Surah 13. Surah Ar’rad (The Thunder)
Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
- Alif Lam Meem Raa
These are Signs from the Book,
And they have been revealed to you
From your Rabb, in Truth.
However, most among humankind
Have no certainty of faith. - Allah is He
Who has raised aloft the heavens
Without pillars visible to you.
Then He established the Throne,
And made the sun and the moon follow the Command,
They all move in their orbits for a time determined.
He it is who plans all events.
He describes His Signs in detail
So that you have certainty of faith
In your meeting with your Rabb. - And, He it is Who has spread out the earth,
And provided therein mountains and rivers,
And of all the fruit He made pairs of two (male and female),
He covers up the day and the night (one with the other),
Lo! In these are Signs
For a people who (observe and) reflect! - And in the earth are tracts close to each other,
There are gardens with grapes,
And lands under cultivation,
And dates, split from the same shank–
And some not split–
Irrigated from the same waters,
Yet We make some tastier than others;
Lo! In these are Signs for a people who reflect! - And if you are in awe (of Allah’s creation),
Then, astonishing is their saying:
“When we are dust unto dust,
Will we then be resurrected into a new life?”
Such are the ones, who deny their Rabb,
And around their necks is a yoke;
Lo! These are the denizens of the Fire,
And they shall dwell therein forever! - And they ask You to hasten the punishment rather than the Grace,
When (they know that) such (punishments) have indeed been inflicted before them.
Lo! Your Rabb is indeed the Forgiving to humankind
In spite of their transgressions,
And verily, your Rabb is most intense in retribution. - And the disbelievers say:
“Why has not a Sign descended on him from His Rabb?”
You are indeed not but a Warner,
And each society has a Guide. - Allah is aware of what every female (species) carries in its womb,
And which pregnancies shrink,
And which (pregnancies) grow;
And everything before Him has its measure. - Knower of that which is beyond perception,
And that which is perceived,
The Greatest, the Most Sublime! - The same (before Him) is
The one among you who conceals his words,
And one who reveals them,
And one who hides at night,
And one who walks by day. - Each has guardian (angels)
Between what is ahead of him
And what is behind him;
(at the intersection of the past and the future, namely, the present)
They guard him by the command of Allah.
Indeed, Allah does not change
What is with a society (a people or a civilization),
Until they change what is in their own souls.
Lo! When Allah wills that a people be punished,
There is no turning back on it,
And there is no protector for them except Him. - He it is Who shows you the lightning,
(Causing) fear and hope,
And He it is Who raises up the heavy clouds. - And the thunder recites His adoration,
As well as the angels in awe of Him,
And He sends the lightning with thunderbolts,
And strikes with them whom He wills,
Yet they (the disbelievers) quarrel about Allah.
Lo! Intense is He in His grasp! - His is the call to Truth!
Those who call on others besides Him
Do not respond to them in the least;
It is as if they extend their palms towards the rain,
So that it (the rain water) reaches their mouths,
But it reaches them not.
Indeed, the supplication of the disbelievers is in vain. - To Allah surrenders (prostrates) all that is
In the heavens and the earth,
Willingly or unwillingly,
As do their shadows,
Morning and evening. - Say: “Who is the Creator and Sustainer
Of the heavens and the earth?”
Say: “Allah.”
Say: “Do you take others besides Him,
As your protectors?
They who have no power
Either to help themselves
Or to hurt themselves?”
Say: “Is the one who is blind
The equal of one who has vision?
Or the depths of darkness
The same as light?
Have those whom they set up as partners with Allah
Created as He creates
So that the creations appear alike to them?”
Say: “Allah is the Creator of all there is,
And He is the One, the Omnipotent.” - He sends down rain from the heavens,
So the streams flow in their due measure;
Then (He brings) the floods
(And the streams) burst forth with foam,
And from what they smelt to make jewelry and tools
There appears a similar froth,
That is how Allah brings forth (and separates) truth and falsehood.
Then the foam disappears and dries up,
And what is of benefit to humankind remains in the soil,
That is how Allah brings forth parables (so that people understand). - For those who hearken to their Rabb,
There is Grace,
As for those who do not hearken to Him,
Even if they owned all that is on earth,
And more like it,
They would indeed offer it as ransom (on Judgment Day).
It is they, they are the ones whose scale is (tilted) towards evil,
And their abode is Hell,
What an awful place it is! - Then, is one who has the knowledge that
What is revealed to you
Is the Truth from your Rabb
The like of one who is blind?
