Al-Baqarah: (28) How do you disbelieve in Allah...

Know that when the Almighty and Glorified He has spoken about the proofs of Monotheism (Tawhid), Prophethood, and the Hereafter, up to this point, from this point until His saying: {O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I have bestowed upon you} (Al-Baqarah: 40), He is explaining the favors that encompass all accountable beings, and they are four.

The first is the favor of life, which is mentioned in this verse.

Know that His saying: {How do you disbelieve in Allah} (2:28), although phrased as an inquiry, means rebuke and admonishment. This is because the magnitude of the favor necessitates the magnitude of the sin against the Bestower of the favor. This is clarified by the fact that the more a father's favor upon his son—by raising him, teaching him, providing for him, enriching him, and exposing him to good things—the greater the son's disobedience to his father becomes. Thus, the Almighty and Glorified clarified the enormity of what they had committed by disbelief by reminding them of His great favors upon them, to deter them from persisting in disbelief and to motivate them to acquire faith.

He mentioned the favor that is the foundation of all favors, which is life. This is the primary objective.

If it is asked: Why is the first conjunction a fa' (فـ) while the rest are thumma (ثم)? We reply: Because the first life (creation) may be followed by death without delay. As for death, it is delayed from life, and the second life (Resurrection) is also delayed from death, if by it is meant the Resurrection, with an apparent delay.

Herein lie several issues:

Issue 1: The Mu'tazila's Argument

The Mu'tazila argued that this verse proves that disbelief originates from the servants in several ways:

1. If Allah were the Creator of disbelief in them, it would not be permissible for Him to say: {How do you disbelieve in Allah} while rebuking them, just as it is not permissible to say: "How do you become dark-skinned, white-skinned, healthy, or sick?" since these are all results of His creation within them.
2. If He initially created them for misery and the Fire, and intended nothing by their creation except disbelief and the intention for them to end up in the Fire, how can it be valid for Him to say while rebuking them, "How do you disbelieve?"
3. How can it be conceived of a Wise Being to say to them: {How do you disbelieve in Allah} while simultaneously creating disbelief in them, and say: {And what prevents the people from believing} (17:89) while preventing them from faith, and say: {So what is the matter with them that they do not believe?} (84:20), {So what is the matter with them that they turn away from the reminder?} (74:49), while He creates aversion in them, and say: {Indeed, we are turned away} (51:9), while He creates falsehood and turning away in them? Such speech is closer to being considered mockery than being mentioned in the context of establishing the proof against the servants.
4. If Allah says to His servants: {How do you disbelieve in Allah}, is this statement intended to establish proof against the servant and seek an answer from him, or not? If it is not to seek this meaning, then mentioning it is useless, making this address futile. If it is to establish proof, the servant has the right to say: Many things that necessitate disbelief have occurred in my case.
   • First: You knew of my disbelief beforehand, and knowledge of disbelief necessitates disbelief.
   • Second: You willed disbelief from me, and this will necessitates it.
   • Third: You created disbelief in me, and I cannot remove Your action.
   • Fourth: You created in me a capacity necessitating disbelief.
   • Fifth: You created in me a will necessitating disbelief.
   • Sixth: You created in me a capacity necessitating the will necessitating disbelief. When these six causes for the occurrence of disbelief are present, and the causes for faith are absent (as all six causes for faith are missing), then twelve causes exist for the absence of faith, each one independently preventing faith. Given the existence of these numerous causes, how can it be conceived that He says: "How do you disbelieve in Allah?"
5. Allah commanded His Messenger to say to them: "How do you disbelieve in Allah, Who bestowed upon you this great favor, namely the favor of life?" According to the proponents of compulsion (Jabr), the disbeliever has no favor from Allah, because everything Allah does for the disbeliever is merely to lead him to disbelief and burn him in the Fire. What favor would this be? This would be like someone offering another a plate of poisoned faluudhaj (a sweet dish). Although its appearance might be delicious and considered a favor, since its interior is destructive, no one considers it a favor. Eternal punishment is far more harmful than such poison, so there can be no favor from Allah to the disbeliever. How then can He command His Messenger to say to them: "How do you disbelieve in the One Who bestowed these great favors upon you?"

