| | Linda “iLHam” Barto rendition of Surah The Thunder(ar-Ra`d)
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| 13:1 | | Alif. Lam. Meem. Ra. These are the signs of the Book. What has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth. Most people don’t believe it. |
| 13:2 | | Allah raised the skies without any pillars that you can see. He established Himself on the throne. He compelled the sun and the moon to each toil for an appointed time. He regulates all affairs. He explains the signs in detail so you may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord. |
| 13:3 | | He laid the earth and set upon it mountains standing firmly, and He made rivers. He made fruit of every kind in two, a pair [either stamens and pistils on each plant or male and female plants]. He draws the night as a veil over the day. Truly, in these things are signs for those who ponder. |
| 13:4 | | In the earth are neighboring regions. There are gardens of vines, and there are fields sown with crops. There are palm trees, sometimes sharing a single root and sometimes not. They are watered with the same water, but yet We made some of them more excellent that others to eat. Truly, in these things are signs for those who try to understand. |
| 13:5 | | If you are astonished, their talk is astonishing: “When we are dust, will we indeed become a renewed creation?” They are those who deny their Lord. Around their necks will be yokes. They will be companions of the fire, wherein they will dwell. |
| 13:6 | | They challenge you to hurry and bring harm instead of good. Before them, however, examples of punishment came to pass. Truly, your Lord is full of forgiveness for humanity for its sins. Truly, your Lord is strict in punishment. |
| 13:7 | | The unbelievers say, “Why is a sign not sent down to him from his Lord?” Truly, you are a warner. For every people, there is a guide. |
| 13:8 | | Allah knows what every female bears [in the womb]. He knows how much the wombs will fall short or exceed [the normal nine months of pregnancy]. Everything is before His sight, in proper perspective. |
| 13:9 | | He knows what is concealed and what is publicized. He is the Great, the Most Exalted. |
| 13:10 | | It doesn’t matter whether any of you hides his/her thoughts or speaks openly. [It doesn’t matter] whether any of you hides at night or strolls freely during the day. |
| 13:11 | | For each person, angels trail before and behind and guard him/her by the command of Allah. Truly, Allah will never change the condition of a people until they change it themselves. When Allah wills a people’s punishment, however, there can be no avoiding it, and they will find no one to protect them except Him. |
| 13:12 | | It is He who shows you lightning, both for dread [of potential danger] and optimism [for the promise of rain]. It is He who causes clouds to form and become heavy. |
| 13:13 | | Thunder repeats His praises, as do the angels filled with awe. He flings the thundering bolts of lightning, and He allows them to strike whomever He wills. Yet people dare to argue about Allah and the measure of His power. |
| 13:14 | | To Him belong all honest prayers. Any others upon whom are depended besides Him give no better response than if someone were to extend his/her hands [into a deep well] for water but cannot reach the water and get it to his/her mouth. The prayer of one without faith is nothing but stray wandering. |
| 13:15 | | All beings of the skies and Earth prostrate themselves to Allah either willingly or unwillingly, as [is illustrated by] their shadows in the mornings and in the evenings. |
| 13:16 | | Say, “Who is the Lord and Sustainer of Heaven and Earth?” Say, “Allah!” Say, “Do you then rely on others besides Him –others who have no power either for good or for harm even for themselves?” Say, “Are the unseeing equal to the seeing? Are the depths of darkness equal to light?” Do they assign partners to Allah, claiming they created as He created, so that their creation was equal to His? Say, “Allah is the Creator of all things! He is the One, the Prevailing Force!” |
| 13:17 | | He sends water down from the skies. Rivers flow, each according to its measure. Rushing water carries foam on its surface. [Ore] is heated in fire for the purpose of making ornaments and utensils. A scum is also produced by that. In this way, Allah shows truth and vanity. The scum disappears like foam is eliminated. The things that are good for humanity remains on the earth. This is how Allah shows things by parables. |
| 13:18 | | Good things are for those who respond to their Lord. As for those who do not respond to Him, if they had all that is of the skies and earth and as much more, they would offer it for ransom. The reckoning will be terrible for them. Their abode will be Hell. What a bed of misery! |
| 13:19 | | Is one who recognizes the truth bestowed to you from your Lord, the same as one who is unseeing? Only those with understanding pay any attention. |
