(19–21) “Have you not seen that Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth? If He wills, He can do away with you and bring forth a new creation. That is not difficult for Allah. They will all come forth before Allah, and the weak will say to those who were arrogant, ‘Indeed, we were your followers. Can you spare us any part of Allah’s punishment?’ They will reply, ‘Had Allah guided us, we would have guided you. It is all the same for us whether we succumb to anguish or endure patiently; we have no escape.’”
Allah Most High alerts His servants that He “created the heavens and the earth in truth”—that is, so that His creatures may worship and know Him; so that He may command and forbid them; and so that they may infer from the two and all they contain the attributes of perfection that belong to Him. They should also know that He who created the heavens and the earth—despite their immense size and vast extent—is able to bring them forth as a new creation, so that He may recompense them for their good and evil deeds. Neither His power nor His will falls short of that. Hence He says: “If He wills, He can do away with you and bring forth a new creation.”
This may mean: If He wills, He can do away with you and bring another people in your place who will be more obedient to Allah than you are. It may also mean: If He wills, He can annihilate you and then bring you back through resurrection as a new creation. What He mentions thereafter about the events of the Resurrection supports this interpretation.
“That is not difficult for Allah”—that is, it is not impossible; rather, it is exceedingly easy for Him. “Your creation and resurrection are but like that of a single soul.” “It is He who originates creation and then repeats it, and that is even easier for Him.”
“They will come forth”—meaning all creatures—“before Allah, all together,” when the Trumpet is blown. They will emerge from their graves toward their Lord and stand upon a flat and level expanse in which no depression or elevation can be seen. They will stand exposed before Him, and nothing of them will be hidden [from Him]. Once they have come forth, they will begin disputing with one another. Each will try to defend himself and ward off whatever he can—but how could they possibly do so?
“The weak”—that is, the followers and imitators—will say “to those who were arrogant,” namely the leaders whom they followed and who led them in misguidance: “Indeed, we were your followers”—that is, in this world. You commanded us to follow error, made it seem attractive to us, and thus led us astray. “Can you spare us any part of Allah’s punishment?”—even so much as an atom’s weight.
“They will reply”—meaning the leaders and chiefs—“We led you astray just as we ourselves went astray,” and “Had Allah guided us, we would have guided you.” Thus, no one will avail anyone else. “It is all the same for us whether we succumb to anguish” because of the punishment “or endure it patiently; we have no escape”—that is, no refuge to which we may flee and no way to escape Allah’s punishment.