فَٱنظُرْ إِلَىٰٓ ءَاثَـٰرِ رَحْمَتِ ٱللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُحْىِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَآ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ 50
Translations
So observe the effects of the mercy of Allāh - how He gives life to the earth after its lifelessness. Indeed, that [same one] will give life to the dead, and He is over all things competent.
Transliteration
Fānẓur ilā āthāri raḥmati -llāhi kayfa yuḥyī -l-arḍa baʿda mawtiha, inna dhālika lamuhyī -l-mawta wa-huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah directs believers to observe the signs of Allah's mercy in how He revives the dead earth with rain after drought, as evidence of His power to resurrect the dead. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari emphasize that the revival of the barren earth serves as a profound metaphor and proof for bodily resurrection on the Day of Judgment. The ayah concludes by affirming Allah's absolute power over all things, linking the visible miracle of creation with the unseen reality of the afterlife.
Revelation Context
Surah Ar-Rum, revealed in the Meccan period, addresses the polytheists' denial of resurrection. This ayah appears in a section refuting those who rejected the Hereafter, using observable natural phenomena as rational proof. The broader context discusses signs of Allah's power in creation and the inevitable victory of believers, providing consolation to the early Muslim community facing persecution.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'When Allah intends to resurrect the creation, He sends a wind from Paradise which causes all the believers, men and women, to die. Then He resurrects them' (related to resurrection themes, Sunan Ibn Majah). Also relevant: 'Indeed, Allah brings forth the creatures from the dead, and brings forth the dead from the living' (Sahih Muslim 2284), highlighting the cyclical nature of life and death.
Themes
Key Lesson
By observing the natural world around us—how Allah revives barren land with rain and brings forth life—we can strengthen our faith in resurrection and divine power, and recognize that denying the Hereafter contradicts the evident signs present in creation itself. This encourages mindfulness of divine signs in daily life as a means to deepen faith and reject skepticism about matters of the unseen.