7 wonders [signs] mentioned
Human being out of dust
Created mates to live with love and mercy
heaven and earth and diversity of languages and colors
sleep
ability to go for adventure or quest
lightening and rain, giving life after dead
the skies and earth stand in command of God and He calls and they come
30. Surah Ar-Rum (The Byzantines)
Mecca Period [6-7 years before Hijra]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
يُخْرِجُ
الْحَيَّ مِنَ
الْمَيِّتِ
وَيُخْرِجُ
الْمَيِّتَ
مِنَ الْحَيِّ...
30:19. It is He Who brings out the living from the dead, and brings out the dead from the living,
C3522. Cf. 10:31.
From dead matter Allah's creative act produces life and living matter, and even science has not yet been able to explain the mystery of life.
Life and living matter again seem to reach maturity and again die, as we see every day. No material thing seems to have perpetual life. But again we see the creative process of Allah constantly at work, and the cycle of life and death seems to go on.
... وَيُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا...
and Who gives life to the earth after it is dead:
C3523. Cf. 2:164.
The earth itself, seemingly so inert, produces vegetable life at once from a single shower of rain, and in various ways sustains animal life.
Normally it seems to die in the winter in northern climates, and in a drought everywhere, and the spring revives it in all its glory.
Metaphorically many movements, institutions, organizations, seem to die and then to live again, all under the wonderful dispensation of Allah. So will our personality be revived when we die on this earth, in order to reap the fruit of this our probationary life.
... وَكَذَلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ ﴿١٩﴾
and thus shall ye be brought out (from the dead).
وَمِنْ
آيَاتِهِ أَنْ
خَلَقَكُم مِّن
تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ
إِذَا أَنتُم
بَشَرٌ تَنتَشِرُونَ
﴿٢٠﴾
30: 20. Among His Signs is this, that He created you from dust; and then, behold, ye are men scattered (far and wide)!
In spite of the lowly origin of man's body, Allah has given him a mind and soul by which he can almost compass the farthest reaches of Time and Space.
Is this not enough for a miracle or Sign?
From a physical point of view, see how man, a creature of dust, scatters himself over the furthest corners of the earth!
وَمِنْ
آيَاتِهِ
أَنْ خَلَقَ
لَكُم مِّنْ
أَنفُسِكُمْ
أَزْوَاجًا
لِّتَسْكُنُوا
إِلَيْهَا...
30: 21. And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them,
C3525. This refers to the wonderful mystery of sex. Children arise out of the union of the sexes. And it is always the female sex that bring forth the offspring, whether female or male. And the father is as necessary as the mother for bringing forth daughters.
... وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً ...
and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts);
C3526. Cf. 7:189.
Unregenerate man is pugnacious in the male sex, but rest and tranquility are found in the normal relations of a father and mother dwelling together and bringing up a family.
A man's chivalry to the opposite sex is natural and Allah-given. The friendship of two men between each other is quite different in quality and temper from the feeling which unspoilt nature expects as between men and women. There is a special kind of love and tenderness between them. And as woman is the weaker vessel, that tenderness may from a certain aspect be likened to mercy, the protecting kindness which the strong should give to the weak.
... إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ﴿٢١﴾
verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.
وَمِنْ
آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ
السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالْأَرْضِ
وَاخْتِلَافُ
أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ
وَأَلْوَانِكُمْ...
30: 22. And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors:
C3527. The variations in languages and colors may be viewed from the geographical aspect or from the aspect of periods of time.
All mankind were created of a single pair of parents; yet they have spread to different countries and climates and developed different languages and different shades of complexions. And yet their basic unity remains unaltered. They feel in the same way, and are all equally under Allah's care.
Then there are the variations in time. Old languages die out and new ones are evolved. New conditions of life and thought are constantly evolving new words and expressions, new syntactical structures, and new modes of pronunciation. Even old races die, and new races are born.
... إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّلْعَالِمِينَ ﴿٢٢﴾
verily in that are Signs for those who know.
وَمِنْ
آيَاتِهِ
مَنَامُكُم
بِاللَّيْلِ
وَالنَّهَارِ
وَابْتِغَاؤُكُم
مِّن فَضْلِهِ...
30: 23. And among His Signs is the sleep that ye take by night and by day, and the quest that ye (make for livelihood) out of His Bounty:
C3528. If we consider deeply, sleep and dreams, the refreshment we get from sleep to wakefulness as well as from wakefulness to sleep, as also the state of our thoughts and feelings and sub-conscious self in these conditions, are both wonderful and mysterious.
Normally we sleep by night and do our ordinary work "in quest of the Bounty of Allah" by day. But sleep and rest may come and be necessary by day, and we may have to work by night. And our work for our livelihood may pass by insensible transitions to our work or thought or service of a higher and spiritual kind.
These processes suggest a background of things which we know but vaguely, but which are as much miracles as other Signs of Allah.
... إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَسْمَعُونَ ﴿٢٣﴾
verily in that are Signs for those who hearken.
