Tafseer of The Thunder · Ar-Ra'd · 13:12
It is He who shows you lightening, [causing] fear and aspiration, and generates the heavy clouds.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the meaning of the saying of the Exalted: هُوَ الَّذِي يُرِيكُمُ الْبَرْقَ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَيُنشِئُ السَّحَابَ الثِّقَالَ (He it is Who shows you the lightning, as fear and as hope, and Who brings into being the heavy clouds) (13:12).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted says: هُوَ الَّذِي يُرِيكُمُ الْبَرْقَ — this means that the Lord is the One Who shows His servants the lightning. The word هُوَ (He) is a reference to His name, exalted be His praise.
We have previously expounded the meaning of "al-barq" (the lightning) and mentioned the disagreements of the exegetes about it — in a manner that is sufficient and makes repetition here unnecessary.
And His saying خَوْفًا (as fear): this means: fear for the traveler of its harm. That is because "al-barq" in this context denotes the water (the rain), as in:
20251 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, saying: Mūsā ibn Sālim Abū Jahdham — the freedman of Ibn ʿAbbās — informed us, saying: Ibn ʿAbbās wrote to Abū al-Jald asking what "al-barq" means. He replied: "al-barq" is the water (the rain).
And His saying وَطَمَعًا (and as hope): this means: hope for the one who stays at home that it will rain and bring him good. As in:
20252 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, from Qatāda, his saying: هُوَ الَّذِي يُرِيكُمُ الْبَرْقَ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا — he said: "fear for the traveler on his journeys, who fears its harm and its burden; and hope for the one who stays at home, who hopes for its blessing and its benefit and looks forward to the provision of Allah."
20253 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, from Maʿmar, from Qatāda: خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا — "fear for the traveler and hope for the one who stays at home."
And His saying وَيُنشِئُ السَّحَابَ الثِّقَالَ (and Who brings into being the heavy clouds): He brings into being and produces the heavy clouds that are laden with rain.
One says of this: "anshaʾa Allāhu al-saḥāba" when He produced them; and "nashaʾa al-saḥābu" when they began to come into being and grow.
The word "al-saḥāb" (the clouds), although it stands in singular form in this verse, is in reality a plural — its singular is "saḥāba". For this reason "al-thiqāl" (the heavy ones, plural) stands as an adjective in the plural. Had it said "al-saḥāb al-thaqīl" (singular), that too would be permissible — as a use of the singular form of the word "al-saḥāb" — as it says: الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنَ الشَّجَرِ الْأَخْضَرِ نَارًا [Yāsīn: 80].
In accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes also said.
Mentioned are those who said this:
20254 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shabāba related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, from Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid, his saying: وَيُنشِئُ السَّحَابَ الثِّقَالَ — he said: "those in which there is water."
20255 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, from Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid — similarly.
20256 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, from Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid — similarly.
20257 — [...] he said: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh related to us, from Warqāʾ, from Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid — similarly.
20258 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, from Ibn Jurayj, from Mujāhid: وَيُنشِئُ السَّحَابَ الثِّقَالَ — he said: "those in which there is water."
