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huwa lladhī yurīkumu l-barqa khawfan wa-ṭamaʿan wa-yunshiʾu s-saḥāba th-thiqāla
It is He who shows you the lightning, inspiring fear and hope, and He produces the clouds heavy [with rain].
— Ali Quli Qarai
13Ar-RaʿdالرعدVerse 12 of 43
The Thunder13. Ar-Raʿdالرعد
Al Ra‘d
The Thunder
MedinanVerse 12 of 43
Surah Ar-Ra‘d – Verse 12
12. “It is He Who shows you the lightning for fear and hope and produces heavy clouds.”
The blissful Qur’an once again here deals with the monotheistic verses and the signs of Allah’s magnitude and glory as well as the secrets of creation. At first, it alludes to the lightning which emerges from within the pieces of clouds, and implies that it is Allah Who offers you the lightning which is a source of fear as well as of greed. The verse says:
“It is He Who shows you the lightning for fear and hope…”
On the one hand, its shining rays astound one’s eyes and generate and incite terror in him. On the other hand, as it is usually accompanied by raining which offers the thirsty desert pure water, and waters the trees and fields, it creates hope and incites greed in man, between which, he passes sensitive moments. Then the Qur’an declares that it is He Who creates heavy clouds which are fully-loaded and which are capable of watering thirsty lands. The verse continues saying:
“…and produces heavy clouds.”
The main thing to remember is that although natural causes pave the way for the emergence of thunder and lightning, nevertheless, the true source and origin of all these factors is Allah. The discovery of the laws of physics and chemistry of the nature must not diminish in any way our faith in Allah, for the nature and its laws are themselves created by Allah.