13al-Ra‘dThe Thunderسُورَةُ الرعد

Alif-Lām-Mīm-Ra’ [A-L-M-R]. These [letters and their likes] are [the building block letters of] āyāt of [divine] revelation: and what has been bestowed upon you from far above by your Sustainer is the truth — yet most people will not commit [to its meanings and responsibilities].

It is Allah who has raised the spheres of outer space without any supports that you could [optically] see, and is established on the throne of His almightiness; and He [it is who] has made the Sun and the Moon subservient [to His laws and beneficial to you], each running its course for a term set [by Him]. He governs all that exists. Clearly does He spell out these āyāt [power exhibitions] so that you might be certain in your innermost that you are destined to meet your Sustainer [on Judgement Day].

And it is He who has spread the earth wide and placed on it firm mountains and running waters, and created thereon two sexes of every [kind of] plant; [and it is He who] causes the night to overlay the day. Verily, in all this there are illustrations [of Allah’s ability and authority] indeed for people who think!

And there are on earth [many] tracts of land close by one another [and yet widely differing from one another]; and [there are on it] vineyards, and fields of grain, and date-palms growing in clusters from a similar root or from a dissimilar root, [all] irrigated with the same water: and yet, some of them have We variegated above others by way of the food [its taste and its nutrition that they provide for humans and beasts]. Verily, in all this there are illustrations [of Allah’s clout and control] indeed for people who use their reason!

But if you are amazed [at the marvels of Allah’s creation], amazing, too, is their [the mushriks] saying, “What! After we have become dust, shall we indeed be [restored to life] in a new act of creation?” It is they who [thus show that they] are determined to deny their Sustainer [as a worldly power and a heavenly authority]; and it is they who carry the shackles [of their own making] around their necks; and it is they who are destined for the Fire, therein to abide.

And [since, O Prophet, they are set on denying the truth], they challenge you to hasten the coming upon them of bad consequences instead of [hoping for] good consequences — although [they ought to know that] the exemplary punishments [which they now deride] have indeed come to pass [and destroyed nations] before their time. Now, in actual fact, your Sustainer is full of forgiveness for people despite all their criminal wrongdoing: but, behold, your Sustainer is [also] truly severe in retribution!

However, they who are fixed on denying the truth [about Allah’s authority and power], say, “Why has no [physical] miraculous clue ever been bestowed on him [Muhammad] from on high by his Sustainer?” But you are only a warner; and [from Allah] all people [are entitled to] have a guide.

Allah 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]: for with Him everything is [created] in accordance with its [divinely calculated] scope and purpose.

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 mind — the Great One, the One far above anything that is or could ever be!

It is all alike [to Him] whether any of you conceals his thought 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,

[He, man, should know that] he has hosts of [angelic] helpers — both such as can be perceived by him and such as are hidden from him — who could preserve him from whatever Allah may have willed. Verily, Allah does not change the functional condition of a society unless [its members] change their attitude; and when Allah wills people to suffer harmful outcomes [in consequence to their own evil deeds], there is none who could avert it: for they have none who could protect them from Him.

He it is who displays before you the lightning, to give rise to [both] fear and hope, and calls heavy clouds into being;

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 Allah, notwithstanding [all evidence] that He alone has the power to arrange whatever His unfathomable wisdom determines!

Unto Him [alone] are due all appeals aiming at the ultimate truth and justice, since those [other beings or powers] that are invoked instead of Allah cannot respond to them in any way — [so that he who invokes them is] but like one who stretches his open hands toward [a well of] water, [hoping] that it will reach his mouth, the while it never reaches him. Hence, the appeal of those who deny Allah [His power and authority] amounts to no more than losing oneself in grievous error.

And before Allah prostate themselves, willingly or unwillingly, all [things and beings] that are in the heavens and on earth, as do their shadows in the mornings and the evenings.1

Say, [to the God-deniers] “Who is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth?” Say, “[It is] Allah.” Say, “[Why], then, do you [God-deniers] 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 Allah, other divine powers that have created the like of what He creates, so that this act of creation appears to them to be similar [to His]? Say, “Allah is the Creator of all things; and He is the One who holds absolute sway over all that exists.”

[Whenever] He sends down water from the sky, and [once dry] riverbeds are running high over and above their measure, the stream carries foam on its surface, and, likewise, from that [metal] that they smelt in the fire in order to make ornaments or utensils, [there rises] fizz. In this way does Allah set forth the parable of truth and justice and falsehood and injustice: for, as far as the foam is concerned, it passes away as [does all] dross; but that which is of benefit abides on earth. In this way does Allah set forth the parables

Of those who have responded to their Sustainer with a do-better response, and of those who did not respond to Him. [As for the latter], if they possessed all that is on earth and twice as much, they would surely offer it as ransom [on the Day of Judgement]: a most acute reckoning awaits them, and their lodging-place is Hell: and how terrible a resting-place!