Indeed, only those
Who are people of intellect
Take heed. - They are the ones who keep their covenant with Allah,
And do not break their contracts. - And they integrate (faith and righteous deeds)
As Allah has commanded them to be integrated,
And they fear their Rabb,
And are fearful of the ordeal of Reckoning. - And those who are patient
For the countenance of their Rabb,
And establish prayer,
And set aside from what We have given them,
In secret or in the open,
And overcome evil with goodness,
For them is their fulfillment in the hereafter. - Eternal gardens, they will enter therein,
As well as those who were righteous among their forefathers,
And their spouses,
And their progeny,
And the angels will come to them through every entrance. - (Saying) Peace be unto you!
For your patience,
How rewarding, therefore, is the fulfillment of the Hereafter! - Those that violate their covenant with Allah
After accepting and ratifying it,
And break the commandments of Allah
Which He has ordained be fulfilled,
And cause mischief on earth,
On them is the repudiation from Allah,
And for them is an evil abode. - Allah expands His sustenance as He wills,
And contracts it (as He wills),
Lo! They revel in the life of this world!
But the life of this world
Is a trifle compared to the Hereafter. - And those who reject the Truth say:
“Why has a Sign not descended on him from his Rabb?”
Say: “Allah leads astray whom He wills,
And guides towards Himself
One who turns humbly towards Him. - “Those who believe with certainty,
And whose hearts find tranquility and peace
In the remembrance of Allah;
Hearken! In the remembrance of Allah
Is tranquility and peace for hearts. - “Those who believe with certainty,
And engage in righteous deeds,
With them is bliss,
How excellent is their abode!” - Thus do We send you
To a people (civilization)
Before which many people (civilizations) have come and gone,
So that you rehearse to them,
What We have revealed to you,
For they disbelieve in the Lord of Compassion.
Say: “He is my Rabb,
There is no deity but Him,
In Him do I place my trust,
And to Him is my return.” - Even if there were a Qur’an,
That would move mountains,
Or cleave asunder the earth,
Or make the dead speak
(They would still disbelieve).
But from Allah emerge all commands!
So, have those who have certainty of faith
Not understood
That if Allah so willed it,
He would make all humankind believe?
And indeed the chastisement shall follow the disbelievers
For what they do,
Or it shall lurk close to their homes
Until the promise of Allah comes to pass.
Lo! Allah does not break His promise! - And indeed, ridicule was heaped on Messengers before you,
Even so I gave respite to the disbelievers;
At long last, I seized them;
Then, how (painful) was My chastisement! - Who does, then, oversee what every soul earns?
And yet they make up partners with Allah?
Say: “Give them (any) names (you wish)!
Are you giving Him any information about what is on earth
That He has no knowledge of?
Or, are they (mere) words to show off?”
No! The very plots of the disbelievers have made them puffed up,
And blocked them from the path,
Lo! Whom Allah misleads, for such there is no guide! - For them there is chastisement in the life of this world,
And painful punishment in the hereafter,
And no one can protect them but Allah. - The similitude of the Garden
Promised to those who have certainty of faith:
Beneath them flow streams (of Divine grace),
The fruits therein eternal, as also its shades;
This is the reward for those who are conscious of Allah;
And the reward for the disbelievers is the Fire. - And those who have been given a Book,
Rejoice in what has been revealed to you,
Except for some groups that deny portions of it.
Say: “I have been commanded nothing but
That I worship (and serve) Allah,
And associate none with Him.
It is to Him that I invite you,
And it is He who is my destination.” - Lo! That is how
We have revealed this:
(The) conclusive (Book) in Arabic.
And if you follow their desires
After what has come down to you of (Divine) knowledge,
There will be no protection for you from Allah,
And no protector. - And behold! We sent Messengers before you,
And gave them spouses and children,
And it was not for any of the Messengers to bring a Sign,
Except by permission of Allah.
For every destiny there is an appointed time! - Allah destroys what He will,
And endures (what He will);
And with Him is the primal essence of the Book. - Whether We let you see
Some of what We have promised them,
Or We give you death,
Indeed, upon you is the responsibility to deliver it,
And with Us is the reckoning. - Do they not observe
That We do indeed squeeze the earth from afar
In every direction?
(providing gravitational pull)
Lo! What Allah decrees, no one can negate,
And He is swift in His reckoning. - And behold! If those before them plotted,
Then, to Allah belong all the plans:
He is aware of what every soul earns.
So the disbelievers will soon know,
To whom belongs the abode of the Hereafter. - And the disbelievers say:
“You are not a Messenger.”
Say: “Sufficient is Allah as a witness between me and you,
And those with whom is the knowledge of the Book.”