Indexed OCR Text

187
Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 1 - 4
وَهُوَالَّذِىُ مَدَّ الْأَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ فِيُهَا رَوَاسِىَ وَأَنْهْرًا
And He is the One who spread out the earth and made moun-
tains and rivers therein.
The expression: 'spread out the earth' is not contradictory of its being
round - because each part of something very big and round appears to
be, when looked at separately, nothing but a surface spread out - and the
Qur'an addresses common people in terms of their view of things. Since
a common onlooker sees it as a spread-out surface, therefore, it was iden-
tified as such. Then, to keep it balanced and make it full of other bene-
fits, high and heavy mountains were placed on it. Besides providing
weight and balance, these mountains store and supply water for the
whole creation. To accomplish this, an unimaginably big storage of water
is placed on their peaks in the form of a frozen sea. This snow has no re-
servoir and certainly needs no monolithic structures, overhead or under-
ground, to hold this supply of water. And the water thus stored cannot
go bad or made impure. Then, nature has its own pipelines under the
ground through which water is distributed all over the world. Some-
where they show up in the form of rivers flowing freely alongwith their
tributeries; and at other places, wells are dug to tap water from these
hidden pipelines.
وَمِنُ كُلِّ الثَّمَرْتِ جَعَلَ فِيُهَا زَوْجَيْن :In the next sentence of verse 3, it was said
(and of all the fruits, He created therein the pairs of two). It means
that Allah has created fruits of many kinds from this earth and made
each one of two kinds: small and big, red, white, sweet and sour. It is
also possible that the meaning of 'zawjayn' (pairs) is not restricted to
only two. Instead, it may be refering to several kinds the least number of
which is two, therefore, it was termed as 'the pairs of two.' And it is not
so unlikely that 'pairs' refers to the male and female, as we know about
many trees which have males and females, for example, the date-palm
and the papayah. Possibility of this being the case with other trees as
well does exist, though not yet proved by relevant research about all of
them.
The next sentence of the verse declares: ◌َيُغُشِى الَّيُلَ النَّهَار (He makes the
night cover the day). It means that He brings the night after the light of
the day, as if something bright has been totally screened off from sight.

188
Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 1 - 4
The last sentence of the verse : ◌َإِنَّ فِىُ ذُلِكَ لَأَيْتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُون translated as
'surely, in that there are signs for a people who think,' means that there
is no doubt about the fact that many signs of the most perfect power of
Allah Ta'ala are present all over for those who care to think about and
deliberate in the arrangement and system of this whole universe.
In the fourth verse it was said:
وَفِى الْأَرْضِ قِطَعٌ مُّتَحْوِرْتٌ وَّحَنْتٌ مِّنُ أَعْنَابٍ وَّزَرُعٌ وَّنَخِيُلٌ صِنْوَانٌ وَّغَيْرُ صِنْوَانِ
يُسُقَى بِمَآءٍ وَاحِدٍ قَفْ وَنُفَضِّلُ بَعْضَهَا عَلَى بَعْضٍ فِى الْأُكُلِ
And in the earth there are tracts of land neighboring each
other and gardens of grapes and farms and date-palms, having
twin or single trunks, watered with one water. And We make
some better than others in taste. Surely, in that there are signs
for a people who understand.
Being pointed out here is that many tracts of land, despite being joined
together, are different in their inherent properties. Some are good and
soft, others are saline or hard. Some are good for farming while others
grow gardens, of grapes and dates. Of the date-palms, some grow to have
two trunks like other trees while others have only one.
Then, all these fruits, though they come out of the same land and are
watered by the same water and are touched by the rays of the sun and
the glow of the moon and the draft of different winds in a uniform man-
ner, yet there remains among them the difference of colour and taste and
size.
Despite their being in such proximity with each other, the varied dif-
ference among them is a strong and clear proof of the fact that this
whole system of creation is operating under the command of someone
who is wise and knows how to plan, manage and run His creation. This
has nothing to do with the postulates of the theory of evolution, as some
ignorant people would like to believe. If these were the outcome of the
stages of material development, how could we explain the element of dif-
ference among them despite all matter being common? One fruit grows
on a tract of land in one season while another grows in the other. On one
single branch of one tree, the fruits could be different in kinds, sizes and
tastes!

189
Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 5 - 8
إِنَّ فِىُ ذَلِكَ لَأَيْتٍ لِقَوُمِ يَّعُقِلُونَ :Said in the last sentence of the verse (4) was
(Surely, in that there are signs for a people who understand). It means
that there are in it, absolutely without doubt, many signs of the power
and greatness of Allah Ta'ala which go on to prove that He is One and
that He alone is worthy of worship. By saying that these signs are 'for a
people who understand,' the hint released is that those who do not think
about these things are not the people of understanding, no matter how
highly they are rated and advertized for their intellect and intelligence.
Verses 5 - 8
وَإِنُ تَعُجَبُ فَعَجَبٌ قَوْلُهُمْ ءَ إِذَا كُنَّا تُرْبَاءَ إِنَّا لَفِىُ خَلْق حَدِيْدٍ *
أُولِّكَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُواْ بِرَبِّهِمْ وَأُولَبِكَ الْأَغْلُلُ فِىَّ أَعْنَاقِهِمْ، وَأُولَئِكَ
أَصْحُبُ النَّارِةِ هُمُ فِيْهَا خُلِدُونَ ﴿﴾ وَيَسْتَعْجِلُوْنَكَ بِالسَّئَةِ قَبْلَ
الْحَسَنَةِ وَقَدُ خَلَتُ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمُ الْمَثُلْتُ ، وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَذُوُ مَغْفِرَةٍ لِلنَّاسِ
عَلَى ظُلُمِهِمُ، وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَشَدِيُّدُ الْعِقَابِ ﴿٢﴾ وَيَقُوُلُ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوا
لَوْلاً أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةٌ مِنْ رَّبِّهِ إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مُنْذِرٌ وَلِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ هَادٍ (٣) اللّهُ
يَعُلَمُ مَا تَحُمِلُ كُلُّ أُنْثَى وَمَا تَغْيَضُ الْأَرْحَامُ وَمَا تَزْدَادُ وَكُلُّ شَىْءٍ
عِنْدَهُ بِمِقْدَارٍ ﴿1﴾
And if you wonder, then wonder is their saying, "Is it
that, once we are dust, we are to be created anew?" They
are those who have disbelieved in their Lord, and they
are those who (shall) have shackles round their necks,
and they are the people of the Fire. They shall remain
there for ever. [5]
And they ask for evil to come sooner than good, while
punishments have really come to pass (against people)
earlier to them. And surely, your Lord is the lord of for-
giveness for the people against their wrongdoing, and
surely, your Lord is severe in punishing. [6]
And the disbelievers say, "Why is it that no sign has been
sent down to him from his Lord?" You are but a warner.

