Surat Ar-Ra`d (13-14)

{وَيُسَبِّحُ الرَّعْدُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَالْمَلاَئِكَةُ مِنْ خِيفَتِهِ وَيُرْسِلُ الصَّوَاعِقَ فَيُصِيبُ بِهَا مَن يَشَاءُ وَهُمْ يُجَادِلُونَ فِي اللّهِ وَهُوَ شَدِيدُ الْمِحَالِ} (الرعد : 13)

Thunder mentions, glorifies, and praises Allah in a way that we do not know, Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "And there is not a thing but glorifies His Praise. But you understand not their glorification." [Surat Al Isra': 44]. Thunder is like other natural phenomena which run by the command of Allah, therefore clouds cannot make the sound without His Permission and when it produces the sound, it glorifies Allah. Likewise, angels praise and glorify Him out of His greatness and reverence. Allah sends down thunderbolts as a punishment to whomever He wills to destroy them, whereas some people deny the signs of Allah and doubt His Ability, Wrath, and Punishment. Verily, Allah (Glory be to Him) is Severe in His Punishment for those who go out of limits, show stubbornness, transgress lines, and insist on belying His Messengers.

The Ayah was revealed about a man from the Arab tyrants to whom the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent a man of his Companions to call him to embrace Islam three times but he refused and said: Who is the Messenger of Allah? Who is Allah? Is he made of gold of silver or copper? Then a thunderbolt hit him to split his head into two halves.

{لَهُ دَعْوَةُ الْحَقِّ وَالَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ لاَ يَسْتَجِيبُونَ لَهُم بِشَيْءٍ إِلاَّ كَبَاسِطِ كَفَّيْهِ إِلَى الْمَاء لِيَبْلُغَ فَاهُ وَمَا هُوَ بِبَالِغِهِ وَمَا دُعَاء الْكَافِرِينَ إِلاَّ فِي ضَلاَلٍ} (الرعد : 14)

To Allah alone is the pure monotheism. As for idols which polytheists invoke, they do not respond to them whether to bring about benefit or push away harm. Their example is like the thirsty person who stretches out his hand to drink water but water does not exist because water is an inanimate which does not understand or come when a person is thirsty. Likewise disbelievers, they do not benefit from their invocations to idols, for they do not hear or feel their invocations and consequentially, they do not respond to them.