13

Al-Raʿd

Makkan Period

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

[1] Alif. Lām. Mīm. Rā’. These are the verses of the Divine Book. Whatever has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, and yet most (of your) people do not believe.

[2] It is Allah Who has raised the heavens without any supports that you could see,¹ and then He established Himself on the Throne (of Dominion). And He it is Who has made the sun and the moon subservient (to a law), each running its course till an appointed term. He governs the entire order of the universe and clearly explains the signs² that you may be firmly convinced about meeting your Lord.

[3] He it is Who has stretched out the earth and has placed in it firm mountains and has caused the rivers to flow. He has made every fruit in pairs, two and two, and He it is Who causes the night to cover the day. Surely there are signs in these for those who reflect.

[4] And on the earth there are many tracts of land neighbouring each other. There are on it vineyards, and sown fields, and date palms: some growing in clusters from one root, some standing alone. They are irrigated by the same water, and yet We make some excel others in taste. Surely there are signs in these for a people who use their reason.

[5] And were you to wonder, then wondrous indeed is the saying of those who say: “What! After we have been reduced to dust, shall we be created afresh?” They are the ones who disbelieved in their Lord;3 they are the ones who shall have shackles around their necks.⁴ They shall be the inmates of the Fire, wherein they will abide for ever.

[6] They challenge you to hasten the coming of evil upon them before the coming of any good,5 although people who followed a like course before had met with exemplary punishment (from Allah). Verily your Lord is forgiving to mankind despite all their wrong-doing. Verily your Lord is also severe in retribution.

[7] Those who refused to believe in you say: “Why has no (miraculous) sign been sent down upon him from his Lord?” You are only a warner, and every people has its guide.

[8] Allah knows what every female bears; and what the wombs fall short of (in gestation), and what they may add. With Him everything is in a fixed measure. [9] He knows both what is hidden and what is manifest. He is the Supreme One, the Most High.

[10] It is all the same for Him whether any of you says a thing secretly, or says it loudly, and whether one hides oneself in the darkness of night, or struts about in broad daylight. [11] There are guardians over everyone, both before him and behind him, who guard him by Allah’s command. Verily Allah does not change a people’s condition unless they change their inner selves. And when Allah decides to make a people suffer punishment, no one can avert it. Nor can any be of help to such a people against Allah.

[12] He it is Who causes you to see lightning that inspires you with both fear and hope, and He it is Who whips up heavy clouds. [13] The thunder celebrates His praise and holiness,6 and the angels, too, celebrate His praise for awe of Him. He hurls thunderbolts, striking with them whom He wills while they are engaged in disputation concerning Allah. He is Mighty in His contriving.

[14] To Him alone should all prayer be addressed,⁷ for those to whom they do address their prayers beside Him are altogether powerless to respond to them. The example of praying to any other than Allah is that of a man who stretches out his hands to water, asking it to reach his mouth, although water has no power to reach his mouth. The prayers of the unbelievers are a sheer waste. [15] All that is in the heavens and the earth prostrates itself, whether willingly or by force, before Allah;8 and so do their shadows in the morning and in the evening.⁹

[16] Ask them: “Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?” Say: “Allah.” Tell them: “Have you taken beside Him as your patrons those who do not have the power to benefit or to hurt even themselves?” Say: “Can the blind and the seeing be deemed equals? Or can light and darkness be deemed equals?” If that is not so, then have those whom they associate with Allah in His Divinity ever created anything like what Allah did so that the question of creation has become dubious to them? Say: “Allah is the creator of everything. He is the One, the Irresistible.”

[17] Allah sends down water from the heavens and the river-beds flow, each according to its measure, and the torrent carries along a swelling scum. In like manner, from that metal which they smelt in the fire to make ornaments and utensils, there arises scum like it. Thus does Allah depict truth and falsehood. As for the scum, it passes away as dross; but that which benefits mankind abides on the earth. Thus does Allah explain (the truth) through examples.

[18] There is good reward for those who respond to the call of their Lord. And those who do not respond to their Lord, (a time will come when) they shall offer all they have – even if they have all the riches of the world and the like of it besides to redeem themselves (from the chastisement of Allah). They will be subjected to a severe reckoning and Hell shall be their refuge. What a wretched resting place it is!

