وَأَنَّ عَلَيْهِ ٱلنَّشْأَةَ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ 47
Translations
And that [incumbent] upon Him is the other [i.e., next] creation.
Transliteration
Wa anna alayhi an-nasha'ata al-akhrah
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms that upon Allah rests the responsibility and power to bring about the final resurrection and the afterlife. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir emphasize that this statement establishes Allah's absolute authority over creation and the Hereafter, refuting those who deny resurrection. Al-Qurtubi notes that the particle 'anna' (that/indeed) introduces a divine decree, underscoring that the second creation is not merely possible but divinely ordained and guaranteed.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within Surah An-Najm, a Meccan surah revealed during the early period of Islam when polytheists vehemently denied the concept of bodily resurrection. The surah addresses core Islamic beliefs, and this particular ayah counters the prevalent Meccan skepticism about the Hereafter by asserting Allah's omnipotence over both creation and resurrection.
Related Hadiths
Related to Surah Yasin 36:79 where the Prophet (peace be upon him) affirmed that Allah 'knows every creation' and is capable of resurrection. Also thematically related to the hadith in Sahih Bukhari where the Prophet described how Allah will resurrect people on the Day of Judgment, emphasizing divine power over the second creation.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that resurrection is not a matter of philosophical debate but a divine certainty—Allah alone possesses the power to create and recreate. For modern readers, this teaches that faith in the Hereafter should be rooted in confidence in Allah's absolute power rather than rational doubt or materialist objections.
Related Ayahs
وَمَآ أَنتُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مِن وَلِىٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ
And you will not cause failure [to Allāh] upon the earth. And you have not besides Allāh any protector or helper.
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُسَيِّرُكُمْ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا كُنتُمْ فِى ٱلْفُلْكِ وَجَرَيْنَ بِهِم بِرِيحٍ طَيِّبَةٍ وَفَرِحُوا۟ بِهَا جَآءَتْهَا رِيحٌ عَاصِفٌ وَجَآءَهُمُ ٱلْمَوْجُ مِن كُلِّ مَكَانٍ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَنَّهُمْ أُحِيطَ بِهِمْ ۙ دَعَوُا۟ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ لَئِنْ أَنجَيْتَنَا مِنْ هَـٰذِهِۦ لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلشَّـٰكِرِينَ
It is He who enables you to travel on land and sea until, when you are in ships and they sail with them by a good wind and they rejoice therein, there comes a storm wind and the waves come upon them from every place and they expect to be engulfed, they supplicate Allāh, sincere to Him in religion, "If You should save us from this, we will surely be among the thankful."
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ جَاعِلِ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ رُسُلًا أُو۟لِىٓ أَجْنِحَةٍ مَّثْنَىٰ وَثُلَـٰثَ وَرُبَـٰعَ ۚ يَزِيدُ فِى ٱلْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
[All] praise is [due] to Allāh, Creator of the heavens and the earth, [who] made the angels messengers having wings, two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills. Indeed, Allāh is over all things competent.
۞ قُلْ كُونُوا۟ حِجَارَةً أَوْ حَدِيدًا
Say, "Be you stones or iron