Surah 13. Ar-Ra'd

And [since, O Prophet, they are bent on denying the truth,] they challenge thee to hasten the coming upon them of evil instead of [hoping for] good¹⁴ - although [they ought to know that] the exemplary punishments [which they now deride] have indeed come to pass before their time. Now, behold, thy Sustainer is full of forgiveness unto men despite all their evildoing:¹⁵ but, behold, thy Sustainer is [also] truly severe in retribution!

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "they ask thee to hasten the evil before the good": i.e., instead of willingly accepting the guidance offered them by the Prophet, they mockingly challenge him to bring about the exemplary punishment with which, according to him, God threatens them. (For a fuller explanation of this "challenge", referred to here and in several other places in the Qur'an, see {6:57-58} and 8:32 , as well as the corresponding notes.)

Cf. the first sentence of 10:11 and the corresponding note [17].

They ask you to hasten on the evil (Allah's scourge) rather than the good, although there have been instances of exemplary punishments before them. In fact your Rabb is the Lord of Forgiveness to the people, notwithstanding their wrongdoing; and it is also the fact that your Rabb is stern in retribution.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they bid thee hasten on the evil rather than the good, when exemplary punishments have indeed occurred before them. But lo! thy Lord is rich in pardon for mankind despite their wrong, and lo! thy Lord is strong in punishment!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

However, they who are bent on denying the truth [refuse to believe and] say, "Why has no miraculous sign ever been bestowed on him from on high by his Sustainer?"¹⁶ [But] thou art only a warner; and [in God] all people have a guide.¹⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., to prove that he (Muhammad) is really a prophet inspired by God. But the Qur'an makes it clear in several places (e.g., 6:7 and {111}, {10:96-97} or 13:31 ) that even a miracle would not convince those who are "bent on denying the truth".

According to the classical commentators, this sentence lends itself to several interpretations: (1) "Thou art only a warner; and every nation has had a guide like thee (i.e., a prophet)" - which would be in consonance with the Qur'anic doctrine of the continuity of prophetic guidance; or (2) "Thou art only a warner - but [at the same time] also a guide unto all people" - which would stress the universality of the Qur'anic message as contrasted with the time-bound and ethnically limited missions of the earlier prophets; or (3) "Thou art only a warner bound to do no more than deliver the message entrusted to thee, while it is God alone who can truly guide men's hearts towards faith". Since the last of the above three interpretations is the most plausible and has, moreover the support of 'Abd Allah ibn'Abbas, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Mujahid and Ad-Dahhak, I have adopted it in my rendering. According to Zamakhshari, this interpretation is further strengthened by the subsequent reference to God's omniscience.

The unbelievers say: "Why is not a sign sent down to him (Muhammad) from his Rabb?" You are nothing but a Warner and every nation was assigned a guide.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who disbelieve say: If only some portent were sent down upon him from his Lord! Thou art a warner only, and for every folk a guide.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

God knows what any female bears [in her womb], and by how much the wombs may fall short [in gestation], and by how much they may increase [the average period]:¹⁸ for with Him everything is [created] in accordance with its scope and purpose.¹⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

The term untha denotes any female being, whether human or animal. The "falling short" may refer either to a shortening of the usual period of gestation (e.g., to seven months in human beings) or to a falling short of the completion of pregnancy, i.e., a miscarriage; it is to be noted that the noun ghayd signifies "an abortive foetus" (Taj al-'Arus), i.e., in human beings, a foetus less than seven months old. The "increase", on the other hand, may mean either the completion of gestation or its being in excess of the average period (as, for instance, the occasional lengthening of human pregnancy from the usual period of about 280 days to 305 or, according to some medical authorities, even 307 days). In addition to this, God's knowledge of "what any female bears [in her womb]" obviously relates also to the sex of the unborn embryo as well as to the number of offspring involved in one pregnancy. - As the sequence shows, this reference to the mysteries of gestation, fully known only to God, is meant to bring out the idea that He who knows what is in the wombs knows also the innermost disposition of every human being and the direction in which that human being will develop.

