كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَٰتًا فَأَحْيَـٰكُمْ ۖ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ 28
Translations
How can you disbelieve in Allāh when you were lifeless and He brought you to life; then He will cause you to die, then He will bring you [back] to life, and then to Him you will be returned.
Transliteration
Kayfa takfuroon billahi wa kuntum amwatan fa-ahyakum, thumma yumitukum thumma yuhyikum thumma ilayhi turja'un
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah poses a rhetorical question rebuking those who disbelieve in Allah despite the clear evidence of His power demonstrated through the cycle of life and death. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi interpret this as referring to both spiritual death (ignorance before the message) and physical death, emphasizing that Allah's ability to create life from non-existence and resurrect the dead is an undeniable proof of His existence and authority. The ayah underscores the illogic of denying the One who grants life, sustains it, takes it away, and will resurrect all humanity on the Day of Judgment.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the opening section of Surah Al-Baqarah (the Medinan surah revealed after the Hijrah), where Allah establishes fundamental beliefs about divine oneness and resurrection to the newly formed Muslim community in Medina. It serves as a foundational argument addressing those who rejected faith despite witnessing Allah's creative power in nature.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Between each two blasts of the trumpet there will be forty (days or years)' - related to the stages of death and resurrection mentioned in this ayah (Sahih Bukhari). Additionally, the hadith about the angel asking the soul 'Who is your Lord?' at death relates to accountability between death and resurrection (Sunan Ibn Majah).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah challenges believers to recognize Allah's undeniable signs in creation and the natural cycle of life and death as evidence against disbelief, while serving as a humbling reminder that all human life originates from Allah and returns to Him, thus warranting obedience and gratitude rather than ingratitude.
Related Ayahs
لِّنُحْـِۧىَ بِهِۦ بَلْدَةً مَّيْتًا وَنُسْقِيَهُۥ مِمَّا خَلَقْنَآ أَنْعَـٰمًا وَأَنَاسِىَّ كَثِيرًا
That We may bring to life thereby a dead land and give it as drink to those We created of numerous livestock and men.
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى يَبْدَؤُا۟ ٱلْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُۥ وَهُوَ أَهْوَنُ عَلَيْهِ ۚ وَلَهُ ٱلْمَثَلُ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
And it is He who begins creation; then He repeats it, and that is [even] easier for Him. To Him belongs the highest description [i.e., attribute] in the heavens and earth. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
إِن كَانَتْ إِلَّا صَيْحَةً وَٰحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ جَمِيعٌ لَّدَيْنَا مُحْضَرُونَ
It will not be but one blast, and at once they are all brought present before Us.
ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى رَفَعَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَهَا ۖ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ ٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ ۖ كُلٌّ يَجْرِى لِأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۚ يُدَبِّرُ ٱلْأَمْرَ يُفَصِّلُ ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ لَعَلَّكُم بِلِقَآءِ رَبِّكُمْ تُوقِنُونَ
It is Allāh who erected the heavens without pillars that you [can] see; then He established Himself above the Throne and made subject the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term. He arranges [each] matter; He details the signs that you may, of the meeting with your Lord, be certain.