(33–36) “A sign for them is the dead earth: We brought it to life and brought forth grain from it, of which they eat. * We placed therein gardens of date palms and grapevines, and caused springs to gush forth therein, * so that they may eat of its fruit, though their hands did not make it. Will they not then give thanks? * Glory be to Him who created all the pairs of what the earth produces, of themselves, and of what they do not know.”

That is, this “dead earth” is “a sign for them” of the resurrection, rising again, and standing before Allah Most High to be recompensed for their deeds. Allah sent rain down upon it and revived it (1) after its death. “And We brought forth grain from it, of which they eat,” meaning all varieties of crops, as well as every kind of vegetation eaten by their livestock. “We placed therein”—that is, in that dead earth—“gardens,” meaning orchards containing many trees, particularly date palms and grapevines, which are the noblest of trees. “And We caused to gush forth therein”—that is, in the earth—“springs.”

We placed those trees—date palms and grapevines—in the earth “so that they may eat of its fruit” as staple food and fruit, as an accompaniment and a delight. The word “and” indicates that, all the while, those fruits “were not made by their hands” [they had no part in producing them and expended no labor upon them; they are solely the work of the Wisest of Judges and the Best of Providers. Furthermore, their hands did not prepare them] by cooking or any other means. Rather, Allah brought these fruits into being with no need for cooking or roasting: they are taken from their trees and eaten at once. “Will they not then give thanks” to Him who brought them these blessings and abundantly bestowed upon them, out of His generosity and beneficence, all that sets right the affairs of their religion and worldly lives? Is not He who revived the earth after its death, caused crops and trees to grow therein, placed delicious fruits within it, brought that produce forth upon those branches, and caused springs to burst through the dry, dead earth able to bring the dead to life? Yes indeed. He has power over all things.

“Glory be to Him who created all the pairs,” meaning all kinds, “of what the earth produces.” He diversified its produce into kinds too numerous to count. “And of themselves”: He divided them into male and female and differentiated their physical forms, their characters, and their outward and inward qualities. “And of what they do not know”: creatures already created but beyond our knowledge, and those that have not yet been created. He is glorified and exalted far above having any partner, supporter, helper, minister, consort, child, namesake, likeness, or equal in His attributes of perfection and descriptions of majesty, or anything He wills being beyond His power.