Tafseer of The Thunder · Ar-Ra'd · 13:34
For them will be punishment in the life of [this] world, and the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe. And they will not have from Allah any protector.
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.
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted says to these unbelievers whose characteristics He has described in this surah: there is for them punishment in the worldly life through killing, captivity, and the calamities with which Allah causes them to be afflicted. And وَلَعَذَابُ الآخِرَةِ أَشَقُّ (and the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe) — he says: and the punishment of Allah for them in the Hereafter is more grievous than His punishment of them in the worldly life.
"Ashaqq" is the form "afʿal" derived from "al-mashaqqa" (hardship, difficulty).
And His saying: وَمَا لَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَاقٍ (and they have no protector against Allah) — the Exalted says: and there is no one who can protect these unbelievers against the punishment of Allah when He punishes them — no intimate friend, no protecting patron, and no helper — for He, glorious is His majesty, has no equal who could overcome Him and thereby snatch someone away from His punishment by force, and there is no one who can intercede with Him except by His permission — and He gives no one permission to intercede for whoever disbelieved in Him and died in that disbelief before repentance.
