• God leaves to go astray whomsoever he wills and guides He towards Him whomsoever turns to Him

• The wrath of God shall reach the disbelievers

• The life of this world is nothing but a vain comfort

Ar-Ra’d (The Thunder) Verses 27 – 31

وَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْلَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ قُلْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُضِلُّ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي إِلَيْهِ مَنْ أَنَابَ

And say those who disbelieve; “Why is not sent down unto him a sign from his Lord?” Say thou: “Verily God leaveth to stray whomsoever1He willeth and guideth He unto Himself whomsoever turneth unto Him (seeking His way).” (13:27)

الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

And those who believe and their hearts are set at rest by God’s remembrance; Certainly! by God’s remembrance (only) are the hearts set at rest2. (13:28)3

الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ طُوبَىٰ لَهُمْ وَحُسْنُ مَآبٍ

(For) Those who believe and do good a great bliss shall be theirs and a beautiful place of return. (13:29)

كَذَٰلِكَ أَرْسَلْنَاكَ فِي أُمَّةٍ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهَا أُمَمٌ لِتَتْلُوَ عَلَيْهِمُ الَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ وَهُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ بِالرَّحْمَٰنِ قُلْ هُوَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَإِلَيْهِ مَتَابِ

Thus did We send thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) among a people before whom other people have passed away, that thou mightest recite unto them (the Qur’an) what We have revealed unto thee while they deny the Beneficent (God). Say thou “He is my Lord, there is no god but He; on Him (only) do I rely, and unto Him is my return.” (13:30)

وَلَوْ أَنَّ قُرْآنًا سُيِّرَتْ بِهِ الْجِبَالُ أَوْ قُطِّعَتْ بِهِ الْأَرْضُ أَوْ كُلِّمَ بِهِ الْمَوْتَىٰ بَلْ لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ جَمِيعًا أَفَلَمْ يَيْأَسِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ لَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ لَهَدَى النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَلَا يَزَالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا تُصِيبُهُمْ بِمَا صَنَعُوا قَارِعَةٌ أَوْ تَحُلُّ قَرِيبًا مِنْ دَارِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَ وَعْدُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ

And (even) if there were a Qur’an by which the mountains were made to move, or the earth cloven asunder with it or the dead made to speak thereby; Nay! The command is wholly God’s;4What! Have not those who believe yet known that if God willeth He would certainly guide all the people? And those who disbelieve, it will not cease to strike them for what they do, a torment, or it will alight close by their abodes, until cometh to pass the promise of God; Verily God faileth not in (His) promise. (13:31)56

Commentary

Verse 28

This verse seems to disagree with verse 8:2 because tranquillity and fear are apparently opposites. The tranquillity is in respect of the temporal conflicting desires and fear is in respect of feeling ones shortcoming in the due submission to the Absolute. Hence the same remembrance of God produces both effects simultaneously and makes one free from all worldly worries and in view of the fear of shortcoming Ali says: ‘A true believer has no worry whatsoever but one, and that is about his failure to fulfil his duties to the Lord.’ (A.P.).

Verse 30

Once Abu Jahl and Abdullah bin Omyya sitting resting their backs on the walls of the Holy Ka’ba challenged the Holy Prophet, if he be a true Apostle of God, to pluck out and bring the mountain and to cause rivers flow in the place of the mountain so that they might cultivate corn in it. It was then that the next verse was revealed.

Verse 31

(b) Ar. ‘Yaesa’ actually means despair but it is sometimes used figuratively in the sense of knowing, because one who gives up hope knows that what he had hoped, will not take place. Thus, despair is always associated with knowledge. Here the original interpreting it as despair also is not incorrect. Then the translation would be: ‘Did not the believers give up the hope of the conversion of the disbelievers to belief on the ground that if God willed He would have guided all’. (A.P.).

• 1. Of those who are themselves inclined towards erring i.e., God never stops any one to have his own course if it is wrong when the individual himself insists to have it.
• 2. Tranquilled.
• 3. Refer to verse 8:2.
• 4. Refer to verse 6:111.
• 5. Even as they proposed Verse 13:30 if there had come a Qur’an of the nature mentioned here, even then they would not believe. Refer to verses 13:30 & 6:111.
• 6. Whether people believe or not, it in the best affects not his Absolute authority.