Sura 13 The Thunder (Al-Ra'ad)

In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.

[13:1] A. L. M. R. These are the signs of the Book. What has been brought down to you from your Lord is the truth, but most people do not believe.

[13:2] God is the One who raised the heavens without pillars that you can see, then He settled on the Throne. And He subjected the sun and the moon, each running for a specified term. He handles the affair and He details the revelations so that you may be certain of the meeting with your Lord.

Footnote 13:2 - The word 'pillars' in 13:2 (also 31:10) is allegorical. A pillar is something that keeps a structure from falling down. Falling down is caused by gravity which was to be discovered by Newton over a thousand years after the revelation of the Quran.

The reason that heavenly bodies do not fall onto one another is that they all travel in orbits (mentioned in 21:33), where gravity is equated with the centrifugal force.

The words in 13:2 contain another piece of scientific information that was not known at the time of the revelation of the Quran (610 AD). At that time, the prevailing cosmological theory, originating from the Aristotle model (4th century BCE), stated that the cosmos (universe) was finite but infinite in time, and thus all heavenly bodies have always existed and will exist forever. Current astronomical knowledge has confirmed that the words 'run for a specified term' accurately describe the fate of stars and other heavenly bodies. All have finite life spans, after which they die.

[13:3] And He is the One who extended the earth and placed in it stabilisers and rivers. From every fruit, He made therein two pairs. He causes the night to cover the day. Indeed, in that are signs for people who reflect.

• --------------------------------------------------Footnote 13:3 – For 'stabilisers', see footnote 21:31.

[13:4] In the earth, there are adjacent plots and gardens of grapevines, crops and palm trees, some sharing the same root and others with individual roots. All are irrigated by the same water, yet We made some more preferable to eat than others. Indeed, in that are signs for people who reason.

• --------------------------------------------------Footnote 13:4 – For the words 'in the earth', see footnote 2:11.

[13:5] If you are astonished, then even more astonishing is their saying: "When we become dust, will we be created anew?" They are the ones who disbelieved in their Lord, and they will have chains around their necks, and they are the companions of the Fire. Therein, they shall permanently remain.

[13:6] They hasten you for the bad before the good, even though the precedents have passed away before them. And indeed, your Lord has forgiveness for the people despite their transgressions. And indeed, your Lord is severe in punishment.

[13:7] Those who disbelieved say, "If only a miracle was brought down upon him from his Lord!" You are only a warner, and for every people is a guide.

[13:8] God knows what every female carries, as well as what the wombs lose and what they gain. Everything with Him is by due measure.

[13:9] He is the Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Great, the Exalted.