Surah ar-Ra`d (The Thunder ) 13 : 15

Explanatory Note

At a time when such people associate partners with God, appealing to them for help, we see that everything in the universe submits to God’s will, operating in accordance with the laws He has set. Whoever of them believes in God willingly submits to Him in total obedience, and whoever disbelieves submits by force. No one is able to challenge God’s will, or to live outside the domain of the laws He has set in operation.

Because the general atmosphere here is one of prayer and supplication, the verse expresses the notion of submission to God’s will by the act of prostration, which is the clearest symbol of submission. It says that all creatures in the heavens and the earth prostrate themselves before God, but it adds that their shadows also do the same. They submit in the morning and also at the setting of the day when rays are broken and shadows are at their tallest. Thus the person and the shadow share in the prostration, submission and obedience. That is a fact, because shadows do what the persons themselves do. This fact adds its own connotations to the image painted. In effect, we see a double prostration, of both people and shadows. In fact the whole universe with all creatures and their shadows kneel down in submission before God, either willingly through faith or unwillingly. Yet those who are dumb still ascribe partners to God. How strange!