سُبْحَانَ الَّذِيْ يُسَبِّحُ الرَّعْدُ بِحَمْدِهِ ، وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ مِنْ خِيْفَتِهِ
Glory be to Him whom the thunder glorifies with His praise, and the angels too, out of fear of Him.
Subḥāna-lladhī yusabbiḥu-r-raʿdu bi-ḥamdihi wa-l-malāʾikatu min khīfatihi.
Reference
Reported through Mālik from ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr that ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him), when he heard thunder, would stop speaking and say:
- al-Adab al-Mufrad 723 · 252
- Muwaṭṭaʾ 3641 · 5/1444
- Natāʾij al-Afkār (Ibn Ḥajar) 5/141 بالإسناد الصحيح— ابن حجر
Explanation
Subḥāna declares Allah far above any imperfection. The rest of the words are from the Qur’an, sūrat al-Raʿd (13:13), which says that thunder glorifies Allah with His praise and the angels do so out of fear (khīfa) of Him. In the report, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr then added that this is a severe warning for the people of the earth. Ibn ʿAbbās is reported to have said that thunder is an angel who calls out to the rain as a shepherd calls out to his sheep.