Tafsir of Surah An-Nahl - Verse 11

The Blessings of Rain, and explaining how it is one of the Signs

When Allah mentions the blessings of cattle and other animals that He has granted mankind, He then mentions how He has blessed them by sending rain down from the sky above, which has been fulfilling the needs and bringing joy to people and their cattle. Allah says:

لَّكُم مَّنْهُ شَرَابٌ

(from it you drink) meaning, He made it fresh and pure so that they can drink it, not salty and undrinkable.

وَمِنْهُ شَجَرٌ فِيهِ تُسِيمُونَ

(and from it (grows) the vegetation on which you send your cattle to pasture.) meaning, from it He raised plants on which your cattle graze. Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah and Ibn Zayd, all said that this refers to grazing animals including camels.

يُنبِتُ لَكُمْ بِهِ الزَّرْعَ وَالزَّيْتُونَ وَالنَّخِيلَ وَالأَعْنَـبَ وَمِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَتِ

(With it He causes crops to grow for you, olives, date palms, grapes, and every kind of fruit.) meaning, with this one kind of water, He makes the earth sprout plants with different tastes, colors, scents and shapes. For this reason He says,

إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لآيَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

(Verily, in this there is indeed an evident proof and a manifest sign for people who give thought.) meaning, this is a sign and a proof that there is no god besides Allah, as He says:

أَمَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ وَأَنزَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَنبَتْنَا بِهِ حَدَآئِقَ ذَاتَ بَهْجَةٍ مَّا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَن تُنبِتُواْ شَجَرَهَا أَإِلَـهٌ مَّعَ اللَّهِ بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ يَعْدِلُونَ

(Is not He (better than your gods) Who created the heavens and the earth, and sends water down for you from the sky, from which We cause wonderful gardens full of beauty and delight to grow You are not able to cause the growth of their trees. Is there any ilah (god) with Allah Nay, but they are a people who make equals (to Him)!) (27:60).

It will be noticed that all verses cited above point out to Divine blessings and mention the creation of the universe with unprecedented wisdom. In them, those who ponder find significant indicators and proofs which lead them to perceive the truth of Tauhid, the truth that Allah Ta` ala is One. Therefore, while these blessings are being mentioned, they are tied up with a notice to pay attention, think, understand and accept advice. Consequently, at the end of verse 11, it was said: إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُ‌ونَ (Indeed, in that, there is a sign for a people who ponder). The reason is that the linkage of pastures, crops, trees and their flowers and fruits with the creativity and wisdom of Allah Ta` ala needs some reflection. If one ponders over a grain or pit, he will come to realize that simply putting it inside the land and watering it cannot automatically cause it to grow into a huge big tree with flowers of many colours opening up all over it. No tiller or farmer or land owner has made this happen. Their role in this process is nil. All this is linked with and tied to the creativity and wisdom of the Absolute Master.

After that, when came the description of the night and day, the sun, the moon and the stars which have been made subservient by His command, it was said in the concluding sentence of verse 12: إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ (Indeed, in that, there are signs for a people who understand). Given here is the hint that these things are of course subservient to the command of Allah, an open fact which does not need a lot of thinking. Anyone having some reason in him would understand, because there was obviously some human input in the growth of vegetation and trees, but, in this case, there is none.

The clouds send down rain from the sky and, thanks to this, extremely fruitful results appear on the earth down below. This coordinated and harmonious action of ‘heaven and earth’ clearly proves that the God of earth is the same as that of heaven. There is perfect harmony among the different parts of the universe. This harmony is definite proof of the fact that the Creator and Lord of the whole universe is only one. In the present structure of the universe, there is no scope for more than one God, and when the real Creator and Lord is one God, making any thing other than Him an object of worship will be absolutely indefensible.