and victory over their tyrant and oppressors! O You, Lord of Majesty and Bounty.
O Allah! Fail their enemy; plague their life affairs, and make their years as lean as the lean years of Yusuf (Prophet Joseph)! O You, Lord of Majesty and Bounty.
O Allah! Grant us security in our homelands! Make good our leaders and those responsible for our affairs, and make our leadership from among those
2 The Arabic name given to the contemporaries of the Companions of the Prophet () after his death.
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who are fearful of You, who guard taqwa (fear of Allah), and follow Your Path, O You, Lord of al-'ālamîn (the worlds)!
O Allah! Guide our leader to do and say whatever you love and accept. O You the Ever-Living, the Eternal Guardian. O Allah! Make his retinue righteous. O You the Lord of Majesty and Bounty.
O Allah! You are Allah, there is no deity worthy of worship except You! You are the Self-Sufficient and we are the poor! Send down rain upon us and do not make us despondent! O Allah! Send down rain upon us and do not make us despondent! O Allah! Send down rain upon us and do not make us despondent! O Allah! Do not deprive us of the best You have because of the worst we do! O Allah, we are creatures amongst Your creation, so do not make our sins impede Your grace! O You, the Lord of Majesty and Bounty, the Lord of al-'ālamîn (the worlds)!
… Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire! [Al-Baqarah: 201]
Glorified be You Lord, the Lord of Honor and Power! You are free from what they attribute unto You! May peace be upon the Messengers! The last of our supplications is all praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!