Lit., "according to a measure" (bi-miqdar) - i.e., in accordance with the particular purpose for which it has been created, the exigencies of its existence and the role which it is destined to play within God's plan of creation.

Allah knows what every female bears in her womb. He is fully aware of what decrease or increase (miscarriage or a long wait) takes place in the womb. Everything has a due measure with Him.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah knoweth that which every female beareth and that which the wombs absorb and that which they grow. And everything with Him is measured.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind²⁰ - the Great One, the One far above anything that is or could ever be!²¹

  - Mohammad Asad

See surah {6}, note [65].

God's attribute al-muta'al, which occurs in the Qur'an only in this one instance, denotes His infinite exaltedness above anything existing or potential; also, according to Zamakhshari, above anything that could be circumscribed by human definitions. (See in this connection the last sentence of 6:100 and the corresponding note [88].)

He has perfect knowledge of both the visible and the invisible. He is the Great, the Most High.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He is the Knower of the invisible and the visible, the Great, the High Exalted.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

It is all alike [to Him] whether any of you conceals his thought²² or brings it into the open, and whether he seeks to hide [his evil deeds] under the cover of night or walks [boldly] in the light of day,²³

  - Mohammad Asad

The term qawl denotes, primarily, "a saying" or "an utterance", but it is also used tropically in the sense of "an idea", irrespective of whether it is expressed in actual words (as a statement an assertion, a formulated doctrine, etc.) or merely conceived in the mind (e.g., an opinion, a view, or a connected set of ideas). Since in the above verse this term obviously refers to unspoken thoughts, I have rendered it accordingly.

Lit., "and goes forth by day" - i.e., commits evil deeds openly (Ibn 'Abbas, as quoted by Baghawi and Razi). In the Arabic construction, the sentence reads thus: "All alike [to Him] is he from among you who conceals his thought (al-qawl) and he who brings it into the open, as well as he who...," etc.

It is the same to Him whether any of you speak in secret or aloud, whether anyone hides under the darkness of night or walks about in broad daylight.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Alike of you is he who hideth the saying and he who noiseth it abroad, he who lurketh in the night and he who goeth freely in the daytime.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[thinking that] he has hosts of helpers - both such as can be perceived by him and such as are hidden from him²⁴ - that could preserve him from whatever God may have willed.²⁵ Verily, God does not change men's condition unless they change their inner selves;²⁶ and when God wills people to suffer evil [in consequence of their own evil deeds], there is none who could avert it: for they have none who could protect them from Him.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "from between his hands and from behind him". As in 2:255 , the expression "between his hands" denotes "something that is perceivable by him" or "evident to him", while that which is "behind him" is a metonym for something "beyond his ken" or "hidden from him". See also next note.

Lit., "from God's command (amr)". The rendering of the above passage hinges on the meaning given to the term mu'aqqibat - a double plural of mu'aqqib, which signifies "something that comes immediately after another thing" or "succeeds another thing without interruption". Most of the classical commentators understand by mu'aqqibat "hosts of angels", i.e., the recording angels who attend on every human being, succeeding one another without interruption. Consequently, they interpret the phrase min bayni yadayhi wa-min khalfihi as meaning "ranged before him and behind him", i.e., surrounding man from all sides; and they explain the words "from God's command" as being here synonymous with "by God's command", and take them to refer to the angels or to their function of guardianship. However, this interpretation has by no means the support of all the commentators. Some of the earliest ones assume that the term mu'aqqibat refers to all manner of worldly forces or concepts on which man so often relies in the mistaken belief that they might help him to achieve his aims independently of God's will: and this is the meaning given to this elliptic passage by the famous commentator Abu Muslim al-Isfahani, as quoted by Razi. Explaining verse {10} and the first part of verse {11}, he says: "All alike are, in God's knowledge, deeds done secretly or openly, as well as he who hides in the darkness of night and he who walks [boldly] in the light of day...: for he that resorts to the [cover of] night can never elude God's will (amr), just as he [cannot] that walks in the light of day, surrounded by hosts of helpers (mu'aqqibat) - that is, guards and aids - meant to protect him: [for] those guards of his cannot save him from [the will of] God." It is on this convincing interpretation that I have based my rendering. The worldly "guards and aids" on which a sinner relies may be tangible (like wealth, progeny, etc.) or intangible (like personal power, high social standing, or the belief in one's "luck"): and this explains the phrase "both such as can be perceived by him and such as are hidden from him" (see preceding note).

