Sūrah al-Raʿd

Overview

Sūrah al-Raʿd is a Makkan sūrah with 43 āyāt. The sūrah gets its name from the word for ‘thunder’ in Arabic. Thunder is particularised in the 13th āyah as a submissive slave of Allah, glorifying His majesty and singing His praises. Everything is an expression of Allah’s oneness and uniqueness: the heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon, the rivers, the irrigated land, the sustenance that nourishes us, and the rain that quenches our thirst. This is what Allah reminds us of in the beginning of Sūrah al-Raʿd (13:2-4). His favours surround and overwhelm us. Yet, strangely, some still choose to deny the truth staring them right in the face. As such, Allah concludes this introduction by saying: “If anything should amaze you, then amazing indeed is their saying, ‘When we are reduced to dust, will we really be raised as a new creation?’ They are the ones who have disbelieved in their Lord” (13:5). Allah also reminds us of His omniscience: “He knows what every female carries, and what the wombs decrease or increase, and everything with Him is in due measure. The knower of the unseen and the witnessed; the Supreme, the Exalted. It is the same whether any of you speak secretly or aloud, whether you hide in the cover of night or walk about in the day” (13:8-10). This is the style of the sūrah: it constantly shifts between Allah’s power and His bounties and contrasts them with the hapless arrogance of the deniers; as if saying, ‘You see all this around you, you behold so much beauty and majesty in creation, yet you associate partners with Allah and deny His favours? Do you not reason?’ Allah thoroughly lists the moral engagements of the good-doers which lead them to bliss and that of the evil-doers which lead them to their doom (13:19-25). The Prophet ﷺ is also given solace repeatedly in the sūrah. Allah confirms his truthfulness and lambasts his rejectors. (13:32, 38-40).

Context

Hadith scholars, historians, and Qur’an commentators have held differing views regarding when and where Sūrah al-Raʿd was revealed. Nonetheless, given its content, style of discourse, and subject matters, the likelihood that it was revealed before the Hijrah roughly around the same time as the sūrahs before it (Yūnus, Hūd, and Yūsuf) is high. It is also perfectly possible that a portion of the sūrah is Makkan and the rest is Madinan, as some people of knowledge have opined. Sūrah al-Raʿd defends the Prophet ﷺ and the authenticity of the Qur’an. For example, it is reported that Ibn ʿAbbās said: “The idolaters challenged the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, saying, ‘If things are as you say (i.e. if this Qur’an is indeed from Allah), then show us (i.e. resurrect) our ancient forefathers, and open up these mountains for us, the mountains of Makkah that surround us.’ Allah revealed: ‘If there were a recital that could cause mountains to move, or the earth to split, or the dead to speak, [it would have been this Quran]. But all matters are by Allah’s will. Have the believers not yet realised that had Allah willed He could have guided all of humanity? And disasters will continue to afflict the disbelievers or strike close to their homes for their misdeeds, until Allah’s promise comes to pass. Surely Allah never fails in His promise (11:31).’”

Themes

• Marvelling at the cosmic āyāt of Allah (13:2-4, 12-13, 16-17) and consequently being in awe of His revelatory āyāt (13:1, 30-31, 36-37).
• The truthfulness and humanity of the Prophet ﷺ. (13:7, 27, 30, 38, 43)
• The tension between īmān and kufr, and what characterises the adherents of each principle. (13:19-25)

Unique Features

• Sūrah al-Raʿd is the first in a trilogy of relatively short sūrahs, especially compared to those before and after them. As is the case with Sūrah Ibrāhīm and Sūrah al-Ḥijr, Sūrah al-Raʿd is about half of others nearby.
• Other than Sūrah al-Baqarah (2:19), this sūrah has the only qur’anic reference to thunder (13:13).
• Sūrah al-Raʿd contains the second prostration of recitation (sajdat tilāwah) in the Qur’an. (13:15)

Lessons

• On occasion, studying the physical world makes us forget how awesome it truly is. We get so caught up in technicalities that we forget to pause, take a step back, and behold the indescribable majesty and entrancing beauty of nature. Allow yourself to be regularly immersed in the natural world and notice the marked improvement in your spirituality and God-consciousness.
• If our purpose can be encapsulated in a single statement it would be to remember Allah. Nothing is as spiritually satisfying or conducive to mental wellbeing as dhikr is. In one sense, it is the easiest of all acts of worship. Yet, it is one of the most difficult to get consistently right. But if one does get it right, one experiences serenity and heartfelt contentment that is not of this world: “Those who believe and whose hearts find tranquillity in the remembrance of Allah. Surely in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” (13:28)
• It is a sign of sound faith to be concerned for the wellness of the ummah. But blaming this person and that group for our state is all too easy. It is our own selves we must begin with. If we truly have Allah in our hearts above all else, then the openings will come: “Indeed, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.” (13:11)
• Do good, sincerely and for the sake of Allah alone, and do not worry whom it will reach. We sometimes wonder why certain works or projects achieved such high levels of success. There is no secret to it—ikhlāṣ allows our deeds to reach far beyond what we alone can muster. This is a divinely ordained principle: “As for scum, then it is cast away. And as for what benefits the people, then it remains on earth. This is how Allah strikes parables.” (13:17)

Virtues and Valuable Information

Whenever meteorological changes would be on the horizon, the Prophet ﷺ would be noticeably uneasy. He would ask Allah for His mercy lest the coming changes be borne of His wrath. This was inherited by his companions and the early righteous generations. It is reported that ʿĀmir—the son of ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr—would say the following at the ominous rumbling of thunder: “Hallowed be He whose praise the thunder glorifies, as do the angels in awe of Him”, appropriating the āyah in Sūrah al-Raʿd (13:13) for praise. He would then say: “Indeed, this is a severe warning for the people of earth.”