Surah Ar-Rad – Mahmoud Khalil Al Hussary

Ar-Rad, "The Thunder", is the thirteenth surah of the Quran. A Meccan surah of 43 verses, it is placed 96th in the traditional order of revelation. It points to the signs of God in the heavens and the earth, affirms revelation and the resurrection, and contains the well-known verse "God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves" (13:11).

Name and classification

The name comes from verse 13: "The thunder glorifies His praise, and so do the angels, in awe of Him." Its classification is debated: al-Qurtubi reports that al-Hasan al-Basri, Ikrima and Ata' held it to be Meccan, while al-Kalbi and Muqatil held it to be Medinan, as did Ibn Abbas and Qatada except for two verses (13:31–32). The Egyptian chronology, which ranks it 96th, follows the Medinan view, but its themes, close to the late Meccan surahs, lead many commentators to regard it as Meccan.

Main themes

• Signs in creation: the heavens raised without visible pillars, the earth with its neighbouring tracts, and palms watered by the same water yet differing in fruit (13:2–4).
• God's knowledge of what every womb carries, and the angels who guard each person (13:8–11).
• The parable of truth and falsehood: foam on a torrent and scum on molten metal vanish, while what benefits people remains (13:17).
• The people of understanding, who keep their pledges, join the ties of kinship, are patient, pray, give and repel evil with good (13:19–24), for "in the remembrance of God hearts find rest" (13:28).

The verse of prostration

Verse 13:15 is a verse of prostration: "To God prostrate all who are in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows, morning and evening."

In the Mushaf it follows Yusuf and precedes Ibrahim, which shares its themes.