Al-Isra: (49-52) And they say, "When we are...

Know that when the Almighty first spoke of the Divine (Uluhiyyah), He followed it by mentioning their doubts regarding Prophethood (Nubuwwat). In this verse, He mentions the people's doubts concerning the Return (Ma'ad), Resurrection, and the Day of Judgment.

We have mentioned many times that the Quran revolves around four core issues: Divine issues (Uluhiyyat), Prophethood (Nubuwwat), the Return (Ma'ad), and Decree and Destiny (Qada' wa Qadar).

Furthermore, the people described the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) as being bewitched and having a corrupted mind. Among the things they cited to prove his mental derangement was his claim that a person, after becoming bones and dust, would return to life, conscious as before. They mentioned this statement, attributing it to him, to establish that he was mentally unsound.

Al-Wahidi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Raft (رفت) means breaking something with your hand. You say, rafatuhu (I broke it) with a kasra (vowel mark), just as one breaks dry clay or old bone. Rafaat (الرفات) are the scattered fragments of anything that is broken. It is said: Rafta 'itham al-jazur raftan (He broke the bones of the camel into pieces) if he shattered them. Al-Rafaat is also used for straw, as it is finely chopped grain. Al-Akhfash said: Rafta raftan, so it is marfoot (broken), like hatama hatman (shattered), so it is mahtoom (shattered). Al-Rafaat and al-Hutam are nouns, like al-jidad (reaped harvest), al-radad (fragments), and al-fatat (crumbs). This covers the linguistic aspect.

As for establishing their doubt: When a person dies, his limbs dry up, fall apart, and scatter throughout the world, mixing with all other elements of the universe. The watery parts of the body mix with the world's water, the earthy parts with the world's earth, the airy parts with the world's air, and the fiery parts with the world's fire. If this is the case, how can it be conceived that they will gather again in their exact forms? And how can life return to them in their exact forms once more? This is the establishment of their doubt.

The Answer to It: This problem cannot be sustained except by impugning the perfection of Allah's Knowledge and the perfection of His Power. If they concede that the Almighty knows all particulars, then even if these particles mix with the particles of the world, they remain distinct in Allah's Knowledge. Since we concede that He is capable of all possibilities (mumkinat), He is capable of restoring the composition, structure, life, and intellect to those exact particles. Thus, it is established that once we concede the perfection of Allah's Knowledge and Power, this doubt is completely removed.

As for His saying, {Say: Be stones or iron}: The meaning is that the people found it far-fetched that He would return them to the state of life after they had become bones and dust. Although this state (bones and dust) appears to be contrary to accepting life, they supposed that after death, these bodies would reach a state even more contrary to accepting life than being bones and dust—such as becoming stones or iron. The incompatibility between being stone or iron and accepting life is more severe than the incompatibility between being bone and accepting life, because bone was once part of a living body. As for stone and iron, they were never characterized by life. Therefore, assuming that people's bodies become characterized by stoniness or ironness after death, Allah the Almighty will restore life to them and make them living and conscious as they were.

The proof for the validity of this is that those bodies are inherently capable of life and intellect; otherwise, intellect and life would not have occurred to them in the first place. The Lord of the worlds knows all particulars, so the particles of the body of the obedient Zayd will not be confused with the particles of the body of the disobedient 'Umar. And He is capable of all possibilities. If it is established that the return of life to those particles is possible in itself, and it is established that the Lord of the worlds knows all things and is capable of all possibilities, then the return of life to those particles is certainly possible, whether they become bones and dust or something further removed from accepting life than bone—that is, becoming stones or iron. This is the establishment of this statement with conclusive rational proof.

His saying, {Be stones or iron}, does not mean a command. Rather, it means: Even if you were such, you would not render Allah incapable of restoration. This is like someone saying to a man: "Do you aspire to [something] while I am so-and-so?" And the man replies: "Be whoever you wish—be the son of the Caliph—I will still demand my right from you."

If it is asked: What is meant by {or a creation}? We reply: It means that the state of stone and iron being capable of life is already considered remote. So, they were told: "Then assume something else that is further removed from accepting life than stone and iron, something that your intellect deems incapable of accepting life." In this sense, there is no need to specify what that thing is, because the intent is that no matter what state or condition people's bodies end up in after death—even if it is the utmost degree of remoteness from accepting life—Allah the Almighty is capable of restoring life to them. If this is the meaning of the verse, there is no need to specify that thing.

Ibn Abbas said: It means death. That is, if your bodies became death itself, Allah the Almighty would restore life to them. Know that this statement is only appropriate when used as hyperbole, like saying: "If you were life itself, Allah would make you die; and if you were wealth itself, Allah would make you poor." This is stated as hyperbole. In reality, this is impossible, because people's bodies are substances (ajsam), and death is an accident ('arad). A substance cannot transform into an accident. Even if it could transform into an accident, death cannot accept life, because one of two opposites cannot be characterized by the other opposite.

Mujahid said: It means the heavens and the earth.

Then He said: {Then they will say, "Who will restore us?" Say, "The One Who created you the first time."} The meaning is that after He told them: "Be stones or iron, or something further removed from accepting life than these two things," the restoration of life to them is possible. At that point, they asked: "Who is it that can restore life to us?" Allah the Almighty said: Say, O Muhammad: {The One Who created you the first time}. This means that affirming the validity of the restoration is contingent upon accepting that Allah is the Creator of living beings.