Lit., "that which is in themselves". This statement has both a positive and a negative connotation: i.e., God does not withdraw His blessings from men unless their inner selves become depraved (cf. 8:53 ), just as He does not bestow His blessings upon wilful sinners until they change their inner disposition and become worthy of His grace. In its wider sense, this is an illustration of the divine law of cause and effect (sunnat Allah) which dominates the lives of both individuals and communities, and makes the rise and fall of civilizations dependent on people's moral qualities and the changes in "their inner selves".

Each person has been assigned guardian angels before him and behind him, who watch him by the command of Allah. The fact is that Allah never changes the condition of a people until they intend to change it themselves. If Allah wants to afflict a people with misfortune, none can ward it off, nor they can find any protector besides Him.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

For him are angels ranged before him and behind him who guard him by Allah's command. Lo! Allah changeth not the condition of a folk until they (first) change that which is in their hearts; and if Allah willeth misfortune for a folk there is none that can repel it, nor have they a defender beside Him.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

HE IT IS who displays before you the lightning, to give rise to [both] fear and hope,²⁷ and calls heavy clouds into being;

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., hope of rain, which in the Qur'an frequently symbolizes faith and spiritual life. With this verse, the discourse returns to the theme enunciated at the beginning of this surah (verses {2-4}): namely, to the evidence of a consciously devised plan and purpose inherent in all nature and, thus, of the existence of God.

He is the One Who shows you lightning, which causes fear and hope, and brings up heavy clouds (with rain).

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He it is Who showeth you the lightning, a fear and a hope, and raiseth the heavy clouds.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and the thunder extols His limitless glory and praises Him, and [so do] the angels, in awe of Him; and He [it is who] lets loose the thunderbolts and strikes with them whom He wills. And yet they stubbornly argue about God,²⁸ notwithstanding [all evidence] that He alone has the power to contrive whatever His unfathomable wisdom wills!²⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., about His transcendental existence or the quality of His Being.

According to Raghib, the expression shadid al-mihal (which occurs in the Qur'an only in this one place) signifies "powerful in contriving, in a manner hidden from man, that wherein wisdom lies"; hence my rendering.

The thunder declares His glory with His praises and so do the angels with awe. He is the One Who sends thunderbolts and smites with them whomever He wants. Yet these unbelievers dispute concerning Allah; He is mighty in strength.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The thunder hymneth His praise and (so do) the angels for awe of Him. He launcheth the thunder bolts and smiteth with them whom He will while they dispute (in doubt) concerning Allah, and He is mighty in wrath.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Unto Him [alone] is due all prayer aiming at the Ultimate Truth,³⁰ since those [other beings or powers] whom men invoke instead of God³¹ cannot respond to them in any way - [so that he who invokes them is] but like one who stretches his open hands³² towards water, [hoping] that it will reach his mouth, the while it never reaches him. Hence, the prayer of those who deny the truth amounts to no more than losing oneself in grievous error.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "His is the call [or "invocation"] of the truth"; or, possibly, "to Him [alone] is due all true invocation". It should, however, be remembered that the term al-haqq ("the Truth") is one of the Qur'anic attributes of God, signifying the Ultimate Reality or Primal Cause of all that exists (the Urgrund in German philosophical terminology): consequently, the expression da'wat al-haqq may be understood in the sense of "prayer directed towards Him who is the Ultimate Reality", implying - as the sequence clearly states - that the invocation of any other being, power or principle is eo ipso wrong and futile.

Or: "side by side with God".

Lit., "his two palms".

