Surah Ar-Ra'd (13) — Ayah 17

(Ayah 17) ➊ { اَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً …: ’’ اَوْدِيَةٌ‘‘} (Naale) is the plural of valley, which originally refers to a place where water flows. The empty space between two mountains is also called this, and sometimes it is used in the sense of a path, because in the mountains, paths usually run along the edges of mountain streams. {’’ زَبَدًا ‘‘} is the rubbish and foam that rises to the surface of water due to its rapid flow, or that rises to the top of a pot. { ’’ رَابِيًا ‘‘ ’’ رَبَا يَرْبُوْ رَبْوًا ‘‘} is an active participle from (ن), meaning one that increases or rises. {’’حِلْيَةٍ ‘‘} is the jewelry of gold, silver, etc., with which a person adorns himself. {’’ جُفَآءً ‘‘} is the rubbish or foam, etc., that the stream or pot throws to the sides, and this is called {’’ جُفَآءً ‘‘}.

Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) said that these are two examples that Allah Almighty has given for truth and falsehood. The meaning is that it is possible that sometimes falsehood may prevail over truth, but in the end Allah Almighty erases it and renders it worthless and valueless; the good end is for truth and the people of truth. Just as foam and rubbish may indeed cover the water, but in the end, the water throws them to the sides and renders them useless, and people benefit from the pure water. Similarly, when gold, silver, and other metals are melted, their impurities also rise to the top, but in the end, some are skimmed off and thrown away, and some are burned away. In short, all the impurities go to waste, and the beneficial metal remains in its pure state for people, like gold and silver, from which they make jewelry, or iron, copper, and brass, etc., from which utensils, weapons, and other items are made. Ustadh Muhammad Abduh (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that in these two examples, truth (the Qur’an) is likened to water, and the streams are the hearts of people, who benefit from the truth according to their own capacity and ability, or the truth is the jewelry with which human souls are adorned, and people obtain various kinds of benefits and advantages in this world and the Hereafter from it. The example of falsehood is like that of foam, which, at the time of conflict with the truth, temporarily rises to the top but in the end disappears. Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [مَثَلُ مَا بَعَثَنِيَ اللّٰهُ مِنَ الْهُدَی وَالْعِلْمِ كَمَثَلِ الْغَيْثِ الْكَثِيْرِ أَصَابَ أَرْضًا، فَكَانَ مِنْهَا نَقِيَّةٌ، قَبِلَتِ الْمَاءَ، فَأَنْبَتَتِ الْكَلَأَ وَالْعُشْبَ الْكَثِيْرَ وَكَانَتْ مِنْهَا أَجَادِبُ أَمْسَكَتِ الْمَاءَ، فَنَفَعَ اللّٰهُ بِهَا النَّاسَ فَشَرِبُوْا وَسَقَوْا وَزَرَعُوْا، وَأَصَابَ مِنْهَا طَائِفَةً أُخْرَی، إِنَّمَا هِيَ قِيْعَانٌ لَا تُمْسِكُ مَاءً وَلَا تُنْبِتُ كَلَأً فَذٰلِكَ مَثَلُ مَنْ فَقُهَ فِيْ دِيْنِ اللّٰهِ وَنَفَعَهُ مَا بَعَثَنِيَ اللّٰهُ بِهِ فَعَلِمَ وَعَلَّمَ، وَمَثَلُ مَنْ لَمْ يَرْفَعْ بِذٰلِكَ رَأْسًا وَلَمْ يَقْبَلْ هُدَی اللّٰهِ الَّذِيْ أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ ] [ بخاری، العلم، باب فضل من علم و علّم : ۷۹ ] “The example of the knowledge and guidance with which Allah has sent me is like abundant rain that fell on a land. One part of that land was very good (fertile), it accepted (absorbed) the water, then produced much grass and fodder, and some parts were hard ground hollows that held the water, so Allah benefited people with it; they drank from it, gave others to drink, and cultivated crops, and some parts were barren plains that neither held water nor grew grass. This is the example of the one who understood Allah’s religion and benefited from the knowledge and guidance with which Allah sent me, and the example of the one who neither raised his head towards it nor accepted the guidance with which I was sent (the last of these three is the example of the disbeliever).”

➋ {كَذٰلِكَ يَضْرِبُ اللّٰهُ الْاَمْثَالَ :} That is, to make things clear, Allah Almighty gives examples in this way, as He has given two examples here: one that occurs to desert and mountain people (streams), and one that occurs to city people (metals). Similarly, at the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah, two examples of the hypocrites are given, and in Surah An-Nur (39, 40), two examples of the disbelievers are given. In short, many examples are given in the Qur’an and Hadith to explain things.