Can, then, he who knows that whatever has been bestowed from on high upon you by your Sustainer is the truth and justice be deemed equal to one who is blind? Only they who are endowed with insight keep this in mind:

They who are true to their bond with Allah and never break their covenant,

And who keep intact what Allah has bidden to be consistent and stand in awe of their Sustainer and fear the most unfavorable reckoning [that awaits such as do not respond to Him];

And who are patient in trying times out of a longing for their Sustainer’s countenance, and who institute their ṣalāh, and spend on others, secretly and openly, out of what We provide for them as sustenance, and [who] repel what is wrong with what is better — it is these who shall find their fulfillment in the hereafter:

Gardens of perpetual bliss, which they shall enter together with the righteous from among their parents, their spouses, and their offspring; and the angels will come to them from every gate [and will say],

“Peace by upon you, because you have persevered [when you were in the world, living your first life]!” How excellent, then, this fulfillment in the hereafter!

But as for those who break their pledge with Allah after it has been established [in their nature or by their will], and discontinue what Allah has deemed consistent, and spread corruption on earth — their due is rejection [by Allah], and theirs is a most indecent dwelling [in the life to come].

Allah grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, to whomever He wills; and they [who are given abundance] rejoice in the life of this world — even though, as compared with the life to come, the life of this world is nothing but a fleeting pleasure.

Now those who insist on rejecting the truth [of the Prophet’s] message say, “Why has no material miraculous sign ever been bestowed upon him [the Prophet] from on high by his Sustainer?” Say, “Behold, Allah lets go astray him who wills [to go astray], just as He guides unto Himself all who turn to Him —

Those who dedicated [themselves to Him], and whose hearts find their rest in the self-awareness of Allah — for, verily, in the self-awareness of Allah, hearts do find their rest.

[And so it is] that they who are committed [to Allah] and do admirable deeds are destined for happiness and the most beauteous of homecoming.

Thus have We raised you [O Muhammad] as Our Apostle amidst a community before whose time [similar] communities have come and gone, so that you might propound to them what We have revealed to you: for [in their ignorance] they deny the Mercy-Giver! Say, “He is my Sustainer. There is no deity/authority except Him. In Him have I placed my trust, and to Him is my recourse!”

Yet even if [they should listen to] a [divine] discourse by which mountains could be moved, or the earth cleft asunder, or the dead made to speak — [they who are in deep denial of the divine truth would still refuse to commit themselves to it]! No, but Allah alone has the power to decide what shall be. Have, then, they who have committed themselves not yet come to know that, had Allah willed so, He would indeed have guided all mankind aright? But as for those who are in serious denial [of Him] — as a result of their [evil] deeds, sudden calamities will always befall them or will alight close to their homes; [and this will continue] until Allah’s promise [of resurrection] is fulfilled: verily, Allah never fails to fulfill His promise!

And, indeed, [even] before your time have [Allah’s] apostles been derided, and for a while I gave rein to those who were [thus] bent on denying the truth [of My authority]: but then I took them to task — and how awesome was My retribution!

Is, then, He who has every living being in His almighty care, [dealing with each] according to what it deserves — [is, then, He like anything else that exists]? And, yet, they ascribe to other beings a share in Allah’s divinity/authority! Say, “Give them any name [you please]: but do you [really think that you could] inform Him of anything on earth that He does not know — or [do you] but play with words?” Rather, those who are in persistent denial [of Allah] their subterfuge appears admirable in their eyes, and so they are turned away from the [right], path: and he whom Allah lets go astray can never find any guide.

For such, there is suffering in the life of this world; but, truly, [their] suffering in the life to come will be more severe, and they will have none to shield them from Allah.

The parable of the paradise promised to those who are on guard [concerning Allah’s immediate power presence is that of a garden] through which running waters flow: [but, unlike an earthly garden], its fruits will be everlasting, and [so will be] its shade. Such will be the destiny of those who remain ever on guard pertaining to Allah [His power and authority] — just as the destiny of those who deny Him will be the Fire.

And they who We have given the scripture [revealed from Allah] rejoice at all that has been bestowed upon you [O Prophet] from on high; but among the followers of other [ideological] orientations there are such as deny the validity of some of it. Say [to them, O Prophet], “I have only been instructed to conform to Allah, and not to ascribe authority/deity to anyone beside Him: unto Him do I call [all humanity], and He is my resort!”

Thus, then, have We bestowed from on high this [divine Writ] as an ordinance in the Arabic language. And, indeed, if you [O Prophet] should defer to their likes and dislikes after all the [divine] knowledge that has come to you, you will have none to protect you from Allah, and none to shield you [from Him].

And, truly, We sent forth apostles before you, and We appointed for them wives and offspring; and it was not given to any apostle to produce a miracle except at Allah’s behest. Every age has had its revelation:

Allah annuls or confirms whatever He wills [of His earlier messages] — for with Him is the source of all revelation.

But whether We let you see [in your lifetime, O Prophet, the fulfillment of] some of what We have promised them [mushriks], or whether We cause you to die [before its fulfillment] — your duty is no more than to deliver the message; and the reckoning is Ours.

Have, then, they [the God-deniers] never yet seen how We visit the earth [with Our punishment], gradually reducing in size [their control of it]? For, [when] Allah judges, there is no power that could repel His judgement: and swift in reckoning is He!

Now those who lived before these [God-deniers] did, too, devise many a conspiracy — but the most subtle devising is that of Allah, who knows what each human being deserves; and the God-deniers will [in time] come to know to whom the future belongs.

And [if] they who are God-deniers say [to you, O Prophet], “You have not been sent [by Allah],” say: “None can bear witness between me and you as Allah does; and [none can bear witness as] he who truly understands this divine Writ.”