Tafseer of The Groups · Az-Zumar · 39:21
Do you not see that Allah sends down rain from the sky and makes it flow as springs [and rivers] in the earth; then He produces thereby crops of varying colors; then they dry and you see them turned yellow; then He makes them [scattered] debris. Indeed in that is a reminder for those of understanding.
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 explanation of His — exalted is He — word: أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَسَلَكَهُ يَنَابِيعَ فِي الأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يُخْرِجُ بِهِ زَرْعًا مُخْتَلِفًا أَلْوَانُهُ ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهُ حُطَامًا إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لأُولِي الأَلْبَابِ ("Have you not seen that Allah has sent down water from the sky and made it penetrate as springs in the earth, then brings forth thereby crops of varying colors; then it withers, and you see it turning yellow; then He makes it crumbled straw. Indeed, in that is a reminder for those who possess understanding") (21)
The Exalted — exalted is His mention — says to His prophet Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: أَلَمْ تَرَ ("Have you not seen"), O Muḥammad, أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً ("that Allah has sent down water from the sky") — and that is the rain — فَسَلَكَهُ يَنَابِيعَ فِي الأَرْضِ ("and made it penetrate as springs in the earth"). He says: and He made it flow as springs in the earth; the singular of it is yanbūʿ, which is that which wells up out of the earth.
And in accordance with what we have said about that, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, concerning His word فَسَلَكَهُ يَنَابِيعَ فِي الأَرْضِ ("and made it penetrate as springs in the earth"), he said: all dew and water in the earth has descended from the sky.
He said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn Muslim ibn Bayān, he said: then, by means of that water which He had sent down from the sky and made into springs in the earth, He caused crops to grow up مُخْتَلِفًا أَلْوَانُهُ ("of varying colors"), that is to say: of different kinds, namely wheat, barley, sesame, rice, and the like of various kinds. ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ("then it withers, and you see it turning yellow"). He says: then that crop dries up after its greenness. It is said of the earth, when the greenery in it dries up and withers: the earth has withered (hājat al-arḍ), and the crop has withered (hāja al-zarʿ).
And His word فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ("and you see it turning yellow"). He says: you see it, after its greenness and freshness, dried up, so that it has turned yellow; and thus the crop turns yellow in color when it dries up. ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهُ حُطَامًا ("then He makes it crumbled straw"). Al-ḥuṭām is the broken fragments of straw and hay. He says: then He makes that crop, after it has dried up, into crumbled debris.
And His word إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لأُولِي الأَلْبَابِ ("Indeed, in that is a reminder for those who possess understanding"). The Exalted — exalted is His mention — says: indeed, in Allah's performing of that, as He has described, is a reminder and an admonition for those who possess understanding and insight, by which they take heed and know that the One who did that will not be incapable of bringing forth what He wills of matters, and creating what He wishes of bodies and phenomena, and bringing back to life whoever of His creatures has perished, after his death, and restoring him after his decay, just as his form was before his decay — just as He has done with the earth upon which He sent down the water after its death, and caused to grow upon it, by His power, the crops of varying colors.
