“When the Heavens Open”

I’m sat here today after a few weeks of immense heat and surgery a few days ago resting and so grateful alhamdulillah for the rain outside.

As a child in the UK, when the rain poured suddenly and without pause, someone would always say, “The heavens just opened up.” And we’d laugh, or run for cover, or press our faces to the window.

I never knew then how true those words really were.

Because in the Qur’an, Allah tells us that He sends rain after despair, that He revives dead earth with a single drop. That the sky does not just fall — it gives.

“And He is the One who sends down rain after they have despaired, and spreads His mercy…”

— Qur’an 42:28

The Prophet ﷺ once walked into the rain and let it touch his skin. He said: “It has just come from its Lord.” (Sahih Muslim)

And in that moment, I realise — rain is not weather. It’s a moment of divine nearness. The heavens really do open. And when they do, it’s not chaos — it’s compassion.

Rain is a du‘a answered. A dry earth forgiven. A soul reminded that even when things die, Allah can bring life again.

So now when I hear it — “The heavens have opened” — I smile, because I know something deeper:

That the sky weeps not in grief, but in mercy. That the One above is still near. Still responding. Still reviving.