The Resurrection

Is it at all possible that Qadīr-i Rahīm, Alīm-i Hakīm —Who displays His power by bringing the vast, dead, and dried-up face of the earth to life, and within it revives more than three hundred thousand species of creatures, the revival of each one being as wondrous as the resurrection of man; Who demonstrates His all-encompassing knowledge by applying precise distinction and selection in the revival of these creatures, amid great intermingling and complexity; Who directs the gaze of all His servants toward eternal bliss by promising them resurrection through heavenly scriptures; Who displays the grandeur of His Lordship by subjecting the whole of creation to His authority and administration, causing them to work together shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand, and placing them in one another’s service; and Who shows the immense value He gives to man by creating him as the most comprehensive, most delicate, most sensitive, most demanding, and most supplicating fruit of the tree of creation, honouring him as His addressee, and placing the whole of creation at his service— would not bring about the end of the world, would not establish the resurrection, or would be unable to do so; would not bring man back to life, or would be unable to do so; would be unable to convene the Supreme Tribunal; and would be unable to create Paradise and Hell? No, that is absolutely impossible.

Indeed, the Majestic Sovereign of this world illustrates the small resurrection by creating, in every age, every year, and every day, on this small and temporary face of the earth, numerous examples, likenesses, and signs of the great resurrection in the Hereafter and the place of the Day of Judgment.

For example, we see that every spring, as an example of the resurrection, within five or six days He creates more than three hundred thousand species of small and large animals and plants. He grants new life to some beings, such as the roots of all trees and plants, and to certain animals. To another group, He grants a similar form, which, in relation to their previous forms, is so close that they may almost be considered identical. The seeds, which in their material composition are scarcely distinguishable from one another, are brought back to life within a period of six days to six weeks, while lying intermingled beneath the earth, with perfect distinction. This process of revival takes place with the utmost order and balance, despite everything occurring with great speed, vast scope, and effortless ease.

Is it then still possible that anything could be difficult for this Ruler, Who performs all these acts; that He could not create the heavens and the earth in six days, or could not bring man back to life with a single blast of the Trumpet? No, absolutely not.

Suppose there were an exceptionally gifted writer who, within only one hour, could write out on a single page three hundred thousand books whose letters had partly faded and partly become completely illegible, all at once, without any confusion, mistakes, errors, or omissions. If someone told you that this writer was able to rewrite from memory, within only one minute, your own book that had fallen into the water, of which he himself was the author, would you still doubt him and say that he could not produce it?

Or suppose there were a wondrous sultan who, with a single gesture, destroys mountains, transforms lands, and turns the sea into dry land in order to display his power and offer others a lesson. Then imagine that a great rock has rolled into a stream and blocked the path of the guests invited by the sultan to his banquet, so that they cannot continue on their way. If someone then told you that the sultan would remove or destroy this rock with a single gesture, no matter how large it may be, and that he would not leave his guests stranded, could you still say that the sultan would not do this or that he would be unable to do so?