Essence of the Holy Qur’an — Page 31
31 Chapter 13 Ar-Ra‘d (Revealed before Hijrah) Date of Revelation and Context Preponderance of scholarly opinion is in favour of the view that this S u rah was revealed at Mecca. Its subject-matter also confirms this view. Some verses, however, were revealed at Medina. These verses are 44th (according to ‘A ta ’), 32nd (according to Qat a dah), and 13-15th (according to certain other authorities). In Chapter 10 ( S u rah Y u nus) it was stated that whenever a Prophet appears in the world, people are made to accept the Divine Messenger either by being visited with Heavenly punishment or God showers his mercy upon them if they deserve it. Stress was laid in Chapter 11 ( S u rah H u d) on Divine punishment and in Chapter 12 ( S u rah Y u suf) on God’s mercy. The present S u rah , however, explains how the promises and prophecies about the rise and prosperity of the Holy Prophet, made in the three preceding Chapters, will be fulfilled and how Islam eventually will prevail over other religions. Subject-Matter The S u rah opens with the theme that God works in inscrutable ways. The means by which His Messengers and Prophets rise to power remain hidden from human eyes till the results, towards the accomplishment of which they work, become apparent. It proceeds to draw attention to a well-known law of nature that different kinds of fruits and vegetation grow from a soil which is watered by the same water. Similarly, the Holy Prophet, born and brought up in the same environment with the pagan Meccans, rose to be God’s great Messenger. The disbelievers are further told that they should not judge the Holy Prophet by his present weak state and by the paucity of his means and resources, nor should they wonder at the promises of his ultimate success. It is not his promised success that is to be wondered at; rather it would have been strange if he had not appeared at the time of humanity’s crying need. The Holy Prophet is bound to succeed and his enemies must fail. The cause of Islam shall triumph and the children of the leaders of disbelief themselves shall join its fold. God will withdraw His help from disbelievers and their power and glory will depart. All the laws and elements of nature being under God’s control, He will make them subservient to the Holy Prophet’s cause. The false gods of the idolaters will be quite powerless to impede or arrest the progress of the new Faith. The S u rah goes on to develop the theme that so great are the spiritual powers of the Holy Prophet that he could overcome his enemies single-handed, even as a man having eyes could overcome a host of blind men. Polytheism cannot stand against the doctrine of the Unity of God, nor can the votaries of