[Surah al-A‘rāf (7): Verses 57–58]
“It is He who sends the winds bearing glad tidings ahead of His mercy. When they carry clouds heavy with rain, We drive them to a lifeless land, send down water upon it, and thereby bring forth every kind of fruit. Thus will We bring forth the dead, so that you may take heed. (57) As for good land, its vegetation grows by its Lord’s permission; but land that is poor produces only scantily. Thus do We explain the signs in various ways for people who give thanks. (58)”
He, glorified be He, declares that both are acts of bringing to life, and that one is understood by reference to the other and compared with it.
He then mentions another analogy: some land is good, and when We send water down upon it, it brings forth its vegetation by its Lord’s permission. Yet this land, when water descends upon it, does not produce what the good land produces.
He, glorified be He, likens the revelation sent down from heaven upon hearts to the water He sends down upon the earth, for both bring life.
He likens hearts to the earth, since hearts are where deeds take root, just as the earth is where plants grow. A heart that neither benefits from revelation, nor is purified through it, nor believes in it is like land that does not benefit from rain and produces only a little vegetation of no use.
A heart that believes in revelation, is purified through it, and acts upon its teachings is like land that brings forth its vegetation through rain.
When the believer hears the Quran, understands it, and reflects upon it, its effect becomes evident in him. He is therefore likened to good land that flourishes and grows fertile, upon which the beneficial effects of rain are apparent, so that it brings forth every fine kind of growth. The one who turns away from revelation is the opposite. Allah alone grants success.
[Surah al-A‘rāf (7): Verse 157]
“Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find described in the Torah and the Gospel they possess. He commands them to do what is right and forbids them from what is wrong, makes good things lawful for them and foul things unlawful, and relieves them of their burdens and the shackles that bound them. Those who believe in him, honour him, support him, and follow the light sent down with him—it is they who will prosper. (157)”
If there is no meaning—according to those who deny the Lord’s wisdom and moral goodness and badness