418- 'Amr ibn 'Alī narrated to us, he said: Mu'āwiya narrated to us, he said: Ibn Jurayj narrated to us, from 'Aṭā', regarding His statement: "Or like a rainstorm from the sky", he said: Rain (1).

Abū Ja'far said: And the interpretation of that is: The similitude of the hypocrites seeking light through the light of their affirmation of Islam, while concealing disbelief, is like the light of a lighter of a fire by the light of his fire, according to what He—may His praise be exalted—described of his state, or like a rainstorm whose downpour is dark descending from the sky (2), borne by a dark cloud on a dark night. And that is the darknesses that Allah—may His praise be exalted—informed are in it.

If a questioner says to us: Inform us about these two parables: Are they both parables for the hypocrites, or is it one of them? For if they are two parables for the hypocrites, then why was it said: "Or like a rainstorm", when "or" (aw) comes with the meaning of doubt in speech, and He did not say "and like a rainstorm" with the wāw that attaches the second parable to the first parable? Or if the parable of the people is one of them, then what is the reason for mentioning the other with "or" (aw)? For you know that "or" (aw), when it is in speech, only enters into it by way of doubt from the speaker regarding what he reports, as in one saying: "Your brother or your father met me", when only one of them met him, but he was ignorant of the specific identity of which of them met him, along with his knowledge that one of them had met him. And it is not permissible regarding Allah—may His praise be exalted—that doubt be attributed to Him regarding anything, or that knowledge of anything be absent from Him, in what He reported or left reporting.

It is said to him: The matter in that is contrary to what you have gone to. For "or" (aw)—even if in some speech it comes with the meaning of doubt—may come indicating the same as what the wāw indicates, either by what precedes it in the speech before it, or by what comes after it, as in the statement of Tawba ibn al-Ḥumayyir:

And Laylā claimed that I am a wicked man... While for her soul is its piety, or upon it is its wickedness (3)