وَٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَرۡسَلَ ٱلرِّيَٰحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا فَسُقۡنَٰهُ إِلَىٰ بَلَدٍ مَّيِّتٍ فَأَحۡيَيۡنَا بِهِ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ بَعۡدَ مَوۡتِهَا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ ٱلنُّشُورُ
And it is Allah who sends the winds, and they stir the clouds, and We drive them to a dead land and give life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness. Thus is the resurrection.
The ayah presents a powerful metaphor from the natural world:
وَٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَرۡسَلَ ٱلرِّيَٰحَ
And it is Allah who sends the winds,
The word رِيح means wind. Wherever Allah mentions sending wind in the singular form, what is meant is punishment; wherever He mentions it in the plural form, it is mercy.
فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا
and they stir the clouds.
The verb تُثِيرُ means to spread things such as dust and clouds, to scatter them and stir them up so that they rise.
فَسُقۡنَٰهُ إِلَىٰ بَلَدٍ مَّيِّتٍ
And We drive them to a dead land.
فَأَحۡيَيۡنَا بِهِ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ بَعۡدَ مَوۡتِهَا
And [We] give life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness.
The rain falls, and suddenly the dead soil bursts forth with plants, with life, with colors.
كَذَٰلِكَ ٱلنُّشُورُ
Thus is the resurrection.
Just as dead lands are revived by rain, so too will the dead be resurrected on the Day of Judgment. The One who revives the dead soil can surely revive dead human beings as well.
This natural phenomenon, which we have witnessed time and again, is a sign and proof of the resurrection to come.