Sura al-Ra'd

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This article is an introduction to the Sura al-Ra'd; to read its text see text:Sura al-Ra'd.
Sura al-Ra'd
Yusuf
Sura Number13
Juz'13
Revelation
Revelation Number96
Makki/MadaniMadani
Information
Verse Count43
Word Count854
Letter Count3541\


Sūra al-Raʿd (Arabic: سورة الرَّعد) is the thirteenth sura of the Qur'an. It is a Madani sura which is located in the thirteenth juz' of the Qur'an. Its name comes from the word, "ra'd" (thunderstorm), which appears in its thirteenth verse. The content of the sura includes monotheism, God's power, truth of the Qur'an, prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad (s), resurrection, and characterizations of the Heaven and the Hell.

Verse twenty eight is the famous verses of this sura which considers the rest of hearts in remembrance of God and verse forty three about which, some exegetes believe that the phrase "he who possesses the knowledge of the Book" refers to Imam Ali (a). It is narrated that anyone who recites Sura al-Ra'd, God rewards him ten times as much of the clouds in the past, present and future.

Introduction

  • Naming

Sura al-Ra'd is called so because of the phenomenon of thunder (ra'd) and its exaltation of God are mentioned in the thirteenth verse of this sura.[1]

  • Place and order of revelation

There is a disagreement about whether Sura al-Ra'd is Makki or Madani. Muhammad Hadi Ma'rifat prefers the view that this sura is Madani, because all hadiths in which the order of the revelation of Qur'anic suras is stated take this sura to be Madani.[2] But some exegetes of the Qur'an, such as 'Allama Tabataba'i, appeal to the content of this sura to show that it is Makki.[3]

It is the ninety sixth Qur'anic sura which was revealed to the Prophet (s).[4] However, others take it to be the ninety fifth[5] or seventy third[6] sura which was revealed. In the traditional current order of compilation, it is the thirteenth sura of the Qur'an.

  • Number of Verses and Other Features

Sura al-Ra'd is one of al-Mathani suras. It is average with respect to volume: it is equivalent to less than half of one juz' of the Qur'an. It has forty three verses, 854 words, and 3541 letters. It begins with al-Muqatta'at (disjoined letters) and sujud after its fifteenth verse is recommended.[7]

Content

The main themes of Sura al-Ra'd include monotheism, resurrection, and revelation. Related issues are expressed through mentioning the wonders of the world and the human psychology. It calls human beings to reflect on the stories of their predecessors and to understand the laws of the world.[8] Sura al-Ra'd is concerned with three issues:

  • Proof for God's power, enumeration of natural phenomena and events such as the sky, the Earth, the son, the moon, palm trees, thunderstorms, and the like. It warns people who deny God and His power of a hard punishment.
  • The truth of the Qur'an and the prophethood of the Prophet (s): most verses of this sura are concerned with this issue. There are also verses in which claims of polytheists are repudiated.
  • Proof of resurrection, characterization of the Heaven and the Hell, characteristics of pious people and their rewards, punishments of unbelievers and polytheists.
Content of Sura al-Ra'd[9]
Answer to disbelievers who reject the Qur'an as a miracle
First topic: verses 1-6
incorrectness of rejection of the teachings of the Qur'an		Second topic: verses 7-31
Answer to those who ask the Prophet (a) another miracle		Third topic: verses 32-35
Behaviors of the haters of the Qur'an		Forth topic: verses 36-42
The Prophet's (a) duty against haters of the Qur'an		Ending: verse 43
God's testimony to the truth of the Prophet (a)
First point: verse 1
Many people do not believe in the truth of the Qur'an		First point: verses 7-16
Determining the type of miracles is only in the hand of God		First point: verse 32
Deriding and ridiculing the Prophet (a)		First point: verse 36
Emphasizing on worshipping and servitude of God
First point: verses 2-4
Incorrectness of the rejection of God's Lordship		First point: verses 17-26
Sufficiency of the Qur'an for happiness of human being		First point: verses 33-35
Ascribing partner to God		First point: verses 37-39
Not following the requests of the haters
First point: verse 5
Incorrectness of rejection of the hereafter		First point: verses 27-31
Disbelievers will not find faith if they see another miracle		First point: verses 40-42
Leaving disbelievers' punishment to God
First point: verse 6
Incorrectness of hastening God's punishment

Well-Known Verses

According to this verse, God will change what is in a people unless they change what is in themselves; God will not punish people unless they become sinners. It is the divine tradition that if people become ungrateful, rather than grateful, and transgressors, rather than obedient, their happiness will be replaced by misery. Some exegetes provide a different interpretation of this verse: the fate of every nation is tied with their own decisions, and every nation can change their fate with their own wills.

