الْمُحْيِي
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Al-Muhyi
The Giver of Life
Al-Muhyi is the Restorer, the Giver of Life. 30:50 shows the Name at work: look at the traces of Allah's mercy, how He gives life to the earth after its death; surely the One who did it can give life to the dead.
Key verse
﴿فَٱنظُرْ إِلَىٰٓ ءَاثَـٰرِ رَحْمَتِ ٱللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُحْىِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَآ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ﴾See then the impact of Allah’s mercy: how He gives life to the earth after its death! Surely That ˹same God˺ can raise the dead. For He is Most Capable of everything.
The scholar's text
The Restorer, The Giver of Life.
It is mentioned times in the Holy Quran
Note: The number is missing from this line in the original post.
المعيد، واهب الحياة.
ورد في القرآن الكريم ... مرة.
ملاحظة: العدد ساقط من هذا السطر في المنشور الأصلي.
You Were Lifeless, and He Gave You Life
﴿كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَٰتًا فَأَحْيَـٰكُمْ ۖ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ﴾How can you deny Allah? You were lifeless and He gave you life, then He will cause you to die and again bring you to life, and then to Him you will ˹all˺ be returned.
2:28 asks a question meant to shame: how can you disbelieve in Allah, when you were lifeless and He gave you life, then He will cause you to die and then bring you to life again? Al-Sa'di traces the whole span. He made you from nothing and gave you every kind of blessing, then He causes you to die when your terms are complete and repays you in the graves, then gives you life after the resurrection. All of it is His doing, so disbelief in Him, he says, is great ignorance.
Arabic: وكنتم أمواتا فأحياكم
تسأل آية البقرة سؤال توبيخ وإنكار: ﴿كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَٰتًا فَأَحْيَـٰكُمْ ۖ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ﴾، قال السعدي: «أي: كيف يحصل منكم الكفر بالله؛ الذي خلقكم من العدم؛ وأنعم عليكم بأصناف النعم؛ ثم يميتكم عند استكمال آجالكم؛ ويجازيكم في القبور؛ ثم يحييكم بعد البعث والنشور؛»، ثم قال: «فإذا كنتم في تصرفه؛ وتدبيره؛ وبره؛ وتحت أوامره الدينية؛ ومن بعد ذلك تحت دينه الجزائي؛ أفيليق بكم أن تكفروا به؛ وهل هذا إلا جهل عظيم».
The Earth After Its Death
﴿وَمِنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦٓ أَنَّكَ تَرَى ٱلْأَرْضَ خَـٰشِعَةً فَإِذَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا ٱلْمَآءَ ٱهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَحْيَاهَا لَمُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ﴾And among His signs is that you see the earth devoid of life, but as soon as We send down rain upon it, it begins to stir ˹to life˺ and swell. Indeed, the One Who revives it can easily revive the dead. He is certainly Most Capable of everything.
30:50 points to something anyone can see: the traces of Allah's mercy, how He gives life to the earth after its death; surely the One who did it can give life to the dead. Nothing resists His power, al-Sa'di says, even what is too fine for human understanding. 41:39 makes the same argument from the dry, barren ground that stirs and swells when the rain falls on it. As His power did not fail to give the earth life after its death, al-Sa'di concludes, it will not fail to give the dead life.
Arabic: كيف يحيي الأرض بعد موتها
تقول آية الروم: ﴿فَٱنظُرْ إِلَىٰٓ ءَاثَـٰرِ رَحْمَتِ ٱللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُحْىِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَآ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ﴾، قال السعدي: «فقدرته تعالى لا يتعاصى عليها شيء وإن تعاصى على قدر خلقه ودق عن أفهامهم وحارت فيه عقولهم». وفي فصلت: ﴿وَمِنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦٓ أَنَّكَ تَرَى ٱلْأَرْضَ خَـٰشِعَةً فَإِذَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا ٱلْمَآءَ ٱهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَحْيَاهَا لَمُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ﴾، قال السعدي: «فكما لم تعجز قدرته عن إحياء الأرض بعد موتها، لا تعجز عن إحياء الموتى».
So Will Be the Resurrection
﴿وَٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَرْسَلَ ٱلرِّيَـٰحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا فَسُقْنَـٰهُ إِلَىٰ بَلَدٍ مَّيِّتٍ فَأَحْيَيْنَا بِهِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ ٱلنُّشُورُ﴾And it is Allah Who sends the winds, which then stir up ˹vapour, forming˺ clouds, and then We drive them to a lifeless land, giving life to the earth after its death. Similar is the Resurrection.
