Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:15

"Then, indeed, after that..."

Ibn Abi ‘Abla and Ibn Muḥayṣin read: la-mā’itūn (surely dying).

The difference between mayyit (dead) and mā’it (dying) is:

• Mayyit is like ḥayy (living); it is a fixed attribute.
• Mā’it indicates occurrence and process. You say: "Zayd is mā’it now, and mā’it tomorrow," just as you say "he is dying." Similar to these are ḍayyiq (narrow) and ḍā’iq (narrowing), as in His saying: "And your chest is narrowing (ḍā’iq) because of it" (Hūd: 12).

He made the act of causing death—which is the removal of life—and the Resurrection—which is the restoration of what He annihilated and destroyed—two proofs of His immense power, following the initial creation and invention.

If you ask: "Does this mean there is no life other than the life of creation and the life of resurrection?"

I say: Mentioning these two lives does not negate a third, which is the life of the grave. It is like mentioning two-thirds of what you possess while omitting the mention of the remaining third; that does not prove you do not possess that third. Furthermore, the purpose here is to mention these three categories: creation, causing death, and resurrection. The omitted mention belongs to the category of resurrection.