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Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 5 - 8
And for every people there is a guide. [7]
Allah knows what every female carries and what the
wombs decrease or increase. And everything has meas-
ure with Him: ... [8]
Commentary
Contained in the first three verses cited above (5-7) there is a refuta-
tion of the doubts expressed by the disbelievers about prophethood.
Alongwith it, added there is a warning of punishment for deniers.
1. The first of the three doubts they had was about people returning
to life after having been dead and according to them, the whole idea of ac-
counting and retribution on the Day of Resurrection was improbable and
irrational. On this basis, they used to belie the prophets and rejected
their claim to prophethood. This doubt of theirs has been mentioned in
هَلُ نَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى رَجُلٍ يُنَبِّئُكُمُ إِذَا مُزِّقْتُمُ كُلَّ مُمَزَّق :the following verse of the Holy Quran
Here, to ridicule the prophets, it has been said by .(34:7) إِنَّكُمُ لَفِىُ حَلْقِ حَدِيدٍ
the disbelievers: 'Come, we shall introduce you to a man who tells you
that you, once dead, shall be shredded into pieces and the molecules of
the earth you are made of shall also spread out all over the earth, then,
at that time, you shall be created anew - Saba, 34:7.'
The Proof of Rising Again After Death
The answer to this doubt of theirs has been given in the first of the
وَإِنْ تَعُجَبُ فَعَجَبٌ قَوْلُهُمْ ءَإِذَا كُنَّا تُرْبَاءَ إِنَّا لَفِىُ :present verses cited above (5) by saying
Here, the address is to the Holy Prophet حَلْق حَدِيدٍ
g. He is being told that
he may be wondering about the attitude of the disbelievers who refuse to
believe in him as a prophet of Allah despite having seen clear signs of
his being a prophet, and strangely enough, at the same time, they go
about believing in lifeless rocks which have neither sense nor conscious-
ness, and who do not have the power to bring benefit to or loss on their
own selves, therefore, they could hardly be expected to grant any benefit
to anyone.
Certainly, far more surprising is their statement: 'Is it that, once we
are dead, we shall be created anew?' The Holy Qur'an has not spelled
out the reason for this 'wonder' explicitly because, in the previous verses,
by describing the wonderous manifestations of the most perfect power of
Allah Ta'ala, it has been proved that He is the master of absolute power.

191
Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 5 - 8
It is He who brought the entire creation from the state of non-being into
the state of being. Then, He endowed into the being of everything so
many varied elements of wisdom which human beings cannot even com-
prehend fully. From this it is obvious that the Being who can make so-
mething come into existence for the first time from total nothingness
shall hardly have any difficulty in making it come into existence once
again. When human beings try to make something new, they do have to
remove some difficulties the first time they do it. But, when they wish to
make the same thing again, things become easy.
Thus, what is really surprising is that these disbelievers do seem to
believe that the Creator has created the whole universe with limitless
wisdom. How then, can they consider its recreation as improbable and ir-
rational?
Perhaps, the big problem before the deniers is what happens after
death. After death, when dust returns to dust, whatever human beings
are composed of gets spread out all over the earth. Winds carry them far
and wide besides other causes, agents and means helping human re-
mains get dispersed universally. Then, there will come that promised
Day of Doom, the Qiyamah. Then, they wonder, how could all that scat-
tered dust be put together, and how, even if gathered together, can they
be made to rise again (as they were)?
But, what they fail to see is that the form in which they exist at that
time holds the key to their problem with comprehension. Is it not that
particles from all over the world lie gathered together in them while they
exist? Particles brought by water and wind from the far and near corners
of the world get mingled with human intake and become part of a per-
son's body. Most of the time the poor soul is not even aware of the fact
that the morsel of food going down his or her throat comes from God
knows how many areas of the world, Africa, America, or the countries of
the Asian continent. Is it not that there is only One such Being who,
through His wonderous wisdom and mastery of management, has made
every single human being, and animal, stand to exist by assembling to-
gether scattered particles from all over the world? Now, if He can do that
today, how can this become difficult for him tomorrow? Why would he
not be capable of reassembling all those scattered particles back into the
form they were? Specially so, when all powers of the world, the wind and

