13. Surah Ar Ra'd
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَوْ أَنَّ
قُرْآنًا سُيِّرَتْ
بِهِ الْجِبَالُ
أَوْ قُطِّعَتْ
بِهِ الأَرْضُ...
13: 31. If there were a Qur'án with which mountains were moved,
or the earth were cloven asunder,
...أَوْ كُلِّمَ بِهِ الْمَوْتَى...
or the dead were made to speak, (this would be the one!)
...بَل لِّلّهِ الأَمْرُ جَمِيعًا...
But, truly, the Command is with Allah in things!
C1847. Everything is possible and in Allah's power. His Plan is beneficent and all-embracing. But it is not for His creatures to dictate to Him, or demand what He should do, or how He should do it.
The Command is with Allah in all things. The Believers know His omnipotence, and they also know that He will order His world for the best.
...أَفَلَمْ يَيْأَسِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَن لَّوْ يَشَاء اللّهُ لَهَدَى النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا...
Do not the Believers know, that, had Allah (so) willed, He could have guided all mankind (to the Right)?
...وَلاَ يَزَالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ تُصِيبُهُم بِمَا صَنَعُواْ قَارِعَةٌ...
But the Unbelievers -- never will disaster cease to seize them for their (ill) deeds,
...أَوْ تَحُلُّ قَرِيبًا مِّن دَارِهِمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ وَعْدُ اللّهِ...
or to settle close to their homes, until the Promise of Allah come to pass,
...إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ ﴿٣١﴾
for, verily, Allah will not fail in His promise.
C1848. Let not the Unbelievers think that if they seem to prosper for a time, that is the end of the matter. They are warned about three things.
1. Their ill deeds must carry evil consequences for them all the time, though they may not perceive them for a certain time.
2. Their homes, their places of resort, the circles in which they move, will also be haunted by their ill deeds and their consequences. For evil makes a complex of its environment. The walls of Jericho, when they fall, must bring down all Jericho in its ruins.
3. The ultimate Disaster, the final Reckoning, must come, for Allah never fails in His promise. True values must eventually be restored: the good to the good, and the evil to the evil.
The Commentators draw illustrations from the life of the Prophet, his exile from Makkah, and his restoration. A similar miracle works in all history. But the Command is with Allah.
13: 31
Asad Yet even if a discourse by which mountains could be moved, or the earth cleft asunder, or the dead made to speak – [they who are bent on denying the truth would still refuse to believe in it ]!
Nay, but God alone has the power to decide what shall be. Have, then, they who have attained to faith not yet come to know that, had God so willed, He would indeed have guided all mankind aright?
But as for those who are bent on denying the truth – in result of their [evil] deeds, sudden calamities will always befall then or will alight close to their homes; [and this will continue] until God’s promise of resurrection] is fulfilled: verily, God never fails to fulfill His promise!
Pickthall Had it been possible for a Lecture to cause the mountains to move, or the earth to be torn asunder, or the dead to speak, (this Quran would have done so). Nay, but Allah's is the whole command. Do not those who believe know that, had Allah willed, He could have guided all mankind? As for those who disbelieve, disaster ceaseth not to strike them because of what they do, or it dwelleth near their home until the threat of Allah come to pass. Lo! Allah faileth not to keep the tryst.
Transliteration Wa lau anna qur'a_nan suyyirat bihil jiba_lu au qutti'at bihil ardu au kullima bihil mauta_, bal lilla_hil amru jami'a_(n), afalam yay'asil lazina a_manu_ allau yasya_'ulla_hu lahadan na_sa jami'a_(n), wa la_ yaza_lul lazina kafaru_ tusibuhum bima_ sana'u_ qa_ri'atun au tahullu qaribam min da_rihim hatta_ ya'tiya wa'dulla_h(i), innalla_ha la_ yukhliful mi'a_d(a).
[Asad notes: 54: The sentence added by me between brackets …….corresponds to that of Tabari, …Az-Zajjaj….]
Note: 56 – The meaning is that God grants man the freedom to choose between right and wrong: “He guides unto Himself all who turn unto Him” (verse 27) and “are true to their bond with God” (verse 20); on the other hand, He withholds His guidance from “the iniquitous, who break their bond with God” (2:26-27). See also the last sentence of 6:149 and the corresponding note 143.