Allah says in Quran:

Surah Az-Zumar (39:21)

اَلَمۡ تَرَ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ اَنۡزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَسَلَـكَهٗ يَنَابِيۡعَ فِىۡ الۡاَرۡضِ ثُمَّ يُخۡرِجُ بِهٖ زَرۡعًا مُّخۡتَلِفًا اَلۡوَانُهٗ ثُمَّ يَهِيۡجُ فَتَرٰٮهُ مُصۡفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَجۡعَلُهٗ حُطَامًا‌ؕ اِنَّ فِىۡ ذٰلِكَ لَذِكۡرٰى لِاُولِىۡ الۡاَلۡبَابِ

“Have you not seen that Allah sends down water from the sky, then makes it flow as springs in the earth, and then brings forth crops of different colours through it? Then they dry up, and you see them turn yellow; then He reduces them to broken pieces. Surely, in this there is a reminder for people of understanding.”

The Classical Tafsir and the Deeper Lessons Within the Verse

When we read the tafsir of Surah Az-Zumar, verse 21, we learn that the water in the earth has its origin in water sent down from the sky. This is also connected to a scientific fact: water moves through the natural water cycle, evaporating, forming clouds, and returning to the earth as precipitation.

Then comes the question of how water returns from the sky in the form of rain. Sometimes, precipitation also occurs as snow. The water then flows through the earth as springs, and crops grow through it. These crops emerge in different colours, eventually turn yellow, and are then reduced by Allah to broken pieces.

The stages of the crops are compared to the stages of human life. Human beings are born, reach youth, grow old, and eventually die. The reminder in this passage teaches us that death is inevitable and that we should strive towards a good end.

This is the core meaning of a classical interpretation of the verse. However, there are further, deeper lessons within it that invite us to reflect—lessons for people who use their intellect and think carefully.

To discover these lessons, we need to reflect more deeply.

1. Water: A Reminder That Provision Comes from Allah

When we turn our attention to the part about water, we can reflect on the fact that provision comes from Allah.

Allah has promised in the Qur’an that the provision of every living creature is His responsibility.

Surah Hud (11:6)

وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا ۚ كُلٌّ فِي كِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ

“And there is no creature on earth whose provision is not upon Allah. And He knows where it lives and where it is laid to rest. All is in a clear Record.”

We must make an effort to obtain our provision, but we do not have complete control over it. We can work, plan, and struggle to achieve our goals, yet the ultimate outcome is not entirely within our power.

Just as crops depend on water that Allah sends down and on the conditions He has created, our lives also depend on provision that we cannot produce or control entirely by ourselves.

2. Crops of Different Colours: A Reflection on the Diversity of Mankind

The verse mentions crops of different colours. We can reflect on this diversity as a reminder of the differences among human beings.

Just as crops grow in different colours, human beings are also different from one another. Each person has different qualities, abilities, circumstances, and potential.

This diversity, too, exists by the will of Allah. Every human being has a different light within them, and each may have a different purpose to fulfil in life.

This is a point for reflection: just as the variety among crops is part of the world Allah has created, the differences among human beings also invite us to think about the wisdom behind creation.

3. When the Crop Is Crushed: What Is Revealed?

Now comes the part of the verse in which Allah reduces the crop to broken pieces.

There is a question worth reflecting upon: when a crop is harvested and then broken apart, what can be found within it?

Seeds, right?

Can you determine the quality of a crop and properly examine what it has produced without opening it up and looking at what is inside?

Of course not.

You have to examine it closely and separate its contents to discover what it has produced.

This gives us a point to reflect upon concerning the Day of Judgment. What if our deeds, too, are brought fully into view, so that what we have done becomes clear?

The Qur’an tells us that on that Day, people will be shown their deeds.

Surah Az-Zalzalah (99:6–8)

يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصْدُرُ النَّاسُ أَشْتَاتًا لِيُرَوْا أَعْمَالَهُمْ ۝٦

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ ۝٧

وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ ۝٨

“On that Day, people will proceed in separate groups to be shown their deeds.

So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it,

and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”

Just as examining a crop reveals what it contains, the Day of Judgment will bring our deeds before us.

And what if the seeds are not good?

What do you do with them?

You discard them as waste, don't you?

This question encourages us to examine the quality of what we are producing through our lives. What kind of deeds are we cultivating? What will they reveal when they are brought into view?

4. Why Does the Verse Say “A Reminder”?

This brings us to the final part of the verse:

“Surely, in this there is a reminder for people of understanding.”

The verse does not merely invite us to notice that crops grow, turn yellow, and become broken pieces. It calls upon people of understanding to take a lesson from what they observe.

