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Surah Ar-Ra'd, verse 17: meaning and tafsir
أَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَسَالَتْ أَوْدِيَةٌۢ بِقَدَرِهَا فَٱحْتَمَلَ ٱلسَّيْلُ زَبَدًا رَّابِيًا ۚ وَمِمَّا يُوقِدُونَ عَلَيْهِ فِى ٱلنَّارِ ٱبْتِغَآءَ حِلْيَةٍ أَوْ مَتَٰعٍ زَبَدٌ مِّثْلُهُۥ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يَضْرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْحَقَّ وَٱلْبَٰطِلَ ۚ فَأَمَّا ٱلزَّبَدُ فَيَذْهَبُ جُفَآءً ۖ وَأَمَّا مَا يَنفَعُ ٱلنَّاسَ فَيَمْكُثُ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يَضْرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْأَمْثَالَ ١٧
He sends down rain from the sky, causing the valleys to flow, each according to its capacity, and the torrent carries along rising foam, similar to the slag produced from metal that people melt in the fire to make ornaments or tools. This is how Allah compares truth to falsehood: as for the residue, it is then cast away, but that which benefits people remains on the earth[18]. This is how Allah sets forth comparisons.
Translation of the meanings: Rowwad Translation Center — version 1.0.19 · QuranEnc.com
[18] Truth is the water that stays and people benefit from it, whereas falsehood is the scum that soon dissolves and disappears; likewise is the slag of minerals.
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Al-Mukhtasar: Abridged Explanation of the Quran
Tafsir Center for Quranic Studies · QuranEnc.com
17. Allah strikes an example of the erosion of falsehood and the survival of truth with rainwater that comes down from the sky and causes riverbeds to flow, each according to its size, whether big or small. The overflowing water carries on its surface scum and froth that rise above the water. He then gives another example of falsehood and truth with some of the metals that people put into a furnace in order to melt down and to make ornaments for people. Falsehood is like the scum and froth that floats above the water and like the slag expelled by smelting the metal. Truth is like the pure water that can be drunk and that causes fruits, grass and vegetation to grow; and like the metal that remains after smelting, which is of benefit to people. Just as Allah has given these two examples, He gives many examples to people so that truth may be distinguished from falsehood.
Quran text: Tanzil Project (Tanzil Quran Text, Uthmani v1.1, CC BY 3.0). The translation and tafsir are quoted word for word, unchanged, from the Noble Quran Encyclopedia, QuranEnc.com, each credited to its source. Details on our sources page. These texts are quoted exactly as published; no answer is written by AI. Quran Chat does not issue fatwas.