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ʾa-laysa dhālika bi-qādirin ʿalā ʾan yuḥyiya l-mawtā
Is not [someone like] that able to revive the dead?
— Ali Quli Qarai
75Al-QiyāmahالقيامةVerse 40 of 40
The Resurrection75. Al-Qiyāmahالقيامة
al-Qiyāmah
The Resurrection
MeccanVerse 40 of 40
Surah al-Qiyama – Verses 37-40
37. Was he not a discharge of semen emitted into the womb?
38. Then he became a clot. Then, [Allah] shaped and fashioned [him] in due proportion.
39. And made of him two sexes, male and female.
40. Is He not Able to give life to the dead?
Creation is the first token of Omnipotence. The blessed Chapter opened with swearing by Resurrection and it closes with Divine Omnipotence to raise the dead on Day of Resurrection. Alluding to the second argument mentioned in the preceding Verse, the blessed Verse 37 asks:
The following two Verses respond:
It is in the last Verse (40) that the rhetorical question is posed:
Is He, who creates the little and worthless drop of semen anew each and every day in the dark womb and gives a new life and a novel form to it until it finally changes into a male or female human being and is born, not Able to give life to the dead? It is actually a response to those who oftentimes belie the question of material Resurrection and refute being raised from the dead. In order to substantiate the veracity of Resurrection, the Holy Qur’an makes references to the threshold of human existence and the wondrous embryonic stages of development and thereby reflects Divine Omnipotence.
In other words, the best argument to substantiate the contingency of some object is its actualization. It is worthy of note that God Almighty has also demonstrated other instances of His Omnipotence through the recreations at the hands of His Messengers in this world. Prophet Jesus (as) breathed into two birds which he had made of clay and gave them life. Prophet Abraham (as) called the birds which he had smashed and minced and thereby gave them a new life. Prophet Moses’ (as) seventy companions who had accompanied him to the Mount Sinai (Tur) and had died following Divine Manifestation there, were given new lives by God Almighty.
Those who belie Resurrection have not truly gained some knowledge concerning God Almighty, since if human deeds be effaced upon his death, doubt will be cast upon Divine Wisdom, as it is reflected in the blessed Verses:
The blessed Verses firstly treat of Divine Wisdom in raising the dead on the Day of Resurrection and secondly to Divine Omnipotence in the Creation of man, reflecting the contingence of his recreation. The Arabic nominal form nutfa originally denotes trickle of water or pure water, though it is applied to semen discharge in the process of reproduction. The embryonic stages of development of semen constitute some of the most surprising phenomena in the world of existence, studied in the discipline of embryology, many of whose secrets have been unveiled in recent centuries.
The interesting point is that the Holy Qur’anic Verses had recurrently made references to such questions and had laid emphasis on them as tokens of Divine Omnipotence when such discoveries were not made yet. They are the tokens of the Majesty and Glory of the Great Heavenly Book. It is noteworthy that the blessed Verses in question make mention of some of the embryonic stages, though further stages are to be found elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an in the opening Verses of Chapters 22 and 23, the exegetic details of which may be found above.
It is worthy of note that the Arabic pronoun
implies pointing at some object lying afar. The pronoun herein implies Divine Majesty and Greatness, connoting that His Divine Pure Essence is so Exalted that it lies beyond human reflection. It is narrated that the Noble Prophet was reciting
when the blessed Verse 40,
was revealed unto him. In this respects, some traditions have been narrated from Imam Baqir (as) and Imam Sadiq (as).30
O Lord! We testify that You are Omnipotent to raise all the dead and grant them new lives in one single moment. There exists no impediment to Your Omnipotence.
O Lord! On that day when the souls reach the collarbones and we lose our hopes of all things besides you, we set our hopes on Your Pure Essence. Forgive us and grant us Your Mercy and Grace.
Amen! O Lord of the worlds!
Footnotes