وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّن نَّزَّلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَحْيَا بِهِ ٱلْأَرْضَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَوْتِهَا لَيَقُولُنَّ ٱللَّهُ ۚ قُلِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ۚ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ 63
Translations
And if you asked them, "Who sends down rain from the sky and gives life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness?" they would surely say, "Allāh." Say, "Praise to Allāh"; but most of them do not reason.
Transliteration
Wa la'in sa'altahum man nazzala mina as-sama'i ma'an fa-ahya bihi al-arda min ba'di mawtiha la-yaqulunna Allah. Qul al-hamdu lillah. Bal akthiruhum la ya'qilun.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah presents a rhetorical argument demonstrating the idolaters' contradiction: when asked who sends down rain from the sky to revive the dead earth, they acknowledge it is Allah, yet they associate partners with Him in worship. Ibn Kathir notes this as clear evidence of their intellectual inconsistency—they recognize Allah's divine power in sustenance yet deny His exclusive right to worship. The Prophet is commanded to respond with praise to Allah alone, emphasizing that most of them lack understanding ('aql) despite this obvious reality.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs in Surah Al-'Ankabut, a Meccan surah addressing the polytheists of Mecca who denied monotheism. It reflects the recurring Quranic theme of confronting the Meccan idolaters with logical proofs of Allah's oneness based on observable natural phenomena, particularly the cycle of death and revival through rain.
Related Hadiths
Related to the theme of recognizing Allah through creation: Sahih Bukhari (3191) where the Prophet ﷺ taught that reflection upon creation leads to understanding Allah's majesty. Also relevant is the hadith in Sunan Ibn Majah regarding the importance of contemplating the signs of Allah in nature.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that recognizing Allah's power through His creation should lead to wholehearted devotion to Him alone; it challenges us to examine our own lives for inconsistencies between what we intellectually acknowledge about Allah's power and how we actually conduct our worship and priorities.