192
Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 5 - 8
water and the rest, are subservient to Him and obey His command. If He
elects to beckon the wind, the water and the atmosphere to come forth
and deposit all particles they contain, would they not but obey? Why
would this be any problem and why would its impossibility bother any-
one?
The truth of the matter is that the disbelievers have simply failed to
recognize the power of Allah Ta'ala. They think of His Power on the anal-
ogy of their own power - though everything in the heavens and the earth
and in what lies in between them does possess a comprehension and con-
sciousness of their relative status in the scheme of the Divine arrange-
ment of things, and they pointedly move under Divine command.
In short, what is a matter of surprise is the refusal of the disbeliev-
ers to believe in the truth of prophethood. And what is still more surpris-
ing is their refusal to believe in rising again on the day of Judgement
and in having to stand to account for their deeds on that day!
After that, mention has been made of the punishment of hostile de-
niers of the truth. It has been said that these people not simply that
they refuse to accept a prophet of Allah as such; rather what they do in
reality is that they deny the very existence of their Lord. Their punish-
ment will be that shackles will be placed round their necks and they
shall live in Hell for ever.
2. The second doubt expressed by the deniers of the Holy Prophet
was: 'If you are, in reality, the prophet and messenger of Allah, then, the
warnings of punishments you announce against the opponents of proph-
ets should materialize - why is it that this punishment would not come?
The answer given appears in the next verse in the following words:
يَسْتَعُجلُوْتَكَ بِالسَّئَةِ قَبْلَ الْحَسَنَةِ وَقَدُ خَلَتُ مِنُ قَبْلِهِمُ الْمَثُلْتُ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَذُوْ مَغْفِرَةٍ
لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى ظُلَمِهِمُ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَشَدِيُدُ الْعِقَابِ
'And they ask for evil to come sooner than good (by saying: If
you are a prophet, let us have your promised punishment now -
which shows that they take the coming of the Divine punish-
ment as something very far-removed or virtually impossible) al-
though punishments have really come to pass against people
earlier to them, (which have been witnessed by others.)
Now, if the punishment is to come to them, why should it be taken as so-
- ---------
....
.....-
... .

193
Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 5 - 8
mething far out, or impossible? Here, the word: HEJ (al-mathulat) is the
plural form of a (mathula) and it means a punishment which puts a per-
son in disgrace before everyone and proves to be a lesson for all others.
After that it was said that there is no doubt that your Lord is, de-
spite the sinning and disobeying of people, the Lord of forgiveness and
mercy as well. And for people who do not take advantage of this forgive-
ness and mercy and elect to stick to their disobedience and contumacy,
then, for them He is 'severe in punishing' as well. Therefore, they should
not misunderstand the attributes of Allah's forgiveness and mercy and
reach the conclusion that punishment simply cannot come to them.
3. The third doubt of the disbelievers was: As for the miracles of the
Holy Prophet 5, they had seen many of them. But, why would he not
show the specific miracles demanded by them? This has been answered
وَيَقُوُلُ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوا لَوْلًا أُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ أَيَّةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِ إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مُنْذِرٌ :in the third verse (7) by saying
l' JK (that is, in order to raise an objection against the prophethood
of Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa
", they say) 'Why has the specific
miracle they demand has not been shown by him?' The answer is clear.
The showing of a miracle is not within the control of a prophet or messen-
ger. Instead, that is directly an act of God. It is He who elects to show a
miracle, of whatever kind, at any time, and in His wisdom - all as deter-
mined by Him alone. He is not restricted by or burdened with anyone's
demand or desire. Therefore, it was said: ◌ٌإِنَّمَآ أَنْتَ مُنذِر (You are but a war-
ner), that is, the Holy Prophet af is there only to warn disbelievers
against Divine punishment - showing miracles is not his mission.
Said in the last sentence of the verse was: ◌ٍوَلِكُلّ قَوْم هَاد It means that
there have been guides for every people among past communities. You
are not the lone prophet. The standard mission of all prophets was to
guide their people, warn them of the punishment of Allah, but none of
them were given the power and control to show miracles. It is Allah who
shows miracles of His choice whenever He chooses to do so.
Is it Necessary that a Prophet appears among every People and
in every Country?
The statement: 'And for every people there is a guide' proves that no
people and no region can remain unvisited by those who call towards
Allah Ta'ala and guide people to the straight path. It may be some proph-

194
Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 5 - 8
et himself, or could be someone propagating the call of his deputy - as it
appears in Surah Ya Sin where the initial sending of two persons as de-
puties to the prophet of the time to a certain people has been mentioned.
Sent to carry the call and give guidance, these two persons were proph-
ets in their own right. Then, also mentioned there is the sending of a
third person to help and support them in their mission.
Therefore, this verse does not make it necessary that some prophet
or messenger of Allah has also appeared in India. However, it stands
proved that learned people who carried the call of the prophet and told
people about his teachings came to this part of the world as well. Then,
it is already common knowledge that many such 'guides' have also ap-
peared here.
Upto this point, in the first three verses cited above, there was the
answer of the doubts expressed by the deniers of prophethood. In the
fourth verse (8), we see a return to the principal theme of Tauhid (The
Oneness of Allah) which started appearing since the beginning of the
اللّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحُمِلُ كُلُّ أُنْثَى وَمَا تَغِيُضُ الْأَرْحَامُ وَمَا تَزْدَادُ وَكُلُّ شَىْءٍ :Surah. Here, it was said
Man tone It means that Allah Ta'ala knows everything about what every
woman carries in her womb - a boy or girl, beautiful or otherwise, good
or evil - and about why wombs of women decrease or increase, that is,
about the time of delivery, whether early, in due time, or late.
Stated in this verse is a particular attribute of Allah Ta'ala: That He
is the Knower of the Unseen ('Alim al-Ghayb). He is aware of the minut-
est of this entire universe and that of everything created in it, and He is
most comprehensively informed of all changing conditions of each such
particle. Mentioned alongwith it is the fact of all-inclusive and most per-
fect knowledge of every stage, every change, and every trait in the com-
plex process of human procreation. For instance, it is He alone who has
the ultimate knowledge - the most sound, the most certain - of female
pregnancy - a boy or girl? Or, both? Or, nothing but the accumulation of
clusters of water or gas? Whatever opinion a physician gives in this mat-
ter as based on clinical indicators and educated guess cannot be taken to
be any more than strong likelihood or estimate. There are times when
things turn out to be otherwise. Even Xrays and more modern Imaging
techniques fail to unravel the reality of this phenomena as due. We can
only say that its real and certain knowledge can be credited only to Allah

