Surah Az-Zumar (39) — Ayah 21

(Ayah 21) ➊ { اَلَمْ تَرَ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ اَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً … : ’’ يَنَابِيْعَ ‘‘ ’’يَنْبُوْعٌ‘‘} is the plural of 'yanbūʿ,' which means both a spring and a stream with abundant water. (Qamoos) Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Allah Almighty is informing that the origin of the water present in the earth is from the sky, as Allah Almighty said: «وَ اَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً طَهُوْرًا» [ الفرقان : ۴۸ ] 'And We sent down from the sky purifying water.' After descending from the sky, this water goes into the layers of the earth, then Allah Almighty directs it as He wills according to need and brings it out in the form of small or large springs, from which streams and rivers are formed. That is why Allah Almighty said: « فَسَلَكَهٗ يَنَابِيْعَ فِي الْاَرْضِ» 'Then He directed it as springs in the earth.'"

➋ Along with the mention of the everlasting punishment of the Fire in the Hereafter and the everlasting Paradise, the temporary and unstable nature of the adornment and prosperity of worldly life is also mentioned. The state of the crop produced with the water that descends from the sky, as described in this verse, is the same as that of a human being: first he is a child, then he becomes young, then matures and grows old, and finally departs from this world. This is the state of everything in the world; all its adornments are temporary and short-lived, every perfection of it declines, and everything in it is ultimately destined to perish. For further explanation of this verse, see Surah Yunus (24), Kahf (45), and Hadid (20).

➌ {ثُمَّ يُخْرِجُ بِهٖ زَرْعًا مُّخْتَلِفًا اَلْوَانُهٗ :} The different colors refer to both various colors, such as green, red, yellow, etc., and different types, such as wheat, barley, and chickpeas, etc. This is evidence that producing crops of different colors and tastes from the same water and the same earth is not the work of blind, deaf matter, but the work of an All-Powerful and Willful Being. See Surah Ra’d (4).

➍ {ثُمَّ يَهِيْجُ فَتَرٰىهُ مُصْفَرًّا : ’’هَاجَ يَهِيْجُ هَيْجًا وَ هِيَاجًا وَ هَيْجَانًا الشَّيْءُ‘‘} means the emergence or movement of something. {’’هَاجَ النَّبْتُ‘‘} means the drying up of the crop.

➎ { ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهٗ حُطَامًا :’’ حَطِمَ } (S) {الشَّيْءُ حَطَمًا‘‘} means something breaking into pieces. {’’ حُطَامًا ‘‘ ’’فُتَاتًا‘‘} is similar in weight and meaning, meaning shattered, crushed. In this verse, it is said: {’’ ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهٗ حُطَامًا ‘‘} (then He makes it crushed), whereas in Surah Hadid it is said: «ثُمَّ يَكُوْنُ حُطَامًا » [ الحدید : ۲۰ ] 'then it becomes crushed.' This difference is because here the discussion is about Allah’s power and craftsmanship: Allah sent down water from the sky, then directed it as springs in the earth, then mentioned the growth and ripening of crops of various colors, so it is said, then He makes it crushed. In Surah Hadid, the discussion begins with {’’ الْحَيٰوةُ الدُّنْيَا ‘‘} (the life of this world), so at the end it is said, then it becomes crushed.

➏ In { اِنَّ فِيْ ذٰلِكَ لَذِكْرٰى … : ’’ لَذِكْرٰى ‘‘}, the use of the indefinite form is for magnification, meaning there is a great admonition in it for people of understanding: that their life is also unstable and perishable like this crop, and also that Allah Almighty will resurrect them again whenever He wills, just as He revives the dead earth through water.