Surah Ya-Sin 36:78
سُورَةُ يسٓ · Meccan · Verse 78 of 83
وَضَرَبَ لَنَا مَثَلًۭا وَنَسِىَ خَلْقَهُۥ ۖ قَالَ مَن يُحْىِ ٱلْعِظَٰمَ وَهِىَ رَمِيمٌۭ
Translation
producing arguments against Us, forgetting his own creation. He says, ‘Who can give life back to bones after they have decayed?’
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and 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.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Ya-Sin 36:78 is discussed in 9 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Ya-Sin 36:78 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.