Al-Isra: (99) Have they not seen that...

Verse:

{And they say, "When we are bones and dust, are we truly to be resurrected as a new creation?"} {Have they not seen that Allah, who created the heavens and the earth, is able to create [even] their likeness? And He has appointed for them a term about which there is no doubt." But the wrongdoers refuse except disbelief.}

Exegesis:

Allah, having answered the doubts of those who denied prophethood, returns to addressing the doubt of those who deny the Resurrection and Reinstatement.

That doubt is: After a person becomes mere dust and decayed remains, it seems remote that they could be brought back exactly as they were.

Allah responds by stating that the One capable of creating the heavens and the earth is certainly capable of recreating them in their very essence (أعيانهم).

Regarding the phrase: {He is able to create [even] their likeness} (قادر على أن يخلق مثلهم), there are two interpretations:

1. First Opinion: It means He is capable of creating them a second time. The expression of creating their "likeness" (مثلهم) is used here, similar to how scholars might say that the re-creation (الإعادة) is like the initial creation (الابتداء).
2. Second Opinion: It means He is capable of creating other servants who will affirm His Oneness, acknowledge the perfection of His Wisdom and Power, and abandon these corrupt doubts. Under this interpretation, it aligns with verses like: {And Allah will bring forth a new creation} (Ibrahim: 19) and {And if He wills, He can replace you with another people} (At-Tawbah: 39).

Al-Wahidi favored the First Opinion because it is more closely related to what preceded it (the context of resurrection).

After Allah established through this proof that the Resurrection and the Hour are inherently possible, He followed it up by stating that their occurrence has a fixed time known to Allah: {And He has appointed for them a term about which there is no doubt} (وجعل لهم أجلا لا ريب فيه).

Then, Allah states: {But the wrongdoers refuse except disbelief} (فأبى الظالمون إلا كفورا). Meaning, despite these clear proofs, they refuse anything other than disbelief, aversion, and denial.

Verse:

7 < {Say, "If you possessed the treasuries of the mercy of my Lord, then you would surely withhold them for fear of spending." And man is ever stingy.} > 7 <