Ibn 'Abbas said, "The rainbow is security for the people of the
earth that they will not be drowned. The Milky Way is the door of the heavens
and forms a furrow through it."
Abu'l-Harith al-Kirmani heard a man say to Abu Raja', "I greet
you and I ask Allah to join both of us together in the Abiding Abode of
His mercy." Abu Raja' said, "Is anyone capable of that?" He continued,
"What is the Abiding Abode of His mercy?" "The Garden," the man replied.
"That is not correct," he said. The man asked, "Then what is the Abiding
Abode of His mercy?" "The Lord of the Worlds," he replied.
Ibn Abbas said, "The Milky Way is one of the gates of the heavens.
The rainbow is security from being destroyed by flood after the people
of Nuh, peace be upon him."
