And this is evidence that man knows from his own self and recalls whenever he reflects on himself and on the fellow human beings he sees. He thus reasons from it to the original creation and the resurrection, as Allah, exalted is He, says:

“Man says, ‘When I am dead, will I really be brought forth alive?’”

“Does man not remember that We created him before, when he was nothing?”

And He, exalted is He, says:

“He presents an example to Us, forgetting his own creation. He says, ‘Who will give life to bones when they have crumbled away?’”

“Say, ‘He who brought them into being the first time will give them life, and He has full knowledge of every creation.’”

Likewise, Zechariah, astonished at having a child in old age, said:

“How can I have a son when my wife is barren and I have reached extreme old age?”

“He said, ‘So it will be. Your Lord says: It is easy for Me; I created you before, when you were nothing.’”

It does not say, “It is easier for Him,” as He says concerning the original creation and the resurrection:

“It is He who originates creation, then repeats it, and that is easier for Him.”

He, glorified is He, says:

“He created man from clinging clots,”

after saying:

“Who created.”

He thus speaks of creation in unrestricted terms, encompassing every created thing, and then singles out the creation of man. Everything known to have come into existence is therefore included in His words, “Who created.”

After creation, He mentions teaching: teaching by the pen and teaching man what he did not know. He singles out this teaching, from which one may infer the possibility of prophethood. Here the wording is not “guided,” which would refer to the general guidance encompassing human beings