19 Preface أَو كَصَيِّبٍ مِنَ السَّماءِ فيهِ ظُلُماتٌ وَرَعدٌ وَبَرقٌ يَجعَلونَ أَصابِعَهُم في آذانِهِم مِنَ الصَّواعِقِ حَذَرَ المَوتِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ مُحيطٌ بِالكافِرينَAli Quli QaraiOr that of a rainstorm from the sky, wherein is darkness, thunder, and lightning: they put their fingers in their ears due to the thunderclaps, apprehensive of death; and Allah besieges the faithless.1 This is another parable for the condition of the hypocrites. In it the Prophet’s mission, with its downpour of Divine knowledge, the accompanying light of guidance, along with the hardships of struggle against polytheism and injustice, is likened to a rainstorm.