ٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحْىِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا ۚ قَدْ بَيَّنَّا لَكُمُ ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ 17
Translations
Know that Allāh gives life to the earth after its lifelessness. We have made clear to you the signs; perhaps you will understand.
Transliteration
I'lamoo anna Allaha yuhyee al-arda ba'da mawtiha, qad bayyanna lakumu al-ayati la'allakum ta'qiloon.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah calls believers to know that Allah revives the dead earth with rain, serving as a metaphor for spiritual resurrection and the revival of hearts. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir interpret this as both a literal reminder of Allah's power over nature and a spiritual allegory for how Allah revives the hearts of the heedless through guidance. The ayah emphasizes that Allah has made His signs clear so that people may use their intellect to comprehend His divine power and wisdom.
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Hadid was revealed in Madinah and addresses the believers during a period of social upheaval and trials. This ayah appears within a section emphasizing Allah's complete sovereignty over life, death, and the natural world. It serves as a reminder to the community that just as Allah resurrects the earth, He will resurrect humanity on the Day of Judgment.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'The best charity is water' (Tirmidhi), connecting to the theme of water reviving dead land. Additionally, the Quranic concept of spiritual revival is reinforced in the hadith: 'The heart becomes rusty as iron becomes rusty when water touches it' (Sahih Bukhari), illustrating the parallel between physical and spiritual resurrection.
Themes
Key Lesson
Just as Allah brings dead earth back to life through rain, He has the power to revive spiritually dead hearts through His guidance and mercy. Believers are encouraged to observe the natural world as evidence of God's power and to use their reason to strengthen faith and draw closer to the Divine.
Related Ayahs
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ إِلَى ٱلطَّيْرِ فَوْقَهُمْ صَـٰٓفَّـٰتٍ وَيَقْبِضْنَ ۚ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍۭ بَصِيرٌ
Do they not see the birds above them with wings outspread and [sometimes] folded in? None holds them [aloft] except the Most Merciful. Indeed He is, of all things, Seeing.
ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى يُرْسِلُ ٱلرِّيَـٰحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا فَيَبْسُطُهُۥ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ كَيْفَ يَشَآءُ وَيَجْعَلُهُۥ كِسَفًا فَتَرَى ٱلْوَدْقَ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خِلَـٰلِهِۦ ۖ فَإِذَآ أَصَابَ بِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِۦٓ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ
It is Allāh who sends the winds, and they stir the clouds and spread them in the sky however He wills, and He makes them fragments so you see the rain emerge from within them. And when He causes it to fall upon whom He wills of His servants, immediately they rejoice
وَٱلشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْعَلِيمِ
And the sun runs [on course] toward its stopping point. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing.
مَّا لَهُۥ مِن دَافِعٍ
Of it there is no preventer.