13. Ar-Ra'd

God is He Who raised up the heavens without visible supports ‘amad is the plural of ‘imād which is the same as an ustuwāna ‘a column’; and this statement is true since there are no actual supports then presided upon the Throne a presiding befitting Him and disposed made subservient the sun and the moon each one of them moving along its course until the conclusion of an appointed time that is until the Day of Resurrection. He directs the command He conducts the affairs of His Kingdom. He details He expounds the signs the indications of His power so that you O people of Mecca might be certain of the encounter with your Lord through resurrection.

And He it is Who spread out extended flat the earth and set created therein firm mountains and rivers and of every fruit He has made in it two kinds of every species. He covers He cloaks the night and its darkness with the day. Surely in that which is mentioned are signs indications of His Oneness exalted be He for a people who reflect upon God’s handiwork.

And on the earth are tracts diverse terrains neighbouring each other joined side by side some good some briny some of little yield and some fruitful — and these constitute proofs of His power exalted be He — and gardens orchards of vines and sown fields read zar‘un in the nominative as a supplement to jannātun ‘gardens’ or read zar‘in in the genitive as a supplement to a‘nābin ‘of vines’; similarly constituting proofs of His power are His words and date-palms sharing one root sinwān is the plural of sinw which are date-palms belonging to the same root but with many offshoots and date-palms otherwise each of individual root watered read tusqā as referring to jannāt ‘gardens’ and what is in them or read yusqā as referring to the mentioned date-palms by the same source of water; and We make some of them to excel wa-nufaddil or read wa-yufaddil ‘and He God makes some of them to excel’ others in flavour read fī’l-ukul or fī’l-ukl and so some are sweet others bitter — and these are also proofs of His power exalted be He. Surely in that which is mentioned are signs for a people who understand who reflect.

And if you wonder O Muhammad (s) at the disbelievers denying you then surely wondrous surely deserving wonder is their saying in denial of resurrection ‘When we have become dust shall we indeed then be raised in a new creation?’ it is wondrous because the One Who has the power to originate creation and to originate what has been mentioned above without any precedent has also the power to restore them to life both hamzas in both instances a-idhā and a-innā are pronounced; or one may pronounce the first and not pronounce the second but in both cases inserting an alif or not inserting it; one variant reading has the first a-idhā as the interrogative and the second one a-innā as the predicate while another variant reading has the exact opposite. Those are the ones who disbelieve in their Lord; those — fetters shall be around their necks; and those they shall be the inhabitants of the Fire abiding therein.

The following was revealed regarding their hastening on out of mockery of the chastisement And they would have you hasten on the evil the chastisement rather than the good rather than mercy when there have indeed occurred before them exemplary punishments mathulāt is the plural of mathula similar in pattern to samura pl. samurāt ‘acacia’ that is to say the punishments of disbelievers like them will they not take warning from these? Truly your Lord is forgiving to mankind despite their evil-doing for otherwise He would not have left a single creature on the face of it the earth; and truly your Lord is severe in retribution against those who disobey Him.

And those who disbelieve say ‘Why has not some sign been sent down upon him upon Muhammad (s) from his Lord!’ the like of the staff and the glowing hand or the she-camel. God exalted be He says You are only a warner one to threaten the disbelievers for it is not your duty to bring forth signs; and for every folk there is a guide a prophet to guide them to their Lord with the signs that He gives him and not what with they request.

God knows what every female bears of male or female one or more and otherwise and what the wombs reduce of the time of gestation and what they increase of it. And everything with Him is according to a precise measure a precise amount and limit which it does not exceed;

He is the Knower of the unseen and the visible of what is hidden and what is witnessed; the Great the Tremendous the High Exalted above His creation through His overpowering subjugation read al-muta‘ālī or al-muta‘āl ‘the High Exalted’.

They are all the same according to His knowledge exalted be He those of you who speak secretly and those who do so openly and those who lurk who hide themselves in the night in its darkness and those who go forth those who are manifest to view when they make their way by day.