Tafsir of Surah As-Sajdah - Verse 10

Refutation of Those Who think the Resurrection is unlikely to happen

Allah tells us how the idolators thought it unlikely that the resurrection would ever come to pass, and how they said:

أَءِذَا ضَلَلْنَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ

(When we are lost in the earth,) meaning, `when our bodies have been scattered and have disintegrated and dispersed in the earth,'

أَءِنَّا لَفِى خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ

(shall we indeed be created anew) means, `after that, will we come back again' They thought it unlikely that this would happen, and in terms of their own feeble abilities it is indeed unlikely, but this is not the case with regard to the power of the One Who created them from nothing, Who when He wills a thing merely says to it, "Be!" and it is. Allah says:

بَلْ هُم بِلَقَآءِ رَبِّهِمْ كَـفِرُونَ

(Nay, but they deny the meeting with their Lord!) Then Allah says:

قُلْ يَتَوَفَّـكُم مَّلَكُ الْمَوْتِ الَّذِى وُكِّلَ بِكُمْ

(Say: "The angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls...") The apparent meaning of this Ayah is that the angel of death is a specific personality among the angels, as is also apparent from the Hadith of Al-Bara' which we quoted in (our Tafsir of) Surah Ibrahim. In some reports he (the angel of death) is called `Izra'il, which is well known. This is the view of Qatadah and others. The angel of death has helpers. It was reported in the Hadith that his helpers draw out the soul from the rest of the body until it reaches the throat, then the angel of death takes it. Mujahid said, "The earth is brought together for him and it is like a platter from which he takes whenever he wants."

ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّكُمْ تُرْجَعُونَ

(Then you shall be brought to your Lord.) means, on the Day when you are resurrected and brought forth from your graves to receive your reward or punishment.

Everything is good in this world. Evil comes through its wrong use.

In verse 7, it was said: الَّذِي أَحْسَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ "Who made well whatever He created good”. The reason is that Allah Ta’ ala has made whatever He has created in this world under the dictate of His wisdom, and under the essential consideration of what is beneficial for the whole system. Therefore, everything has a beauty of its own. And the most beautiful and better than all is the making of man as it was said: لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ (Surely, We did create man in the best of symmetry - 95:4).

Then there are creations other than man that may outwardly be taken as bad. In fact, dogs, pigs, snakes, scorpions and wolfs are commonly considered bad because they are either poisonous or beastly. But, in terms of the expedient benefits of the world as a whole, none of these is really bad. A proverbial poetic observation in Urdu puts it as:

نہیں ہے چیز نکمّی کوئی زمانے میں کوئی بُرا نہیں قدرت کے کارخانے میں

There is nothing useless in the world

There is no one bad in the workshop of nature.

The author of Bayan ul-Qur'an has said, 'the text's كُلَّ شَيْءٍ (whatever) includes all substances and accidents, that is, also things which have corporeal substance, such as, animals, plants and minerals etc. as well as incorporeal things which include even morals and deeds. So much so that morals which are identified as bad - anger, greed, desire and their likes - are not bad in themselves. The bad about them emerges when they are used out of place. If they stay in their proper place, there is nothing bad in them. But, the sense being driven home here relates to the objective of their creation ( takwin )and introduction of these things - for that is nothing but good according to divine wisdom. However, the qualities of 'good' and 'bad' are attached to them in relation to the human acts and their effects on individuals. We can call it one's right or choice employed in doing something. Then, in those terms, everything is not good, in fact, it is circumscribed by a little detail, that is, whatever has not been allowed by Allah Ta` Hla is not good, but is, rather bad.' Allah knows best.

The sentence that follows next reads: وَبَدَأَ خَلْقَ الْإِنسَانِ مِن طِينٍ (and started the creation of man from clay - 7). Earlier, it was said that Allah Ta’ ala has made everything 'good' in this world. Mentioned thereafter was man, the most beautiful of all. Then, to give expression to His most perfect power alongside, it was also said that the making of man as the most superior form of creation was not because the essential ingredient of his creation was most noble, elegant and superior, which may have made it so. In fact, as for the essential ingredient that went into his making, it was something as mean and lowly as the semen. Thereafter, the rest was a masterpiece of His perfect power and profound wisdom. It was this great combination that took something so low to such a height that man was rated as the most noble Divine creation.

Man’s creation for the first time is enough to convince mankind of the possibility of creation for the second time. But when a man does not believe in his accountability before God, he ridicules the possibility of a second creation, and he talks flippantly of it. But, this amounts to taking liberties throughout the period of freedom given for the purpose of putting man to test. And when this period expires and a man dies and is made to stand before Almighty God for the purpose of giving an account of himself, he will find himself speechless. At that time, the arrogant will say that they now accept the reality and will request that they be sent back into the world, so that they may perform righteous deeds. But this admission at that stage will be useless. Had God desired that people should accept reality in this way, He could have compelled them to accept it in the present world itself. Before God, that acceptance carries weight which is made without the reality being visible. Acceptance after seeing the reality has no value.