The word reminder is important here. It invites us to ask ourselves how we can improve, how we can recognise our shortcomings, and how we can seek guidance.

If you want to know the reality of Can You Control Your Thoughts?

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A Cup of Tea and a Piece of Me 

After finishing my article, I found my evening snacks and a cup of tea waiting on the bedside table.

I ate my sandwiches, and then, as I took a sip of tea, I was met with an unpleasant taste and a foul smell of milk. Perhaps the milk had gone bad. The tea was also lacking in sweetness; it simply did not taste right.

My first instinct was to throw it away. But then a thought crossed my mind: What a waste of Rizq.

I considered taking it out of my room and putting it in the cat’s bowl. Yet, before I could do so, another thought occurred to me.

Why not try to make it better?

I poured the tea back into a saucepan and placed it over the heat once more. I added a little sugar to restore its sweetness and some cardamom to give it a pleasant fragrance. Then I allowed it to come to a boil twice more.

When I finally poured it back into my cup, it was different. It had become pleasant enough to drink, and there was even a certain delight in its taste.

And then, quite unexpectedly, a thought stirred within me.

Perhaps this was how my own life felt.

My life had seemed harsh lately, as though something in it were missing. Perhaps I, too, lacked sweetness. Perhaps there was something within me that had yet to develop its fragrance.

Perhaps Allah was allowing me to pass through more of life's fire so that I might emerge more refined, more beautiful in character, and more complete in the ways I had yet to understand.

But I had been asking myself why I was being placed over the fire again and again.

All I could feel was the burning.

I could not see the sugar that might bring sweetness to my life, nor could I notice the cardamom that might give it fragrance. My attention was entirely consumed by the heat. I was so preoccupied with the pain of being burned that I could not look beyond it.

All I could perceive was the fire, and all I could feel was its sting.

I began to imagine my very existence rising into the air as steam, as though the heat were slowly transforming me into something I could no longer recognize. Just as the tea's consistency had changed through further boiling, I, too, felt that the substance of my being was undergoing a transformation.

Perhaps I was not merely enduring the heat. Perhaps I was being changed by it.

And then, for the first time, I began to see things differently.

The tea had not become fit to drink by escaping the fire, but by passing through it once more. Its sweetness had been restored, its fragrance had been awakened, and its very nature had changed.

And I wondered whether there were things within me that could only be revealed, refined, or transformed through the difficult experiences I had been struggling to understand.

Perhaps the problem was not simply that life had become bitter.

Perhaps there was something in me that was still missing.

Then another thought crossed my mind: If I could not bring myself to enjoy a cup of tea because it lacked what it needed, how could I presume to be pleasing to Allah while I, too, remained incomplete in ways I could not fully perceive? Just as I had recognized the tea’s shortcomings, Allah knew far better than I ever could what was lacking within me, how much remained to be refined, and what needed to change. I could not see the entirety of my own imperfections, nor could I fully comprehend the wisdom behind every hardship. Perhaps my task was not to understand every moment of pain, but to endure it with patience, to remain steadfast through the heat, and to keep striving towards becoming the person I ought to be. Until, by His mercy, my character began to reflect what He loves.

If You Want to Know the Hidden Story of Light?

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👉 WHAT IS TRUTH? HOW LIGHT CHANGES YOUR PERSPECTIVE | QUR’ANIC PSYCHOLOGY THROUGH A STORY WITH SPIRITUAL WISDOM

Why Are We Questioned in the Grave?

Hazrat Al-Bara’ ibn ‘Azib (رضی اللہ عنہ) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ explained the following verse of Allah:

Arabic (Qur’an 14:27):

يُثَبِّتُ اللّٰهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ ۖ وَيُضِلُّ اللّٰهُ الظَّالِمِينَ ۚ وَيَفْعَلُ اللّٰهُ مَا يَشَاءُ

“Allah keeps firm those who believe, with the firm word, in the life of this world and in the Hereafter. And Allah leaves the wrongdoers astray. And Allah does whatever He wills.”

To explain this verse, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ also spoke about the questions the angels will ask in the grave.

The Questions:

مَنْ رَبُّكَ؟ — Who is your Lord?

مَا دِينُكَ؟ — What is your religion?

مَنْ نَبِيُّكَ؟ — Who is your Prophet?

The Believer’s Answers:

رَبِّيَ اللَّهُ — My Lord is Allah.

دِينِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ — My religion is Islam.

نَبِيِّي مُحَمَّدٌ ﷺ — My Prophet is Muhammad ﷺ.

Reference: Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3120.

