Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 281
281 means, it is but a mere word that he utters. And behind them is a barrier until the day when they shall be raised again. 357 Again; it says: And it is an inviolable law for a township which We have destroyed that they shall not return. It shall be so even when Gog and Magog are let loose and they shall hasten forth from every height. 358 The verses mean to say that God has decreed that the people that have passed away shall not return to the earth till Gog and Magog are released and spread over the earth from the summit of every hill and the top of every wave. This shows clearly that the dead cannot return to the earth. The reference to Gog and Magog in the last verse does not mean that the dead would be permitted to return to the earth at that time. As the release of Gog and Magog is one of the signs of the approach of the end of days, the verse means that this law will continue to operate till the end of days. Some grammarians have interpreted this part of the verse to mean that after the rise of Gog and Magog attempts would be made to resuscitate the dead but that these attempts would not be successful, meaning that science would make unsuccessful efforts to solve the riddle of death. In short, the Quran teaches that a dead person cannot be permitted to return to the earth. It also teaches that nobody except God possesses the power to create. It says: And those on whom they call beside Allah create not anything, but they are themselves created. They are dead, not living; and they know not when they will be raised. 359 The Quran also teaches that since wisdom is one of the attributes of God, nothing may be attributed to Him which is contrary to wisdom. God is referred to as The Wise at several places in the Quran. At one place it says: What has happened to you that you expect not wisdom and staidness from Allah. 360 In this verse God reprimands the disbelievers saying that while they claim that all their actions are based upon wisdom, they do not make the same presumption with respect to God and attribute to Him things that are contrary to wisdom. It follows therefore that if anything contravening any of these three laws, that have been cited as instances, is alleged to have occurred at any time, the Quran would reject it whether such occurrences are described as miracles or mysteries or magic. The Quran does not admit the possibility of any such occurrence and does not attribute any such miracle to any of the Prophets, nor does it claim any such miracle on behalf of the Holy Prophet himself. It is not to be thought of any reasonable person that he would first make a law or prescribe a rule and then himself proceed to contravene it. How is it possible then to think that God, Who is perfect Wisdom, would act in that manner? He who attributes things like this to the righteous Prophets of God in no way adds to the respect and honour in which they should be