C3529. From verse 20 to verse 25 are mentioned a series of Signs or Miracles, which should awaken our souls and lead us to true Reality if we try to understand Allah.
1. There is our own origin and destiny, which must necessarily be our subjective starting point: "I think; therefore I am":
no particular exertion of our being is here necessary (30:20).
2. The first beginnings of social life arise through sex and love:
to understand this in all its bearing, we must "reflect" (30:21).
3. The next point is to understand our diversities in speech, color, etc., arising from differences of climate and external conditions; yet there is unity beneath that diversity, which we shall realize by extended knowledge (30:22).
4. Next we turn to our psychological conditions, sleep, rest, visions, insight, etc.; here we want teaching and guidance, to which we must hearken (30:23).
5. Next, we must approach the higher reaches of spiritual hopes and fears, as symbolized by such subtle forces of nature as lightning and electricity, which may kill the foolish or bring prosperity in its train by rain and abundant harvest; to understand the highest spiritual hopes and fears so symbolized, we want the highest wisdom (30:24).
6. And lastly, we may become so transformed that we rise above all petty, worldly, ephemeral things:
Allah calls to us and we rise, as from our dead selves to a Height which we can only describe as the Heaven of stability: here no human processes serve, for the Call of Allah Himself has come (30:25-27).
وَمِنْ
آيَاتِهِ
يُرِيكُمُ
الْبَرْقَ
خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا
...
30: 24. And among His Signs, He shows you the lightning, by way both of fear and of hope,
C3530. See last note, item 5. Cf. 13:12 .
To cowards lightning and thunder appear as terrible forces of nature:
lightning seems to kill and destroy where its irresistible progress is not assisted by proper lightning-conductors. But lightning is also a herald of rain-bearing clouds and showers that bring fertility and prosperity in their train.
This double aspect is also symbolical of spiritual fears and hopes, fears lest we may not be found receptive or worthy of the irresistible perspicuous Message of Allah, and hopes that we may receive it in the right spirit and be blessed by its mighty power of transformation to achieve spiritual well-being.
Note that the repetition of the phrase "gives life to the earth after it is dead" connects this verse, with verse 19 above; in other words, the Revelation, which we must receive with wisdom and understanding, is a Sign of Allah's own power and mercy, and is vouchsafed in order to safeguard our own final Future.
... وَيُنَزِّلُ مِنَ السَّمَاء مَاء فَيُحْيِي بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا...
and He sends down rain from the sky and with it gives life to the earth after it is dead:
... إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ ﴿٢٤﴾
verily in that are Signs for those who are wise.
وَمِنْ
آيَاتِهِ
أَن تَقُومَ
السَّمَاء
وَالْأَرْضُ
بِأَمْرِهِ...
30: 25. And among His Signs is this, that heaven and earth stand by His Command:
C3531. In the physical world, the sky and the earth, as we see them, stand unsupported, by the artistry of Allah. They bear witness to Allah, and in
- that our physical life depends on them,
- the earth for its produce and the sky for rain, the heat of the sun, and other phenomena of nature,
- they call to our mind our relation to Allah Who made them and us.
How can we then be so dense as not to realize that our higher Future, our Ma'ad, is bound up with the call and the mercy of Allah?
...ثُمَّ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ دَعْوَةً مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ إِذَا أَنتُمْ تَخْرُجُونَ ﴿٢٥﴾
then when He calls you, by a single call, from the earth, behold, ye (straightway) come forth.
Asad’s Version:
30:19 He (it is who] brings forth the living out of that which is dead, and brings forth the dead out of that which is alive, and gives life to the earth after it had been lifeless: and even thus will you be brought forth [from death to life].
(30:20) And among His wonders is this: He creates you out of dust 14 - and then, lo! you become human beings ranging far and wide.
30:21 And among His wonders is this: He creates for you mates out of your own kind, 15 so that you might incline towards them, and He engenders love and tenderness between you: in this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who think!
(30:22) And among his wonders is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your tongues and colours: for in this, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are possessed of [innate] knowledge!
30:23 And among His wonders is your sleep, at night or in daytime, as well as your [ability to go about in] quest of some of His bounties: in this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who fare willing to] listen!
[[ Asad’s notes -
12 See note 111 on 7:147.
13 I.e., 'remember God at all times". Apart from this general exhortation, the hours mentioned above circumscribe the times of the five daily prayers incumbent upon a Muslim. The 'evening hours" indicate the prayer after sunset (maghrib) as well as that after nightfall ('isha').
14 See second half of note 47 on 3:59, and note 4 on 23:12.
15 Lit., "from among yourselves" (see surah 4, note 1). ]]
30:24 And among His wonders is this: He displays before you the lightning, giving rise to [both] fear and hope," and sends down water from the skies, giving life thereby to the earth after it had been lifeless: in this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who use their reason!
30:25 And among His wonders is this: the skies and the earth stand firm at His behest. 17 [Remember all this: for] in the end, when He will call you forth from the earth with a single call - lo! you will [all] emerge [for judgment].