the body of one who was crucified, drowned, or burned—though we sense nothing of it, because that return of the soul is of a different order, unfamiliar to us. Consider a person who is unconscious, intoxicated, or stunned: he is alive, his soul still with him, yet you do not perceive his life. And if a body’s parts are scattered far and wide, surely the One who has power over all things can still link the soul to those pieces, whether they be near or distant, so that each part feels a measure of pain or pleasure.
Now, if Allah, exalted be He, has placed awareness and perception even in inanimate objects—so that they glorify their Lord, stones fall in awe of Him, mountains and trees prostrate to Him, and pebbles, water, and plants extol Him—just as He says, “There is nothing that does not glorify Him with praise, but you do not understand their glorification” 1, then bodies that once housed living souls are even more entitled to such perception.
Indeed, in this very world Allah has shown His servants a complete restoration of life to bodies from which the soul had departed: they spoke, walked, ate, drank, married, and even had children—“those who left their homes by the thousands, fearing death. Allah said to them, ‘Die,’ then He revived them” 2; or like the man who passed by a ruined town and said, “How will Allah bring this back to life after its demise?” so Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then resurrected him and said, “How long have you stayed?” He answered, “A day, or part of a day” 3; and like the group among the Children of Israel who said to Moses, “We will never believe you until we see Allah openly” 4—Allah caused them to die and then revived them after their death; and like the Companions of the Cave, and Abraham’s experience with the four birds.
If He restored full life to these bodies after death had rendered them cold, how could His overwhelming power be incapable of returning them to a different, transitory life—one sufficient for Him to issue His commands, make them speak, and subject them to punishment or bliss according to their deeds? To deny this is nothing but obstinate rejection, sheer stubbornness, and barefaced refusal to accept the truth.