Tafsir of Luqman 31:28

{Your creation and your resurrection are not but as a single soul}, meaning: they are not but like its creation and its resurrection in the ease of their occurrence for Him, the Almighty and Exalted. For no affair occupies Him, the Exalted, from another affair. The basis for the existence of all things is the connection of His necessary Will, or His, the Glorious and Exalted’s, command: "Be," alongside His, the Glorified’s, essential power and the possibility of the object of that power. This is not dependent upon instruments or direct involvement that would necessitate succession, such that the one and the many would differ for Him, the Exalted, as they differ for servants.

{Indeed, Allah is Hearing} — He hears every audible thing — {Seeing} — He sees every visible thing — in a single state; the perception of some does not occupy Him from the perception of others. Likewise is creation and resurrection. The summary of this is that just as He, the Exalted, perceives the visible things with one sight, and hears the audible things with one hearing, and the one does not occupy Him from the other, so too is the matter regarding power and action. This is a substantiation by means of what they have already conceded; thus, He likens the objects of power, in respect to what is intended from them, to the objects of perception, in respect to what is perceived of them—this is as stated in al-Kashf.

It was questioned whether this premise is truly conceded, given that some of them, when they reviled the religion, would say: "Keep your speech secret, lest the God of Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) hear you," upon which was revealed: {And conceal your speech or publicize it; indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts}. It was answered that there is no account taken of such folly after He had refuted what they claimed and made known to them what they concealed.

It is also said: The sentence is an explanation of the establishment of complete power through vast knowledge; that none of the objects of power occupies Him, the Glorified, from another, due to His, the Exalted’s, knowledge of their details and particulars, so He disposes of them as He wills. Just as one might say: "So-and-so masters the work of such-and-such due to his knowledge of its subtleties and complements." The intent behind presenting these two attributes is to establish resurrection and mankind, for they are the pillars of the matter. Do you not see how He followed this with what indicates the greatness of power and the comprehensiveness of knowledge?

In any case, this repels the suspicion that the appropriate expression for what preceded should have been: "Indeed, Allah is Strong, All-Powerful," or something similar, rather than what was mentioned, because creation and resurrection are not from the category of audible or visible things.

From Muqatil it is narrated that the disbelievers of Quraysh said: "Allah, the Exalted, created us in stages—a sperm-drop, a clinging clot, a chewed lump, then flesh—so how can He resurrect us into a new creation in a single hour?" So this was revealed. Al-Naqqash mentioned that it was revealed concerning Ubayy ibn Khalaf, Abu al-Aswad, and the two sons of al-Hajjaj, Nubayh and Munabbih, and he mentioned regarding the cause of its revelation in their case something similar to what has been mentioned. Based on the claim that this is the cause of revelation, it is said: The meaning is that He, the Exalted, is Hearing of their saying that, and Seeing of what they harbor within themselves, and it is as you see.