al-Māʾ is interpreted in three ways:
1. By māʾ, rain is meant; as in the following verses:
We sent the fertilizing winds and sent down from the sky māʾ (that is, rain). (al-Ḥijr 15:22)
And We sent down from the sky [from above/from the clouds] pure māʾ (that is, rain). (al-Furqān 25:48)
And He sent down upon you from the sky [from above/from the clouds] māʾ (that is, rain) to purify you thereby. (al-Anfāl 8:11)
He sends down māʾ (that is, rain) from the sky... (Luqmān 31:10)
2. al-Māʾ is used in the sense of nutfa (sperm-drop); as in the following verses:
And He created man from māʾ (that is, from nutfa). (al-Furqān 25:54)
From an extract, from a humble māʾ (that is, from nutfa)... (al-Sajda 32:8)
3. By al-Māʾ, the Qur'an is meant; as in the following verse:
Allah sends down from the sky [from above/from the clouds] māʾ (that is, the Qur'an). (al-Naḥl 16:65)
This is a parable given by Allah. Just as water is the basis of life for people, so too is the Qur'an a life for those who have iman (faith) in it.
A similar example is found in al-Baqara.