Surah 50: Qaf
The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Short Commentary
[a]In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
[a] 1:1.
Qaf.[2799] We cite the Glorious Qur’an[2800] as a proof that the great Resurrection is sure to take place.
[2799] The letter Qaf may stand for the Divine Attribute Qadir meaning, the Mighty God, or for the expression, Al-Qiyamatu Haqqun, i.e. the Resurrection is an undoubted reality.
[2800] The Holy Qur’an is cited as an evidence that the Great Resurrection will, certainly, take place.
But they wonder that there has come to them a Warner from among themselves. And the disbelievers say, ‘This is a strange thing.’
‘What! when we are dead and have become dust, shall we be raised up again? [b]That is a return far from possible.’
[b] 13:6; 23:37.
We know how much the earth diminishes of them and how much it adds to them, and with Us is a Book that preserves everything.[2801]
[2801] The verse refutes the disbelievers’ objection mentioned in the preceding verse, viz. how when they are dead and reduced to broken bones and particles of dust they would be raised again. It is the physical body, it says, that disintegrates and perishes. The soul is imperishable and will be given a new body in the next world to account for the deeds done in this world which are recorded in 'a Book that preserves everything.' The verse may also mean that even the particles of objects which the earth disintegrates are well preserved in God’s knowledge. It may also signify that as complete knowledge about all the details of a thing presupposes the power to create it, and God is the Possessor of full knowledge of human anatomy and of the process of its disintegration, He, therefore, could and would recreate it after it had perished.
Nay, they rejected the truth when it came to them, and so they are in a state of confusion.
Do they not look at the sky above them, how We have made it and [a]adorned it, and there are no flaws[2802] in it?
[a] 37:7; 41:13; 67:6.
[2802] This and the following few verses draw attention to the marvels of creation—the wonderful design in the universe, the celestial firmament with its countless beautiful planets and stars, the earth and its wide expanse teeming with human and animal life—and then points to the inevitable inference that the Great and Wise Designer, the Architect and the Controller, Who could bring into being this wonderful universe and Who placed man at its centre, does possess the power to recreate it after its disintegration and to give man a new life after he is dead.
And the earth—We have spread it out, and placed therein firm mountains; and We have made to grow therein [b]every kind of beautiful species,
[b] 31:11.
As a means of enlightenment and as a reminder[2803] to every servant that turns to Us.
[2803] It is logical to assume a purpose behind physical nature. The concept of God as Designer and Creator of all things gives a coherent and complete picture of origin, design and purpose. And the existence of a purpose behind the creation implies the existence of a Life after death because the very idea, that with the dissolution of its physical tabernacle the human soul suffers death, militates against the whole design and wisdom of God and against His purpose in creating the universe.
[c]And We send down from the clouds water which is full of blessings, and We produce therewith gardens and crops,
[c] 25:49.
And tall palm-trees with spathes piled one above the other,
As a provision for Our servants; [a]and We quicken thereby a dead land. Even so shall be the Resurrection.[2804]
[a] 25:50; 43:12.
[2804] Just as God sends down rain from heaven and causes a dry, dead land to bloom and blossom and pulsate with a new vigorous life, and brings forth from the earth all sorts of flowers and fruits, similarly He can and will give a new life to man after he is dead.