وَإِنّا لَجاعِلونَ ما عَلَيها صَعيدًا جُرُزًا
And indeed We will turn whatever is on it into a barren plain.
EXEGESIS
Ṣaʿīd (plain) means the surface of the earth.
Juruz (barren) is the earth from which nothing grows: do they not see that We carry water to the parched (juruz) earth and with it We bring forth crops (32:27).
EXPOSITION
We are informed that God will turn whatever is on it, meaning the earth spoken of in the previous verse, into a barren plain. This declaration has several layers of meaning.
Firstly, the verse alludes to the physical changes that the earth will undergo between the time of the end of the world and the Day of Resurrection. Many verses in the Quran speak of these changes, for example, They question you concerning the mountains. Say: ‘My Lord will scatter them [like dust].’ Then He will leave it a level plain (qāʿ). You will not see any crookedness or unevenness in it (20:105-107). Everything on the earth – including the mountains – will be pulverised, until it is a level plain. After this the earth will be spread out (84:3), and it will be transformed into another earth (14:48).
Secondly, it refers to the way human beings view the world. All those things, grand or small, which may have been so important to people while they were on this earth, will be destroyed. This is as if to say that God will demolish everything on the earth after first adorning it. This is because by then they will have served their purpose, which was to test mankind. From the point of view of the surah’s theme, this verse continues with the ‘true account’ of the reality of this world. God declares the final outcome of this world and how His decree and word will come to pass regarding it. Anything that is not connected to the divine reality is impermanent and disappears. Those worldly attachments and possessions that seem so important to some now, will all be severed and in fact not even a single trace of them will remain.
This brings us to the understanding of Tabatabai. He points out how it is referring to the time a person dies, at which point he sees the reality of this world and realises the adornments for what they are, simply illusions: Certainly you have come to Us alone, just as We created you the first time, and left behind whatever We had bestowed on you. We do not see your intercessors with you – those whom you claimed to be [Our] partners in [deciding] you[r] [fate]. Certainly all links between you have been cut, and what you used to claim has forsaken you! (6:94).
Therefore, once that connection has been cut, it will seem to be nothing more than a barren plain. At that point a person will see the reality of those earthly things which seemed so desirable to him at one point and realise how worthless they actually were. As evidence, he suggests that the expression We will turn whatever is on it, as opposed to saying ‘We will turn it’, is suggestive of this understanding. Naturally, this is not in contradiction with the apparent meaning of the verse, but rather complementary to it and another aspect related to the surah’s theme, whereby the truth and true nature of things are hidden to man, but known to God. Regardless, the expression whatever is on it means that those adornments which man finds tempting is turned into dust; it should not be understood to mean that the earth itself is ground into dust and disappears. The earth itself will remain, but will undergo the changes we have mentioned.
This and the previous verse also answer an important question that they themselves raise. We said previously that by his nature, man does not desire temporary things. He is not satisfied by them and seeks eternal and everlasting joys. Yet, despite that we see people scrambling for the slightest of temporary pleasures, even sometimes willing to commit all kinds of terrible things to achieve that. Why then if he desires permanence does he commit himself to temporary bliss? This is because, as we are told in the previous verse, God has placed an adornment (zīnah) on worldly things, so that we would desire that and seek it. Otherwise, man’s nature would shun such things. This is one of the important functions of Satan, who acts like an insistent salesman and promises that I will surely glamorise (la-uzayyinanna) [evil] for them on the earth (15:39), trying to convince mankind of the desirability of worldly things. When the Day of Judgement arrives and that glamour has worn off, mankind will realise the barrenness of those things.
There is an important lesson here as well that is touched upon later in the story of the two men with gardens. That lesson is that worldly wealth is simply an adornment and one should not become proud because of owning it because it will all eventually turn to dust; That which is with you will be spent but what is with Allah shall last (16:96).
[1] Tibyan, 7/9-10; Tabrisi, 6/694; Mizan, 13/240.
[2] Tibyan, 7/10; Tabrisi, 6/694-695; Tabari, 15/130; Mizan, 13/240.
[3] Tabari, 15/130; Tabrisi, 6/695.
[4] Mizan, 13/240-241.
[5] See also Mizan, 13/240-241.