Surah Ar-Ra'd 13:12
ﲷ ﲸ ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ ﲾ ﲿ
It is He who shows you lightening, [causing] fear and aspiration, and generates the heavy clouds.
Tafsir of Ar-Ra'd 13:12
Tafsir
Al-Kashshaf
Verse range: 13:12
{خوفا وطمعا} (In fear and hope)
It is grammatically incorrect for these to be maf‘ūl lahu (causative objects) because they are not the actions of the subject of the verb, unless one assumes an omitted genitive (i.e., "the desire for fear and hope"). Alternatively, it may be interpreted as "causing fear and causing hope."
It is also permissible for them to be ḥāl (circumstantial accusatives) describing the lightning, as if the lightning itself is fear and hope, or "possessing fear and hope." Or, they may describe the addressees, meaning: "you are fearful and hopeful."
The meaning of "fear and hope" is that when lightning flashes, one fears the occurrence of thunderbolts and hopes for rain. Abu al-Tayyib said: A youth like the dark clouds, feared and hoped for; From him, rain is hoped for, and thunderbolts are feared.
It is said: One who suffers harm from rain fears it, such as a traveler, one who has dates or raisins on a drying floor, or one who has a house that leaks. Some lands do not benefit from rain, like the people of Egypt. Conversely, one who benefits from it and is kept alive by it hopes for it.
{السحاب} (The clouds) This is a collective noun; the singular is *saḥābah*. {الثقال} (heavy) is the plural of *thaqīlah*, just as you say *saḥābah thaqīlah* and *saḥāb thiqāl*, similar to *imra’ah karīmah* (a noble woman) and *nisā’ kirām* (noble women). They are "heavy" with water.
{ويسبح الرعد بحمده} (And the thunder exalts Him with His praise) The one who hears the thunder among the servants who hope for rain exalts Him, praising Him. That is, they cry out: "Subḥān Allāh" (Glory be to God) and "Al-ḥamdulillāh" (Praise be to God). It is reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to say: "Glory be to Him whom the thunder exalts with His praise." And from ‘Alī (ra): "Glory be to Him whom [all things] exalt."
When the thunder intensified, the Messenger of God (ﷺ) would say: "O God, do not kill us with Your wrath, do not destroy us with Your punishment, and grant us well-being before that."
Ibn ‘Abbās reported that the Jews asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about the thunder, and he replied: "An angel from among the angels entrusted with the clouds, who has fire-brands with which he drives the clouds." Al-Ḥasan said: "It is a creation of God’s creations, not an angel." Among the innovations of the Sufis: "Thunder is the cries of the angels, lightning is the sighs of their hearts, and rain is their weeping."
{والملائكة من خيفته} (And the angels [exalt Him] from His awe) The angels exalt Him out of fear and reverence for Him. After mentioning His knowledge that penetrates everything, the equality of the manifest and the hidden before Him, and what indicates His overwhelming power and oneness, He says:
{وهم يجادلون فى الله} (And they argue about God) Meaning those who disbelieved, denied the Messenger, and rejected His signs. They argue against His Messenger regarding the attributes of power He describes—such as the power to resurrect and restore creation—by saying: *"Who will give life to bones while they are disintegrated?"* (Yā-Sīn: 78). They reject His oneness by taking partners and rivals, and they attribute to Him offspring, saying: *"The angels are the daughters of God."* This is their argument based on falsehood, as in: *"And they disputed with falsehood to refute thereby the truth"* (Ghāfir: 5).
It is said that the "wa" (and) is for the ḥāl (circumstantial), meaning: "He strikes with it whom He wills while they are in the state of arguing." This refers to Arbad ibn Qays, who asked the Messenger of God (ﷺ) about his Lord: "Is He made of copper or iron?"
{المحال} (The Might/Cunning) *Al-mumāḥalah* is intense cunning and plotting. From this is the phrase "he plotted for such-and-such," meaning he exerted effort in using trickery. The meaning here is that He is intense in His plotting and cunning against His enemies, bringing destruction upon them from where they do not expect.
Al-A‘raj read it with a fatḥah on the mīm (maḥāl), as a maf‘al form from ḥāla yaḥūlu maḥālan (to plot). It may also mean "strong in the vertebrae" (faqār), used as a metaphor for strength and power, as in the saying: "God’s arm is stronger, and His razor is sharper." This is because when an animal’s spine is strong, it is described as having great power and the ability to bear what others cannot. Do you not see the saying: "The calamities broke his spine"? This is because the spine is the pillar and support of the back.