It is said that this verse implies exclusiveness, meaning that only in the remembrance of God, hearts find rest and that, "dhikr" refers to any form of remembrance of God, whether it be verbal or non-verbal, with the Qur'an or without it.[10] It is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a) that, "In Muhammad (s), hearts find rest and he (a) is the dhikr (remembrance) of God"[11] and that the Prophet (s) told Ali b. Abi Talib (a), 'Do you know about whom it is revealed?...It is revealed about the one who approves of me and finds faith in me and loves you and your progeny and surrenders to your order and the Imams (a) after you.'[12]

There are different views about the occasion of revelation, exegesis, and the recitation of the last verse of the sura: "وَ مَن عِندَه عِلمُ الکِتاب" (whoever has knowledge of the Book). 'Allama Tabataba'i takes the "Book" to refer to the Qur'an, and appeals to some hadiths to show that the one who has knowledge of the book is 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a). Ibn Jawzi has cited seven views with respect to the person to whom the verse refers. Some exegetes have interpreted the "Book" as referring to the Qur'an, Torah,[13] and the preserved tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz).[14]

The Meaning of Thunder's Exaltation

The verse thirteen of Sura al-Ra'd is about thunder's exaltation of God.[15] There are different views about the exegesis of this verse.

According to some scholars, the thunder is a divine sign which signifies the greatness of God, and thus it calls us to the exaltation of God, or it exalts God with this signification. According to another view, the thunder's exaltation means that whoever hears the sound of the thunder exalts God. There are certain supplications that are recommended to be recited while hearing the thunder.[16]

Merits and Benefit

Ubayy b. Ka'b has quoted the Prophet (s) as saying that if someone recites Sura al-Ra'd, God will reward him with the number of all passing clouds in the past, present, and the future, and after the resurrection, he will be among those who have kept the divine promise.[17] According to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), "if someone recites Sura al-Ra'd, God will never kill him with thunders in this world, even if he is an enemy of Ahl al-Bayt (a), and if the reciter is a Shi'a, God will take him to the Heaven without any worries about the examination of his actions, and his intercession for people whom he knows, from his family and Muslim brothers, will be accepted".[18]

Verses of Ruling

The verse twenty five of Sura al-Ra'd [19] is considered as one of ayat al-ahkam (verses of ruling). It is said that according to this verse, it is obligatory to fulfill one's promise.[20] jurists have defined the promise ('Ahd) as follows: to promise God to do something or to abandon doing something. There are conditions for the validity of a promise; for example, its formula should be recited by saying "I promise God to do such and such or to abandon such and such" ( عاهَدْتُ اللّهَ انْ أَفْعَلَ كَذا أَو أَتْرُكَ كَذا) or "on me is the promise of God to do such and such or to abandon such and such" (عَلَىَّ عَهْدُ اللّه أَنْ أَفْعَلَ كَذا أَوْ أَتْرُكَ كَذا), and instead of "such and such" one should mention the intended action.[21]

For the full text, see text:Sura al-Ra'd.

External Links

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Taḥrīr wa l-tanwīr, vol. 13, p. 75.
  2. ↑ Maʿrifat, Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 177.
  3. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 11, p. 258.
  4. ↑ Maʿrifat, Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 168.
  5. ↑ Zarkashī, al-Burhān fī ʿulūm al-Qur’ān, vol. 1, p. 194.
  6. ↑ Ibn ʿAṭīyya, Muqaddimatān fī ʿulūm al-Qurʾān, p. 9.
  7. ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1240.
  8. ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1240.
  9. ↑ Khamagar, Muhammad, Sakhtar-i suraha-yi Qur'an-i karim, Mu'assisa-yi Farhangi-yi Qur'an wa 'Itrat-i Nur al-Thaqalayn, Qom: Nashra, ed.1, 1392 Sh.
  10. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 11, p. 355.
  11. ↑ ʿAyyāshī, Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, vol. 2, p. 211.
  12. ↑ Furāt al-Kūfī, Tafsīr, p. 207.
  13. ↑ Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Taḥrīr wa l-tanwīr, vol. 13, p. 76.
  14. ↑ Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 536.
  15. ↑ The Thunder celebrates His praise, and the angels [too], in awe of Him, and He releases the thunderbolts and strikes with them whomever He wishes. Yet they dispute concerning Allah, though He is great in might.
  16. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 56, p. 357.
  17. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 6, p. 419; Nūrī, Mustadrak al-wasāʾil, vol. 4, p. 343.
  18. ↑ Ṣadūq, Thawāb al-aʿmāl, p. 107.
  19. ↑ But as for those who break Allah's compact after having pledged it solemnly, and sever what Allah has commanded to be joined, and cause corruption in the earth—it is such on whom the curse will lie, and for them will be the ills of the [ultimate] abode.
  20. ↑ Īrawānī, Durūs tamhīdīyya, vol. 1, p. 462.
  21. ↑ Khomeini, Tawḍīḥ al-masāʾil, vol. 2, p. 622.

References

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  • Ibn ʿAṭīyya. ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq b. Ghālib. Muqaddimatān fī ʿulūm al-Qurʾān. Edited by Arthur Jafri & Ismāʿīl al-Ṣāwī. Cairo: Maktabat al-Khānjī, 1972.
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