after its dryness and barrenness. “And He dispersed throughout it every kind of creature,” that is, He spread them throughout it. “And in the directing of the winds”: Hamzah and al-Kisa’i read “wind” in the singular, without an alif, while the remaining reciters read it with an alif, in the plural. In every occurrence of the word “wind” in the Quran that contains neither an alif nor the definite article, they differ as to whether it is to be read in the singular or plural, except in Surat al-Dhariyat: “the barren wind” (51:41), which they unanimously read in the singular; and in the first occurrence in Surat al-Rum: “the winds bearing good news” (30:46), which they unanimously read in the plural. Abu Jafar read all the other occurrences in the plural, while the reciters differ concerning them. The word “wind” may be treated as either masculine or feminine. Its directing means that it shifts between the south, the north, the east, the west, and the crosswind. (1)
It was also said that its directing means that at times it is gentle, at times tempestuous, at times hot, and at times cold. Ibn Abbas said: “The greatest of Allah’s forces are the wind and the water.” Wind was called thus because it brings relief to souls. Shurayh the judge said: “No wind blows except to cure a sick person or to make a healthy person ill.” Glad tidings lie in three of the winds: the east wind, the north wind, and the south wind. As for the west wind, it is the barren wind, in which there is no glad tiding. It was also said: The winds are eight: four are winds of mercy, and four are winds of punishment. Those of mercy are the winds bearing glad tidings, the spreading winds, the scattering winds, and the winds sent forth. Those of punishment are the barren wind, the bitter gale on land, and the violent and destructive storms at sea.
“And the clouds made subservient,” that is, the clouds made tractable. They are called sahab, meaning clouds, because they move swiftly, as though they were being drawn or dragged along. “Between heaven and earth are signs for a people who understand”: thus they know that these things have a Creator and Maker. Wahb ibn Munabbih said: “There are three things whose origin is unknown: thunder, lightning, and clouds.”
“And among people are those who take rivals besides Allah, loving them as they love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in their love for Allah. If only the wrongdoers could see, when they see the punishment, that all power belongs to Allah alone and that Allah is severe in punishment.” (2:165)
His saying, exalted is He, “And among people are those who take rivals besides Allah,” means idols which they worship. “Loving them as they love Allah” means that they love their gods as the believers love Allah. Al-Zajjaj said: They love the idols just as they love Allah, because they associate them with Allah and thus make their idols equal to Allah in love. “But those who believe are stronger in their love for Allah,” that is, firmer and more constant in their love for Him, because they do not choose anything over Allah. When the idolaters take an idol and then see one more beautiful than it, they cast aside the first and choose the second.
Qatadah said: The disbeliever turns away from what he worships in times of affliction and turns to Allah, exalted is He, as Allah has related concerning them: “When they board a ship, they call upon Allah, devoting their religion sincerely to Him” (29:65). But the believer does not turn away from Allah in prosperity