35:9 follows the wind, the cloud and the rain to a dead land, and then says: so will be the resurrection. Al-Sa'di draws the picture out. Allah will raise the dead from their graves after decay has torn them apart, sending rain on them as He sent it to the dead land, and bodies and souls come to life. The Prophet ﷺ described the same between the two blasts of the trumpet: “Then (after this period) Allah will send water from the sky and then the dead bodies will grow like vegetation grows” (Sahih al-Bukhari 4935, narrated by Abu Huraira).
Arabic: كذلك النشور
تقول آية فاطر: ﴿وَٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَرْسَلَ ٱلرِّيَـٰحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا فَسُقْنَـٰهُ إِلَىٰ بَلَدٍ مَّيِّتٍ فَأَحْيَيْنَا بِهِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ ٱلنُّشُورُ﴾، قال السعدي: «ينشر الله الأموات من قبورهم، بعدما مزقهم البلى، فيسوق إليهم مطرا، كما ساقه إلى الأرض الميتة، فينزله عليهم فتحيا الأجساد والأرواح من القبور». وقال النبي ﷺ فيما بين النفختين: «ثُمَّ يُنْزِلُ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً، فَيَنْبُتُونَ كَمَا يَنْبُتُ الْبَقْلُ» (صحيح البخاري 4935، عن أبي هريرة).
Who Will Give Life to Bones?
﴿قُلْ يُحْيِيهَا ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنشَأَهَآ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ خَلْقٍ عَلِيمٌ﴾Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “They will be revived by the One Who produced them the first time, for He has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of every created being.
36:78 quotes a man who forgot his own creation: who will give life to bones when they have crumbled to dust? His mistake, al-Sa'di says, was to measure the Creator's power by the power of a creature. The answer in 36:79 is short: the One who produced them the first time will give them life, and He has perfect knowledge of every created being. Whoever made it the first time can make it again, al-Sa'di says, and His knowledge takes in what the earth eats away of the bodies of the dead and what remains.
Arabic: قل يحييها الذي أنشأها أول مرة
تحكي آية يس: ﴿وَضَرَبَ لَنَا مَثَلًا وَنَسِىَ خَلْقَهُۥ ۖ قَالَ مَن يُحْىِ ٱلْعِظَـٰمَ وَهِىَ رَمِيمٌ﴾، قال السعدي: «وهو قياس قدرة الخالق بقدرة المخلوق». والجواب: ﴿قُلْ يُحْيِيهَا ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنشَأَهَآ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ خَلْقٍ عَلِيمٌ﴾، قال السعدي: «أن الذي أنشأها أول مرة قادر على الإعادة ثاني مرة»، و«ويعلم ما تنقص الأرض من أجساد الأموات وما يبقى».
Show Me How You Give Life to the Dead
In 2:260 Abraham asks: my Lord, show me how You give life to the dead. Do you not believe? Yes, but so my heart can be reassured. He was already certain from Allah's word, al-Sa'di explains, and wanted to see it with his own eyes and reach the certainty of seeing. The Prophet ﷺ said: “We are more liable to be in doubt than Abraham when he said, 'My Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead” (Sahih al-Bukhari 3372, narrated by Abu Huraira).
Arabic: رب أرني كيف تحيي الموتى
تقول آية البقرة: ﴿وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمُ رَبِّ أَرِنِى كَيْفَ تُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ ۖ قَالَ أَوَلَمْ تُؤْمِن ۖ قَالَ بَلَىٰ وَلَـٰكِن لِّيَطْمَئِنَّ قَلْبِى﴾، قال السعدي: «لأنه قد تيقن ذلك بخبر الله تعالى، ولكنه أحب أن يشاهده عيانا ليحصل له مرتبة عين اليقين». وقال النبي ﷺ: «نَحْنُ أَحَقُّ مِنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِذْ قَالَ { رَبِّ أَرِنِي كَيْفَ تُحْيِي الْمَوْتَى» (صحيح البخاري 3372، عن أبي هريرة).
From the Sunnah
Then (after this period) Allah will send water from the sky and then the dead bodies will grow like vegetation grows
ثُمَّ يُنْزِلُ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً . فَيَنْبُتُونَ كَمَا يَنْبُتُ الْبَقْلُ
A du'a with this Name
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أَمَاتَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُ
praise be to Allah who has given us life after causing us to die and to whom we shall be resurrected
Sunan Abi Dawud 5049, graded sahih by al-Albani: what the Prophet ﷺ said when he woke, as Hudhaifah reported
Related Names
Questions about Al-Muhyi
What does Al-Muhyi mean?
Al-Muhyi is the Restorer and the Giver of Life.
How does rain point to the resurrection?
As Allah gives life to the dead earth with rain, so He will give life to the dead, 35:9 and 41:39 say; al-Sa'di adds that He will send rain on them in their graves.
Did Abraham doubt that Allah gives life to the dead?
No: Abraham was already certain from Allah's word, al-Sa'di says on 2:260, and asked to see it so that his heart would be reassured.