Overview (Verses 28 - 29)

Giving Life after Death

The sūrah then addresses all mankind, denouncing their disbelief in God who gives life and takes it away, and who provides for all and has full control over the whole universe: “How can you reject God who has given you life after you were dead? He will cause you to die again then He will bring you back to life. To Him you shall return. It is He who created for you all that is on earth. He then turned to heaven and fashioned it into seven heavens. He has knowledge of all things.” (Verses 28-29)

Denial or rejection of God after seeing all these manifest signs is certainly despicable and utterly unjustifiable. The Qur’ān here faces mankind directly with facts they cannot deny or question. It refers to their life and the phases of human existence. God brought man out of a state of death and gave him life. This transformation is a fact that cannot be ignored or denied, and can only be explained by acknowledging the creative power of God. Life is not an illusion, but how has it come about? Who has initiated this unique phenomenon we call life, which distinguishes the living from the dead in this world? Life represents an extraordinary dimension that is the complete antithesis of death, but where does it originate?

It is a question that has to be faced and answered in a way that will satisfy man’s curiosity and put his heart and mind at rest. It is simply not enough to dismiss it or attribute life to anything other than a creative power that is itself totally different from creation. The immediate answer to this question is that life comes from God. Let those who dispute this come up with another answer.

The verse questions man’s denial of, and disbelief in, God “who has given you life after you were dead”. (Verse 28) How impertinent of man to reject God, the origin and the cause of life. It affirms that God “will cause you to die again”, a fact that is beyond dispute and of which we are constantly reminded. It adds that “[He] will bring you back to life’’, which has been, and still is today, a matter for endless argument and debate. Yet, if people would only reflect on how man came to be in the first instance, there would be no reason for bewilderment or rejection of life after death.

“And to Him you shall return.” (Verse 28) As it was from Him you have come, to Him you shall return, in total fulfilment of His will and purpose.

Thus, in one short verse, the whole book of life is opened and. closed. The whole story of man’s existence on this earth is reviewed. It begins, by the will of God, with a state of death and ends with death, after which God will restore life again, and the ultimate return thereafter shall be to Him from whom life originated. In this brief picture, we can visualize God’s awesome power and appreciate its deep impact on our hearts and minds.

This is complemented by another powerful affirmation: “It is He who created for you all that is on earth. He then turned to heaven and fashioned it into seven heavens. He has knowledge of all things.” (Verse 29)

Commentators and scholars have spoken at length about the origin and creation of the heavens and the earth. They have spoken about the order in which various parts of the universe were created. They have delved deep into the possible ways in which God could have ‘turned’ to heaven and ‘fashioned’ it. However, they overlook the fact that such dimensions of time and space are meaningless in relation to God. These are linguistic terms used to bring infinite concepts into the sphere of our finite minds. Endless disputes have periodically erupted among Muslim scholars about these and similar terms, over many centuries. These are part of the unfortunate legacy of Greek philosophy and Jewish and Christian theological and scholastic arguments that had crept into Arabic and Islamic thought and theology. Today, we would be better advised to avoid engaging in such futile debates, which can only mar the clarity of faith and destroy the beauty of the Qur’ān.

We should, therefore, look for those facts, ideas and concepts that lie beyond these Qur’ānic expressions and relate to the creation of all that is on the earth for the benefit of man. Let us look into the purpose of human existence and man’s great role on this earth, and its value in the sight of God. What value does Islam attach to human beings, and what role does it assign to them in the social system?

“It is He who created for you all that is on earth.” (Verse 29) The key words in this sentence are “for you”. They explicitly assert that God created man for a momentous and important purpose, placing him in charge of the earth’s affairs: to own it and to play an effective part in it.

Man is the master of this expansive earthly realm, and his role in its development and well-being is the most crucial of all. Man is the master on earth, and he is the master of the tools that are available to him on it. He cannot become a slave to these tools, as he is perceived to be by modern materialistic thinking. Nor is he subservient to, or dependent on, the changes or developments brought about by technology and their influence on human relations and societies, as materialists today would have us believe. Such thinking belittles man’s role, lowers his status in the world, and renders him inferior to machines instead of being their master.

No material value should ever supersede human values, or subjugate or dominate man. Any cause that aims to depreciate man’s worth is anti-human, no matter how much material advantage it achieves. Man’s dignity and integrity override all material values and ideals, which are of secondary importance.

The grace and honour implied in these verses, of which God reminds mankind, even while He denounces their rejection of Him, are not only reflected in the fact that He has provided them with all that is on earth, but also that He has appointed man its master and set him above everything else on it. This honour is represented by the fact that man has been delegated by God to rule over the earth.

“He then turned to heaven and fashioned it into seven heavens.” (Verse 29) This can only be interpreted in the sense that God has total control over everything, and with Him rests the will and decision of creating and shaping things. There is no need to dwell on the precise meaning, shape or dimensions of the ‘seven heavens’ referred to here. It is sufficient to point out the overall import of the text as outlined above.

“He has knowledge of all things.” (Verse 29) He is the Creator of everything and has control over all things. God’s omniscience and omnipotence are strong incentives for man to believe in Him, acknowledge His favours and worship Him alone.

This brings us to the end of the first section of the sūrah, which has focused mainly on belief in God and on urging mankind to join the ranks of God-fearing believers.

