Surah Al-Waaqia (56) — Ayah 68

(Ayah 68 to 70) ➊ { اَفَرَءَيْتُمُ الْمَآءَ الَّذِيْ تَشْرَبُوْنَ … : ’’ الْمُزْنِ ‘‘} is a collective noun, meaning clouds. Its singular is {’’مُزْنَةٌ‘‘}. In Taysir al-Qur’an it is stated: “This is another marvel of Allah Almighty’s power: due to the heat of the sun, water vapors rise from the surface of the sea. These vapors later take the form of clouds and fall as rain. The water of the sea from which the vapors rise is extremely salty and burning to the chest, but the rain that falls contains no trace of saltiness. Whereas, when we distill the essence from herbs or medicines in this way, both the taste and the scent are transferred. For example, in the distillate of fennel, ajwain, borage, or rose, the taste and scent of these items are transferred, but the saltiness of sea water is not transferred with the water vapors. This is a special mercy of Allah Almighty, otherwise no living being on this earth could survive by drinking such water, nor could any produce—which after water is the second greatest support for the life of living beings—grow from such water.” (Adapted)

➋ As evidence for the Resurrection, the first creation of man is mentioned, and the growing of crops from dead seeds in the earth is mentioned. The role of water, especially rain, in growing crops is evident, so it is mentioned here. On the Day of Resurrection, human bodies will also sprout from rain. For the hadith, see the commentary of Surah An-Naml (87). Allah Almighty has presented rain, besides the Resurrection, as evidence of His Oneness in various places, for example, see Surah Al-Baqarah (21, 22), An-Naml (60), Al-Ankabut (63), and Surah Ar-Rum (48 to 51).