they only harm themselves. Yet He rejoices when they repent, for He loves—and wills—for them what is good. He delights in their repentance even though He has no need of them; this is but a manifestation of His gentleness and grace.

The Resurrector Who Faces No Hardship
Among the marvels of His power is that He causes His creatures to die and reduces them to dust and scattered remains, until the ignorant one says, “They can never return.” But Allah brings them back to life and recreates them anew, and this involves no hardship for Him whatsoever, just as He says: “Your creation and your resurrection are only like that of a single soul” (Q 31: 28); and, “He is the One who originates creation, then brings it back again, and that is even easier for Him. His is the highest description in the heavens and on earth, and He is the Almighty, the All-Wise” (Q 30: 27).

The polytheists denied the resurrection, deeming it far-fetched, as Allah relates about them: “He said, ‘Who will revive the bones when they have decayed?’” (Q 36: 78). Say: “He who produced them the first time will revive them” (Q 36: 79).

The first time, they had no existence at all, and He brought them forth out of nothing. So the One who created them from nothing— is He not even more capable of bringing them back again? This is obvious to sound minds; yet Allah, exalted be He, is not to be compared with His creation. The analogy is given only for the sake of illustration: “His is the highest description” (Q 30: 27).