| 13:20 | | They fulfill the Covenant of Allah and do not fail in their promise. |
| 13:21 | | They endorse what Allah has commanded to be sanctioned. They revere their Lord and fear the terrible reckoning. |
| 13:22 | | They patiently persevere, seeking the countenance of their Lord. They establish a prayer routine. They expense, secretly and publicly, from what We have provided them. They repel evil with goodness. For such people, there awaits the final glory of the home. |
| 13:23 | | There will be Gardens of Eden. They will enter them, along with their righteous parents, spouses, and children. Angels will come to them from every gate: |
| 13:24 | | “Peace to you because you patiently persevered! Excellent is the final home!” |
| 13:25 | | Some people break the Covenant of Allah after their promise. They sever what Allah has commanded to be sanctioned, and they will commit evil across the land. They are condemned. A horrible home awaits them. |
| 13:26 | | Allah grants abundant sustenance or restricts it for whom He pleases. Some people rejoice in the life of this world, but, compared to the hereafter, the life of this world is only temporary comfort. |
| 13:27 | | The unbelievers say, “Why isn’t a sign sent to him from his Lord?” Say, “Truly, Allah leaves astray whom He will, but He guides to Himself those who repent,… |
| 13:28 | | …those who believe, and those whose hearts find joy in the remembrance of Allah. Without a doubt, in the remembrance of Allah, hearts do find joy! |
| 13:29 | | For those who believe and perform righteous deeds, there is a blessing and a beautiful place to return.” |
| 13:30 | | We have sent you [O Prophet] among people, before whom other peoples have passed, so that you may recite to them what We send to you through inspiration. Yet, they reject the Most Gracious! Say, “He is my Lord. No god is there except Him! On Him I place my trust, and to Him I turn.” |
| 13:31 | | [Consider] if there was a revelation with which mountains were moved, the earth split apart, or the dead made to speak! No! With Allah is every command. Don’t the believers know that, if Allah had willed, He could have guided all humanity? As for the unbelievers, disaster will never cease to strike them for their deeds or cease to strike near their homes until the promise of Allah comes to pass. Truly, Allah will not fail in His promise. |
| 13:32 | | Messengers before you [Prophet Muhammed] were mocked, but I granted respite to the unbelievers until I finally punished them. How terrible was my retribution! |
| 13:33 | | Is He, who monitors every soul and all it does, comparable? Yet they assign partners to Allah. Say, “Okay, name them. Can you really tell Him anything about Earth that He doesn’t already know, or are you just a show of words?” Nonsense! To themselves, the unbelievers’ inventions seem pleasing, but they are hindered from the path. Those whom Allah leaves astray cannot be guided by anyone. |
| 13:34 | | For them is a penalty in this life, but even harsher is the penalty of the hereafter. They have no defender against Allah. |
| 13:35 | | The example of the garden promised to the righteous is rivers flowing beneath it, fruits that stay fresh, and its shade. Such is the finale for the righteous, but the end for unbelievers is fire. |
| 13:36 | | Those to whom We have given the Book rejoice at what has been revealed to (Prophet Muhammed), but among the clans are those who reject part of it. Say, “I am commanded to worship Allah, and I do not join partners with Him. Unto Him I call, and unto Him is my return.” |
| 13:37 | | We have revealed (the Qur’an) to be a judgment of authority in Arabic. If you were to follow their wishes after knowledge has come to you, you would not find a protector or defender against Allah. |
| 13:38 | | We certainly sent messengers before you [Prophet Muhammed], and We made wives and children for them. It was never the intention of a messenger to deliver any sign except as Allah commanded. For everything is a season declared. |
| 13:39 | | Allah cancels what He pleases and confirms what He pleases. With Him is the Mother [Origin] of the Book. |
| 13:40 | | Whether We allow you [Muhammed] to experience a segment of what We have promised [portending the Day of Judgment] or cause you to die [beforehand], your duty is to communicate [the message]. Our responsibility is to call them to account. |
| 13:41 | | Did they not see that We visited upon the land and reduced the size of their domain? Allah commands, and no one can subvert His command. He is swift in declaring accountability. |
| 13:42 | | Those before them devised schemes, but in all things the ultimate planning is Allah’s. He knows what every soul acquires, and soon the unbelievers will know who finally make it home. |
| 13:43 | | The unbelievers claim, “You [Muhammed] are not a messenger.” Say, “Sufficient is Allah as a witness between me and you, as well as anyone who has knowledge of the Book.” |
