Tafseer of The Criterion · Al-Furqaan · 25:49
That We may bring to life thereby a dead land and give it as drink to those We created of numerous livestock and men.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
﴿لِنُحْيِيَ بِهِ بَلْدَةً مَيْتًا﴾ — by this is meant: a parched, barren land that brings forth nothing. Allah said ﴿بَلْدَةً مَيْتًا﴾ and not "maytatan" (with the feminine ending), because by it is meant a place and a location that is dead. ﴿وَنُسْقِيَهُ﴾ — that which We have created — ﴿أَنْعَامًا﴾ — cattle — ﴿وَأَنَاسِيَّ كَثِيرًا﴾ — the anāsī is the plural of insān; the plural anāsī is formed because the yāʾ takes the place of the nūn in insān. It is also formed as the plural ināsīn, just as nashhyān has the plural nashāyīn. If one says that anāsī is the plural with insī as its singular, then that too is a transmitted view. It may also be pronounced anāsī with a shortened yāʾ, and it appears that whoever forms it in the plural in this way has dropped the yāʾ between the second and the third radical of the root, just as qarqūr has the plurals qarāqīr and qarāqir. A confirmation of their forming the plural with shortening is the Arabic expression: anāsiyatun kathīratun.
