Abd al-Wahid ibn Ahmad al-Mulayhi informed us; Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Sam'an informed us; Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Rayani informed us; Ahmad ibn Zanjawayh informed us; Abu Shaykh al-Harrani informed us; Abu Musa ibn A'yan informed us, from Layth ibn Abi Sulaym, from Shahr ibn Hawshab, from Umm al-Darda, from Abu al-Darda, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: “No Muslim defends his brother’s honor except that Allah has made it binding upon Himself to shield him from the Fire of Hell on the Day of Resurrection.” Then he recited this verse: “And it was incumbent upon Us to aid the believers.” (1)

“Allah is the One who sends the winds, and they stir up clouds. He spreads them across the sky as He wills and makes them into scattered fragments; then you see the rain emerge from within them. And when He causes it to fall upon whomever He wills of His servants, at once they rejoice, (48) although, before it was sent down upon them—before that—they had been in despair.” (49)

“Allah is the One who sends the winds, and they stir up clouds,” that is, they spread them out. “He spreads them across the sky as He wills,” over an expanse of one or two days’ travel, or more, above whomever He wills. “And makes them into scattered fragments,” meaning dispersed pieces. “Then you see the rain”—that is, rainfall—“emerge from within them,” from their midst. “And when He causes it to fall upon whomever He wills of His servants,” that is, the rain, “at once they rejoice”: they are delighted by the rain.

“Although, before it was sent down upon them—before that—they had been in despair,” meaning, they had despaired. It was also said that the meaning is: they were nothing but despairing; and the phrase “before that” is repeated for emphasis. (2) It was also said that the first instance refers to the sending down of the rain, while the second refers to the formation of the clouds. (3) In the reading of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: “Although, before it was sent down upon them, they had been in despair,” without repetition.