وَٱلَّذِى نَزَّلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءًۢ بِقَدَرٍ فَأَنشَرْنَا بِهِۦ بَلْدَةً مَّيْتًا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ 11
Translations
And who sends down rain from the sky in measured amounts, and We revive thereby a dead land - thus will you be brought forth -
Transliteration
Wa allathee nazzala mina as-sama'i ma'an biqadarin fa-ansharná bihi baldatan maytatan. Kadhálika tukhrajoon.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah emphasizes Allah's power and mercy in sending down rain in measured amounts to revive dead land, demonstrating His control over life and sustenance. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi interpret this as an explicit proof of Allah's sovereignty and a metaphor for resurrection—just as Allah revives barren earth with rain, He will resurrect the dead on the Day of Judgment. The phrase 'biqadarin' (in due measure) highlights the divine wisdom in creation, where nothing is excessive or deficient.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Az-Zukhruf (Meccan surah), which addresses the Meccan polytheists who denied Allah's oneness and the resurrection. The ayah is part of a broader argument refuting disbelievers' denial of monotheism and the afterlife by pointing to observable signs in creation—making it part of the surah's evidential discourse against idolatry.
Related Hadiths
Related to the theme of rain and resurrection: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'The similitude of believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body aches' (Sahih Muslim 2586). Additionally, numerous hadiths in Sahih Bukhari discuss rain as a sign of Allah's mercy and power over life and death.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us to reflect on the miracles surrounding us daily—particularly how Allah sustains life through seemingly simple means like rain—as evidence of His absolute power and as reassurance of His ability to resurrect us. It also encourages gratitude for Allah's measured provision and recognition that all life and sustenance come from Him alone.
Related Ayahs
أَفَأَمِنتُمْ أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمْ جَانِبَ ٱلْبَرِّ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا۟ لَكُمْ وَكِيلًا
Then do you feel secure that [instead] He will not cause a part of the land to swallow you or send against you a storm of stones? Then you would not find for yourselves an advocate.
إِن يَشَأْ يُسْكِنِ ٱلرِّيحَ فَيَظْلَلْنَ رَوَاكِدَ عَلَىٰ ظَهْرِهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ
If He willed, He could still the wind, and they would remain motionless on its surface. Indeed in that are signs for everyone patient and grateful.
۞ أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ خَرَجُوا۟ مِن دِيَـٰرِهِمْ وَهُمْ أُلُوفٌ حَذَرَ ٱلْمَوْتِ فَقَالَ لَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مُوتُوا۟ ثُمَّ أَحْيَـٰهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ
Have you not considered those who left their homes in many thousands, fearing death? Allāh said to them, "Die"; then He restored them to life. And Allāh is the possessor of bounty for the people, but most of the people do not show gratitude.
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