Tafseer of Explained in detail · Fussilat · 41:39
And of His signs is that you see the earth stilled, but when We send down upon it rain, it quivers and grows. Indeed, He who has given it life is the Giver of Life to the dead. Indeed, He is over all things competent.
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 the saying of the Exalted: وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنَّكَ تَرَى الأَرْضَ خَاشِعَةً فَإِذَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَاءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ إِنَّ الَّذِي أَحْيَاهَا لَمُحْيِي الْمَوْتَى إِنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (39) ("And among His signs is that you see the earth withered, but when We send down upon it water, it quivers and swells. Verily, He who brings it to life is surely the One who brings the dead to life. Verily, He has power over all things.") (41:39)
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: And among the proofs of Allah and His indications of His power to raise the dead after their decay, and to restore them to their form as they were after their perishing, is that you, O Muḥammad, see the earth dried out and dusty, without plant growth and without crops.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his saying: وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنَّكَ تَرَى الأرْضَ خَاشِعَةً ("And among His signs is that you see the earth withered"): that is, dusty and crumbled apart.
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنَّكَ تَرَى الأرْضَ خَاشِعَةً ("And among His signs is that you see the earth withered"). He said: dry and crumbled apart.
فَإِذَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَاءَ اهْتَزَّتْ ("but when We send down upon it water, it quivers") — the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: but when We send down from the sky a rainfall upon this withered earth, then it quivers through the plant growth. He says: it moves itself thereby.
As Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, his saying: اهْتَزَّتْ ("it quivers"). He said: through the plant growth. وَرَبَتْ ("and swells"). He says: it swelled up.
As Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: وَرَبَتْ ("and swells"): it swelled up.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: فَإِذَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَاءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ ("but when We send down upon it water, it quivers and swells"): the rainfall is recognizable by its appearance and its swelling.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَرَبَتْ ("and swells") through the plant growth. He said: it rose up before it brought forth plants.
And His saying: إِنَّ الَّذِي أَحْيَاهَا لَمُحْيِي الْمَوْتَى ("Verily, He who brings it to life is surely the One who brings the dead to life") — the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Verily, the One who brought this withered earth to life, so that He brought forth from it the plant growth and made it quiver through the crops after its dryness and its decay — through the rain that He sent down upon it — is surely able to bring the dead among the children of Ādam to life after their death, by means of the water that He sends down from the sky to bring them to life.
And in the sense of what we have said about this, the exegetes said.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, he said: Just as He brings the earth to life through the rain, so He brings the dead to life through the water on the Day of Resurrection, between the two blasts of the trumpet. By that he means the explanation of His saying: إِنَّ الَّذِي أَحْيَاهَا لَمُحْيِي الْمَوْتَى ("Verily, He who brings it to life is surely the One who brings the dead to life").
And His saying: إِنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ("Verily, He has power over all things") — the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Verily, your Lord, O Muḥammad, has power over bringing His creatures to life after their death and over all that He wills; nothing that He has willed renders Him powerless, and the carrying out of any matter that He has willed is not impossible for Him.