If that is established, we say: Those bodies are capable of life and intellect, and the Lord of the worlds is inherently Powerful and inherently Knowing. Therefore, His Knowledge and Power are never nullified. The One capable of the initial creation must remain capable of the restoration. This is a complete statement and a strong proof.

Then He said: {So they will nod their heads toward you}. Al-Farrā’ said: It is said, angada ra'sahu yunghiduhu inghadan (He nodded his head) when he moves it up and down. The dhulaim (ostrich) is named naghda because it moves its head. Abu al-Haytham said: When a man is informed of something and moves his head in denial, it is said, angada ra'sahu (He nodded his head). So, His saying, {So they will nod their heads toward you}, means they move their heads in denial and incredulity.

Then He said: {and say, "When is it?"} Know that this question is flawed because they had ruled out the impossibility of the gathering and resurrection based on the doubt we mentioned. Then, Allah the Almighty clarified with manifest proof that it is possible in itself. Therefore, their saying, "When is it?" is a statement unrelated to the initial debate. Since its possibility has been established by rational proof, acknowledging its possibility is obligatory. As for when it will occur, that cannot be established through reason; rather, it can only be established through transmitted evidence (Sam'iyyat). If Allah informs us of that specific time, it is known; otherwise, there is no way to know it.

Know that Allah the Almighty clarified in the Quran that He does not reveal the specific time to any of His creation. He said: {Indeed, Allah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour} (Luqman: 34), and {Say, "Only my Lord knows its time"} (Al-A'raf: 187), and {Indeed, the Hour is coming; I almost conceal it} (Taha: 15). Consequently, He said: {Say, "Perhaps it is near."} The commentators said: 'Asa (Perhaps/May be) from Allah is obligatory, meaning it is near.

If they say: How can it be near when six hundred years have passed and it has not appeared? We reply: If what has passed is more than what remains, then what remains is near, a short time.

Then He said: {The Day He will call you}. There are two opinions regarding this: The first: It is an address to the disbelievers, based on the fact that everything before this verse is addressed to the disbelievers. Then, we say that Yawma (The Day) is in the position of badal (apposition) to qariban (near). The meaning is: Perhaps the Resurrection will be {The Day He will call you}, meaning by the call that makes you hear, which is the final blast (of the trumpet), as He said: {The Day the Caller will call from a near place} (Qaf: 41). It is said that Israfil will call out: "O decayed bodies, rotten bones, and scattered particles, return as you were by the power, permission, and creation of Allah the Almighty." He also said: {The Day the Caller will call to a dreadful thing} (Al-Qamar: 6).

And His saying: {and you will respond with His praise}. This means you will answer. Istijabah (responding) is agreeing with the caller in what he called for, which is ijabah (answering), but Istijabah implies seeking agreement, making it stronger than mere ijabah.

Regarding {with His praise}: Sa'id ibn Jubayr said: They will emerge from their graves, shake the dust off their heads, and say: "Glory be to You and praise be to You." This is His saying: {and you will respond with His praise}. Qatadah said: It means through their knowledge and obedience. The justification for this view is that when they answer with glorification and praise, that is their knowledge and obedience, but it will not benefit them on that Day. This is why commentators said: They praised when praise is of no benefit.

The scholars of meaning said: {you will respond with His praise} means you will respond while praising, just as one says: Ja'a bi-ghadabihi (He came with his anger), meaning he came angry, or Rakiba al-amir bi-sayfihi (The commander rode with his sword), meaning his sword was with him. The author of Al-Kashshaf said: Bi-hamdihi is a hal (circumstantial adverb) describing them, meaning praising. This is an exaggeration regarding their submission to the Resurrection, like saying to someone you command to do a difficult task: "You will bring it while praising and thanking," meaning you will reach a state where you praise and thank Allah for having fulfilled that action through you. This is mentioned in the context of a threat.

Then He said: {and you will think you had remained but a little while}. Ibn Abbas meant the time between the two blasts (of the trumpet), as the torment is lifted from them during that interval. The proof for this is His saying in Surah Ya-Sin: {Who resurrected us from our sleeping place?} (Ya-Sin: 52). Their thinking that this was a short stay refers to their stay between the two blasts. Al-Hasan said: It means the nearness of the time of resurrection, so it is as if you had never been in the world, and you have not ceased to be in the Hereafter. This relates to minimizing the duration of their stay in the world. Another opinion is that it refers to minimizing their stay in the plain of Resurrection, because since the consequence of their affair was entering the Fire, they would minimize the duration of their stay in the Barzakh (intermediate state).

The Second Opinion: The address to the disbelievers ended at His saying, {Perhaps it is near}. As for {The Day He will call you, and you will respond with His praise}, this is an address to the believers, not the disbelievers, because this description is fitting for the believers, as they will respond to Allah with His praise and thank Him for His favors upon them. The first opinion is the more famous, and the second is clearly plausible.

{And tell My servants to say what is best. Indeed, Satan incites discord among them. Indeed, Satan is to man an evident enemy.}

{Your Lord is most knowing of you. If He wills, He will have mercy upon you; or if He wills, He will punish you. And We have not sent you as a guardian over them.}

{And your Lord is most knowing of whoever is in the heavens and the earth. And We have certainly preferred some of the prophets over others, and We gave David the Psalms.}