Surah Al-Mulk 67:30
سُورَةُ المُلۡكِ · Meccan · Verse 30 of 30
قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَصْبَحَ مَآؤُكُمْ غَوْرًۭا فَمَن يَأْتِيكُم بِمَآءٍۢ مَّعِينٍۭ
Translation
Say, ‘Just think: if all your water were to sink deep into the earth who could give you flowing water in its place?’
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
The Surah of sovereignty ends on a cup of water: 'Say, have you considered: if your water were to sink away into the earth, who then could bring you flowing water?' Ibn Ashur and al-Biqa'i note the choice of the most basic, unarguable need, not gold, not power, but water, without which nothing lives. If it simply drained beyond reach, not all your kingdoms could return a single spring. The Surah that opened with 'in His hand is the kingdom' closes by showing how total that kingdom is: it reaches the water in your glass. Ask yourself: I assume the ordinary givens, water from the tap, air, the next heartbeat, will simply keep coming. This verse rests my whole life on one of them and asks: who, other than Him, could give it back if it stopped?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i, al-Saadi.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Mulk 67:30 is discussed in 2 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Mulk 67:30 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.