(77–83) “Has man not seen that We created him from a drop of fluid, yet behold, he becomes an open adversary? * He presents Us with a comparison and forgets his own creation. He says, ‘Who will give life to the bones when they have decayed?’ * Say, ‘The One who brought them into being the first time will give them life, and He has full knowledge of every creation—the One who produces fire for you from the green tree, and behold, from it you kindle fire. * Is the One who created the heavens and the earth not able to create the likes of them?’ Indeed He is! He is the Supreme Creator, the All-Knowing. * His command, when He wills something, is only to say to it, ‘Be!’ and it is. * Glory, then, be to the One in whose hand is the dominion of all things, and to Him you will be returned.”
These noble verses [mention] the specious argument advanced by those who deny resurrection and refute it with the most complete, excellent, and lucid answer. Allah Most High says: “Has man not seen”—that is, the person who denies the resurrection and doubts it—something that should give him complete certainty that it will occur? This is the beginning of his own creation “from a drop of fluid,” after which he passed gradually through successive stages until he grew up, came of age, and his intellect reached full maturity and stability. “Yet behold, he becomes an open adversary,” even though his creation began from a drop of fluid. Let him consider the vast difference between these two states and know that the One who brought him into being from nothing is all the more able to restore him after he has disintegrated and been torn apart.
“He presents Us with a comparison” that no one should make: he compares the Creator’s power with the power of a created being and assumes that whatever lies beyond a creature’s power must also lie beyond the Creator’s power. This comparison is explained [by His words]: That man “says, ‘Who will give life to the bones when they have decayed?’” That is: Can anyone give them life? It is a rhetorical question expressing denial—meaning that no one can give them life after they have decomposed and vanished.
This is the basis of the specious argument and comparison: such a thing is exceedingly remote from what is known of human ability. This statement issued from that man only because he was heedless and had forgotten the beginning of his own creation. Had he reflected upon how he was created after having been nothing worth mentioning and then came visibly into existence, he would never have made this comparison.
Allah Most High answered this objection with a sufficient and conclusive reply, saying: “Say, ‘The One who brought them into being the first time will give them life.’” Merely contemplating this leads to certain knowledge, free of all doubt, that the One who brought them into being the first time ⦗700⦘ is able to restore them a second time. Indeed, restoration is easier from the perspective of anyone who considers the matter. “And He has full knowledge of every creation.”
This is a second proof, drawn from the attributes of Allah Most High: His knowledge encompasses all His creatures in every condition and at every time. He knows what the earth consumes of the bodies of the dead and what remains, and He knows the unseen and the visible. If a servant acknowledges this tremendous knowledge, he will recognize that it is far greater and more sublime than Allah’s bringing the dead to life from their graves.
He then mentions a third proof: “The One who produces fire for you from the green tree, and behold, from it you kindle fire.” If He brings dry [fire] out of a green tree that is filled with moisture, despite the opposition and extreme difference between the two, then bringing the dead out of their graves is likewise possible.
He then mentions a fourth proof, saying: “Is the One who created the heavens and the earth”—despite their vastness and immensity—“not able to create the likes of them?” That is, [to] restore them [as those very same individuals]. “Indeed He is!” He is fully able to do so, for the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of mankind. “He is the Supreme Creator, the All-Knowing.” This is a fifth proof: He Most High is the Supreme Creator. Every created being—earlier or later, small or great—is a manifestation of His creative act and power, and no creature He wills to create can defy Him.
His restoration of the dead is but one instance among the [effects] of His creative act. He therefore says: “His command, when He wills something”—“something” is indefinite in a conditional context and thus encompasses everything—“is only to say to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.” That is, it comes into existence immediately, without resistance.
“Glory, then, be to the One in whose hand is the dominion of all things.” This is a sixth proof: He Most High is the Sovereign and Owner of all things. Everything dwelling in the upper and lower realms belongs to Him; all are subjugated servants under His governance. He disposes of them through His wise decrees, His revealed rulings, and His judgments of recompense.
Restoring them after their death so that the judgment of recompense may be carried out upon them is part of the perfection of His sovereignty. He therefore says: “And to Him you will be returned”—without uncertainty or doubt, for decisive proofs and radiant evidences establishing this have come in abundance. Blessed is the One who has placed guidance, healing, and light in His words.
The commentary on Surah Yā Sīn is complete. All praise belongs to Allah [Most High], as befits His majesty; all commendation is His, as befits His perfection; and all glory is His, as demanded by His grandeur and greatness. May Allah bestow blessings and peace upon Muhammad and his family.