Translation:
And We send the fecundating 1960 winds, then cause the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance), though you are not the guardians 1961 of its stores. 1962
And We send the fecundating 1960 winds, then cause the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance), though you are not the guardians 1961 of its stores. 1962
Translation:
And We let loose the winds to fertilize [plants] 21 and We send down water from the skies and let you drink thereof: and it is not you who dispose of its source-
And We let loose the winds to fertilize [plants] 21 and We send down water from the skies and let you drink thereof: and it is not you who dispose of its source-
Commentary:
21 I.e., by pollination as well as by bringing rain-clouds.
21 I.e., by pollination as well as by bringing rain-clouds.
1960 Lawaqih, plural of l aqih, from laqaha, to impregnate or fecundate the female date palm by putting the pollen of the male tree on to the ovaries of the female tree. The date palm is unisexual. The wind performs this office for many flowers. Here, by a bold metaphor, its fecundating quality is transferred to the clouds, which by means of rain produce all kinds of fruit, grain, and vegetation. The clouds as vapour are manipulated by the winds, which set up atmospheric currents resulting in condensation and the descent of rain. Note the appropriateness of the little particle "then", showing the connection of winds with rain.
1961 Cf. the previous verse, and n. 1958. Man may store water in cisterns, tanks, lakes, and headwaters of canals. But he has no control over its original sources, which are the clouds, which by the help of the winds, act as grand distributors of water over wide spaces of the world's surface.
1962 This verse must be understood as furnishing an example of illustration of what is said in the last verse.