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wa-lladhīna yaṣilūna mā ʾamara llāhu bihī ʾan yūṣala wa-yakhshawna rabbahum wa-yakhāfūna sūʾa l-ḥisābi
and those who join what Allah has commanded to be joined, and fear their Lord, and are afraid of an adverse reckoning
— Ali Quli Qarai
13Ar-RaʿdالرعدVerse 21 of 43
The Thunder13. Ar-Raʿdالرعد
Al Ra‘d
The Thunder
MedinanVerse 21 of 43
Surah Ar-Ra‘d – Verse 21
21. “And those who join what Allah has commanded to be joined and they fear their Lord and dread the terrible reckoning.”
Some Islamic quotations indicate that what Allah has ordained to be joined together is union of kindred. That is, conservation of family ties as well as the ideological ties which implies continuous and profound ties with the heavenly leaders and the following of the line of ‘Wilayat’ (leadership).10 The verse says:
“And those who join what Allah has commanded to be joined and they fear their Lord and dread the terrible reckoning.”
A simple and in-passing glance at our contemporary world will reveal that despite having utmost and the best capital, i.e., oil, beneath their feet, and enjoying, in front of them, the common point of unity and love of over one Billion Muslims, that is Ka‘bah, and despite benefiting from the best of schools and logic, some Muslims are constantly under all kinds of pressure from the super-powers for their lack of connection with the Divine leadership.
It is for this reason that in the verse 27 of Surah Al-Baqarah, after the sentence:
there has been mentioned:
for it goes without saying that the mere cutting off ties of relationship does not by itself cause corruption on the earth. On the contrary, it is giving up of the Divine leadership which leads to the entanglement in the confinement of the despots and spreading of corruption.
Note the Following Points
Union of Kindred: strengthening blood-kinship is not merely confined to the family visits and meetings. Provision of financial assistance also is one of the aspects of union of kindred. Imam Sadiq (as) proclaims that in addition to Zakat (alms), there are also other dues to be paid and which are necessary. Then he recited this verse.12 The objective in mind of the Imam (as) probably has been ‘Khoms’ (one fifth) when mentioning other dues. As for the importance of ‘union of kindred’, it is sufficient to be noted that Allah has made mention of it next to His name.
“…And be in awe of Allah through Whom you demand one of another, as well as any ties of kinship…” 13
The meaning of ‘relatives’ is not confined to one’s family genealogical relatives, but, it refers to the great Muslim community in which all individuals of the nation are considered as brothers, where the Qur’an says:
“The believers are but brethren…” 14
Their father is the Prophet of Islam (S) as well as Hadrat Ali (as). The Prophet (S) has remarked:
“Ali and I are to be regarded as fathers of this community.”
Imam Sadiq (as), while on deathbed, ordered to hand on some gifts to those relatives who had been rude to him. When he was criticized for this act, he recited the above verse; and so did he teach us that the condition for union of kindred would not be their optimism, love and relationship with us. To explain the Qur’anic phrases: ‘they fear their Lord’ and ‘dread the terrible reckoning’, one must say that though the Arabic words /xašiyat/ (fear) and /xauf/ (dread) have sometimes been used interchangeably and as synonyms, meaning one thing in mind, they are in fact different in an Arabic context.
The word /xašiyat/ refers to that kind of fear and impression which is left on someone as a result of respect he bears for a person. However, the term /xauf/ refers to a wider range of meaning and includes all kinds of fear and anxiety. In other words, the term /xašiyat/ is never used for a damaging accident and one does not refer to cold and disease as having /xašiyat/ with respect to them, while the application of the word to /xauf/ holds in cases of cold, heat, disease and is prevalent.
Ultimately, since /xašiyat/ is based on one’s knowledge as to the respect, magnitude and importance of the other person, one can say /xašiyat/ is peculiar to the learned men and /xauf/ is generally applicable for all. As the Qur’an says:
“…those of His servants only who are knowledgeable fear Allah…” 15
A Few Quotations on Union of Kindred
Jabir quoting Imam Baqir (as) said that the Prophet (S) said:
“Kindness towards one’s parents and union of kindred facilitates one’s settlement of his accounts.”
Then, he (S) recited this very verse.16 The Messenger of Allah (S) remarked:
“He who cuts off his relationship with his kindred, will not enter Paradise.” 17
Amir-ul-Mu’mineen Ali (as) said:
“Cutting off of one’s relationship with the relatives leads to poverty.” 18
Imam Sadiq (as) remarked:
“He who is disobedient with respect to his parents and he who cuts off his relationship with his relatives can never sense the smell and the flavor of Paradise” 19
Amir-ul-Mu’mineen Ali (as) said:
“Cutting off one’s relationship with his relatives, spoils all of (one’s) blessings.” 20
A man, addressing the Prophet (S), asked:
“Which deed is considered as conducive to the utmost outrage before Allah?”
He answered:
“Attributing partners to Allah.”
Then he asked:
“Which action comes next?”
He answered:
“Cutting off one’s relationship with his relatives?”
Then he asked:
“Which action comes next?”
He answered:
“Bidding to indecency and forbidding right conduct.” 21
Footnotes
“Those who break the covenant of Allah after its confirmation and cut asunder what Allah had commanded to be joined, and they make corruption on the Earth;...”