2:28 Al-Baqara (The Cow)

هذا استفهام بمعنى التعجب والتوبيخ والإنكار، أي: كيف يحصل منكم الكفر بالله; الذي خلقكم من العدم; وأنعم عليكم بأصناف النعم; ثم يميتكم عند استكمال آجالكم; ويجازيكم في القبور; ثم يحييكم بعد البعث والنشور; ثم إليه ترجعون; فيجازيكم الجزاء الأوفى، فإذا كنتم في تصرفه; وتدبيره; وبره; وتحت أوامره الدينية; ومن بعد ذلك تحت دينه الجزائي; أفيليق بكم أن تكفروا به; وهل هذا إلا جهل عظيم وسفه وحماقة ؟ بل الذي يليق بكم أن تؤمنوا به وتتقوه وتشكروه وتخافوا عذابه; وترجوا ثوابه.

يقول تعالى محتجا على وجوده وقدرته وأنه الخالق المتصرف في عباده كيف تكفرون بالله أي كيف تجحدون وجوده أو تعبدون معه غيره "وكنتم أمواتا فأحياكم" أي وقد كنتم عدما فأخرجكم إلى الوجود كما قال تعالى "أم خلقوا من غير شيء أم هم الخالقون أم خلقوا السماوات والأرض بل لا يوقنون" وقال تعالى "هل أتى على الإنسان حين من الدهر لم يكن شيئا مذكورا" والآيات في هذا كثيرة وقال سفيان الثوري عن أبي إسحاق عن أبي الأحوص عن عبدالله بن مسعود رضي الله عنه "قالوا ربنا أمتنا اثنتين وأحييتنا اثنتين فاعترفنا بذنوبنا" قال هي التي في البقرة "وكنتم أمواتا فأحياكم ثم يميتكم ثم يحييكم" وقال ابن جريج عن عطاء عن ابن عباس: كنتم أمواتا فأحياكم أمواتا في أصلاب آبائكم لم تكونوا شيئا حتى خلقكم ثم يميتكم موتة الحق ثم يحييكم حين يبعثكم قال وهي مثل قوله تعالى "أمتنا اثنتين وأحييتنا اثنتين": وقال الضحاك عن ابن عباس في قوله تعالى "ربنا أمتنا اثنتين وأحييتنا اثنتين" قال كنتم ترابا قبل أن يخلقكم فهذه ميتة ثم أحياكم فخلقكم فهذه حياة ثم يميتكم فترجعون إلى القبور. فهذه ميتة أخرى ثم يبعثكم يوم القيامة فهذه حياة أخرى - فهذه ميتتان وحياتان فهو كقوله "كيف تكفرون بالله وكنتم أمواتا فأحياكم ثم يميتكم ثم يحييكم" وهكذا رُوي عن السدي بسنده عن أبي مالك وعن أبي صالح عن ابن عباس وعن مرة عن ابن مسعود وعن ناس من الصحابة وعن أبي العالية والحسن ومجاهد وقتادة وأبي صالح والضحاك وعطاء الخراساني نحو ذلك وقال الثوري عن السدي عن أبي صالح "كيف تكفرون بالله وكنتم أمواتا فأحياكم ثم يميتكم ثم يحييكم ثم إليه ترجعون" قال يحييكم في القبر ثم يميتكم وقال ابن جرير عن يونس عن ابن وهب عن عبدالرحمن بن زيد بن أسلم: قال خلقهم في ظهر آدم ثم أخذ عليهم الميثاق ثم أماتهم ثم خلقهم في الأرحام ثم أماتهم ثم أحياهم يوم القيامة. وذلك كقوله تعالى "قالوا ربنا أمتنا اثنتين وأحييتنا اثنتين" وهذا غريب والذي قبله. والصحيح ما تقدم عن ابن مسعود وابن عباس وأولئك الجماعة من التابعين وهو كقوله تعالى "قل الله يحييكم ثم يميتكم ثم يجمعكم إلى يوم القيامة لا ريب فيه"الآية كما قال تعالى في الأصنام "أموات غير أحياء وما يشعرون" الآية وقال "وآية لهم الأرض الميتة أحييناها وأخرجنا منها حبا فمنه يأكلون".

Allah testifies to the fact that He exists and that He is the Creator and the Sustainer Who has full authority over His servants,

كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ

(How can you disbelieve in Allah)

How can anyone deny Allah's existence or worship others with Him while;

وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَتًا فَأَحْيَـكُمْ

(You were dead and He gave you life) meaning, He brought them from the state of non-existence to life. Similarly, Allah said,

أَمْ خُلِقُواْ مِنْ غَيْرِ شَىْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَـلِقُونَ - أَمْ خَلَقُواْ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ بَل لاَّ يُوقِنُونَ

(Were they created by nothing Or were they themselves the creators Or did they create the heavens and the earth Nay, but they have no firm belief) (52:35-36) and,

هَلْ أَتَى عَلَى الإِنسَـنِ حِينٌ مِّنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُن شَيْئاً مَّذْكُوراً

(Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was not a thing worth mentioning) (76:1).

