Surah Al-Baqarah 2:56
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · Medinan · Verse 56 of 286
ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَٰكُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ مَوْتِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
Translation
Then We revived you after your death, so that you might be thankful.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Then We revived you after your death, that you might be grateful.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the recurring pattern, after being struck down for their insolence, they are revived, and again the purpose is gratitude: God keeps giving them fresh chances, life after a death they earned. Ask yourself: the phrase 'that you might be grateful' echoes through this whole passage like a refrain, after rescue, after pardon, after revival, the goal is always to awaken thankfulness. It reveals what God keeps seeking from a stubborn people: not their destruction, but their gratitude, their turning back. And it shows His method, repeated second chances, life restored after ruin. How many 'revivals' has God granted me, recoveries, restarts, comebacks I didn't deserve? And has each one produced the gratitude it was given for, or have I taken my restorations as casually as this people took theirs?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:56 is discussed in 5 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Baqarah 2:56 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.