What is Ra’ad?

LAHORE: Designed to target enemy installations like radar posts and command nodes at a standoff range of up to 350 kilometres, the indigenously developed Pakistani Ra’ad or Hataf-VIII missile weighs 1,100 kilograms and is 4.85 metres long.
Successfully tested again on Monday, the sixth time since on August 25, 2007, this low-altitude Air Launched Cruise Missile is named after Holy Quran’s 13thchapter, Surah Ar-Ra’ad, meaning ‘the thunder’. Incidentally, the word ‘Ra’ad’ is mentioned in the 13th verse of this Quranic Surah.
The 43 verses of Surah Ar-Ra’ad explain how Allah the Almighty has spread the earth, created mountains and rivers, how He causes the night to cover the day, how He sends the rain down from the sky and while this Quranic chapter promises paradise for the righteous, it warns disbelievers that the consequence for their defiance will be the punishment through fire.
As far as Hataf-VIII is concerned, it derives its title from “Al-Hataf,” which was one of Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) nine swords.Kept in a museum, the sword “Al-Hataf” is 112 centimetres long and 8 centimetres wide.Of Hazrat Muhammad’s (SAW) nine swords, two were inherited from his family and three were from the spoils of war “Azab.”
It is said that this sword was made by Hazrat Dawood (David) with his hands, as he was an expert in making and carving things from iron.Ra’ad, by the way, is also the name given to the family of self-propelled Iranian anti-tank and anti-ship missiles.