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Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 9 - 15
Ta'ala. This is what has been stated in another verse of the Qur'an
which says: ◌ِوَيَعُلَمُ مَا فِى الأَرْحَام (And He knows whatever there is in wombs -
Luqman, 31:34).
The word: ' (taghidu : decrease) is used in the sense of becoming
less or dried up. In the present verse, set against the word: 35's (tazdad :
increase), it becomes clear that, at this place, it means decrease. Thus, it
means that the most correct and sound knowledge of 'what the wombs
decrease or increase' rests with none but Allah Ta'ala. This 'increase'
and 'decrease' could be referring to the increase or decrease in the num-
ber of children to be born, that is, whether the womb contains only one
child, or has more than one. It is also possible that it may be denoting
the increase or decrease in the period of actual delivery of the child, that
is, in how many months, days, and hours, this pregnancy will translate
into the outward physical existence of a human being. This too is someth-
ing the absolutely certain knowledge of which cannot be claimed by any-
one other than Allah Ta'ala.
Tafsir authority Mujahid has said that the blood excreted by a
woman in pregnancy becomes the cause of decrease in the size and
health of the fetus. The Qur'anic expression: y ('the wombs de-
crease') means this decrease - and the truth of the matter is that the
words of the verse cover decreases of all kinds, therefore, no contradic-
tion exists here.
Said in the last sentence of verse 8 is: كُلُّ شَيْءٍ عِندَهُ، بمِقُدّار (And everyth-
ing has measure with Him). It means that there can be no decrease or in-
crease from the norm set with Allah Ta'ala. All states through which a
child-to-be-born passes are also included under this statement, that is,
everything pertaining to such a child lies determined with Allah who
knows for how many days the child will stay in the womb, then, for how
long it will continue to live in the world, and how much of sustenance it
will receive. This matchless knowledge of Allah Ta'ala is an open proof of
His Oneness (Tauhid).
Verses 9 - 15
عْلِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ الْكَبِيرُ الْمُتَعَالِ ﴿٤﴾ سَوَآءٌ مِّنْكُمُ مَّنُ آَسَرَّ

196
Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 9 - 15
الْقَوْلَ وَمَنْ جَهَرَبِهِ وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِالَّيْلِ وَسَارِبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ ﴿١﴾
لَهُ مُعَقِّتٌ مِّنُ بَيْنِ يَدَيُّهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُوْنَهُ مِنْ آَمْرِاللهِ ﴿ إِنَّ اللّهَ
لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِرُوا مَا بِأنْفُسِهِمْ ، وَإِذَا آَرَادَ اللّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُؤَّءً
ا فَلاَ مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَمَا لَهُمُ مِّنْ دُونِهِ مِنُ وَالٍ ﴿١١) هُوَالَّذِىُ يُرِيُّكُمُ
الْبَرُقَ خَوْفًا وَّطَمَعًا وَيُنُشِئُ السَّحَابَ الِقَالَ ﴿٢﴾ وَيُسَّبِّحُ الرَّعُدُ
بِحَمُدِهٍ وَالْمَلَئِكَةُ مِنْ خِيُفَتِهِ وَيُرُسِلُ الصَّوَاعِقَ فَيُصِيْبُ بِهَا مَنْ
يَّشَآءُ وَهُمْ يُجَادِلُونَ فِى اللهِ وَهُوَ شَدِيْدُ الْمِحَالِ ﴿١٣) لَهْ دَعُوَةُ
الْحَقِّءُ وَالَّذِينَ يَدْعُوُنَ مِنْ دُوْنِهِ لاَيَسْتَجِيْبُوْنَ لَهُمُ بِشَىْءٍ إِلَّ
كَبَاسِطِ كَفََّّهِ إِلَى الْمَآءِ لِيَبْغَ فَاهُ وَمَا هُوَ بِبَالِغِهِ* وَمَادُعَاءُ الْكُفِرِيُنَ
إِلاَّ فِىُ ضَلَلٍ ﴿٤﴾ وَلِلّهِ يَسْجُدُ مَنْ فِى السَّمُوْتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ طَوْعًا
وَكَرُهَا وَظِلُهُمُ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْإِصَالِ (١٤)
- the Knower of the hidden and the manifest, the Great,
the High. [9]
Alike (for Him) is he, from among you, who speaks quiet-
ly and he who speaks aloud, and he who hides in the
night and he who walks out in the day. [10]
For him there are angels replacing each other, before
him and behind him, who guard him under the com-
mand of Allah. Surely, Allah does not change what is in
a people until they change what is in themselves. And
when Allah intends evil for a people, there is no way to
turn it back, and for them there is no patron other than
Him. [11]
He is the One who makes you see the lightening in fear
and hope and forms the heavy clouds. [12] And the
thunder proclaims His purity with His praise, and (so
do) the angels, out of His awe. and He sends the thunder-
bolts and strikes with it whom He wills. And they are
quarrelling about Allah, and He is stern in His plan. [13]
For Him is the prayer in truth. And those who pray to