The Answer: Upon investigation, the essence of these points reverts to relying on the methodology of praise/blame, command/prohibition, reward/punishment. We counter them with the established argument regarding this doubt: Allah, the Glorified, knew that [disbelief] would not occur. If it did occur, His knowledge would turn into ignorance, which is impossible, and what implies the impossible is also impossible. Therefore, its occurrence is impossible, even though He said: {How do you disbelieve in Allah, while you were dead and He gave you life}.

Furthermore, the capacity for disbelief, if it were capable of faith, it would be impossible for it to result in faith specifically, except by a preponderant factor (murajjih). If that factor originates from the servant, the question reverts. If it originates from Allah, then until that preponderant factor from Allah occurs, disbelief cannot happen. When that factor occurs, disbelief becomes obligatory. Based on this, how can His saying {How do you disbelieve in Allah} not be conceivable?

Know that when the Mu'tazili elaborates his speech and presents his various points regarding praise and blame, you should counter them with these two points, as they demolish all his speech and confuse all his doubts. And success is from Allah.

Issue 2: The Meaning of "You Were Dead"

They agreed that {and you were dead} means "you were dust and a drop of fluid (nutfah)." This is because the beginning of Adam's creation was from dust, and the creation of his descendants (except Jesus, peace be upon him) was from fluid.

However, they differed on whether applying the term "dead" to inanimate matter is literal or metaphorical. The majority hold it is metaphorical, as the inanimate is likened to the dead, but neither is inherently the other. The dead is one upon whom death has fallen, and this must be a state applicable to something that is usually alive, requiring flesh and moisture.

The first group held it is literal, which is narrated from Qatadah. He said: They were dead in the loins of their fathers, and Allah brought them to life, then brought them out, then caused them to die the inevitable death, and then brought them back to life after death. Thus, there are two lives and two deaths. They supported this with His saying: {He created death and life} (67:2). The death mentioned before life is their state of being inanimate matter, indicating that applying the term "dead" to inanimate matter is established literally.

The first view (metaphorical) is closer. This is because it is said of inanimate matter that it is muwāt (lifeless/unworked) but not mayyit (dead). Thus, the application of one term to the other seems to be by way of comparison.

Al-Qaffal said: It is like His saying: {Has there not come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing worth mentioning?} (Al-Insan: 1). The Almighty and Glorified explained that man was a thing not worth mentioning, and then Allah made him living, hearing, and seeing. The metaphor comes from their saying: "So-and-so has a dead reputation," or "This is a dead matter," when it has no seeker or mentioner.

Al-Mukhbil Al-Sa'di said:

So you revived my mention, and it was not dormant, But some mention is more rousing than others.

Thus, the meaning of the verse {and you were dead} is: obscure and unmentioned, because you were nothing. {and He gave you life} means: He made you creatures who hear and see.

Issue 3: Argument Against the Torment of the Grave

Some people used this verse as proof for the nullification of the torment of the grave. They argued that Allah mentioned that He revives them once in this world and once in the Hereafter, but He did not mention the life of the grave. This is supported by His saying: {Then indeed, after that, you are to die. Then indeed, you, on the Day of Resurrection, will be resurrected} (Al-Mu'minun: 15-16), where He did not mention a life between these two states.

They argued that one cannot use His saying: {They said, "Our Lord, You made us die twice and gave us life twice"} (Ghafir: 11) as evidence, because it is the statement of the disbelievers, and because many people affirmed the life of the particles (Dharra) in Adam's loins when they were extracted and asked: {Am I not your Lord?} Under this interpretation, two lives and two deaths are accounted for without needing to affirm the life of the grave.

The Answer: The absence of mention in this verse does not necessitate that [the life of the grave] does not occur. Furthermore, one could argue that Allah did mention the life of the grave in this verse. This is because His saying {He gives you life} does not refer to the eternal life, otherwise, it would not be correct to say: {Then to Him you will return} (2:28), because the word thumma (then) implies sequence/delay, whereas the return to Allah occurs immediately after the eternal life without delay. If we interpret the verse from this perspective as evidence for the life of the grave, it is plausible.