[19] He who knows that the Book which has been sent to you from your Lord is the Truth, is he like him who is blind to that truth? It is only people of understanding who take heed: [20] those who fulfil their covenant with Allah and do not break their compact after firmly confirming it; [21] who join together the ties which Allah has bidden to be joined; who fear their Lord and dread lest they are subjected to severe reckoning; [22] who are steadfast in seeking the good pleasure of their Lord; who establish Prayer and spend both secretly and openly out of the wealth We have provided them, and who ward off evil with good. Theirs shall be the ultimate abode [23] – the Ever-lasting Gardens which they shall enter and so shall the righteous from among their fathers, and their spouses, and their offspring. And angels shall enter unto them from every gate, and say: [24] “Peace be upon you. You merit this reward for your steadfastness.” How excellent is the ultimate abode! [25] As for those who break the covenant of Allah after firmly confirming it, who cut asunder the ties that Allah has commanded to be joined, and who create corruption in the land: Allah’s curse shall be upon them and theirs shall be a wretched abode (in the Hereafter).

[26] Allah grants the provision to whomsoever He wills Abūndantly and grants others in strict measure. They exult in the life of the world, although compared with the Hereafter, the life of the world is no more than temporary enjoyment.

[27] Those who have rejected (the message of Muḥammad) say: “Why has no sign been sent down upon him from his Lord?” Tell them: “Allah lets go astray those whom He wills, and guides to Himself those who turn to Him.” [28] Such are the ones who believe (in the message of the Prophet) and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah. Surely in Allah’s remembrance do hearts find rest. [29] So those who believe (in the message of the Truth) and do good are destined for happiness and a blissful end.

[30] Thus have We sent you as a Messenger10 to a community before which many other communities have passed away that you may recite to them whatever We have revealed to you. And yet they deny the Lord of Mercy. Say to them: “He is my Lord, there is no god but Him. In Him I have placed all my trust and to Him I shall return.”

[31] And what would have happened were a Qur’ān to be revealed wherewith mountains could be set in motion, or the earth cleft, or the dead made to speak? (To show such signs is not at all difficult for) everything rests entirely with Allah.11 So, do not the people of faith (still look forward to such a sign in response to the demand of the unbelievers and) despair as a result of knowing that had Allah so willed, He could have guided all to the Truth.¹² Misfortune continues to afflict the unbelievers on account of their misdeeds, or to befall on locations close to their habitation. This will continue until Allah’s promise (of chastisement) is fulfilled. Indeed Allah does not go back upon His promise. [32] Surely the Messengers before you were ridiculed, but I always initially granted respite to those who disbelieved, and then I seized them (with chastisement). Then, how awesome was My chastisement!

[33] Is it, then, in regard to Him Who watches over the deeds of every person that they are acting blasphemously by setting up His associates? Tell them: “Name those associates (if Allah Himself has made them His associates)! Or are you informing Allah of something the existence of which He does not even know?” Or do people arbitrarily utter empty words? Indeed, their foul contriving has been made to seem fair to the unbelievers13 and they have been barred from finding the Right Way. Whomsoever Allah lets go astray will have none to guide him. [34] They shall suffer chastisement in the life of the world, and surely the chastisement of the Hereafter is even more grievous. None has the power to shield them from (the chastisement of) Allah. [35] And such will be the Paradise promised to the God-fearing: rivers will flow beneath it, its fruits will be eternal, and so will be its blissful shade. That is the ultimate destiny of the God-fearing while Fire is the destiny of the unbelievers.

[36] Those upon whom We bestowed the Scriptures earlier rejoice at the Book revealed to you, while there are also some among different groups that reject part of it. Tell them: “I have only been commanded to serve Allah and not to associate anyone with Him. To Him do I call, and to Him is my return.” [37] And it is with the same directive that We revealed to you this Arabic Writ. Were you indeed to follow the vain desires of people after the true knowledge has come to you, none will be your supporter against Allah, and none will have the power to shield you from His punishment.

[38] We indeed sent many Messengers before you and We gave them wives and children;14 and no Messenger had the power to produce a miraculous sign except by the command of Allah. Every age has its own (revealed) Book. [39] Allah effaces whatever He wills and retains whatever He wills. With Him is the Mother of the Book.¹⁵

[40] (O Prophet), whether We make you see a part of the punishment that We have threatened them with come to pass during your life-time, or We take you away before that happens, your duty is no more than to convey the Message, and it is for Us to make a reckoning. [41] Do they not see that We are advancing in the land, diminishing it by its borders on all sides?¹⁶ Allah judges, and no one has the power to reverse His judgement. He is swift in reckoning. [42] Those who lived before them also devised many a plot, but the master plot rests with Allah. He knows what everyone does. The deniers of the truth will soon come to know whose end is good.

[43] The unbelievers claim that you have not been sent by Allah. Tell them: “Allah is sufficient as a witness between me and you; and so also do those who know the Scriptures.”

