you see the earth stilled
أنك ترى الأرض خاشعة
That is, a dry, barren land with absolutely no vegetation.
but when We send down upon it rain
فإذا أنزلنا عليها الماء
Meaning, the rain
it stirs
اهتزت
stirred it,
and swells
ورَبَتْ
it swelled and rose,
but when We send down upon it rain
فإذا أنزلنا عليها الماء
meaning the water of the rain.
it stirs
اهتزت
Meaning, its vegetation trembled from above it; the intention is not that the earth itself trembles, for we do not feel that, although we allow that its trembling might be slight. But what appears is that it trembled with the vegetation.
and swells
وربَت
Meaning, it rose. Is the intention what the author indicated, that the earth swells when the seed wants to come out? The seed swells in the depths of the earth, and then when its branch wants to come out, it raises the earth. Is this the meaning of
swells
ربت
? Or is the meaning: it rose with the vegetation? Both are possible: that it rose with the vegetation, and that when he first mentioned its trembling, the trembling of the light vegetation, he then mentioned the rising of the vegetation, the large trees that rise. All of this is possible. Then Allah (Mighty and Majestic):
Indeed, He who has given it life is the Giver of Life to the dead. Indeed, He is over all things competent.
إن الذي أحياها لمحيي الموتى إنه على كل شيء قدير
Indeed, He who has given it life
إن الذي أحياها
Meaning, He gave life to the humbled earth.
is the Giver of life to the dead
لمحيي الموتى
And the sentence, as you see, is affirmed by two affirmations:
Indeed
إن
the letter lam, and
the dead
الموتى
the plural of "dead," and the intention is everyone who died from the children of Adam and others; He is able to give them life.
Indeed He is able to do all things.
إنه على كل شيء قدير
Indeed, he
إنه
is also a sentence affirmed by
Indeed
إن
and
Over all things competent.
على كل شيء قدير
everything. So Allah is Able over everything, Able to create the non-existent, to annihilate the existent, to change the fixed, and to fix the changing. He is Able over everything. So in this verse there are benefits:
First: That among the signs of Allah indicating His power is that the dry, lifeless earth, when water descends upon it, grows, stirs, and swells. Can anyone do such a thing? Absolutely not. Allah the Exalted said:
(63) And have you seen that [seed] which you sow? (64) Is it you who makes it grow, or are We the grower?
أفرأيتم ما تحرثون * ْأنتم تزرعونه أم نحن الزارعون
No one can, no matter how much strength they reach, to grow a single leaf. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, challenged all creation, saying:
O people, an example is presented, so listen to it. Indeed, those you invoke besides Allah will never create [as much as] a fly, even if they gathered together for that purpose
يا أيها الناس ضرب مثل فاستمعوا له إنَّ الذين تدعُون مِن دون الله لن يخلقُوا ذبابًا ولو اجتمعوا له
This is a challenge by the cosmic, decreed matter. And Allah challenged creation by the legislative matter, saying:
Say, "If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like of it
قُلْ لَئِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى أَنْ يَأْتُوا بِمِثْلِ هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ لا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ
[Al-Isra: 88]. So the human being is incapable, no matter who he is.