Praying to Him Alone is the right thing. The other deities they pray to, besides Him, cannot answer their prayers. They are like a man who stretches forth his hands to the water and asks it to reach his mouth. It cannot reach his mouth this way; likewise the prayer of the unbelievers is nothing but a fruitless effort.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Unto Him is the real prayer. Those unto whom they pray beside Allah respond to them not at all, save as (if the response to) one who stretcheth forth his hands toward water (asking) that it may come unto his mouth, and it will never reach it. The prayer of disbelievers goeth (far) astray.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And before God prostrate themselves, willingly or unwillingly, all [things and beings] that are in the heavens and on earth,³³ as do their shadows in the mornings and the evenings.³⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

The expression yasjud ("prostrates himself" or "prostrate themselves") is a metonym for complete submission to His will (Zamakhshari), that is, to the natural laws decreed by Him with regard to everything that exists. According to most of the classical commentators, those who submit to God willingly (i.e., consciously) are the angels and the believers, whereas the deniers of the truth, who are "not willing" to submit to Him, are nevertheless, without being conscious of it, subject to His will. However, in view of the subsequent reference to "shadows" it is logical to assume that the relative pronoun man relates in this context not merely to conscious beings but also to all other physical objects, whether animate or inanimate - i.e., to "all things and beings that are in the heavens and on earth". (See also {16:48-49} and 22:18 .)

I.e., the varying lengths of the shadow projected by any material object depend on the position of the sun in relation to the earth; and since the earth's rotation around the sun is - as everything else in the universe - an outcome of God's creative will, the greater length of a shadow in the morning and evening and its contraction towards noon visibly expresses the shadow's subjection to Him.

Whatever is in the heavens and the earth do prostrate before Allah Alone willingly or unwillingly, and so do their shadows in the mornings and evenings.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And unto Allah falleth prostrate whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the morning and the evening hours.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say "Who is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "[It is] God." Say: "[Why,] then, do you take for your protectors, instead of Him, such as have it not within their power to bring benefit to, or avert harm from, themselves?" Say: "Can the blind and the seeing be deemed equal? - or can the depths of darkness and the light be deemed equal?" Or do they [really] believe that there are, side by side with God, other divine powers³⁵ that have created the like of what He creates, so that this act of creation appears to them to be similar [to His]?³⁶ Say: "God is the Creator of all things; and He is the One who holds absolute sway over all that exists."

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "do they assign to God partners...", etc. - i.e., beings that supposedly have a share in God's divinity and/or His creative power. (See also surah {6}, note [15].)

Although the term khalq ("creation" or "act of creation") is often used metaphorically with reference to human achievements, there is an intrinsic difference between the "creation" of an artist, a poet or a philosopher, and the act of creation as attributed to God: for whereas the human "creator" produces his work out of already-existing elements and does no more than bring those elements together in a (possibly) new combination, God alone has the power to create in the true sense of the word - that is, to bring into being something that did not exist, either in its entirety or in its components, before this particular act of creation (cf. 2:117 -"when He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it, 'Be'- and it is"). This is the significance of the allusion, in the above verse, to the erroneous belief that any other power or being could ever have "created the iike of what He creates".

Ask them: "Who is the Rabb of the heavens and the earth?" If they hesitate to respond, say: "Allah." Then ask them: "When this is the fact, why do you take other deities, besides Him, who do not control any benefit or harm even to themselves, as your protectors?" Say: "Are the blind and the seeing equal? Or can the darkness and light be equal?" If that is not so, then, have their shoraka' (other deities they worship) created any thing like His creation which has made the matter of creation doubtful for them? Say: "Allah Alone is the Creator of everything and He is the One, the Irresistible."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say (O Muhammad): Who is Lord of the heaven and the earth? Say: Allah! Say: Take ye then (others) beside Him for protectors, which, even for themselves, have neither benefit nor hurt? Say: Is the blind man equal to the seer, or is darkness equal to light? Or assign they unto Allah partners Who created the like of His creation so that the creation (which they made and His creation) seemed alike to them? Say: Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Almighty.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[Whenever] He sends down water from the sky, and [once-dry] river-beds are running high³⁷ according to their measure, the stream carries scum on its surface;³⁸ and, likewise, from that [metal] which they smelt in the fire in order to make ornaments or utensils, [there rises] scum. In this way does God set forth the parable of truth and falsehood: for, as far as the scum is concerned, it passes away as [does all] dross; but that which is of benefit to man abides on earth. In this way does God set forth the parables

