Tafseer No.26
Tafseer No.26
(Sura Yaseen, Verses 77 – 79)
Sura Yaseen continues in verses 77, 78 and 79 to give evidences for the resurrection and gathering on the Day of Judgment. These verses state:
أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الْإِنْسَانُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَاهُ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌ مُبِينٌ
- Does not man see that We have created him from Nutfah (mixed male and female discharge semen drops). Yet behold! He (stands forth) as an open opponent.
وَضَرَبَ لَنَا مَثَلًا وَنَسِيَ خَلْقَهُ ۖ قَالَ مَنْ يُحْيِي الْعِظَامَ وَهِيَ رَمِيمٌ
- And he puts forth for Us a parable, and forgets his own creation. He says: “Who will give life to these bones when they have rotted away and became dust?”
قُلْ يُحْيِيهَا الَّذِي أَنْشَأَهَا أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ خَلْقٍ عَلِيمٌ
- Say: (O Muhammad ﷺ) “He will give life to them Who created them for the first time! And He is the All-Knower of every creation!”
The above question asked in verse 77, is one of reproach and rebuke. In this verse, the unbelievers are reprimanded for having not looked at the things around them to recognize the power of Allah. Allah says, ‘Have not the unbelieving man looked carefully and pondered over the power of his Lord? Had he given due consideration, then he would have known that it is Allah who has created him from an insignificant despicable discharge which is impure. Allah, who has created man in the first instance, is All-Able to create him again for a second time for resurrection’.
With respect to the above verses, many commentators have mentioned that these were revealed concerning an incident which occurred at the time of the Prophet ﷺ. According to a narration from Saeed bin Jubair from Abdullah bin Abbas (R.A), it states that Aas bin Wa’il once picked up a decomposed bone from ‘Al Batha’, broke it with his hand and said to the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, ‘Can Allah give life to this after it has become dust?’ The Prophet of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Yes, Allah will give life to this. Then Allah will give death to you. He will resurrect you and then enter you in the fire of Hell.’ (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Vol.5, Pg. 296, Amjad Academy, Lahore, Pakistan)
Hafiz Ibn Jareer has also mentioned the above tradition from Saeed bin Jubair in his famous commentary.
It is also narrated that the above incident occurred with Ubayy bin Khalaf and not Aas bin Wa’il. In a narration from Mujahid, Ikrimah, Urwa bin Zubair, Suddi and Qatada, it is stated that Ubayy bin Khalaf came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with a decomposed bone in his hand. He then broke it and threw the dust in the air. He then said, ‘O Muhammad! Do you think that Allah can resurrect this?’ The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Yes. Allah will cause you to die. He will then resurrect you and gather you in Hell.’ Upon this, the above verses of Sura Yaseen were revealed. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Vol.5, Pg. 296, Amjad Academy, Lahore, Pakistan)
After narrating these incidents, Hafiz Ibn Katheer (A.R) said, ‘Whether this incident occurred with Aas bin Wa’il or Ubayy bin Khalaf or with both of them, the verses are general to everyone who denies the Resurrection. (Ibid). These verses refute the misconceptions held by the unbelievers, and establish the fact that Resurrection is a ‘truth’ which will take place.
Verse 77 explains that although man has been created from a ‘discharge’ which is weak, impure and despised, and he recognizes that he has been created and fashioned in the beautiful form of a human being by Allah, yet, he becomes an open adversary, and an opponent to Allah. He forget his Creator and becomes an antagonist. He argues with his Lord, rejects His power and ability, and denies the Resurrection and the Judgment. He must give consideration to the fact that Allah who created him as a human being from a drop of liquid, in the first instance, is fully able and powerful to create him another time for Resurrection.
Verse 78 goes further to speak of the argumentative nature of the unbelievers and says,‘And he puts forth for Us a parable, and forgets his own creation. He says: “Who will give life to these bones when they have rotted away and have become dust?”
The verse speaks of the attitude of the unbeliever and states that he brings examples (like the incident of Ubayy bin Khalaf) to question the power and ability of Allah. Yet, he forgets his own creation. He overlooks the fact that it is Allah who created him from non-existence and placed life in him. He forgets the wonderful, strange and amazing way in which he was created. He then questions the power of Allah and says, ‘Who will give life to these bones after they are rotten and have become dust.’
This is the conduct of the unbeliever. He looks at the rotten and decomposed bones that have become like dust particles and believes that no one has the power to put life into these. He judges Allah as he will judge a human being, and thinks to himself that since no man can create life into dead bones, so too, Allah will not be able to do so. His thoughts are however, wrong and misguided. In response to his argument, and to guide his thoughts, Allah mentions in verse 79, ‘Say: (O Muhammad ﷺ) “He will give life to them Who created them for the first time! And He is the All-Knower of every creation!”
The Prophet ﷺ was asked to tell the unbeliever Ubayy bin Khalaf and others like him (as a way to silence and rebuke them), that the One who will re-create and restore life to the decayed bones, and resurrect them after death, will be the same One who brought them into being from non-existence and created them at the first time without anything. Hence, that One who is able to begin a creation, has full ability and power to repeat it.
The unbelievers were also told ‘Allah is the All Knower of every creation.’ It means that He has full knowledge of how He creates a being, and in what manner He originates it. Hence, resurrecting bodies after death is not difficult upon him. While explaining this verse, Hafiz Ibn Katheer says, ‘It means that Allah Has full knowledge of all the bones that are in the various parts of the earth and in different directions and areas. He knows where these bones have been buried and scattered, and where these have been ripped apart. (Hence, He will gather all these (bones) together and bring life into them).’
Hafiz Ibn Katheer then mentioned the following tradition to explain his commentary. He says, ‘Uqba bin Amr once said to Huzaifa (R.A), ‘Will you not narrate to us what you heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?’ Huzaifah (R.A) said, ‘I heard him (the Prophet ﷺ) saying, ‘There was a man (from those before you) to whom death came. When he became hopeless of life, he advised his family members, saying, ‘When I die, gather an abundant amount of fire sticks for me, then ignite it with fire and burn me in it. When the fire devours my flesh and reaches to my bones, and I am burnt, then take my bones, crush them to powder, and throw them in the open sea.’ The man thereafter passed away, and the family members did as they were advised. After this was done, Allah gathered the bones together, and brought the man before Him. He then said (to the man), ‘Why did you do this?’ The man said, ‘On account of Your fear O Allah.’ Allah then pardoned the man for this.’ Uqba bin Amr then said to Huzaifa (R.A), ‘I heard the Prophet ﷺ saying the same.’ (Hadith is Saheeh (sound). (Recorded by Ahmad, Chapter on Huzaifa bin Yaman – Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Vol.5, Pg.297, Dar Al Kitab Al Arabi, Beirut 2013)