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others than Him are not responded to by them at all, but
they are like one who stretches his hands towards water
so that it may reach his mouth (by itself), while it is not
to reach it. And the prayer of the disbelievers does not
but go astray. [14]
And to Allah bow in prostration all who are in the heav-
ens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and their
shadows as well in morns and eves. [15]
Commentary
The theme of the exclusive attributes of the perfection of Allah Ta'ala
continues. Starting earlier than the verses cited above, this theme is ac-
tually an array of proofs concerning the Oneness of Allah. Onwards from
عْلِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ :the previous verse (9), it was said in the first verse (10) here
JEJ "KJ (- the Knower of the hidden and the manifest, the Great, the
High). The word: EJ (al-ghayb : the hidden, the unseen) means that
which is absent from the reach of human senses, that is, which cannot
be seen with eyes, nor heard with ears, nor smelt with the nose, nor
tasted with the tongue, nor sensed by touching with hands.
As for: &4 &Ji (ash-shahadah : manifest, present), it stands in contrast
to 'al-ghayb' or the hidden and denotes what can be found out by using
human senses mentioned above. The verse means that it is the very ex-
clusive attribute of Allah Ta'ala that He knows everything hidden
(al-ghayb) precisely as He knows the manifest, present and existing.
The word: " (al-kabir) means the great and JuEs (al-muta'al)
means the high, above. The sense conveyed by these two words is that
He is great and far above the attributes of what He has created. Though
the disbelievers and polytheists did confess to the great and exalted
state of the Being of Allah Ta'ala, in a general way, but were obviously
misguided by a lack of proper perception when they took Allah Ta'ala on
the analogy of common human beings and went on to associate such at-
tributes to him as were far too removed from His great majesty. For in-
stance, the Jews and the Christians attributed a son for Allah, while oth-
ers suggested for Allah a body and its parts just like those of human
beings, and still others tried to prove direction and orientation for Him.
But, the fact is that Allah is far above, absolutely pure and free of all
such conditions and attributions. It should be kept in mind that, in order
to emphasize His absolvement from all such human attributions, He has

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repeatedly reminded us in the Quran: ◌َسُبُحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يَصِفُون that is, 'Allah is
pure and free from what these people attribute to Him.' (21:22; 23:91;
37:159; 37:180)
The perfection of the knowledge of Allah Ta'ala was described in L'e
the Knower of the hidden and the manifest) appearing in the) الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ
first sentence (9) as well as in اللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحُمِلُ كُلُّ أُنُفى (Allah knows what every
woman carries) in the verse previous to it (8). Mentioned in the second
sentence here: JEJ "KJ (the great, the high) is the power and greatness
of Allah for His power and reach is far beyond any human calculation.
Also in the verse which follows, the same perfection in knowledge and
power has been pointed to in a particular manner. There it has been
said:
سَوَآءٌ مِنْكُمُ مَّنْ آَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَنْ جَهَرَبِهِ وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ ) بِلَيْلِ وَسَارِبٌ ) بِالنَّهَارِ
Alike [for Him] is he, from among you, who speaks quitely and
he who speaks aloud, and he who hides in the night and he
who walks out in the day - 10.
The expression: ◌َاسَرَّالْقَوْل (speaks quietly) is a derivation from: أسرار (as-
rar) which means secret talk and: > (jahr) means open talk. When one
talks to be heard by others, it is called jahr and what one says for his
own hearing is called sirr. The word: 2 (mustakhfin) refers to one
who hides, and: ) (sarib) means one who walks his way freely.
The verse means that, because of the all-encompassing knowledge of
Allah Ta'ala, the one who talks quietly or secretly and the one who talks
loudly and openly are both equal in His sight. He hears and knows what
they say, identically and uniformly. Similarly, there is the person hiding
in the darkness of the night and there is another walking freely in open
daylight. Both of them are alike in terms of His knowledge and power,
since He knows all inward and outward conditions of both alike and His
power surrounds them both alike and just no one is outside His power
and control. An elaboration of this point appears in the next verse in the
following words:
لَهُ مُعَقِبْتٌ مِّنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنُ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُوْنَهُ، مِنْ أَمْرِاللّهِ
For him there are angels replacing each other, before him and
behind him, who guard him under the command of Allah - 11.
The word: ' (mu'aqqibat) is the plural form of mu'aqqibah. A

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group which comes concurrently behind another group is called mu'aqqi-
bah or muta'aqqibah (hence, the translation: 'replacing each other'). The
expression : ◌ِمِنُ بَيْنِ يَدَيُّه (min bayni yadayhi) literally means in between the
two hands. It denotes the direction in front of a person. And: sil- , (wa
min khalfihi) means 'behind him.' The particle: 3 (min) in the state-
ment: atsi' (min amrillah) has been placed here to serve as the ba' (4)
of causation. It has been used here in the sense of: Just (bi amrillah:
under the command of Allah). In some readings (Qira'aat) of the Qur'an,
this word has also been reported as: Just (bi amrillah). (Ruh al-Ma'ani)
1
The verse means that for all human beings - whether one conceals
what one says, or discloses it; or, similarly, one wishes to hide one's
movement under the dark cover of the night, or goes about walking free-
ly and openly in broad daylight - there are groups of angels appointed
from Allah who provide a security cordon for them from in front of them
and from behind them. Their hours of service and duty keep changing, so
they keep replacing each other one after the other. The assignment given
to them under the command of Allah is that they should protect human
beings.
According to a Hadith of the Sahih of Al-Bukhari, there are two
groups of angels who have been appointed to guard human beings, one
for the day, and another for the night. These groups meet together dur-
ing the prayers of Fajr and 'Aşr. The night guards depart after the Salah
of Fajr and the daytime guards take over. Then, they leave after the
Salah of'Aşr and the night guards resume their duty.
As reported by Sayyidna 'Ali al-Murtada 4
in a Hadith of Abu Daw-
ud, for every human being there are guardian angels appointed to pro-
tect him or her. It is their duty to keep guarding them lest a wall or so-
mething else falls over them, or they stumble into a ditch or cave, or
some animal or man causes hurt or harm to them. However, when the
will of Allah itself stands enforced against a person condemned to suffer
from some hardship or calamity, the guarding angels move away from
the site. (Ruh al-Ma'ani)
From a narration of Sayyidna 'Uthman al-Ghani 4ee
as in a Hadith
of Ibn Jarir, we know that the duty of these guarding angels is not limit-
ed to protecting human beings from worldly discomforts and hardships