  - Mohammad Asad

The interpolation of the adjective "once-dry" before "river-beds" (awdiyah) is necessitated by the absence of the definite article al before this noun. According to Zamakhshari, this indicates that only some of the river-beds are streaming with water while others, not affected by this particular rainfall, remain dry. It is to be borne in mind that the term wad (or wadi in popular parlance) denotes, primarily, a "water-course" or "river-bed" which is normally dry and carries water only after copious rainfalls; it is only by extension that this term is sometimes applied to an actual river.

Sc., "while the water beneath remains clear".

He sends down water from the skies and each channel starts flowing according to its measure, and then the torrent bears a swelling foam - like the scum which appears from metal which are melted in the furnace for making ornaments and utensils. By such examples Allah depicts truth and falsehood. As for the scum, it is thrown away, being worthless, but that which is useful for the mankind remains behind on the earth. In this way Allah cites examples to make His message clear.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He sendeth down water from the sky, so that valleys flow according to their measure, and the flood beareth (on its surface) swelling foam from that which they felt in the fire in order to make ornaments and tools riseth a foam like unto it thus Allah coineth (the similitude of) the true and the false. Then, as for the foam, it passeth away as scum upon the banks, while, as for that which is of use to mankind, it remaineth in the earth. Thus Allah coineth the similitudes.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

of those who have responded to their Sustainer with a goodly response, and of those who did not respond to Him.³⁹ [As for the latter,] if they possessed all that is on earth, and twice as much,⁴⁰ they would surely offer it as ransom [on the Day of Judgment]:⁴¹ a most evil reckoning awaits them, and their goal is hell: and how evil a resting-place!

  - Mohammad Asad

This rendering is based on Zamakhshari's interpretation of the above passage. According to other commentators, the beginning of verse {18} is independent of the last sentence of the preceding verse, and is a new sentence, reading thus: "For those who have responded to their Sustainer there is the ultimate good (al-husna) [in store; but as for those who did not respond to Him...", etc. In my opinion, Zamakhshari's reading - in which the expression al-husna is regarded as an adjective qualifying the believers' response - is preferable inasmuch as it fully justifies the repetition of the reference to "God's parables".

Lit., "and the like of it with it".

Cf. 3:91 and the corresponding note [71].

There is an excellent reward for those who respond to the call of their Rabb. As for those who do not respond to Him - even if they had all that is in the earth, and as much besides, to offer as a ransom in order to save themselves from punishment, it would be of no use. They are the ones who will have terrible reckoning; their abode will be hell - what an evil resting place.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

For those who answered Allah's call is bliss; and for those who answered not His call, if they had all that is in the earth, and therewith the like thereof, they would proffer it as ransom. Such will have a woeful reckoning, and their habitation will be hell, a dire abode.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

CAN, THEN, he who knows that whatever has been bestowed from on high upon thee by thy Sustainer is the truth be deemed equal to one who is blind? Only they who are endowed with insight keep this in mind:

  - Mohammad Asad

How can the one who knows that which has been revealed to you from your Rabb is the Truth, be like the one who is blind to this fact? Only those who use their common sense benefit from this reminder.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Is he who knoweth that what is revealed unto thee from thy Lord is the truth like him who is blind? But only men of understanding heed;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

they who are true to their bond with God and never break their covenant;⁴²

  - Mohammad Asad

The "covenant" is, in this context, a general term embracing the spiritual obligations arising from one's faith in God and the moral and social obligations, resulting from that faith, towards one's fellow-men (Zamakhshari); see in this connection the first sentence of 5:1 (where the term 'aqd is used) and the corresponding note [1]. As regards my rendering of 'ahd Allah as "bond with God", see surah {2}, note [19].

They are the ones who fulfill their covenant with Allah and do not break their pledge;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Such as keep the pact of Allah, and break not the covenant;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall