Lightning is a Sign from Allah

The roar of lightning and the flash of light are manifestations of the great power of God and a special warning from God to mankind. If he wants, he can punish his disobedient servants by using this lightning. However, Allah does not always treat His servants as harshly as punishment. For Allah is the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, and the Most Forgiving.
The Holy Qur’an says that lightning is one of the signs of Allah’s power, which He has placed to warn His beloved servants. He can punish anyone at any time if he wants. Although Allah, the Most Merciful, does not do that in all cases. Allah revealed a unique surah called lightning. In that Surah, Allah says about thunderbolts,
وَيُسَبِّحُ الرَّعْدُ بِحَمْدِهٖ وَالْمَلٰۤـٮِٕكَةُ مِنْ خِيْفَتِهٖ ۚ وَيُرْسِلُ الصَّوَاعِقَ فَيُصِيْبُ بِهَا مَنْ يَّشَآءُ وَهُمْ يُجَادِلُوْنَ فِى اللّٰه‌ۚ ِ وَهُوَ شَدِيْدُ الْمِحَالِؕ
“The thunder glorifies His praises, as do the angels in awe of Him. He sends thunderbolts, striking with them whoever He wills. Yet they dispute about Allah. And He is tremendous in might.” (Surah Ar Ra’d: verse 13)
Allah says:
تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمٰوٰتُ السَّبْعُ وَالْاَرْضُ وَمَنْ فِيْهِنَّ‌ؕ وَاِنْ مِّنْ شَىْءٍ اِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهٖ وَلٰـكِنْ لَّا تَفْقَهُوْنَ تَسْبِيْحَهُمْ‌ؕ اِنَّهٗ كَانَ حَلِيْمًا غَفُوْرًا
“Praise be to Allaah.There is nothing on earth that does not proclaim His praise, holiness and majesty;) But you do not understand their holiness and majesty.” (Bani Isra’il, 44).
And it is said in the hadith that the name of the angel engaged in raining is Ra’d (Tirmidhi 3116). Allah reveals lightning in the sky. It can also be a source of fear for people, because it burns everything to ashes. Again, it gives hope that after the lightning, there will be rain, which is the mainstay of human and animal life.
Allah is full of knowledge and strength. Those who have foolish hearing can only hear the roar in the clouds, but those who have the sense of hearing can see the signs of God’s infinite power in the thunder. Seeing the power and infinite strategy of Allah, all the other angels including the angels who are in charge of blowing the clouds also recite tasbih in fear of him. Human activity is the main cause of lightning. The more disobedience, fornication, adultery, injustice and oppression increase in the world, the more various kinds of disasters will increase in the world.
Tafsir Ibn Abbas, published by the Royal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Jordan, states in his commentary on these two verses:
“(He [Allah] shows you the lightning) – rain, it is a fear for the wayfarer, because it will make his clothes wet. Rises above that which contains the rain.”
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Your Almighty Lord has said: If My slaves had obeyed My command, I would have rained on them at night, given them the sun in the morning, and I would never have heard their thunder. Elsewhere, when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) heard the roar of the clouds, he would stop talking and recite this verse – ‘Subhanallaji Yusabbihur Raddu Bihamdihi wal Mala-Iqatu Min Khi-Fatihi’. That is, I am proclaiming the holiness of the entity whose sanctification is the roar of the clouds with His praise. And the angels praise with fear. The beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught his ummah various prayers for protection from lightning. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) heard the sound of thunder, he used to say, Elsewhere, the person who hears the sound of thunder and recites this prayer, ‘Subhanallahi wa Bihamdihi’, will not be hit by lightning.” (Al Hadith)