وَفِى ٱلْأَرْضِ قِطَعٌ مُّتَجَـٰوِرَٰتٌ وَجَنَّـٰتٌ مِّنْ أَعْنَـٰبٍ وَزَرْعٌ وَنَخِيلٌ صِنْوَانٌ وَغَيْرُ صِنْوَانٍ يُسْقَىٰ بِمَآءٍ وَٰحِدٍ وَنُفَضِّلُ بَعْضَهَا عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ فِى ٱلْأُكُلِ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ 4
Translations
And within the land are neighboring plots and gardens of grapevines and crops and palm trees, [growing] several from a root or otherwise, watered with one water; but We make some of them exceed others in [quality of] fruit. Indeed in that are signs for a people who reason.
Transliteration
Wa fi al-ardi qita'un mutajawirātun wa jannātun min a'nābin wa zar'un wa nakhīlun sınwān wa ghayru sınwān yusqā bi-māin wāhid wa nufarddilu ba'dahā 'alā ba'din fī al-ukul. Inna fī dhālika la-āyātin li-qawmin ya'qilūn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah highlights the diversity and excellence of agricultural lands and crops on earth, where adjacent plots of land produce different yields despite receiving the same water and conditions. Ibn Kathir emphasizes that Allah causes different fruits and crops to grow in neighboring lands—palm trees (some single-trunked, some multi-trunked), vineyards, and grain—demonstrating Divine wisdom in creation. The verse concludes that these variations are signs (āyāt) for people of intellect who reflect upon Allah's power and the reasons behind this differentiation, inviting believers to contemplate the hidden wisdom in apparent similarities.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Ar-Ra'd (The Thunder), a Medinan surah focused on establishing Divine oneness and the signs of Allah throughout creation. The surah addresses the Meccan pagans' denial and mockery, using natural phenomena as evidence of monotheism. This particular verse uses agricultural observations—familiar to the Arabian context—to demonstrate Allah's power and the variety within His creation.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever plants a tree, and it produces fruit, will have charity recorded for him.' (Musnad Ahmad). Additionally, the Quran itself in Surah Abasa (80:31) mentions: 'We cause gardens of date-palms and grapevines to grow for you,' connecting to the agricultural theme of this verse.
Themes
Key Lesson
Even in apparent uniformity—such as adjacent lands receiving the same water—Allah manifests infinite wisdom through diversity in results, reminding believers that difference and variation are divinely ordained and purposeful. This encourages us to reflect deeply on natural phenomena around us as evidence of Allah's existence and perfect knowledge, rather than attributing outcomes to mere chance.
Related Ayahs
وَقَدْ مَكَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَلِلَّهِ ٱلْمَكْرُ جَمِيعًا ۖ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ۗ وَسَيَعْلَمُ ٱلْكُفَّـٰرُ لِمَنْ عُقْبَى ٱلدَّارِ
And those before them had plotted, but to Allāh belongs the plan entirely. He knows what every soul earns, and the disbelievers will know for whom is the final home.
وَلِلَّهِ يَسْجُدُ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا وَظِلَـٰلُهُم بِٱلْغُدُوِّ وَٱلْـَٔاصَالِ ۩
And to Allāh prostrates whoever is within the heavens and the earth, willingly or by compulsion, and their shadows [as well] in the mornings and the afternoons.
۞ مَّثَلُ ٱلْجَنَّةِ ٱلَّتِى وُعِدَ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ ۖ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ ۖ أُكُلُهَا دَآئِمٌ وَظِلُّهَا ۚ تِلْكَ عُقْبَى ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوا۟ ۖ وَّعُقْبَى ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ ٱلنَّارُ
The example [i.e., description] of Paradise, which the righteous have been promised, is [that] beneath it rivers flow. Its fruit is lasting, and its shade. That is the consequence for the righteous, and the consequence for the disbelievers is the Fire.
لَّهُمْ عَذَابٌ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَعَذَابُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ أَشَقُّ ۖ وَمَا لَهُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ مِن وَاقٍ
For them will be punishment in the life of [this] world, and the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe. And they will not have from Allāh any protector.