Quran Universe
2:28

كَيۡفَ تَكۡفُرُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَكُنتُمۡ أَمۡوَٰتٗا فَأَحۡيَٰكُمۡۖ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمۡ ثُمَّ يُحۡيِيكُمۡ ثُمَّ إِلَيۡهِ تُرۡجَعُونَ

Kayfa takfuroona biAllahi wakuntum amwatan faahyakum thumma yumeetukum thumma yuhyeekum thumma ilayhi turjaAAoona

How can you disbelieve in Allah when you were lifeless and He brought you to life; then He will cause you to die, then He will bring you [back] to life, and then to Him you will be returned.

Word by word
  1. كَيۡفَHow
  2. تَكۡفُرُونَ(can) you disbelieve
  3. بِٱللَّهِin Allah
  4. وَكُنتُمۡWhile you were
  5. أَمۡوَٰتٗاdead
  6. فَأَحۡيَٰكُمۡۖthen He gave you life
  7. ثُمَّthen
  8. يُمِيتُكُمۡHe will cause you to die
  9. ثُمَّthen
  10. يُحۡيِيكُمۡHe will give you life
  11. ثُمَّthen
  12. إِلَيۡهِto Him
  13. تُرۡجَعُونَyou will be returned
Al-Baqarah · 2:28Madinah

You were nothing, then alive, then gone, then alive again.

The four stages no one escapes

Your whole story
not existingyou were nothing
then
lifenow
then
death
life againthen return to Him
The question
this life is allone chapter
how can you deny Him?He holds every stage

Ibn 'Abbas said: you did not exist before; you were nothing until Allah created you. Then He brings death and brings you back at the Resurrection. The verse asks how anyone could deny the One who controls every stage.

You look at a baby photo of yourself. A hundred years before it, there was no you at all. A hundred years from now, your phone contacts will not know your name. The One who did the first step can do the last.

My life began at birth and ends at death.

My story starts before I existed and continues after I die, all in His hands.

Try this

Look at an old photo of yourself today and remember: He brought me from nothing.

Related52:3576:140:11
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

How can you disbelieve in Allah seeing that you were dead and He gave you life? Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life (on the Day of Resurrection) and then unto Him you will return (28)

Allah testifies to the fact that He exists and that He is the Creator and the Sustainer Who has full authority over His servants,

كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ

(How can you disbelieve in Allah?)

How can anyone deny Allah's existence or worship others with Him while;

وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَاتًا فَأَحْيَاكُمْ

(You were dead and He gave you life) meaning, He brought them from the state of non-existence to life. Similarly, Allah said,

أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَالِقُونَ - أَمْ خَلَقُوا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بَل لَّا يُوقِنُونَ

(Were they created by nothing? Or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, but they have no firm belief)(52:35-36) and,

هَلْ أَتَىٰ عَلَى الْإِنسَانِ حِينٌ مِّنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُن شَيْئًا مَّذْكُورًا

(Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was not a thing worth mentioning?)(76:1).

There are many other Ayat on this subject. Ibn Jarir reported from 'Ata' that Ibn 'Abbas said that,

وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَاتًا فَأَحْيَاكُمْ

(Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life) means, "You did not exist beforehand. You were nothing until Allah created you; He will bring death to you and then bring you back to life during Resurrection." Ibn 'Abbas then said, "This is similar to Allah's statement;

قَالُوا رَبَّنَا أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ وَأَحْيَيْتَنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ

(They will say: "Our Lord! You have made us to die twice and You have given us life twice.")(40:11)"