The Night Journey (Al-Isra’)
Verses 49-52 GROUP_636 17.49-52
49
وَقَالُواْ أَئِذَا كُنَّا عِظَامًا وَرُفَاتًا أَإِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ خَلْقًا جَدِيدًا
‘What!’ they say, ‘When we are turned to bones and dust, shall we be restored to life?’
50
قُل كُونُواْ حِجَارَةً أَوْ حَدِيدًا
Say, ‘[yes] even if you turned to stones or iron,
51
أَوْ خَلْقًا مِّمَّا يَكْبُرُ فِي صُدُورِكُمْ فَسَيَقُولُونَ مَن يُعِيدُنَا قُلِ الَّذِي فَطَرَكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ فَسَيُنْغِضُونَ إِلَيْكَ رُؤُوسَهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَى هُوَ قُلْ عَسَى أَن يَكُونَ قَرِيبًا
or any other substance which you think unlikely to be given life.’ Then they will ask, ‘Who is it that shall restore us to life?’ Answer them, ‘He who created you the first time.’ They will then shake their heads at you and say, ‘When will that be?’ Say, ‘It may well be very soon.’
52
يَوْمَ يَدْعُوكُمْ فَتَسْتَجِيبُونَ بِحَمْدِهِ وَتَظُنُّونَ إِن لَّبِثْتُمْ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً
On that Day He will call you, and you will answer by praising Him, thinking that you have stayed for only a little while.’
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
Commentary
(a) Man’s first existence clearly proves the possibility of his second existence, or re- creation, on the Day of Judgement. One who believes in the first creation of man has no real argument to back up his denial of man’s second creation in the Hereafter. Furthermore, the concept of man’s second creation is not at all difficult to understand for those who regard human beings as an amalgam of material elements, for the cells in the human body keep on breaking down and being replaced by new ones. In this world known to us, man’s material existence is repeatedly terminated only to be rebuilt again and again through this continuous replacement of cells. In this way, man’s body continually renews itself. It is said that every ten years the cells in our body replace themselves and a new body comes into being. The truth is what we already believe in and comprehend before death through our knowledge of the functioning of cells, i.e. what we have time and again experienced before death. Doomsday is, in actual fact, the name of that day when the veil of the unseen is torn asunder and God in all His Power and Majesty appears before us. When this happens, the deniers will also be compelled to do what a true believer does today, namely, believe in God and life in the Hereafter. At that time all humanity will rush towards God in acknowledgement of His power and greatness.