وَقَالُوٓا۟ أَءِذَا كُنَّا عِظَـٰمًا وَرُفَـٰتًا أَءِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ خَلْقًا جَدِيدًا 49
Translations
And they say, "When we are bones and crumbled particles, will we [truly] be resurrected as a new creation?"
Transliteration
Wa qalū a-idha kunnā 'ižāman wa rufātan a-innā lamab'ūthūn khalqan jadīdā
Tafsir (Explanation)
The disbelievers mockingly question the possibility of resurrection, asking whether they will be brought back to life as a new creation after their bones have decayed and turned to dust. This ayah presents their denial of the resurrection as both a rhetorical challenge and an expression of doubt in Allah's power. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari emphasize that this reflects the arrogance and heedlessness of those who limit Allah's capability based on their limited human understanding of the physical world.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-Isra's discussion of Meccan disbelievers' objections to the Quranic message. The broader theme of the surah addresses various arguments raised by the Quraysh against prophethood and the Day of Judgment. This specific verse represents one of their most common objections to resurrection—the apparent physical impossibility of bringing decomposed remains back to life.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Allah will gather the people on the Day of Resurrection, and they will stand until they become anxious in that standing, and then they will say, "Will not someone ask his Lord for permission to intercede for us?"' (Sahih Bukhari). Additionally, Surah Yasin 36:78-79 addresses this same objection directly, with Allah responding that He knows every atom: 'He struck out a likeness for Us and forgot his own creation. Said he: Who shall give life to the bones when they are rotten?'
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that those who deny resurrection often do so not from lack of evidence, but from spiritual blindness and arrogance that prevents them from acknowledging Allah's unlimited power. For modern readers, it serves as a warning against allowing limited human perception to become a barrier to faith, and an encouragement to trust in the reality of the afterlife despite the apparent impossibility from a purely materialistic viewpoint.