Tafsir of Surah An-Nazi'at - Verse 28

Creating the Heavens and the Earth is more difficult than repeating Creation

in refutation of the claim rejecting resurrection due to the renewal of creation after its original state, Allah says;

ءَأَنتُمْ

(Are you) `O people'

أَشَدُّ خَلْقاً أَمِ السَّمَآءُ

(more difficult to create or is the heaven...) meaning, `rather the heaven is more difficult to create than you.' As Allah said;

لَخَلْقُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ أَكْـبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ النَّاسِ

(the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of mankind;) (40:57) And His saying;

أَوَلَـيْسَ الَذِى خَلَقَ السَّمَـوتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ بِقَـدِرٍ عَلَى أَن يَخْلُقَ مِثْلَهُم بَلَى وَهُوَ الْخَلَّـقُ الْعَلِيمُ

(Is not the One Who created the heavens and the earth, capable of creating the similar to them. Yes, indeed! He is the Supreme Creator, the All-Knowing.) (36:81) Then Allah says,

بَنَـهَا

(He constructed) He explains this by His statement,

رَفَعَ سَمْكَهَا فَسَوَّاهَا

(He raised its height, and has perfected it.) meaning, He made it a lofty structure, vast in its space, with equal sides, and adorned with stars at night and in the darkness. Then Allah says,

وَأَغْطَشَ لَيْلَهَا وَأَخْرَجَ ضُحَـهَا

(Its night He covers and He brings out its forenoon.) meaning, He made its night dark and extremely black, and its day bright, luminous, shining and clear. Ibn `Abbas said, "He did Aghtasha of its night means that He made it dark." Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr and a large group have said this as well. In reference to Allah's statement,

وَأَخْرَجَ ضُحَـهَا

(And He brings out its forenoon.) meaning, He illuminated its day. Then Allah says,

وَالاٌّرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ دَحَـهَا

(And after that He spread the earth,) He explains this statement by the statement that follows it,

أَخْرَجَ مِنْهَا مَآءَهَا وَمَرْعَـهَا

(And brought forth therefrom its water and its pasture.) It already has been mentioned previously in Surat Ha Mim As-Sajdah that the earth was created before the heaven was created, but it was only spread out after the creation of the heaven. This means that He brought out what was in it with a forceful action. This is the meaning of what was said by Ibn `Abbas and others, and it was the explanation preferred by Ibn Jarir. In reference to the statement of Allah,

وَالْجِبَالَ أَرْسَـهَا

(And the mountains He has fixed firmly,) meaning, He settled them, made them firm, and established them in their places. And He is the Most Wise, the All-Knowing. He is Most Kind to His creation, Most Merciful. Allah then says,

مَتَـعاً لَّكُمْ وَلاًّنْعَـمِكُمْ

(As provision and benefit for you and your cattle.) meaning, He spread out the earth, caused its springs to gush forth, brought forth its hidden benefits, caused its rivers to flow, and caused its vegetation, trees, and fruits to grow. He also made its mountains firm so that it (the earth) would be calmly settled with its dwellers, and He stabilized its dwelling places. All of this is a means of beneficial enjoyment for His creatures (mankind) providing them of what cattle they need, which they eat and ride upon. He has granted them these beneficial things for the period that they need them, in this worldly abode, until the end of time and the expiration of this life.

فَأَخَذَهُ اللَّـهُ نَكَالَ الْآخِرَ‌ةِ وَالْأُولَىٰ (So, Allah seized him for the deterrent punishment in the Hereafter and the present world....79:25). The word nakal means an 'exemplary punishment' or 'an extremely severe punishment given to an offender to deter others against committing a similar offence or sin'. The phrase 'punishment of the 'akhirah' refers to the punishment of the Hereafter that will be meted out to Fir'aun (the Pharaoh). The phrase 'punishment of the 'al a' refers to the punishment meted out to Fir'aun (the Pharaoh) and his army in this world whereby they were destroyed by drowning.

Further, the Qur'an again disposes of the doubt of the rejecters of resurrection who pose the question: "Are we going to be brought back to our former state (of life)? Is it when we will have turned into decayed bones?" [ 10-11] In other words, this is a negative rhetorical question. They purport to say that it is not possible for them to be restored to life after death when they have become perished and worm-eaten bones. Allah responds that the Supreme Creator, Who drew out this universe without any pre-existing matter and without any instrument, certainly has the Supreme power to give existence to things after destroying them. Why should it be a surprise?

In the verses that follow, the horrors of the Day of Judgment are depicted. It is mentioned that on that Day, every person will be presented with his deeds. Described also are the abodes of the inmates of Paradise and Hell. Towards the end, special traits of the people of Paradise and those of Hell are portrayed by which a man can decide in this very world whether, according to the rules, his abode would be Paradise or Hell. The expression 'according to the rules' has been used because many verses and narratives indicate that there could be 'exceptions to the rules'. For example, a person might attain freedom from Hell and enter Paradise by virtue of intercession or directly through the grace of Allah. This is an exception to the rule. The general rule is the same as has been mentioned in these verses.

The magnificent phenomenon before us in the shape of the universe is so great that all other things are small in comparison to it. So, in the world when the occurrence of a big event is possible, why should the occurrence of a small event not be possible? There are already many factors in existence on a large scale which explain the Quran’s declaration that man shall one Day have to face resurrection.