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wa-min ʾāyātihī ʾannaka tarā l-ʾarḍa khāshiʿatan fa-ʾidhā ʾanzalnā ʿalayhā l-māʾa htazzat wa-rabat ʾinna lladhī ʾaḥyāhā la-muḥyi l-mawtā ʾinnahū ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīrun
Among His signs, is that you see the earth desolate; but when We send down water upon it, it stirs and swells. Indeed, He who revives it will also revive the dead. Indeed, He has power over all things.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Fussilat - Verse 39
39. And among His Signs is that you see the earth barren, but when We send down water to it, it is stirred to life and growth. Indeed, He Who gives it life, surely is Able to give life to the dead. Indeed He is Able to do all things.
God Almighty works through natural means. It is a representative sample; He Who revives the barren earth is Able to raise the dead on the Day of Resurrection. In blessed Verse in question, God Almighty addresses His Messenger (S) to show the veracity of Resurrection and raising of the dead on the Last Day so that His Prophet (S) reminds people to consider the Divine Signs and notice that the earth, withered and barren in winter is revived in spring when the rain renders the barren earth verdant and lush green.
One Who is Able to make the barren earth alive and verdant is also Able to resurrect the dead bodies through His Mercy, since He is Omnipotent. The motif of raising the dead on the Day of Resurrection and its similitude to the rejuvenation of the earth in springtime following its withering away in winter season is to attested in numerous Qur’anic Verses.
Since there should exist a point of similarity between tenor and vehicle in eloquent speech, without which similes lose their effectiveness, one may infer from the Verse that as the potentiality and actuality of the earth exists in winter season though the growth of plants stay stagnant, in like manner, man does not become non-existent following death but the external indications of his existence are not evident and he will be raised on the Day of Resurrection which is the springtime of his actuality through Divine Command and whatever stays dormant in his mind shall become evident.