وَيُسَبِّحُ ٱلرَّعْدُ بِحَمْدِهِۦ وَٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ مِنْ خِيفَتِهِۦ وَيُرْسِلُ ٱلصَّوَٰعِقَ فَيُصِيبُ بِهَا مَن يَشَآءُ وَهُمْ يُجَٰدِلُونَ فِى ٱللَّهِ وَهُوَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْمِحَالِ
And the thunder exalts [Allah] with praise of Him - and the angels [as well] from fear of Him - and He sends thunderbolts and strikes therewith whom He wills while they dispute about Allah; and He is severe in assault.
Introduction
This is āyah 13 of Sūrat Ar-Ra'd (The Thunder), the 96th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 13. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 96 of 114
- Surah
- Ar-Ra'd (13)
(He launcheth the thunderbolts and smiteth with them whom He will�) [13:13]. Nasr ibn Abi Nasr al-Wa'iz informed us> Abu Sa'id 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Nusayr> Muhammad ibn Ayyub al-Razi> 'Abd al-Wahhab> 'Ali ibn Abi Sarah al-Shaybani> Thabit> Anas ibn Malik who reported that once the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent a man to one of the Arab tyrants, saying: �Go and tell him to come and see me�. He said: �O Messenger of Allah, he is too haughty to comply�. He said: �Go and tell him to come and see me�. The man went and said to him: �The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, asks you to come and see him�. The man retorted: �What is Allah? Is He made of gold, silver or copper?� The man went back and informed the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, saying: �I told you that he is too haughty to comply�. He said: �Go to him a second time and ask him to come and see me�. He went and the man repeated exactly what he said in the previous occasion. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, asked the man to go and call him a third time, and the man repeated what he said in the two previous occasions. The man said: �As he was talking to me, Allah sent above his head a cloud which thundered and a bolt of lightning struck him and removed his skull�. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (He launcheth the thunderbolts and smiteth with them whom He will while they dispute (in doubt) concerning Allah, and He is mighty in wrath). According to the reports of Abu Salih, Ibn Jurayj and Ibn Zayd, Ibn 'Abbas said: �This verse and the verse before it were revealed about 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl and Arbad ibn Rabi'ah. These two men went to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and, as they were coming, one of the prophetic Companions said: 'O Messenger of Allah, here is 'Amir ibn al-Tufayl coming toward you'. He said: 'Leave him, Allah will guide him if He wants good for him'. He proceeded along until he stood in front of the Prophet and said: 'O Muhammad, what do I get if I become Muslim?' He said: 'You get what the Muslims get and you suffer what they suffer'.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
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