Tafsir of Al-Waqi'ah 56:57

{So why do you not believe?} This is an incitement to believe. It refers either to:

1. The initial creation: Although they acknowledge it, their way of life contradicts the requirements of that belief, making them effectively like those who deny it.
2. The Resurrection: For He who created [you] the first time is not incapable of creating [you] a second time.

{That which you emit} That which you ejaculate, meaning: that which you cast into the wombs in the form of semen. Abū al-Sumāl read it with a fatḥah on the tāʾ (tamunnūna). It is said: amna al-nuṭfah and manāhā. God Almighty said: "From a sperm-drop when it is emitted" (al-Najm: 46).

{Do you create it?} Do you fashion it and give it form?

{We have ordained death among you} We have decreed it and distributed it among you just as sustenance is distributed, with variation and disparity as Our will dictates. Thus, your lifespans differ—short, long, and intermediate. It is also read as qaddarnā (with a light dāl).

{And We are not to be outrun} Sabaqtu-hu (I outran him) regarding a thing means: I rendered him incapable of it, overcame him, and prevented him from it. Thus, the meaning of His saying: {And We are not to be outrun in replacing you with others like you} is: We are capable of that, and you cannot overcome Us in it.

Amthālukum (your likes) is the plural of mithl (like/equal). It means: We are capable of replacing you with your counterparts in creation, and capable of {bringing you into being} in a form you do not know and have never witnessed the likes of. This means: We are capable of both—creating what is like you and what is not like you; so how could We be incapable of resurrecting you?

It is also possible that amthālukum refers to your attributes, meaning: We are capable of changing and altering the qualities you possess in your creation and character, and bringing you into being with qualities you do not know. It is read as al-nashʾah and al-nashāʾah.

In this is proof of the validity of analogy (qiyās), as He rebukes them for failing to apply the analogy of the second creation to the first.

{Have you seen that which you sow? Is it you who make it grow, or are We the growers? If We willed, We could make it debris, and you would remain in wonder, [saying], "Indeed, we are burdened with debt; rather, we have been deprived."}