Surah 13, ar-Ra’d [The Thunder] , Medina 96
The Quranic text and Ali’s translation
أَفَمَن
يَعْلَمُ أَنَّمَا
أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ
مِن رَبِّكَ
الْحَقُّ كَمَنْ
هُوَ أَعْمَى...
13:19. Is then one who doth know that at which hath been revealed unto these from thy Lord is the Truth, like one who is blind?
...إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُوْلُواْ الأَلْبَابِ ﴿١٩﴾
It is those who are endued with understanding that receive admonition –
Transliteration Afamay ya'lamu annama_ unzila ilaika mir rabbikal haqqu ka man huwa a'ma_, innama_ yatazakkaru ulul alba_b(i),
[Ulul albab – those who have wisdom or good understanding.]
[ Who has this insight or wisdom or understanding ? Answer follows]
الَّذِينَ
يُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِ
اللّهِ وَلاَ
يِنقُضُونَ
الْمِيثَاقَ ﴿٢٠﴾
13:20. Those who fulfil the Covenant of God and fail not in their plighted word;
Transliteration Allazina yu_fu_na bi 'ahdilla_hi wa la_ yanqudu_nal misa_q(a),
وَالَّذِينَ
يَصِلُونَ مَا
أَمَرَ اللّهُ
بِهِ أَن يُوصَلَ...
13:21. Those who join together those things which God hath commanded to be joined,
...وَيَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ وَيَخَافُونَ سُوءَ الحِسَابِ ﴿٢١﴾
hold their Lord in awe, and fear the terrible reckoning;
Transliteration Wallazina yasilu_na ma_ amaralla_hu bihi ay yu_sala wa yakhsyauna rabbahum wa yakha_fu_na su_'al hisa_b(i).
وَالَّذِينَ
صَبَرُواْ
ابْتِغَاء
وَجْهِ رَبِّهِمْ...
13:22. Those who patiently persevere, seeking the countenance their Lord;
...وَأَقَامُواْ الصَّلاَةَ وَأَنفَقُواْ مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلاَنِيَةً...
establish regular prayers;
spend, out of (the gifts) We have bestowed for their sustenance, secretly and openly;
...وَيَدْرَؤُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ...
and turn off Evil with good:
...أُوْلَئِكَ لَهُمْ عُقْبَى الدَّارِ ﴿٢٢﴾
for such there is the final attainment of the (Eternal) Home –
Transliteration Wallazina sabaru-btiga_'a wajhi rabbihim wa aqa_mus sala_ta wa anfaqu_ mimma_ razaqna_hum sirraw wa 'ala_niyataw wa yadra'u_na bil hasana_tis sayyi'ata ula_'ika lahum 'uqbad da_r(i),
جَنَّاتُ
عَدْنٍ يَدْخُلُونَهَا
وَمَنْ صَلَحَ
مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ
وَأَزْوَاجِهِمْ
وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ...
13:23. Gardens of perpetual bliss: they shall enter there, as well as the righteous among their fathers, their spouses, and their offspring:
...وَالمَلاَئِكَةُ يَدْخُلُونَ عَلَيْهِم مِّن كُلِّ بَابٍ ﴿٢٣﴾
and angels shall enter unto them from every gate (with the salutation):
Transliteration Janna_tu 'adniy yadkhulu_naha_ wa man salaha mina a_ba_'ihim wa azwa_jihim wa zurriyya_tihim wal mala_'ikatu yadkhulu_na 'alaihim min kulli ba_b(in).
سَلاَمٌ
عَلَيْكُم بِمَا
صَبَرْتُمْ
فَنِعْمَ عُقْبَى
الدَّارِ ﴿٢٤﴾
13:24. "Peace unto you for that ye persevered in patience!
Now how excellent is the final Home!"
Transliteration Sala_mun 'alaikum bima_ sabartum fa ni'ma 'uqbad da_r(i).
Asad’s Translation:
13:19 CAN, THEN, he who knows that whatever has been bestowed from on high upon thee by thy Sustainer is the truth be deemed equal to one who is blind? Only they who are endowed with insight keep this in mind:
(13:20) They who are true to their bond with God and never break their covenant; 42
(13:21) and who keep together what God has bidden to be joined," and stand in awe of their Sustainer and fear the most evil reckoning [which awaits such as do not respond to Him];
(13:22) and who are patient in adversity out of a longing for their Sustainer's countenance, and are constant in prayer, and spend on others, secretly and openly, out of what We provide for them as sustenance, and [who] repel evil with good. 44
It is these that shall find their fulfilment in the hereafter: 45
(13:23) gardens of perpetual bliss, which they shall enter together with the righteous from among their parents, their spouses, and their offspring; 46 and the angels will come unto them from every gate [and will say]:
(13:24) "Peace be upon you, because you have persevered!" How excellent, then, this fulfilment in the hereafter!
