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Amina Inloes,
Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the Islamic College in London and also the Managing Editor of the Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies. 730 Answers
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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi,
Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to religious questions. In the past, he has also spent significant time in India guiding the community. 4499 Answers
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Zaid Alsalami,
Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from ANU, Canberra. He has written and translated several Islamic texts and also prepared educational videos on Islamic rulings and practices. 856 Answers
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"He is the one who placed fire in the green tree, from which you kindle it." (Qur'an 36:80)
(Of course, in any translation, there is always some involvement and interpretation from the translator.)
According to 'Allamah Tabataba'i in Tafsir al-Mizan:
This verse aims to dispel the notion that it is impossible to bring life back to something lifeless. Life and death are two opposites. The response is that this is not possible because God has made green trees, which drip dewdrops, a source of fire which people light. Exegetes say that "tree (shajar)" refers to two specific types of dry, bushy, desert shade-trees called shajara al-markh and shajara al-ʿafār. Their wood is collected while still green. Then, the branch from the markh tree is struck atop the branch of the ʿafār tree, and fire is kindled, by the permission of God. Restoring life to the dead is no more wondrous than kindling fire from a green tree, for both examples involve opposites. [End quote]
Sunni exegetes also have a similar view regarding the two trees that are being referred to.
To my knowledge, Shajara al-markh correponds to Leptadenia pyrotechnica, a brushy, short desert tree found from Senegal to India. Shajara al-ʿafār corresponds to a many-branched shade tree found in Ethiopia, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia, which can grow quite large. The name can be used for several species of tree including Tarchonanthus camphoratus.
Of course, Qur'anic verses can and do have multiple meanings (in hadith, we are told there are layers of meaning). This is the meaning that is most readily apparent from the text.