13. Now arguments are being given for the possibility of Resurrection and life after death and their being the very demand and requirement of wisdom.

14. Here, creation implies the recreation of men, and the heaven the entire firmament which contains countless stars and planets, and innumerable solar systems and galaxies, means to say: You think that your resurrection after death is something extremely improbable and you express wonder saying: How is it possible that when our very bones will have decayed and become rotten the scattered particles of our bodies will be reassembled and made living once again. But have you ever also considered whether the great universe is harder to create or your own re-creation in the form in which you were created in the first instance. The God Who created you in the first instance cannot be powerless to create you once again. This same argument for life after death has been given at several places in the Quran. For example, in Surah YaSeen it has been said: Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth able to create the like of them (again). Why not, when He is the skillful Creator. (verse 81). And in Surah Al-Momin it has been said: Surely the creation of the heavens and the earth is a greater task than the creation of man, but most people do not know. (verse 57).

15. The night and the day have been attributed to the heaven, for the night falls when the sun of the heavens sets and the day dawns when it rises. The word cover has been used for the night in the sense that after the sun has set the darkness of the night so spreads over the earth as though it has covered it from above by a curtain.

16. After that He spread out the earth, does not mean that Allah created the earth after the creation of the heavens, but it is a style of expression just like our saying after making mention of something: Then this is noteworthy. The object is not to express the sequence of occurrence between the two things but to draw attention from the first to the second thing although both may exist together. Several instances of this style are found in the Quran, e.g. in Surah Al-Qalam it is said: (He is) oppressive, and after that, ignoble by birth. This does not mean that first he became oppressive and then he turned ignoble by birth, but it means: He is oppressive, and above all, ignoble by birth. Likewise, in Surah Al-Balad it is said: Should free a slave, then be of those who believe. This also does not mean that first he should act righteously and then believe, but that along with doing righteous deeds he should also be characterized by belief. Here, one should also understand that at some places in the Quran the creation of the earth has been mentioned first and then the creation of the heavens, as in (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 29), and at others the creation of the heavens has been mentioned first and then of the earth, as in these verses. There is, in fact, no contradiction in this. At no place the object is to tell what was created first and what afterwards, but wherever the context requires that the excellences of the power of Allah be made prominent, the heavens have been mentioned first and then the earth, and where the context requires that the people be made to appreciate and acknowledge the blessings that they are benefiting by on the earth, the mention of the earth has been made before that of the heavens. (For further explanation, see( E.Ns 13,14 of Surah HaMim As-Sajdah).

17. Pasture, here does not only imply pasture and fodder for the animals but all kinds of herbal produce suitable for consumption both by man and by animal. An example of the use of raat, which is generally used in Arabic for the grazing animals, is found in (Surah Yusuf, Ayat 12), signifying that this word is sometimes used for man also. The brothers of Joseph said to their father: Send Joseph with us tomorrow that he may freely graze and enjoy sport. Here, the word grace (raat) for the child has been used in the meaning that he may move about freely in the jungle and pluck and eat fruit.

18. In these verses arguments have been given for the Resurrection and life after death from two aspects: First, that it is not at all difficult to establish these for the power of that God Who has made this vast and huge universe with such wonderful balance and this earth with such provisions. Second, that the pointers to the perfect wisdom of Allah which are clearly visible in the universe and the earth, point out that nothing is happening here purposelessly. The balance that exists between countless stars and planets and galaxies in the heavens, testifies that all this has not happened haphazardly, but there is a well thought-out plan working behind it. The regular alternation of the night and day is an evidence that this system has been established with supreme wisdom and knowledge for making the earth a home and place of settlement. On this very earth are found regions where the alternation of the night and day takes place within 24 hours and also those regions where there are longer days and longer nights. A very large part of the earth’s population lives in the first kind of the regions. Then as the days and nights go on becoming longer and longer, life goes on becoming harder and harder and population thinner and thinner. So much so that the regions where there are six-month-long days and six-month-long nights, are not at all fit for human settlement. Arranging both these types of the land on this very earth Allah has provided the evidence that this regular order of the alternation of night and day has not come about accidentally but has been brought about with great wisdom precisely in accordance with a scheme to make the earth a place fit for human settlement. Likewise, spreading out the earth so that it becomes a fit place to live in, providing in it that water which should be palatable for man and animal and a cause of growth for vegetation, setting in it mountains and creating all those things which may become a means of life for both man and animal. All these are a manifest sign that they are not chance happenings of the purposeless works of a care-free person but each one of these has been arranged purposefully by a Supreme, Wise Being. Now every sensible and intelligent man can consider for himself whether the necessity and occurrence of the Hereafter is the requirement of wisdom or its negation. The person who in spite of seeing all this says that there is no Hereafter, in fact, says that everything in the universe is happening wisely and purposefully, but only the creation of man on the earth as a being endowed with sense and power is meaningless and foolish. For there could be nothing more purposeless than delegating to man vast powers of appropriation in the earth and providing him an opportunity to do good as well as evil deeds but then failing to ever subject him to accountability.