Surah Al-Waqi'ah — Verse 48

Word Meanings:

• أَوَآبَاؤُنَا (awa-abaa'una): "And our forefathers" — the particle "أ" is for questioning (expressing astonishment and denial), and "وَ" is for conjunction, linking to what was said before.
• الْأَوَّلُونَ (al-awwaloon): "The first ones" — meaning the earliest generations, those who lived long ago and have long since turned to dust.

Explanation of the Verse:

This verse continues the statement of the disbelievers who, in their denial of the Resurrection, said with scorn and disbelief: "When we have died and become dust and bones, will we truly be raised again? And also our forefathers, the first ones — those who came before us and have long perished, their bodies scattered and decomposed into the earth? Will they too be brought back to life?"

They said this not out of genuine inquiry, but out of mockery and rejection of the truth. They found it utterly impossible that Allah could reassemble bodies that had disintegrated into the soil over thousands of years. Yet, in their very question lies the proof of their ignorance — for the One who created them the first time from nothing is fully capable of recreating them a second time. The One who originated the heavens and the earth, who brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living, is not weakened by the passage of time nor by the scattering of bones. Indeed, His power is absolute, and nothing is beyond His ability.

A Call to Reflection and Faith:

Dear reader, ponder this scene: those who denied the Resurrection stood before the Prophet ﷺ and asked this question with arrogance, as if to say, "How can this ever be?" Yet the very fact that they existed at all — that they were born, grew, and lived — is proof that the One who gave them life the first time can give life again. The One who created the first human being from clay, and then multiplied humanity through generations, is not incapable of bringing them back after death.

So let this verse be a reminder to you: do not let the wonders of this world blind you to the greater truth of the Hereafter. The same Allah who brings forth the green plant from a dry seed, who revives the earth after its death with rain, is the One who will raise all of humanity from their graves. Believe in His promise, for His word is true, and His power is limitless. And let your faith in the Resurrection be a source of hope and motivation — for every good deed you do in this life is a seed that will bear fruit in the life to come.