Issue 4: Al-Hasan's View on Multiple Deaths

Al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) said that His saying {How do you disbelieve in Allah} refers to the general populace. As for some people, Allah caused them to die three times, similar to what is narrated in His saying: {Or like the one who passed by a town while it was in ruins upon its trellises} (2:259) until His saying: {So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years and then resurrected him}; and His saying: {Have you not seen those who left their homes while they were thousands, fearing death? And Allah said to them, "Die," and then He gave them life} (2:243); and His saying: {Then the thunderbolt seized you while you were looking. Then We resurrected you after your death}; and His saying: {So We said, "Strike him with part of it." Thus does Allah bring the dead to life}; and His saying: {And thus did We make their case known that they might know that the promise of Allah is true and that the Hour [of judgment] is coming} (Al-Kahf: 21); and His saying concerning the story of Job (peace be upon him): {So We responded to him and removed what was upon him}—for Allah restored his family to him after they had died.

Issue 5: The Anthropomorphists' Reliance on "Then to Him You Will Return"

The Anthropomorphists (Mujassima) relied on His saying: {Then to Him you will return} to prove that Allah is in a location. This is weak. The meaning is that they will return to His judgment, because Allah resurrects those in the graves and gathers them in the place of assembly, and that is the return to Allah. It is described this way because it is a return to where no one else administers judgment, similar to their saying: "His affair returned to the Emir," meaning, to where no one else rules.

Issue 6: Inferences from the Verse

This verse indicates several matters:

1. It indicates that only Allah is capable of giving life and causing death, thereby refuting the view of the naturalists (Ahl al-Tabai') who claim that the agents affecting life and death are certain celestial spheres, stars, elements, or humors, as narrated about a group concerning His saying: {There is nothing but our worldly life; we die and live, and nothing destroys us except time} (Al-Jathiyah: 24).
2. It indicates the truth of the Resurrection and Gathering, while pointing to the rational proof supporting it: since Allah demonstrated that He revived these things after their death the first time, it must be possible the second time as well.
3. It indicates accountability (Taklif), encouragement (Targhib), and deterrence (Tarhib).
4. It indicates the debate between Compulsion (Jabr) and Free Will (Qadar), as previously explained.
5. It indicates the necessity of asceticism (Zuhd) in the world. He said: {He gives you life, then causes you to die, then He gives you life again}. He established that death is inevitable, and then clarified that one will not be left in that death, but must return to Him.

As for the inevitability of death: The Almighty and Glorified explained that after being a mere drop of fluid, Allah brought him to life, fashioned him in the best form, made him a complete human being, perfected his intellect, made him seeing of various benefits and harms, and granted him wealth, children, houses, and palaces. Then, Allah removes all of that from him by causing him to die, turning him into someone who owns nothing, with no trace or news remaining in the world. He remains for a long period in the grave, as Allah says: {And behind them is a barrier [Barzakh]} (Al-Mu'minun: 100), where he calls out but receives no answer, and is questioned but cannot speak. Then, even his closest relatives do not visit him; rather, his family and children forget him. As Yahya ibn Mu'adh Al-Razi said:

My relatives pass by my grave, As if my relatives never knew me.

He also said: "My God, it is as if I see myself laid in my pit, and the mourners have departed from accompanying me, and a stranger wept for my loneliness. One who loved and pitied me called to me from the edge of the grave during my distress, and the onlookers were not hidden from my helplessness. What is my hope except to say what my angels say: 'Look at one who is distant from his kin, and abandoned by his loved ones. He is near to me now, yet a stranger in the tomb. He used to be one who called and answered me in the world, and he hoped for my kindness upon reaching this house. So be kind to him there, O Ancient of Kindness, and fulfill my hope in You, O Vast in Forgiveness.'"

As for the inevitability of returning to Allah: The Almighty and Glorified commands the blowing of the Trumpet: {So the deafening blast seized them while they were looking. Then He gave them life after their death} (Az-Zumar: 68). He also said: {They will come forth from the graves, swiftly moving as if they were rushing toward a fixed goal} (Al-Ma'arij: 43). Then they will be presented to Allah, as He says: {And they will be presented before your Lord in rows} (Al-Kahf: 48), standing humbly and submissively, as He says: {And all voices will be hushed for the Most Merciful} (Taha: 108). Some have said: "Our God, when we rise from the dust of the graves, our heads are covered with dust, our faces pale from intense fear, our heads bowed from the horror of the Resurrection, our bellies hungry from the length of the standing, our private parts exposed to the onlookers, our backs weighed down by the burden of sins, and we remain bewildered in our affairs, regretful of our sins. So do not weaken our afflictions by turning away from us, but widen Your Mercy and Forgiveness for us, O Great in Mercy, O Vast in Forgiveness."

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