Pickthall’s translation:
13:19
Pickthall Is he who knoweth that what is revealed unto thee from thy Lord is the truth like him who is blind? But only men of understanding heed;
13:20
Such as keep the pact of Allah, and break not the covenant;
13: 21
Such as unite that which Allah hath commanded should
be joined, and fear their Lord, and dread a woeful reckoning.
13:22
Such as persevere in seeking their Lord's countenance and are regular in prayer and spend of that which We bestow upon them secretly and openly, and overcome evil with good. Theirs will be the sequel of the (heavenly) Home.
13: 23
Gardens of Eden which they enter, along with all who do right of their fathers and their helpmeets and their seed. The angels enter unto them from every gate.
13:24
(Saying): Peace be unto you because ye persevered. Ah, passing sweet will be the sequel of the (heavenly) Home.
******************************************************
Ali’a comments:
1834. In this section the contrast between Faith and Righteousness on the one hand and Infidelity and Evil on the other is set out.
The righteous man is known as one who;
- receives admonition;
- is true to his covenants;
- follows the universal Religion of Faith and Practice joined together;
- is patient and persevering in seeking Allah;
and in practical matters he is known to be;
- regular in prayer;
- generous in true charity, whether open or secret; and
- not revengeful, but anxious to turn off evil with good, thus breaking the chain of evil which tends to perpetuate itself.
1835 : That is, join faith with practice, love of God with love of man, and respect for all Prophets alike, i.e., follow the right Religion, and not odd bits of it. (13.21)
1836. Their journey in this life was at best a sojourn. The Heaven is their eternal Home, which is further prefigured in the two following verses.
1837. The relationships of this life are temporal, but love in righteousness is eternal. In the eternal Gardens of Bliss the righteous will be reunited with all those near and dear ones whom they loved, provided only that they were righteous also; for in eternity nothing else counts.
Blood-relationships and marriage relationships create certain physical bonds in this life, which may lead to much good, and possibly also to evil. All that is physical or evil will go. But the good will come forth with a new meaning in the final Reckoning. Thus ancestors and descendants, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, (for dhurriyat includes them), whose love was pure and sanctified, will find new bliss in the perfecting of their love and will see a new and mystic meaning in the old and ephemeral bonds.
Can we wonder at Jacob's reunion with Joseph, or that of Moses with Aaron, or Muhammad Al Mustafa with the Lady Khadija?
In fact all the Righteous will be reunited in the Hereafter (12:101).
Asad’s Comments:
42 The "covenant" is, in this context, a general term embracing the spiritual obligations arising from one's faith in God and the moral and social obligations, resulting from that faith, towards one's fellow-men (Zamakhshari)- 1 see in this connection the first sentence of 5 : 1 (where the term 'aqd is used) and the corresponding note 1 . As regards my rendering of 'ahd Allah as "bond with God", see surah 2, note 19.
43 This refers to all ties arising from human relationships - e.g., the bonds of family, responsibility for orphans and the poor, the mutual rights and duties of neighbours - as well as the spiritual and practical bonds which ought to exist between all who belong to the brotherhood of Islam (cf. 8:75 and the corresponding notes). In its widest sense, the phrase "what God has bidden to be joined" applies to the spiritual obligation, on the part of man, to remain conscious of the unity of purpose underlying all of God's creation, and hence - according to Razi - man's moral duty to
treat all living beings with love and compassion.
44 Some of the commentators take this to mean that "if they have committed a sin, they repel it [i.e., its effect] by repentance" (Ibn Kaysan, as quoted by Zamakhshari), while others think that the "repelling" connotes the doing of a good deed in atonement of a - presumably unintentional - bad deed (Razi), or that it refers to endeavours to set evil situations to rights by word or deed (an alternative interpretation mentioned by Zamakhshari). But the great majority of the classical commentators hold that the meaning is "they repay evil with good"; thus Al-Hasan al- Basra (as quoted by Baghawi, Zamakhshari and Razi): "When they are deprived [of anything], they give; and when they are wronged, they forgive." Tabari's explanation is very similar: "They repel the evil done to them by doing good to those who did it" ; and "they do not repay evil with vil,
but repel it by [doing] good". See also 41:34-36.
45 Lit., "For them there will be the end-result [or "fulfilment"] of the [ultimate] abode". The noun 'uqba is regarded by almost all the philological authorities as synonymous with 'aqibah ("consequence" or "end" or "end-result"; hence also "recompense" and, tropically, "destiny" or "fulfilment"). The term ad-dar stands for ad-dar al-dkhirah, "the ultimate abode", i.e., life in the hereafter.
46 As I have pointed out in several places, the term zawj denotes "a pair" or "a couple" as well as each of the components of a couple - i.e., with reference to human couples, "a spouse": hence it signifies either "husband" or "wife": Similarly, the term aba' (lit., "fathers" or "forefathers") usually denotes both fathers and mothers, i.e., "parents"; and this is, according to Zamakhshari, the meaning in this instance. - As regards the expression 'adn, rendered by me as "perpetual bliss", see note on 38:50, the earliest instance of the Qur'anic use of this term.