Ar-Ra'd · Madani · ayah 17 of 43

Ar-Ra'd 13:17

أَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَسَالَتْ أَوْدِيَةٌۢ بِقَدَرِهَا فَٱحْتَمَلَ ٱلسَّيْلُ زَبَدًا رَّابِيًا ۚ وَمِمَّا يُوقِدُونَ عَلَيْهِ فِى ٱلنَّارِ ٱبْتِغَآءَ حِلْيَةٍ أَوْ مَتَـٰعٍ زَبَدٌ مِّثْلُهُۥ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يَضْرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْحَقَّ وَٱلْبَـٰطِلَ ۚ فَأَمَّا ٱلزَّبَدُ فَيَذْهَبُ جُفَآءً ۖ وَأَمَّا مَا يَنفَعُ ٱلنَّاسَ فَيَمْكُثُ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يَضْرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْأَمْثَالَ

“He sends down from the sky, rain, and valleys flow according to their capacity, and the torrent carries a rising foam. And from that [ore] which they heat in the fire, desiring adornments and utensils, is a foam like it. Thus Allāh presents [the example of] truth and falsehood. As for the foam, it vanishes, [being] cast off; but as for that which benefits the people, it remains on the earth. Thus does Allāh present examples.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Rain fills each valley to its size, foam rides high on the torrent and then is gone, and what helps people quietly stays.

A reflection

The gold He calls 'what they light fires under'

The parable begins with an act only Allah performs. He sent down water from the sky. One commentator notes that the ayah first points to His power and only then becomes a likeness.

Now look at how the second picture names its metals. It does not say gold and silver. It says what they kindle the fire over, seeking ornament or utensils. One classical commentator heard majesty in that phrasing. It is the way a king mentions something with indifference, as Pharaoh said, kindle for me, Hāmān, over the clay (28:38). Another adds that naming the metal by the fire lit under it treats it almost like firewood.

That is a mirror for the ego. Picture a wedding where the bride's gold is laid out for the guests to admire. Aunts count the bangles. Someone photographs the necklace. For an evening the family's standing seems to sit on that table. The ayah lowers its voice and calls the same metal 'what they light fires under'. It is useful and lovely. It is not the point.

The phrase bi-qadarihā adds a mercy. The valleys flow according to their measure. One commentator reads it as the measure Allah knows will benefit and not harm. The parable's rain is not the flash flood that sweeps houses away. It is sent in proportion.

Someone may ask why the Quran keeps describing God's greatness. Does He need us impressed? He does not; He is free of all need (35:15). A map marks a mountain's height for the walker's sake, not the mountain's. The greatness is described so that we stop selling ourselves for gold, and stop panicking when our own valley is dry.

Before the parable says a word about truth and falsehood, it has put our treasures back in the furnace where they belong. That humbling is a gift.

The full entry has 7 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.