There are many other Ayat on this subject. Ibn Jarir reported from `Ata' that Ibn `Abbas said that,

وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَتًا فَأَحْيَـكُمْ

(Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life) means, "You did not exist beforehand. You were nothing until Allah created you; He will bring death to you and then bring you back to life during Resurrection." Ibn `Abbas then said, "This is similar to Allah's statement;

قَالُواْ رَبَّنَآ أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ وَأَحْيَيْتَنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ

(They will say: "Our Lord! You have made us to die twice and You have given us life twice.") (40:11)"

How do you people of Mecca disbelieve in God when you were dead semen inside loins and He gave you life in the womb and in this world by breathing Spirit into you the interrogative here is either intended to provoke amazement at their persistent unbelief despite the evidence established or intended as a rebuke; then He shall make you dead after your terms of life are completed then He shall give you life at the Resurrection then to Him you shall be returned! after resurrection whereupon He shall requite you according to your deeds; and He states as proof of the Resurrection when they denied it

The earlier verses affirmed the existence and the Oneness of Allah, and prophethood, giving self-evident proofs and refuting the whimsical and false notions of the doubters and the disbelievers. These two verses speak of the blessings which Allah has showered on man, pointing out that all the same there are men who do not recognize the bounty of Allah and persist in their denial -- the suggestion being that if they do not want to take the trouble of considering the arguments which have been advanced by the Holy Qur'an in the earlier verses, they should, as every man with an undistorted nature must, at least be grateful to their benefactor, for even this would be a way of realizing why they should be obedient to Allah.

The first of these two verses refers to the blessings which are particular to the very being of man -- that is to say, he had no life before Allah gave him existence. The second verse refers to the general blessings which are common to man and other creatures -- firstly, the earth and all that it contains and on which man's life immediately depends, and secondly, the skies with which life on earth is directly related.

Verse 28 begins by expressing surprise at those who insist on being ungrateful to Allah and on denying Him. On the face of it, the disbelievers had never denied Allah but only the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، all the same, the Holy Qur'an equates such a denial with the denial of Allah Himself.

Then, the verse reminds man that once he was "dead" اموات (amwat), or that he had no life. He existed, if at all, in the shape of billions of lifeless particles aimlessly floating; Allah brought them together, made them into a man, and gave them life.

The verse proceeds to warn him that Allah will take away his life, and then give it back to him a second time. This second life refers to the Day of Judgment when Allah will collect the lifeless and scattered particles of each and every man again, and give-him a new life. Thus, the first 'death' or 'state of lifelessness' was at the beginning before man received life from Allah; the second death comes when a man completes the life-span allotted to him; and the second life will be given on the Day of Judgment.

The verse ends by telling man that he will ultimately go back to Allah. This, of course, refers to the Resurrection when all men will rise from their graves, will be assembled for giving an account of their deeds, and be finally punished or rewarded according to what they had been doing in the world.

According to this verse, the chief blessing of Allah for man is life, for without life he cannot profit from any other blessing. This is obvious enough. But the verse counts death too as a blessing. It is so, because physical death is the door to the perpetual life of the other world after which there is no death.

How do you disbelieve in God, seeing that you were dead, and He brought you to life. Then He shall make you dead, then He shall bring you to life. By way of allusion He is saying, " O you who have lost the end of your own thread! O you who have fallen into the well of your own mortal nature! If you want the road clearer than this, why do you not go forward? If you want the field wider than this, why do you not mount up? If you want the candle brighter than this, why are you falling off the path? O you over whom so many years have passed and you have still not caught a scent! O you who have sat at so many tables and are still hungry! O you who have worn a thousand clothes and are still naked! O Muslim! The playing field is open, where are the mounted riders? The tribunal is open, where are the plaintiffs? The physician is present, where are the ill? The beauty is unveiled, where are the passionate? " You were dead, and He brought you to life. " You were dead, but I brought you to life. Why do you not look? You were ignorant, but I made you knowers. Why do you not perceive? I showed you the road, why do you not go? " It wants a man to catch the scent- otherwise, the world is full of the east wind's fragrance. The Pir of the Tariqah said, " O God, how can the servant overcome the beginningless decree? When he does not have, what can he do? What is the servant's effort? The work is done by what You want. How can the servant save himself with his own effort? " Then He shall make you dead, then He shall bring you to life. It is said that death is of three sorts: death by the curse, death by regret, and death by generous gift. Death by the curse belongs to the disbelievers, death by regret to the disobedient, and death by generous gift to the godwary. Life also is of three sorts: first the life of fear, then the life of hope, then the life of love. The life of fear appears in kindness, the life of hope appears in service, and the life of love appears in remembrance.