The Thunder
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE[13:25]
But as for those who break their bond with God after it has been established [in their nature], and cut asunder what God has bidden to be joined, and spread corruption on earth – their due is rejection [by God], and theirs is a most evil fate [in the life to come].

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* v.25 : Lit., “after its establishment (mīthāq).” For a full explanation of the expression “bond with God” and of my interpolation, between brackets, of the words “in their nature,” see sūrah 2, note 19.
* The Qur’anic term la‘nah – usually but inexactly translated as “curse” (and popularly used in this sense in post-classical Arabic parlance) – denotes “banishment” or “alienation” (ib‘ād), i.e., from all that is good (Lisān al-‘Arab). Whenever it is attributed in the Qur’ān to God with reference to a sinner, it signifies the latter’s “exclusion from God’s grace” or his “rejection by God.” In the present context, this meaning is reinforced by the subsequent reference to “a most evil fate” (lit., “abode”) in the afterlife. – For an explanation of the phrase “what God has bidden to be joined,” see note 43 above.