سورة الرّعد
Surah Al-Ra‘d 13:15
The Thunder · Verse 15 of 43
وَلِلَّهِ يَسْجُدُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا وَظِلَالُهُمْ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ ۩
Abdul Mannan Omar
All those that are in the heavens and on the earth submit to Allâh alone; whether they choose to obey willingly or not, and likewise do their shadows, in the mornings and evenings, (and they are all subject to the divine law (- His law of nature). [Prostration]
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Whatever beings there are in the heavens and the earth do prostrate themselves to Allah (Acknowledging subjection),- with good-will or in spite of themselves: so do their shadows in the morning and evenings.
Ahmed Ali
Whosoever is in the heavens and on earth bows to God in submission with a will or perforce, as do their shadows in the morning and evening.
12 more translations
Ali Unal
To God prostrate all that are in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the mornings and the evenings.
Daryabadi
And unto Allah prostrateth himself whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or of constraint, and also thir shadows in the moring and the evenings.
Faridul Haque
And to Allah only prostrate all those who are in the heavens and in the earth, willingly or helplessly - and their shadows - every morning and evening. (Command of prostration # 2).
Maulana Muhammad Ali
And whoever is in the heavens and the earth makes obeisance to Allah only, willingly and unwillingly, and their shadows, too, at morn and eve.
Maulvi Sher Ali
And to ALLAH submits whosoever is in the heavens and the earth willingly or unwillingly and like wise do their shadows in the mornings and the evenings.
Muhammad Asad
And before God, they prostrate themselves, willingly or unwillingly, all [things and beings] that are in the heavens and on earth, as do their shadows in the mornings and the evenings.
Muhammad Musin Khan
And unto Allah (Alone) falls in prostration whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and so do their shadows in the mornings and in the afternoons.
Muhammad Pickthall
And unto Allah falleth prostrate whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the morning and the evening hours.
Muhammad Sarwar
All in the heavens and the earth prostrate themselves before God, either of their own free will or by force, just as do their shadows in the mornings and evenings.
Muhammed ali Shakir
And whoever is in the heavens and the earth makes obeisance to Allah only, willingly and unwillingly, and their shadows too at morn and eve.
Rashad Khalifa
To GOD prostrates everyone in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and so do their shadows in the mornings and the evenings.
Shabbir Ahmed
And before God bow, willingly or unwillingly, all beings that are in the heavens and earth, as do their shadows in the mornings and evenings.
Commentary 13:15 Yasjudu يَسْجُدُ – they submit, is meant in the sense of complete submission. The entire creation is under the Will of Allâh and comes into being from…
وَلِلَّهِ يَسْجُدُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا وَظِلَالُهُم بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ
13:15 Yasjudu يَسْجُدُ – they submit, is meant in the sense of complete submission. The entire creation is under the Will of Allâh and comes into being from His Merciful intention (al-Irâdat al-Muqaddas), and His intended Command “Be!”; so every existing object is subject to the laws decreed by the Existence-Giving Sustainer. However, the human being is given a certain freedom of choice in his actions (90:10). With his tongue, a human can praise and thank his Creator who formed him and speak the truth, but he can also spread falsehood. Nevertheless, even in actions in which a human being appears to have been granted freedom of choice, he is subject to certain obligations and follows certain laws not conscious to him. In other words, his freedom of action is under a kind of Divinely ordained compulsion. Between two choices, he is bound to opt for what he thinks to be beneficial for him. Thus, decisions based on the freedom of choice are actually not his absolute free will, but are subject to a range of limitations.
According to most classical commentators, the believers are those who submit to Allâh willingly and consciously, whereas the disbelievers are those who submit to Him unwillingly and that their shadows are their followers. The closer an object is to light (or Divine Light), the larger is its shadow; and the further it is from the light, the shorter is its shadow. According to the disbelievers, the words “Whether they choose to obey or not” طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا refer to the compulsion of conscious creatures; believers or disbelievers. However, both types of creation, conscious and non-conscious have their shadows. Therefore, compulsion of submission apparently applies not only to conscious beings, but also to all other objects of creation.
The words of the verse also refer to the variability of the lengths of the shadows projected, depending on the objects position with respect to the incident light. The earth projects its shadow relative to its position to the sun, and so do the objects on this earth. Since the earths rotation around the sun is the outcome of Allâh’s creative Will, the greater length of a shadow in the morning and evening and its contraction towards noon is a visible expression of the shadows subjection to the Will of Allâh. This is what is meant by “even their shadows”.
The same analogy applies to the spiritual world, whereby the Prophet is the sun who spreads the Divine Light and the shadows cast by his work are his followers. Each of his followers has a shadow depending upon their position with respect to the sun and accordingly, the length of his shadow varies. As shown by the example of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), the recital of this verse is followed by prostration, so that the physical state of the body may be in perfect agreement with the spiritual condition of the mind. It is worth noting that during prostration the worshipper touches his own shadow.
Rûmî says, “Every wayfarer, whether righteous or wicked, Allâh is dragged, bound in chains, into his presence”. All are hauled along this way reluctantly, except those who are acquainted with the mysteries of divine action. The command to “come against your will” is addressed to the blind followers, whereas the command “come willingly” is for the man aligned with truth.