Surah 41:39

"(Another) of His signs is that you see the earth barren, (and) then, when We send down water on it, it stirs and swells. Surely the One who gives it life is indeed the giver of life to the dead. Surely He is powerful over everything."

Islamic Commentaries (1)Manuscripts (46)

From among the Signs of Allah Verses 41:37-39

Show Full Scripture Context (41:37-39) — 3 Verses

Verse 37

وَمِنۡ ءَايَٰتِهِ ٱلَّيۡلُ وَٱلنَّهَارُ وَٱلشَّمۡسُ وَٱلۡقَمَرُۚ لَا تَسۡجُدُواْ لِلشَّمۡسِ وَلَا لِلۡقَمَرِ وَٱسۡجُدُواْۤ لِلَّهِۤ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَهُنَّ إِن كُنتُمۡ إِيَّاهُ تَعۡبُدُونَ

Among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Do not prostrate yourselves before the sun or before the moon, but prostrate yourselves before God, who created them, if you serve Him.

Verse 38

فَإِنِ ٱسۡتَكۡبَرُواْ فَٱلَّذِينَ عِندَ رَبِّكَ يُسَبِّحُونَ لَهُۥ بِٱلَّيۡلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ وَهُمۡ لَا يَسۡـَٔمُونَ۩

If they are (too) proud, those who are in the presence of your Lord glorify Him by night and day, and do not become tired.

Verse 39

وَمِنۡ ءَايَٰتِهِۦٓ أَنَّكَ تَرَى ٱلۡأَرۡضَ خَٰشِعَةٗ فَإِذَآ أَنزَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهَا ٱلۡمَآءَ ٱهۡتَزَّتۡ وَرَبَتۡۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَحۡيَاهَا لَمُحۡيِ ٱلۡمَوۡتَىٰٓۚ إِنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيۡءٖ قَدِيرٌ

(Another) of His signs is that you see the earth barren, (and) then, when We send down water on it, it stirs and swells. Surely the One who gives it life is indeed the giver of life to the dead. Surely He is powerful over everything.

Here Allah reminds His Creation of His power, and that He is the One Who has no equal, and He is Able to do all things. Allah's saying;

Quoted Scripture

"And from among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon."

means, He created the night with its darkness and the day with its light, and they alternate without ceasing. And He created the sun with its shining light, and the moon with its reflected light, and He allotted their stages and gave them separate orbits in the heavens, so that by the variations in their movements man may know the stages of night and day, of weeks, months and years, and time periods related to people's rights, acts of worship and various transactions. Moreover, because the sun and moon are the most beautiful of the heavenly bodies that can be seen in both the upper and lower realms, Allah points out that they are created entities which are in a state of enthrallment to Him, subject to His dominion and control. So He says:

Quoted Scripture

"Do not prostrate yourselves to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate yourselves to Allah Who created them, if you (really) worship Him."

meaning, 'do not associate anything in worship with Him, for your worship of Him will be of no benefit to you if you worship others alongside Him, because He does not forgive the association of others in worship with Him.' He says:

{But if they are too proud,} i.e., to worship Him Alone, and they insist on associating others with Him,

{that there are those who are with your Lord} i.e., the angels.

{glorify Him night and day, and never are they tired.} This is like the Ayah:

Quoted Scripture

"[But if these disbelieve therein, then, indeed We have entrusted it to a people who are not disbelievers therein.](quran/6/89)}."

{And among His signs} means, signs of His ability to bring the dead back to life.

{that you see the earth barren,} means, lifeless, with nothing growing in it; it is dead.

Quoted Scripture

"but when We send down water (rain) to it, it is stirred to life and growth."

means, it brings forth all kinds of crops and fruits.

Quoted Scripture

"Verily, He Who gives it life, surely is able to give life to the dead. Indeed He is Able to do all things."

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 8, Page 545-547)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.

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