Author: Abu Ayesha
Resurrection after Death (the 23rd and final part)
Introduction:
One of the ways in which opponents and enemies of Islam have always attempted and continue to attempt to weaken the belief and conviction of Muslims regarding the issue of resurrection and life after death is by raising various doubts and introducing fabricated objections rooted in their own imagination.
It should be understood that respected scholars and great researchers have never left such doubts unanswered. They have consistently endeavored to respond to each of them with both transmitted (naqli) and rational (‘aqli) evidence.
However, since from time to time individuals still raise and promote such issues, in this section we will address doubts that arise after the affirmation of bodily and spiritual resurrection, and we will present appropriate responses to each of them. [1]
Doubt One: The Doubt of the Disintegration of Bodies
The doubt regarding the disintegration of bodies is a very weak argument presented by those who deny resurrection after death. According to them, when a human dies, his affair ends completely, and anything that becomes nonexistent loses its essence entirely. [2]
Allah (SWT) has mentioned this doubt repeatedly in the Qur’an on the tongues of the deniers, where He says: “وَقَالُوا أَإِذَا ضَلَلْنَا فِي الْأَرْضِ أَإِنَّا لَفِي خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ بَلْ هُمْ بِلِقَاءِ رَبِّهِمْ كَافِرُونَ” Translation: “They say: When we are lost within the earth, will we indeed be in a new creation? Rather, they deny the meeting with their Lord. [3]
And in another place He says: “وَقَالُوا أَإِذَا كُنَّا عِظَامًا وَرُفَاتًا أَإِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ خَلْقًا جَدِيدًا” Translation: “And they say: When we have become bones and dust, will we really be resurrected as a new creation?” [4]
The denial of resurrection among the rejecters here is based on one central doubt: after the departure of souls and the transformation of bodies into decayed bones and completely disintegrated particles, how can these be revived again?
It should be understood that they have combined two types of questioning in their statement:
One is an interrogative used for acknowledgment, concerning which there is no dispute regarding its occurrence;
The other is a rejecting interrogative, through which they consider the re-creation after death to be far-fetched and impossible, just as they were before death.
Their intention is: when we become decayed bones and scattered particles, and our bodies mix with the earth, will we truly be recreated as we were before death?
Response to the Doubt
It must be understood that the power of Allah Almighty encompasses all things. Allah can easily restore the parts of a human after they have dispersed and become mixed.
Therefore, the mixing and blending of bodies does not prevent Allah from returning everything to its original state. The One who created them the first time without any prior model or example is certainly more capable of recreating them a second time.
The Qur’an beautifully and logically responds to this doubt in a way that leaves the deniers without any answer a response before which no sound intellect can do anything but submit and acknowledge truth.
The Qur’an challenges them by commanding them to become stones or iron or any other form they consider even more difficult to revive: “قُلْ كُونُوا حِجَارَةً أَوْ حَدِيدًا أَوْ خَلْقًا مِمَّا يَكْبُرُ فِي صُدُورِكُمْ فَسَيَقُولُونَ مَنْ يُعِيدُنَا قُلِ الَّذِي فَطَرَكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ فَسَيُنْغِضُونَ إِلَيْكَ رُءُوسَهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَى هُوَ قُلْ عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ قَرِيبًا يَوْمَ يَدْعُوكُمْ فَتَسْتَجِيبُونَ بِحَمْدِهِ وَتَظُنُّونَ إِنْ لَبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا” Translation: “Say: Be stones or iron, or any creation that seems greater in your minds. Then they will say, “Who will restore us? Say, “The One who created you the first time.” Then they will shake their heads at you and say, “When will it be?” Say, “Perhaps it is near.” On the Day He will call you, you will respond praising Him, and you will think that you remained only a little while. [5]
Conclusion: The truth presented by the Qur’an makes it clear that the deniers are completely powerless and incapable before the Lord of the worlds. They cannot even control their own lifespan, let alone challenge the power of resurrection.
To be continued…
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References:
[1] SurAs-Sajdah: 10
[2] Surah Al-Isra: 49
[3] Al-Muqaddam, Jihan Nur al-Din Muhammad, Al-Ma‘ad bayna al-Muthbitin wa al-Munkirin
[4] Al-Mutna‘i, Dr. ‘Abd al-‘Azim, Samahat al-Islam
[5] Surah Al-Isra: 50–51