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Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 9 - 15
only, instead, they also try to dissuade them from sins and do their best
to keep them safe. They would go on infusing in their hearts the urge to
do good and fear Allah, so that, through these, they would stay away
from sinning. Now, if they still fall into sin by becoming neglectful of the
angelic inspiration, they nevertheless pray for him and try that the sin-
ner would somehow hasten to repent and become cleansed of the sin.
After that, if the sinner fails to take any warning and refuses to correct
himself, then, they write down a sin in his Book of Deeds.
In short, these guarding angels keep protecting human beings
against the unwelcome happenings of both the present world and the
world to come, all the time, awake or asleep. The well-known Tabii,
Ka'b Al-Ahbār J All >, says: Should this protective Divine cordon be
removed from around human beings, the Jinns would make their lives
difficult. But, all these protective arrangements work only until such
time as the Divine decree permits them to remain operative. Now, if
Allah Ta'ala Himself wills to let a servant of His suffer, this arrange-
ment of protection stands dismissed.
This has been elaborated in the next verse in the following manner:
إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُغَيّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِرُوْا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمُ وَإِذَا آَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُؤْءًا فَلاَمَرَدَّ لَه
وَمَالَهُمْ مِنْ دُوْنِهِ مِّنْ وَالٍ
Surely, Allah does not change what is in a people until they
change what is in themselves. And when Allah intends evil for
a people, there is no way to turn it back, and for them there is
no patron other than Him - 11.
It means that Allah Ta'ala does not change the state of peace and secur-
ity enjoyed by a people into a state of distress and instability until such
time that those people themselves change their deeds and ways into evil
and disorder. And when a whole people change to commit themselves
and their surrounding conditions into rank contumacy and disobedience,
then, Allah Ta'ala too changes His way with them. And it is obvious
that, should Allah Ta'ala Himself intend evil and punishment for any-
one, then, there is no way that could be averted and there is no one who
can rise to help them out against the Divine decree.
The outcome is that human beings remain actively protected by an-
gels under the command of Allah Ta'ala, but should a people become un-

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Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 9 - 15
grateful for His blessings and forsake being obedient to him only to take
to evil doings and become contumacious in the end, then, the posse of
protection posted by Allah Ta'ala is called off duty. At that time, the
wrath and punishment of Allah Ta'ala descends upon them and there re-
mains no way they could escape from these.
This explanation tells us that the 'change' referred to in the cited
verse means: When a people abandon gratitude and obedience and settle
for a change to worse around them, then, Allah Ta'ala too brings about a
change in His way of mercy and protection.
According to a common explanation of this verse, no positive revolu-
tion appears among a people unless they themselves do not correct condi-
tions around them to bring about that positive revolution. There is a
very popular Urdu couplet by poet Hali which carries this very sense:
غدافي آج تك اس قوم كى حالت غير يدلى
موجكوخيال آپ انی حالت ے بد لت كا
To this day, God has never changed the condition of a people
Who have no plan of changing their condition themselves.
What has been said here is, no doubt, correct to a certain extent.
But, this is not the sense of the Verse cited here. And its being correct
too has to be viewed in terms of a general principle, that is, for a person
who has no intention of correcting himself, there is no promise of help
and support from Allah Ta'ala. Instead, this promise is valid under the
condition that someone would himself think and do something about it -
as we learn from the noble verse: وَالَّذِيْنَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهدِيَنَّهُمُ سُبُلَنَا (that is, 'those
who strive in Us, them We do lead to Our paths - (29:69)' which tells us
that the pathways of guidance from Allah Ta'ala too open up only when
the urge to have such guidance is present there. But, Divine blessings
are not bound by this restriction. They would, at times, come even with-
out it.
Take our own existence and its countless blessings. These are not the
outcome of our effort, nor had we ever prayed that we be given such a
presence with eyes, nose, ears and rest of the most perfect body. These
are wonderful blessings - and we have them without having to ask for

