وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى يَبْدَؤُا۟ ٱلْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُۥ وَهُوَ أَهْوَنُ عَلَيْهِ ۚ وَلَهُ ٱلْمَثَلُ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ 27
Translations
And it is He who begins creation; then He repeats it, and that is [even] easier for Him. To Him belongs the highest description [i.e., attribute] in the heavens and earth. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
Transliteration
Wa huwa alladhee yabda'u al-khalqa thumma yu'eeduhu wa huwa ahwanu alayhi wa lahu al-mathalu al-a'la fee al-samawati wa al-ardi wa huwa al-azeez al-hakeem
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms Allah's absolute power over creation and resurrection, emphasizing that bringing creation back into existence after death is easier for Him than the initial creation. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir note that this demonstrates the absurdity of the disbelievers' denial of resurrection—if Allah can create from nothing, repeating that creation is logically simpler. The ayah concludes by establishing that Allah possesses the highest attributes and perfect wisdom in all creation, reinforcing His transcendence and the impossibility of resurrection being difficult for Him.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Ar-Rum, a Meccan surah addressing polytheistic Arabs who denied the resurrection and Day of Judgment. The verse responds directly to their disbelief by logically demonstrating that if Allah created them initially, returning them to life is entirely within His power and wisdom.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: 'The creation of each of you is brought together in the belly of your mother for forty days in the form of seed, then for another forty days as a clot, then for another forty days as a lump of flesh.' (Sahih Bukhari 3208). This hadith relates to the creation process referenced in the ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
If we truly believe Allah created us from nothing, we should have complete certainty in His ability to resurrect us; this ayah invites us to use reason to strengthen faith and overcome doubts about the afterlife's possibility.