When the winds blow, I’m usually the first to duck my head and power-walk as fast as I can to wherever I’m headed. I don’t really like the cold you see; I sit next to heaters in the winter and avoid A/C’s in the summer, my hands seem cold even on the hottest days, and once upon a time, my mum even forced me to get a blood test done as she was convinced I was suffering from anaemia! (I was perfectly normal alhamdulillah). But weirdly enough, despite all that, there’s something about winds, gales, rain and accumulating clouds that fascinate me – sometimes they cause me to pop my head out the window just so I can see these natural occurences (of course, I duck back in quickly). I always remember how some of the Salaf e.g. Sufyan al-Thawri (rahimahullah), used to fear the oncoming dark clouds and would be taken by fright whenever they approached. There are also Prophetic narrations that teach us certain supplications which are recommended for us to say whenever these Signs of Allah `azza wa jall are seen in the land – whether they be rainfall, winds, thunder or lightning etc.

But wait a second, aren’t winds a Mercy from Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala? Yes, they are.

Can they be a punishment too? Yes, they can.

In the Qur’an, there’s a repetitive theme which includes the mention of these natural phenomenons. I won’t mention all the verses (as there are so many), but we are all well aware of how the winds are described as being ‘a Mercy’ and ‘bringing glad-tidings’ whilst on the other hand, they are also described as being ‘a Punishment’ and have been the cause of demise for perished nations.

What is interesting to note however, is the language used in the Qur’an for describing these windy days. Let’s explore…

The term ريح (meaning ‘wind’) comes up several times in the Qur’an, either in its singular form or in its plural form.

Now, whenever it is used to denote Mercy, it comes in the plural form: الرياح

But whenever it is used to denote a Punishment, it comes only in the singular form: الريح

Some examples:

Of Mercy:

وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرًا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ رَحْمَتِهِ
“And it is He who sends the winds (riyaah – plural) as good tidings before His mercy…” [al-A’raf: 57]

And…

وَأَرْسَلْنَا الرِّيَاحَ لَوَاقِحَ فَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ وَمَا أَنتُمْ لَهُ بِخَازِنِينَ
“And We have sent the fertilizing winds (riyaah – plural) and sent down water from the sky and given you drink from it. And it is not you who are the owners of its stores.” [al-Hijr: 22]

And…

وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرًا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ رَحْمَتِهِ ۚ وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً طَهُورًا
“And it is He who has sent the winds (riyaah – plural) as good tidings before His mercy, and We send down from the sky pure water” [al-Furqan: 48]

Of Punishment:

مَا يُنفِقُونَ فِي هَٰذِهِ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا كَمَثَلِ رِيحٍ فِيهَا صِرٌّ أَصَابَتْ حَرْثَ قَوْمٍ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ فَأَهْلَكَتْهُ ۚ وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَٰكِنْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ
“The example of what they spend in this worldly life is like that of a wind (reeh – singular) containing frost which strikes the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves and destroys it. And Allah has not wronged them, but they wrong themselves.” [Aal ‘Imran: 117]

And…

وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَكَأَنَّمَا خَرَّ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَتَخْطَفُهُ الطَّيْرُ أَوْ تَهْوِي بِهِ الرِّيحُ فِي مَكَانٍ سَحِيقٍ
“And whoever associates partners with Allah – it is as though he had fallen from the sky and was snatched by the birds or the wind (reeh – singular) carried him to a remote place.” [al-Hajj: 31]

And…

فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهُ عَارِضًا مُّسْتَقْبِلَ أَوْدِيَتِهِمْ قَالُوا هَٰذَا عَارِضٌ مُّمْطِرُنَا ۚ بَلْ هُوَ مَا اسْتَعْجَلْتُم بِهِ ۖ رِيحٌ فِيهَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
“And when they saw it as a cloud approaching their valleys, they said, “This is a cloud bringing us rain!” Rather, it is that for which you were impatient: a wind (reeh – singular), within it a painful punishment…” [al-Ahqaf: 24]

And there are other verses for you to look up: Yunus: 22  ;  Ibrahim: 18 ;  al-Israa’: 69  ;  al-Anbiya: 81  ;  al-Roum: 51  ;  al-Ahzab: 9  ;  al-Fussilat: 16  ;  al-Dhariyat: 41  ;  al-Qamar: 19  ;  al-Haqqah: 6

Now, what does this tell you about the Mercy and Punishment of Allah?

I won’t spell the answer, but maybe these are some points we can consider:

• The Vastness of His Mercy and the Justice of His Punishment
• The ratio of Mercy:Punishment (abundant:few)
• The writing down of our deeds (go back to the hadith and re-read it with this in mind)
• Consider the hadith ‘My Mercy overcomes My Wrath’
• Ponder over other verses such as the one in al-A’raf: “My punishment – I afflict with it whom I will, but My Mercy encompasses all things.”

Sometimes there’s just no escaping the winds… and just like you cannot escape the punishment of Allah, you certainly cannot escape His Mercy either 🙂