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them. However, the right to deserve blessings and to become worthy rece-
pients of the fruits of the Divine promise cannot be received without
making one's own effort to earn it - and should a people keep waiting for
Divine rewards without putting in the due effort and deed, it would
amount to nothing but self-deception.
هُوَ الَّذِىُ يُرِيُكُمُ الْبَرُقَ خَوْفًا وَّطَمَعًا وَيُنُشِىءُ السَّحَابَ:12 After that, it was said in verse
Juy It means that it is Allah Ta'ala Who makes you see the lightening
and the thunder which can become a matter of fear for human beings
lest it may destroy what it strikes. Then, it has a dimension of hope too
by raising expectations that rains may follow the thunder, rains which
support animal and human lives. And then, He is the One who lifts
heavy and huge clouds up from the surface of the sea as the monsoons
and carries these water-laden clouds post-haste through the atmosphere
to places near and far off and has them deliver their rains over lands He
chooses in accordance with His decree and corresponding to the measure
determined by Him.
In the next verse (13), it was said:وَيُسَبِّحُ الرَّعُدُ بِحَمُدِهِ وَالْمَلْئِكَةُ مِنْ خِيُفَتِه (And
the thunder proclaims His purity with His praise, and [so do] the angels,
out of His awe). In Arabic usage, the word: LeiJi (Ar-Ra'd) refers to the
sound of the clouds generated by their collision. The sense of 5 (Tas-
bih: the glorification of Allah) mentioned here is that of the same Tasbih
about which it has been said in another verse of the Qur'an: 9:3. 35
And there is nothing in the heavens and the' يُسَبِّحُ بحَمُدِهِ وَلَكِنُ لاَّ تَفْقَهُوُنَ تَسْبِيُحَهُمْ
earth which does not glorify Allah, but they do not understand their glo-
rification' - (17:44).
And it appears in some narrations of Hadith that Ar-Ra'd is the
name of the angel appointed to bring rains. In terms of this sense, the re-
citing of Tasbih is obvious.
Said in the next sentence 12 is: ◌ُوَيُرُسِلُ الصَّوَاعِقَ فَيُصِيبُ بِهَا مَنْ يَّشَاء (And He
sends the thunderbolts and strikes with it whom He wills). The word:
selfall (aş-sawa'iq) is the plural form of as-sa'igah which is the name of
the thunderbolt that strikes the earth. The sense of the verse is that it is
Allah who sends these thunderbolts down upon the earth and, with
these, He strikes whom He wills.
The last sentence of this verse is: وَهُمُ يُحَادِلُونَ فِى اللَّهِ وَهُوَ شَدِيدُ الْمِحَال (And

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Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 16 - 17
they are quarrelling about Allah, and He is stern in His plan). The word:
JE JI (al-mihal: with Kasrah on the initial letter Mim) has been used
here in the triple sense of stratagem and plan, and retribution and pun-
ishment, and in the sense of power as well. The verse means that (it is in
the background of what has been stated above) that these people are
busy with debates and altercations about the truth of Allah's Oneness -
despite the fact that Allah Ta'ala has the ultimate power whose plan
overtakes all and nothing works against it.
Verses 16 - 17
قُلُ مَنْ رَّبُّ السَّمُوْتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ﴿ قُلِ اللّهُ، قُلُ أَفَاتَّخَذْتُمُ مِنْ دُونِهَ
أَوْلِيَآءَ لاَ يَمْلِكُونَ لَِنْفُسِهِمْ نَفْعًا وَّلاَضَرَّاء قُلُ هَلُ يَسْتَوِى الْأَعْمَى
وَالْبَصِيْرُهُ أَمْ هَلُ تَسْتَوَى الظُّلُمْتُ وَ النُّوْرُةُ أَمْ جَعَلُوا لِلَّهِ شُرَّكَآءَ
خَلَقُوا كَخَلْقِهِ فَتَشَابَهَ الْخَلْقُ عَلَيْهِمْ ، قُلِ اللّهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ
وَّهُوَالْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ ﴿١٦) أَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءٍ فَسَالَتُ أَوْدِيَةٌ"
بِقَدَرِهَا فَاحْتَمَلَ السَّيْلُ زَبَدًا رَّابِيًا * وَمِمَّا يُوُ قِدُونَ عَلَيْهِ فِى النَّار
انْتِغَاءَ حِلْيَةٍ أَوْ مَتَاعٍ زَبَدٌ مِثْلُه، ﴿ كَذَلِكَ يَضْرِبُ اللّهُ الْحَقَّ وَالْبَاطِلَةُ
فَأَمَّا الزَّبَدُ فَيَذُ هَبُ جُفَآءٍ وَأَمَّا مَا يَنُفَعُ النَّاسَ فَيَمُكُثُ فِى الْأَرْضُِ
كَذَلِكَ يَضْرِبُ اللهُ الْآَمْثَالَ ﴿١٧﴾
Say, "Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?" Say,
"Allah." Say, "Have you, then, taken others than Him as
protectors who possess no power to cause benefit or
harm even to themselves?" Say, "Is it that a blind person
and a sighted one are equal, or that (all sorts of) the
darkness and the light are alike?" Or, have they made
partners with Allah who created as He created, and thus
the creation seemed to them alike? Say, "Allah is the
Creator of all things, and He is the One, the All-Domi-
nant."[16]
He sent down water from the heavens, so the wadis
flowed according to their measure, and the flood
carried bulging foam. And a similar foam comes up from

