The Creator of the universe has displayed the signs of his presence and power in the natural world and expects an appropriate response from humankind. This is the message of a large part of this sūra. In fact, the sūra is named after one of those signs: “the thunder ( al-ra ‘ d ) glorifies (Him) with His praise” (v. 13). The sūra also contains a number of verses that indicate an encounter between the messenger and his audience and the questions or speeches of resistance from the audience. In reply, the Quran dictates the preaching of the messenger, introduced by the word say . The response of the audience to the message carries consequences, and there are several descriptions of rewards and punishments. In this sūra the messenger is “only a warner” and is apparently vulnerable to discouragement. The Quran reassures the messenger at a number of points, claiming that his recitations are from Allah and telling him that being mocked was also an experience of messengers in the past.