Overview (Verses 28 - 29)

Giving Life after Death

The sūrah then addresses all mankind, denouncing their disbelief in God who gives life and takes it away, and who provides for all and has full control over the whole universe: “How can you reject God who has given you life after you were dead? He will cause you to die again then He will bring you back to life. To Him you shall return. It is He who created for you all that is on earth. He then turned to heaven and fashioned it into seven heavens. He has knowledge of all things.” (Verses 28-29)

Denial or rejection of God after seeing all these manifest signs is certainly despicable and utterly unjustifiable. The Qur’ān here faces mankind directly with facts they cannot deny or question. It refers to their life and the phases of human existence. God brought man out of a state of death and gave him life. This transformation is a fact that cannot be ignored or denied, and can only be explained by acknowledging the creative power of God. Life is not an illusion, but how has it come about? Who has initiated this unique phenomenon we call life, which distinguishes the living from the dead in this world? Life represents an extraordinary dimension that is the complete antithesis of death, but where does it originate?

It is a question that has to be faced and answered in a way that will satisfy man’s curiosity and put his heart and mind at rest. It is simply not enough to dismiss it or attribute life to anything other than a creative power that is itself totally different from creation. The immediate answer to this question is that life comes from God. Let those who dispute this come up with another answer.

The verse questions man’s denial of, and disbelief in, God “who has given you life after you were dead”. (Verse 28) How impertinent of man to reject God, the origin and the cause of life. It affirms that God “will cause you to die again”, a fact that is beyond dispute and of which we are constantly reminded. It adds that “[He] will bring you back to life’’, which has been, and still is today, a matter for endless argument and debate. Yet, if people would only reflect on how man came to be in the first instance, there would be no reason for bewilderment or rejection of life after death.

“And to Him you shall return.” (Verse 28) As it was from Him you have come, to Him you shall return, in total fulfilment of His will and purpose.

Thus, in one short verse, the whole book of life is opened and. closed. The whole story of man’s existence on this earth is reviewed. It begins, by the will of God, with a state of death and ends with death, after which God will restore life again, and the ultimate return thereafter shall be to Him from whom life originated. In this brief picture, we can visualize God’s awesome power and appreciate its deep impact on our hearts and minds.

This is complemented by another powerful affirmation: “It is He who created for you all that is on earth. He then turned to heaven and fashioned it into seven heavens. He has knowledge of all things.” (Verse 29)

Commentators and scholars have spoken at length about the origin and creation of the heavens and the earth. They have spoken about the order in which various parts of the universe were created. They have delved deep into the possible ways in which God could have ‘turned’ to heaven and ‘fashioned’ it. However, they overlook the fact that such dimensions of time and space are meaningless in relation to God. These are linguistic terms used to bring infinite concepts into the sphere of our finite minds. Endless disputes have periodically erupted among Muslim scholars about these and similar terms, over many centuries. These are part of the unfortunate legacy of Greek philosophy and Jewish and Christian theological and scholastic arguments that had crept into Arabic and Islamic thought and theology. Today, we would be better advised to avoid engaging in such futile debates, which can only mar the clarity of faith and destroy the beauty of the Qur’ān.

We should, therefore, look for those facts, ideas and concepts that lie beyond these Qur’ānic expressions and relate to the creation of all that is on the earth for the benefit of man. Let us look into the purpose of human existence and man’s great role on this earth, and its value in the sight of God. What value does Islam attach to human beings, and what role does it assign to them in the social system?

“It is He who created for you all that is on earth.” (Verse 29) The key words in this sentence are “for you”. They explicitly assert that God created man for a momentous and important purpose, placing him in charge of the earth’s affairs: to own it and to play an effective part in it.

Man is the master of this expansive earthly realm, and his role in its development and well-being is the most crucial of all. Man is the master on earth, and he is the master of the tools that are available to him on it. He cannot become a slave to these tools, as he is perceived to be by modern materialistic thinking. Nor is he subservient to, or dependent on, the changes or developments brought about by technology and their influence on human relations and societies, as materialists today would have us believe. Such thinking belittles man’s role, lowers his status in the world, and renders him inferior to machines instead of being their master.

No material value should ever supersede human values, or subjugate or dominate man. Any cause that aims to depreciate man’s worth is anti-human, no matter how much material advantage it achieves. Man’s dignity and integrity override all material values and ideals, which are of secondary importance.

The grace and honour implied in these verses, of which God reminds mankind, even while He denounces their rejection of Him, are not only reflected in the fact that He has provided them with all that is on earth, but also that He has appointed man its master and set him above everything else on it. This honour is represented by the fact that man has been delegated by God to rule over the earth.

“He then turned to heaven and fashioned it into seven heavens.” (Verse 29) This can only be interpreted in the sense that God has total control over everything, and with Him rests the will and decision of creating and shaping things. There is no need to dwell on the precise meaning, shape or dimensions of the ‘seven heavens’ referred to here. It is sufficient to point out the overall import of the text as outlined above.

“He has knowledge of all things.” (Verse 29) He is the Creator of everything and has control over all things. God’s omniscience and omnipotence are strong incentives for man to believe in Him, acknowledge His favours and worship Him alone.

This brings us to the end of the first section of the sūrah, which has focused mainly on belief in God and on urging mankind to join the ranks of God-fearing believers.