Tafsir of Ya seen 36:77

God Almighty condemns their denial of the Resurrection in a manner more profound and astonishing than any other. He demonstrates the persistence of human disbelief, the excess in denying blessings, the ingratitude for divine favors, and the depth of human baseness and insolence. He establishes that the very element from which He created man is the most vile and lowly: the emitted drop of fluid, exiting from the urethra—a channel of impurity.

Then, He expresses astonishment at the state of such a being—despite the baseness of his origin and the vileness of his beginning—daring to dispute with the Almighty, sharpening his tongue to argue with Him, mounting the steed of falsehood, and stubbornly asking: "Who can give life to bones after they have crumbled?" His dispute concerns the very attribute most binding and intimate to him: his own creation from non-existence, which he now denies. This is a level of obstinacy beyond which there is no further reach.

It is narrated that a group of Quraysh polytheists—including Ubayy ibn Khalaf, Abu Jahl, al-As ibn Wa’il, and al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah—spoke of this. Ubayy said, "Do you not hear what Muhammad says? That God resurrects the dead?" He then swore by al-Lat and al-Uzza that he would confront him. He took a decayed bone, crumbled it in his hand, and said, "O Muhammad, do you think God will bring this to life after it has crumbled?" The Prophet (ﷺ) replied: "Yes, and He will resurrect you and cast you into Hell."

Regarding the phrase, "And then he is a clear adversary," it means: after having been a lowly fluid, he becomes a distinct, articulate man capable of disputation, "clear" (mubin)—meaning eloquent in expressing what is in his soul, as the Almighty said: "Or one who is brought up in ornaments and is not clear in dispute" (al-Zukhruf: 18).

If you ask: Why is his statement, "Who will give life to bones while they are crumbling?" called a "parable" (mathal)? I say: Because it points to an astonishing story similar to a parable, which is the denial of God’s power to resurrect the dead. Or, because it contains a comparison; for what he denied is of the category of things for which God is described as having power, as evidenced by the first creation. Thus, when he asks, "Who will give life to bones?" by way of denying that God is described as having power over it, it is an attempt to render God incapable and to liken Him to His creation, who are not described as having such power.

Ramīm (crumbling) is a noun for bones that have decayed, not an adjective, like rummah (remains) or rufāt (debris). Therefore, one cannot ask why it is not feminine despite being the predicate of a feminine noun. It is not a fa‘īl form meaning fā‘il (active) or maf‘ūl (passive).

Some have used this verse to prove that bones possess life, arguing that the bones of a dead animal are impure because death affects them before life leaves them. However, the followers of Abu Hanifa consider them pure, as well as hair and nerves, claiming that life does not inhabit them, so death does not affect them. They say the meaning of "giving life to bones" in the verse is restoring them to how they were—fresh and moist in a living, sensitive body.

"And He is All-Knowing of every creation": He knows how to create; nothing is too great for Him in the creation of things brought into existence or returned, in all their genres, types, grand aspects, and subtleties.

Then He mentions the wonders of His creation: the sparking of fire from green wood, despite the opposition between fire and water and its extinguishing by it. These are the zinād (fire-sticks) by which properties are seen, most notably from the markh and ‘afār trees. In their proverbs: "In every tree there is fire." The markh and ‘afār are sought out; a man cuts two branches from them like toothpicks while they are green, and water drips from them. He rubs the markh (the male) against the ‘afār (the female), and fire sparks by God’s permission. Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with them) said: "There is no tree that does not contain fire, except the jujube."

"Who created the heavens and the earth": He who is capable of creating the heavens and the earth, given their immense scale, is even more capable of creating humans. In this meaning is the Almighty’s saying: "The creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of mankind" (Ghafir: 57).

"To create the like of them": This may mean creating the like of them in smallness and insignificance compared to the heavens and the earth, or it may mean resurrecting them, for the returned is a "like" to the initial, though not identical. "And He is the All-Creator, the All-Knowing."

"His command is only, when He intends a thing": When the call of wisdom invites Him to bring it into being, and there is no obstacle, "that He says to it, 'Be,' and it is"—meaning it comes into existence without delay.

If you ask: What is the reality of His saying, "He says to it, 'Be,' and it is"? I say: It is a metaphor and a representation, for nothing among created things is impossible for Him. It is like a commanded, obedient subject when the order of a commanded, obeyed master reaches him.

If you ask: What is the aspect of the two recitations of "and it is" (fa-yakūnu vs. fa-yakūna)? I say: The nominative (yakūnu) is because it is a sentence consisting of a subject and predicate (the estimate being: "so it is"), coordinated with its like. The accusative (yakūna) is for coordination with "says" (yaqūla). The meaning is that He is not subject to what bodies are subject to when they do something they are capable of—such as direct physical contact, the use of tools, and the resulting hardship, fatigue, and exhaustion. His command—He who is the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing by His very essence—is merely to release the impulse to act, and it comes into being. How then could He be incapable of a created thing, such that He would be incapable of resurrection?

"So exalted is He": A declaration of His transcendence above what the polytheists describe Him with, and astonishment that they should say what they said. "In whose hand is the dominion of all things": He is the Owner of all things, disposing of them according to the requirements of His will and the decrees of His wisdom.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Everything has a heart, and the heart of the Quran is Yā Sīn. Whoever reads Yā Sīn, desiring the Face of God, God will forgive him and grant him a reward as if he had read the Quran twenty-two times. And any Muslim who has Yā Sīn read near him when the Angel of Death descends, for every letter of it, ten angels descend, praying for him and witnessing his burial. And any Muslim who reads Yā Sīn while in the throes of death, the Angel of Death will not take his soul until Ridwan, the keeper of Paradise, brings him a drink from the drink of Paradise, which he drinks while on his bed. So the Angel of Death takes his soul while he is quenched, and he remains in his grave quenched, and he will not need any of the basins of the Prophets until he enters Paradise while quenched."

And he (peace be upon him) said: "In the Quran, there is a Surah whose reader is interceded for, and whose listener is forgiven; it is Surah Yā Sīn."