Sky-high question

"How can you deny Allah, when you were dead, then He gave you life; then He will cause you to die, then He will bring you back to life, then to Him is your return."

— (Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 28)

This verse is like a sky-high question. It is not a simple argument, but rather it is a remarkable combination of theoretical excellence and spiritual depth. The verse begins with a fundamental surprise—"How can you deny?" It is not just addressed to the disbelievers, but it confronts every doubting heart with its own question. The verse seems to say—how can you forget your beginning?

You were once nothing. You did not exist in the chest of time, nor in the pages of history. You were mute, unconscious, formless—a dying possibility. Allah gave you life from that emptiness. He breathed life into the lifeless dead, gave it feelings, gave it consciousness, gave it knowledge, expanded its needs and imagination. Your nostrils took in the air, your eyes saw the colors of light, your heart trembled with love and separation. This life is a mere incomparable mercy—it is not a mechanical accident, but the fruit of a deep plan.

This verse brings to the fore the mystery of life, in a way that is inexplicable to science, and true in the depths of the soul. Man takes great pride in saying that he has given life to others, science protects his body, technology gives him strength. But this verse is an inverted mirror—the fact that you are alive is His gift; the fact that you are breathing is His grace. Have you created all this yourself? Who gave your heart a beat, your brain a thought, your eyes a sight, your voice a sound?

The verse not only recalls the past, it points to the future. It informs—this life is not eternal, this body is not eternal. The life you have taken, you will have to give it back one day. Death is not a death, it is just another step, just as birth was the first step. Death will come in its due time, without any delay or hastening. Allah will cause you to fall into the sleep of death, and that sleep will be either a temporary peace or a terrible wait, depending on your deeds.

Again, it is said, He will bring you back to life. This sentence expresses in simple yet profound language the most challenging concept of human existence—resurrection. Can a person come back to life? The limited logic of science stops here, but this verse tells us that the One who can create from nothing can also bring back what existed before. Your disfigured form, your decayed body, your dissolved existence—all will return to Him at a specific call, at His command.

Here it is clear that for Allah, creation, death, rebirth—all are part of a divine order that transcends the limitations of time. The verse ultimately says, “To Him is your return.” This sentence is a decision, an inevitable outcome. Every human path, no matter how varied, no matter how misguided, will eventually return to one source. It is as much a declaration of the Day of Judgment as it is a philosophical insight—you will return to where you came from.

This verse stops a person in the middle of his race. To a person who is preoccupied with the external beauty of the world, intoxicated by the pride of his power and wealth—this verse becomes a stern watchman. It says, you are bound to die, to be reborn, and one day all will have to be accounted for. Man then no longer thinks only of dust and bones, but of the soul, purity, purpose, and kindness.

This verse changes the direction of our lives. It makes us feel that we are planned and purposeful even in the midst of a myriad of unexplained events. We are not just eating, dressing, and sleeping; We are beings whose beginning, middle and end are all part of God's will. Then a person questions his very existence - am I only heading towards death and destruction, or am I moving towards an eternal truth?

This verse makes man accountable to the Creator, responsible to the soul, and creates a meaning for life. A conscious person cannot then remain ungrateful to God, because every moment of his life is filled with the debt of that invisible mercy. Then a person does not want to do wrong, to be immersed in pride, because he knows - all this has a consequence, a time of return will come.

This verse teaches us that humility, sense of responsibility and confidence - the combination of these three qualities forms a truly believing heart. He knows that his Creator exists, was and will remain. One day he will have to return to that Creator, rely on it, take refuge. It is not the fear of death, but the true understanding of life after death that gives him strength.