Surah Yaseen 36:78 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection

وَضَرَبَ لَنَا مَثَلًۭا وَنَسِىَ خَلْقَهُۥ ۖ قَالَ مَن يُحْىِ ٱلْعِظَٰمَ وَهِىَ رَمِيمٌۭ

English: producing arguments against Us, forgetting his own creation. He says, ‘Who can give life back to bones after they have decayed?’

Bengali: সে আমার সম্পর্কে এক অদ্ভূত কথা বর্ণনা করে, অথচ সে নিজের সৃষ্টি ভুলে যায়। সে বলে কে জীবিত করবে অস্থিসমূহকে যখন সেগুলো পচে গলে যাবে?

Meaning & Reflection

'And he presents an argument against Us, forgetting his own creation. He says: Who will give life to bones when they are decayed?' al-Saadi and Ibn Ashur note the irony: he treats decayed bones as the impossible case for God, having *forgotten* that he himself was brought from nothing at all — a far greater feat than reassembling what already existed. Ask yourself: I do this whenever I decide something is 'too hard' even for God — I forget the evidence of my own existence, which was made from nothing without my help. This verse catches the argument mid-forgetting. What am I currently declaring impossible — for my life, my situation, my repair — while overlooking that I am, myself, already proof of the impossible being done?

Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i.

Reflect with the Five Lenses

Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Yaseen 36:78:

• Wording. Look closely at the specific words and structure. Which word stands out, and why might Allah have chosen it here?
• Quranic Worlds. Place the verse in its context — what is happening around it, and what world does it open up?
• Personal Experience. Ask not just what this means, but what it means TO me and FOR me, right now in my life.
• Connections. How does this verse connect to other verses, to the Sunnah, or to themes across the Quran?
• General Lessons. What timeless lesson or action point can I carry away and live by?