Ya-Sin · Makki · ayah 81 of 83

Ya-Sin 36:81

أَوَلَيْسَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ بِقَـٰدِرٍ عَلَىٰٓ أَن يَخْلُقَ مِثْلَهُم ۚ بَلَىٰ وَهُوَ ٱلْخَلَّـٰقُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ

“Is not He who created the heavens and the earth Able to create the likes of them? Yes, [it is so]; and He is the Knowing Creator.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Beside the heavens and the earth, raising a human being is small, and when no one will say "yes", Allah answers His own question.

A reflection

Engine off, lights off, sky on

Picture a lorry driver on a mountain pass at two in the morning. He pulls into a lay-by, switches off the engine and then the headlights. For a moment it is pitch black. Then his eyes adjust, and the sky arrives. More stars than he has seen since childhood, so many that the dark between them seems to glow. He stands by the cab for ten minutes, very small, very quiet.

This ayah asks for that feeling and then puts it to work. Is not the One who created the heavens and the earth able to create the like of them? Yes indeed. And He is the Creator of all, the All-Knowing.

One commentator lists what they contain. The seven heavens with their moving planets and fixed stars. The seven earths with mountains, sands, seas and deserts. He then quotes another ayah. The creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of mankind, but most people do not know (40:57).

The majesty of this ayah lands on human self-importance in a curious way. Usually pride makes a person feel large. Here, the argument depends on our smallness. Set against the sky, a human being is tiny. And that is exactly why resurrection is not hard for the One who made the sky.

There is a mercy in being small. The arrogant man insists his death is the end of something enormous. The humble one, standing in the lay-by, can see that he is held by Someone far greater.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.