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Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 18 - 24
what they melt in fire to obtain ornaments or other
objects. This is how Allah depicts the truth and the
untruth. As for the foam, it gets to be thrown away,
while that which benefits people remains on the earth.
This is how Allah brings out the parables. [17]
Commentary
The outcome of both parables is that foam does appear prominent for
a while on the real thing, but it finally gets to be thrown away and the
real thing remains. Similar is the case of the false. Though the false
may, for a short while, appear to have overcome the true, but the false is
finally subdued and eliminated and that which is true remains and
stands manifestly proven. (Tafsir Al-Jalalayn)
Verses 18 - 24
لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَحَابُوا لِرَبّهِمُ الْحُسُنى ﴿ وَالَّذِيْنَ لَمْ يَسْتَجِيْبُوْا لَهُ لَوْ أَنَّ
لَهُمُ مَّا فِى الْأَرْضِ جَمِيْعًا وَّمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ، لَاَفْتَدَوْا بِهِ * أُولَكَ لَهُمُ سُؤَءُ
الْحِسَابِ " وَمَأُوْنُهُمُ جَهَنَّمُ، وَفُسَ الْمِهَادُ (١)﴾ آَفَمَنْ يَّعْلَمُ أَنَّمَّاً
أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَّبِّكَ الْحَقُّ كَمَنُ هُوَ اَعُمَى « إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُولُوا
الْأَلْبَابِ ﴿٢﴾ الَّذِيْنَ يُؤْقُونَ بِعَهُدِ اللهِ وَلاَ يَنْقُضُوُنَ الْمِيْثَاقَ ﴿٢﴾
وَالَّذِيْنَ يَصِلُونَ مَآ أَمَرَ اللهُ بِهِ أَنْ يُوُصَلَ وَيَخْشَوُنَ رَبَّهُمْ وَيَخَافُونَ
سُؤَّءَ الْحِسَابِ ﴿٢﴾ وَالَّذِيْنَ صَبَرُوا ايْتِغَاءَ وَجُهِ رَبِّهِمُ وَأَقَامُوا
الصَّلْوَةَ وَأَنْفَقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنُهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً وَيَدْرَءُ وُنَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ
السَِّئَةَ أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ عُقْبَى الدَّارِ ﴿٢﴾ حَنْتُ عَدُنِ يَّدُخُلُوْنَهَا وَمَنْ
صَلَحَ مِنْ أَبَِّهِمُ وَأَزْوَاجِهِمُ وَذُرِّتِهِمْ وَالْمَلِكَةُ يَدْ خُلُوُنَ عَلَيْهِمُ مِّنْ
كُلِّ بَابٍ ﴿ٌ﴾ سَلْمٌ عَلَيْكُمُ بِمَا صَبَرْتُمُ فَنِعُمَ عُقُبَى الدَّارِ﴿٢٤﴾
For those who obey their Lord there is the best of re-
wards. And those who do not obey Him (shall be in a
plight that) even if they possess all that is on earth, rath-
er twice as much, they would offer it in ransom. For

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Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 18 - 24
these there is the worst of reckoning. And their abode is
the Hell, and it is an evil bed. [18]
Now, is the one who knows that whatever has been re-
vealed to you from your Lord is the truth, equal to one
who is blind? Only the people of understanding respond
to the advice --- [19] those who fulfill (their) pledge with
Allah and do not break the covenant, [20] and those who
maintain the relations Allah has commanded to be main-
tained and fear their Lord and are frightful of evil reck-
oning, [21] and those who observe patience in order to
seek the pleasure of their Lord and establish Salah and
spend from what We have given to them secretly and
openly, and repel evil with good. Those are the ones for
whom there is the ultimate abode, [22] the eternal gard-
ens they enter, and the righteous of their fathers,
spouses, and progeny as well. And the angels shall enter
onto them from every gate [23] (saying) "Peace on you for
the patience you observed. So, good is the ultimate
abode." [24]
Commentary
Truth and Falsehood were explained through parables in verses ap-
pearing previous to those cited above. Now, in the present verses, there
is a description of the distinguishing marks and attributes of the people
of Truth and the people of Falsehood, alongwith a description of their
good and bad deeds, and their reward and punishment.
The first verse (18) carries a description of the good return reserved
for those who obey Divine injunctions and act in accordance with them,
and conversely, of the severe punishment for those who disobey them
and act negatively.
In the second verse (19), the two groups have been identified as the
sighted and the blind through a parable and, at the end, it was said: J
SUMILJ,"'S & that is, 'only the people of understanding respond to the ad-
vice.' It means what has been exemplified here is, though, fairly clear
and obvious, yet it can only be understood and appreciated by those who
have their essential reason intact with them. Those who have their fa-
culty of reason all impaired by heedlessness and disobedience cannot
understand a difference so great.
From the third verse (20) begins a description of particular deeds and

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Surah Al-Ra'd : 13 : 18 - 24
marks which distinguish the two groups. Taken up first are the attrib-
utes of those who believe in and obey Divine injunctions. The initial at-
tribute mentioned is: ◌ِالَّذِينَ يُوُفُوُنَ بعَهُدِ اللَّه (those who fulfill [their] pledge with
Allah). It covers all promises and pledges taken by Allah Ta'ala from His
servants, the very first of which was the Divine Covenant taken in eter-
nity before an assembly of all spirits, that is: J (Am I not your
Lord?) in answer to which, everyone had unanimously said: { (Yes, why
not? Surely, You are our Lord). Similarly, the different pledges taken by
Allah Ta'ala regarding the obedience of Divine injunctions, fulfillment of
assigned duties, abstinence from things impermissible as ordered by
Allah have been mentioned in different verses of the Qur'an.
The second attribute mentioned here is: ◌َوَلاَ يَنقُضُوْنَ الْمِيثَاق (and they do
not break the covenant). It includes all covenants, including pledges
between Allah and His servants which have been pointed out right here
in the first sentence as: Jorge (their pledges with Allah). Also included
here are the pledges given by the people of a religious community to
their prophet or messenger, as well as the contracts and pacts which one
human being enters into with the other.
Based on a narration by Sayyidna 'Awf ibn Malik de , Abu Dawud
has reported that the Holy Prophet
" took a pledge ('Ahd and Bay'ah)
from the noble ahabah that they would not associate anyone with Al-
lah, and perform Salah punctually five times every day, and obey their
authorities, and would never stretch their hands for anything before any
human being.
People who were parties to this solemn pledge were so true to their
word of honour that, should they happen to drop their whip from their
hand while riding, they would never ask anyone to pick up and hand
over that whip to them. Instead of that, they would get down from their
mount and pick it up themselves.
That the noble Sahabah did so was the result of the great feeling of
love and the passionate desire to obey their master in their hearts. Oth-
erwise, it was fairly obvious that he had never intended to stop them
from making a request of this nature. This is very much like what hap-
pened when Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud 4ee was entering the Masjid
on a certain occasion. He saw that the Holy Prophet
¿ was addressing a