Tafseer of The Romans · Ar-Room · 30:19
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.
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.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَيُحْيِي الأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَكَذَلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ (30:19) (He brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living, and He gives life to the earth after its death; and thus shall you too be brought forth.)
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: Perform the ritual prayer (ṣalāh) at these times at which He has commanded you to pray, O people — Allah, the One who brings forth the living from the dead, namely the living human being from the dead water, and who brings forth the dead water from the living human being. وَيُحْيِي الأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا (and He gives life to the earth after its death): He makes it bring forth its plants and makes its crops come up after its devastation and barrenness. وَكَذَلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ (and thus shall you too be brought forth): He says: just as He gives life to the earth after its death and makes its plants and crops come forth, so too will He give you life after your death and bring you forth living from your graves to the place of the reckoning.
We have already previously given the explanation of His statement: يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ (He brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living), and in connection with it we have mentioned the disagreement of the exegetes, so that this excuses us from repetition in this place — except that here we mention some of the reports that we did not mention there, if Allah wills.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning His statement: يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ (He brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living). He said: He brings forth from the human being dead water and creates from it a human being — that is the dead from the living; and He brings forth the living from the dead, by which He means that He creates from the water a human being — that is the living from the dead.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Ḥasan concerning His statement: يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ (He brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living): the believer from the unbeliever (kāfir), and the unbeliever from the believer.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr and Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh: يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ (He brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living). He said: the sperm-drop (nuṭfa), the semen of the man, is dead, while he is living; and He brings forth the human being from it living, while it is dead.
