Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 19-20: [“Or, like (those who, under) a cloudburst from the sky with darkness, thunder and lightning, they thrust their fingers in their ears at the sound of every thunderclap for fear of death, and Allah encompasses the unbelievers. The lightning almost takes away (dazzles) their sight; whenever it flashes for them, they walk in it, and when it becomes dark to them they stand still; and if Allah had willed He would certainly have taken away their hearing and their sight; surely Allah has power over all things.”] This is a continuation of our previous discussion. The context to this example has been given in the previous lesson, under Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 17. We are talking about the same group of people. Allah (SWT) states that there is another way to describe this kind of people as well. These examples are given so that we can understand the state and condition of these people and so that we can learn to avoid becoming these kinds of people.
The words used in this verse translate to meaning storming rain or heavy downpour from the sky. Along with this rain are two elements of nature: darknesses, rain and lightning. Imagine an environment like a sudden storm; it is raining, which is a good thing, but along with it, it brings the clouds and atmosphere to darken the skies and block the moon, enveloping the land in darkness, and frightening thunder roars and lighting strikes. In the midst of this storm, somebody is trying to travel. Whenever that thunder roars, this person plugs their ears, because every roar of thunder makes the person think that the thunder will end them. They are afraid of death, and somehow, they feel that if they block the noise out, they will get a sense of comfort. They are finding security in blocking the noise out. Allah (SWT) has disbelievers surrounded from all directions.
Before we go further, let’s talk about what these elements symbolize; the downpour of rain refers to the teachings of Islam, the Qur’an, and the prophet (SAW). They are all a rain like the prophet (SAW) has mentioned in his hadith. The bountiful rain is there, and a person can take advantage of it; it will vitalize crops, greenery and vegetation; it will irrigate, providing water for drinking for human beings and animals, and will help the ecosystem, but in this particular case, there is darkness, referring to the fear that this person has in their heart, caused by disbelief. The rain of hidayah is descending on everyone in Madinah equally, just like when it rains, farmers and civilians both get the rain; the difference being, the farmers take advantage of the rain and others might not. For these hypocrites, the rain that is pouring comes with darkness – fear. Fear of their doubts, suspicions, evil intentions, and wicked ambitions. Then, there is thunder. The thunder here is the uncertainties of circumstance. There might be a time when Muslims will be undertaking a difficult path. There may be suffering. There might be a call to go out in the path of Allah, or a warning that is given for the people. These fall upon the ears of these people like loud, frightening sounds of thunder, and it frightens them, so what they feel is that if they block the message out, then they will be safe. In between all of this, there are flashes of lightning. This lightning does two things; on one side, the lighting frightens them because in the middle of the pitch blackness, when the lightning flashes, it is almost blinding, and it is as if the lightning will snatch their eyesight away – in other words, it is bright enough to almost blind them. At the same time, every bolt of lightning also brings some light, clearing the path for a moment and letting them see a little bit ahead. They are able to navigate every time the lightning flashes, and so, they move ahead a few steps. What is the lightning? These are the gains and victories of the Muslims. This includes people entering into the fold of Islam, people welcoming the prophet (SAW), Islam spreading, and the battles of the Muslims being won. All of these things were too much for them and too overwhelming for them. They did not want it and it was almost blinding. At the same time, every time that happened, they used it as an opportunity to move forward. Of course, this is referring to how with every victory of the Muslims came, society as a whole improved, with more wealth, affluence and popularity to be distributed. So, while it would frighten them, just like the bolts of lightning, at the same time, they would exploit it.
These are the opportunistic people; on one side, they are scared of what they are doing, but on the other, they are taking advantage of it. When there is no flash of lightning, they stand still. This is the time when the hardships, battles, droughts and famines are going on. They stand still as to not expose themselves to other people, because as of right now, the Muslims are not making any gains or achieving any victories, so they do not want to side with them; but they do not want to side with the non-believers either, lest they be called out as traitors. If Allah (SWT) wanted, he could have made them deaf and blind, literally, but they were not. Literally speaking, they were able to hear and see, but they did not use these faculties to perceive the truth. Allah (SWT) has power over everything. These are the hypocritical people that are trying to play it safe. The world is a very scary place for them because of the constant fear of being exposed, but at the same time, they are looking for opportunities. Even though these few verses are speaking to a very specific group of people in Madinah at that time, keep in mind that all of the types of people mentioned in the Qur’an will always exist in the world. This is one of beauties of the Qur’anic lessons and examples. Any profile that is mentioned in the Qur’an is not limited to a particular person; rather, that profile will be adopted by people to come in the future, and in every era, there will be people with that type of mindset, attitude and intentions. May Allah (SWT) make us from those people who are able to take full advantage of the rain and use it as a means of growth, nourishment and prosperity, so that every time that message of divine revelation comes to us, we use it to move forward in our deen and get closer to Allah (SWT). May Allah (SWT) keep us away from the situation of fright, fear, doubt and suspicion, where we are constantly waiting for a flash of light to move forward.
