يُخْرِجُ ٱلْحَىَّ مِنَ ٱلْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ ٱلْمَيِّتَ مِنَ ٱلْحَىِّ وَيُحْىِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ 19
Translations
He brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living and brings to life the earth after its lifelessness. And thus will you be brought out.
Transliteration
Yukhrij al-hayya min al-mayyit wa yukhrij al-mayyata min al-hayy wa yuhyi al-arda ba'da mawtiha wa kadhalika tukhrajun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes Allah's perfect power over life and death through three interconnected examples: He brings forth the living from the dead (such as the bird from the egg or the plant from the seed), He brings forth the dead from the living (like a dead child from living parents), and He revives dead earth with rain and vegetation. Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain these as demonstrations of divine omnipotence, culminating in the final promise that humans will similarly be brought forth from the earth on the Day of Resurrection. The sequence moves from observable natural phenomena to the ultimate metaphysical reality of the afterlife.
Revelation Context
Surah Ar-Rum is a Meccan surah addressing the polytheists and those who denied resurrection. This ayah appears in the context of refuting disbelief in the Hereafter by directing attention to Allah's creative power evident in the natural world, making the resurrection seem entirely plausible to those who witness life emerging from apparent death daily.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said regarding resurrection: 'As Allah has created you the first time, so shall He create you again' (Surah Ar-Rum 30:11, and related in Tirmidhi). Also relevant is the hadith about contemplating creation: 'In the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are signs for those of understanding' (Sahih Bukhari).
Themes
Key Lesson
By observing the natural cycles of life emerging from apparent death in our everyday world, we gain concrete proof of Allah's power to resurrect us after death, which should inspire awe of the Creator and confident faith in the Day of Judgment. This ayah teaches us that recognizing divine signs in nature strengthens our spiritual conviction and intellectual certainty in Islamic doctrine.