Essence of the Holy Qur’an — Page 32
Essence of the Holy Qur’ ā n 32 false gods against the devotees of the True God. The enemies of truth shall melt away and vanish like foam or froth. Men of weak understanding see only the rising foam and froth and do not care or have the intelligence to see the pure water underneath. The foam and froth disappear but pure water and gold remain. Similarly, the superficial and trifling beliefs of the polytheists are bound to perish and the great and noble ideals preached by the Qur’ a n will endure and its teachings, being in harmony with human nature, will find their way into the hearts of men, who will gradually come to realize on which side lies the truth when they compare the moral stature of believers with that of disbelievers. Mighty Signs will be shown and great miracles wrought by means of the Qur’ a n and human hearts, the strongest of all earthly citadels shall fall. One of these Signs will be that his people will drive out the Holy Prophet from Mecca and will draw the sword against him. But Islam shall continue to make headway till Mecca, the centre of disbelief and opposition will fall to the victorious arms of the Holy Prophet. Idolatry shall disappear from Arabia for all time and Islam shall be firmly established there. The world shall witness all these Signs wrought not by human agency but by the hand of the Almighty God Himself. The S u rah contains many prophecies about the discomfiture and destruction of the leaders of disbelief and foretells a bright future for Islam. The Title The above constitutes the main theme of the S u rah and it is in conformity with this theme that it has been named Ra‘d or Thunder. Rain brings with it lightning and thunder and it is in the fitness of things that heavenly rain—the Qur’ a nic revelation—should also be accompanied by thunder and lightning. Islam has brought with it, thunderbolts. Those who draw the sword against Islam shall perish by the sword and those who owe allegiance to it shall sit on the thrones of power and glory.