1. In other words, the heavens were raised without anything perceptible to support them. There is nothing tangible in space which holds the virtually infinite number of heavenly bodies together. Nevertheless, there is a force – an imperceptible one – which keeps each heavenly body exactly where it belongs and regulates its orbit. This force also prevents these immense bodies from colliding with the earth or with each other.

2. There are many signs which indicate that the information about the ultimate truths provided by the Prophet (peace be on him) is indeed fully reliable. If one looks around with open eyes there are innumerable signs spread across the heavens and the earth which testify to the truths which the Qur’ān invites people to accept.

3. The unbelievers’ denial of the After-Life amounts to denying God, to denying His power, and to denying His wisdom. For they do not simply call into question that human beings will be resurrected. Implicit in their rejection of the After-life is the idea that God either lacks the power to create human beings afresh, or the wisdom to recognize the need to do so.

4. The Qur’ānic statement that “they are the ones who shall have shackles around their necks,” means that they are prisoners of their ignorance and obduracy, prisoners of their lusts, and prisoners of uncritical adherence to their ancestral ways. It is because of all this that they have become incapable of thinking independently. They are too strongly bound by their preJūdīces to appreciate that the Hereafter is inevitable. They continue to deny it despite the fact that reason and common sense require that the present life be followed by another.

5. That is, they are demanding that God’s chastisement might hastily smite them.

6. The thunder of the clouds shows that it is God Who causes the winds to blow, vapours to rise, heavy clouds to accumulate, the lightning to flash, and the clouds to bring about the downpour which provides His creatures with water. All this shows that God’s wisdom and power are absolute; that He is perfect and free from all defect; that none shares with Him in His Godhead. For those who are not appreciative of their distinct humanity and thus look upon the thunder in the manner of brutes hold that thunder is no more than a deafening sound from the clouds. But those who have ears that are capable of heeding the truth realize that thunder proclaims God’s unity.

7. To “address all prayer to God” signifies one’s calling upon God to come to one’s aid. People ought to do so because the power needed to fulfil man’s purposes and to remove his difficulties and distress lies with God alone. Hence, it is quite appropriate to address all prayers to Him, and to Him alone.

8. Prostration refers to bowing down in obeisance, to carrying out a command, and to lowering oneself in submission to someone.

9. The prostration of shadows before God refers to the falling of the shadows on the earth: to the west, in the morning, and in the afternoon to the east. This symbolizes the subjection of those objects to God’s will and command.

10. That is to say that the Prophet (peace be on him) was sent without any signs of the kind which the unbelievers had asked for.

11. The true reason for not showing miraculous signs was not that God had no power to do so but because this was inconsistent with God’s scheme of things. For the true purpose of that scheme was not so much to drive some people into affirming the prophethood of some Prophet, but to help them attain true guidance. Such a purpose can only be achieved by reforming people’s outlook and re-orienting their thinking pattern.

12. Had the purpose merely been that people should believe without understanding and without being rationally convinced then perhaps God did not have to show miraculous signs. That purpose could have been achieved by simply creating all human beings as born believers.

13. The association of others with God in His Divinity by the unbelievers has been branded as a “foul contriving”. For the celestial bodies or angels or spirits or saints which are said to be God’s associates in His attributes, powers and rights have never made any such claims. They do not ask the unbelievers to worship or bow down before them. It is merely a contriving of some unscrupulous human beings who, in order to establish their own control over ordinary people and to usurp their earnings, have invented false gods and have misled people into becoming their devotees. This enabled them to exploit people under the claim that they were the authorized representatives of those so-called gods.

14. This is the answer to another objection hurled at the Prophet (peace be on him). The unbelievers decried him for being one like ordinary mortals in so far as his life was also encumbered with such worldly concerns as those relating to spouse and children. They were at a loss to appreciate how someone was God’s Messenger who could also have the sexual urge that would prompt him to marry, whereas the Quraysh prided themselves on being the descendants of the Prophets Abraham and Ishmael.

15. The expression Umm al-kitāb (“Mother of the Book”) which occurs in the verse refers to that “Original Book” which is the source of all heavenly scriptures.

16. The opponents are reminded that Islam’s influence was spreading to every nook and cranny of Arabia. This naturally meant the shrinking of the unbelievers’ influence and the growing pressure upon them. Did these facts not indicate that they were heading towards their doom? What God says here, viz. “We are advancing in the land,” is a very subtle and refined way of indicating the direction of the change which was then taking place. Since Islam is from God, Who supports the propounders of that message, the spread of Islam has been characterized as the advance of God Himself.