Tafseer of Ornaments of gold · Az-Zukhruf · 43:11
And who sends down rain from the sky in measured amounts, and We revive thereby a dead land - thus will you be brought forth -
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.
Explanation of the saying of the Exalted: En Die uit de hemel water in een [vastgestelde] maat neerzond, waarmee Wij een dood land tot leven wekten; zo zullen jullie tevoorschijn worden gebracht (43:11)
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: And Who sent down water from the heaven in a measure — He means: what He, exalted is His praise, sent down from the heaven of rains in a measure. He says: according to the measure of your need for it, so that He did not make it like the Flood, whereby it would have been a punishment such as that which was sent down upon the people of Noah, nor did He make it so scant that, through its scarcity, the vegetation and the crops would not sprout by it; rather He made it a refreshing rain, which brings the dead earth to life and revives it. With which We brought a dead land to life — He, exalted is His praise, says: with which We brought to life a dead land among your lands, that is to say: a barren land without plant growth and without crops, which had fallen into ruin through the drought and had withered through the lack of rain. Thus shall you be brought forth — the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says:
Just as We, with this water that We sent down from the heaven, brought forth from this dead land, after its barrenness and drought, the vegetation and the crops, so shall you, O people, after your perishing and after you have become dust in the earth, be brought forth by the water that He sends down toward it to bring you to life after your death, as living ones in the form in which you were before your death.
And similar to what we have said concerning this, the exegetes said.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: And Who sent down water from the heaven in a measure... the verse — just as Allah brought this dead earth to life with this water, so shall you be raised up on the Day of Resurrection.
And it was said: anshamā bihi ("We raised up with it"), because its meaning is: We brought to life with it; and when the earth is described as brought to life, it is said: "the earth has been raised up (nushirat)," as al-Aʿshā said:
"Until the people, for what they saw, would say: O wonder, at the raised-up dead one!" (1)