Have you ever thought about why these questions will be asked in the grave?

The first question is the most important of all.

To understand its significance, we must go back to the testimony mentioned in the Qur’an on the Day of Alast, when Allah asked us:

أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ شَهِدْنَا

“Am I not your Lord?” They said, “Yes indeed, we testify.”

— Surah Al-A‘raf (7:172)

When a person leaves this world, they will be asked:

“Who is your Lord?”

Here’s something to reflect upon:

If a person comes into this world and forgets who their Lord is, how will they be able to testify to the truth in the grave?

The remaining questions will reveal which Prophet’s community a person belonged to and how faithfully they followed their religion.

When we hear these questions, they seem very easy to answer. But have you ever tried answering them while imagining yourself in the darkness of the grave?

If not, then from today onward, make light a part of your life, because it is the light that can show you the way.

Just as you walk along a path throughout the day, you gradually become familiar with it. When night falls, you do not stumble in the darkness because you remember where the ditches are and which parts of the path are uneven.

In the light, you may stumble and get hurt, but when darkness falls, those same painful experiences remind you where to be careful.

“Darkness may offer temporary relief from the sting of the scorching light, but it can never show you the way.”

This verse and the Hadith point towards two profound realities connected by a single testimony: the acknowledgment of Allah as our Lord. The testimony mentioned in the Qur’an and the question we will face in the grave connect the beginning and the end of this cycle.

The cycle begins with our testimony and will be completed when we are questioned in the grave.

But the question is: Are we truly prepared for that moment?

If You Want to Know the Hidden Story of Light?

Read this article.

👉 WHAT IS TRUTH? HOW LIGHT CHANGES YOUR PERSPECTIVE | QUR’ANIC PSYCHOLOGY THROUGH A STORY WITH SPIRITUAL WISDOM

 What is Scarcity Brain?

Michael Easter explained this concept in his book Scarcity Brain.

''Scarcity Brain is a mental state in which we strongly focus on something we feel we lack.''

What Behavioral Studies Show:

Researchers Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir studied Indian sugarcane farmers.

The farmers were tested before and after the harvest.

Before the harvest, they had less money and faced greater financial scarcity.

They performed worse on cognitive tests before the harvest than after it.

The study suggested that financial scarcity can reduce mental bandwidth and affect thinking.

The Original Scarcity Loop 

In the Story of Adam (A.S.):

Surah Al-Baqarah  2:35

وَقُلْنَا يَا آدَمُ اسْكُنْ أَنتَ وَزَوْجُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

“And We said, ‘O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise, and eat freely from it wherever you will. But do not approach this tree, lest you both be among the wrongdoers.’”

They were doing well in Paradise until Satan came.

He put a waswasah (whisper/temptation) in their minds:

Surah Al-Araf  7:20

فَوَسْوَسَ لَهُمَا ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ لِيُبْدِىَ لَهُمَا مَا وُۥرِىَ عَنْهُمَا مِن سَوْءَٰتِهِمَا وَقَالَ مَا نَهَىٰكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَا مَلَكَيْنِ أَوْ تَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلْخَـٰلِدِينَ 

Then Satan tempted them in order to expose what was hidden of their nakedness. He said, “Your Lord has forbidden this tree to you only to prevent you from becoming angels or immortals.”

This waswasah worked in a way that is similar to the scarcity-brain concept.

They already had Paradise, but Satan triggered the feeling that there was something they did not have: becoming angels or gaining everlasting life.

That feeling of “something is missing” captured their attention.

The result was that they did not perform well in the test and slipped, as the Qur’an mentions.

But we are ordinary human beings. So how can we overcome this?

Before searching for the answer, we need to understand one more piece of information

What is a Scarcity Loop?

A scarcity loop is a cycle in which feeling that something is lacking increases our focus on it, which makes us want it more and keeps the feeling of scarcity going.

When we are born, we do not know anything. As we grow up, we develop our own patterns.

Then, when we realize things and hold on to guidance, we may still fall into the same sins even while knowing that they are wrong.

This is why the scarcity loop can be triggered inside us again and again, and we keep falling.

But falling is not as dangerous as not getting back up.

Keep trying until Allah removes the loop, even if you die trying.

The goal is not to become someone who never falls.

The goal is to keep getting back up, keep seeking Allah’s guidance, and keep trying until the end.

If You Want to Know the Hidden Story of Light?

Read this article.

👉 WHAT IS TRUTH? HOW LIGHT CHANGES YOUR PERSPECTIVE | QUR’ANIC PSYCHOLOGY THROUGH A STORY WITH SPIRITUAL WISDOM