Two Lives and Two Deaths (40:11)
Question:
This verse mentions Allah gives us death twiceand and life twice. Comparing it with 2:28, I can understand that we were lifeless at first and had our first life and after the second trumpet will awaken for the second time. We will have one death when we die which is the second death?
Answer:
The verse is as follows:
قَالُواْ رَبَّنَا أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَينِْ وَ أَحْيَيْتَنَا اثْنَتَينِْ فَاعْترَفْنَا بِذُنُوبِنَا فَهَلْ إِلىَ خُرُوجٍ مِّن سَبِيل
They shall say: Our Lord! You made us subject to death twice, and gave us life twice, so we confess our faults; is there then a way to get out? (40:11)
There are two popular interpretations for this verse:
1. It refers to the status of not having life before birth and death after living in this world, which then means the two lives will be life in this world and life in the day of judgement.
Popular objection to this is as follows:
We may say we were dead before being born, but we cannot say God made us die before we were born.
Zamakhshari in Kashshaf answers this by giving examples from the Arabic language. He argues that 'Amattana' does not necessarily means 'you subjected us to death', it can also mean 'you created us in the state of death'.
2. It refers to death after this life and then the transition from Barzakh to the day of judgement which is like a second death. This means the two lives are life in Barzakh and life at the day of judgement.
Popular objection to this is as follows:
If we want to count the life in Barzakh as well then there should be three lives (this life, the one in Barzakh and the one in the day of judgement) not two.
Tabatabayee in Al-Mizan answers this by saying that the point of the verse is not to count all the instances of life and death, but is to count the ones that made the sinners confess to their bad deeds.
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Based on my current understanding I prefer the second interpretation. This is primarily for three reasons:
- The two lives and the two deaths should be something that shakes up the sinners and make them confess to their wrong ways. We do not have any memories about being born in this world and our state before being born. It does not seem appropriate to refer to something that cannot be remembered as what makes the person confess.
- The argument of Zamakhshari refers to a correct literal point in Arabic. However what his argument implies is that the verb 'Amattana' should be interpreted as 'you created us in the state of death' for the first death and then 'you caused us death' for the second death. This does not seem to be inline with the style of the Qur'an and its eloquence. The relationship between the two pairs of death and life that are referred to in the verse should be similar to each other as the two deaths and the two lives are each referred to by the same verb (Amattana - Ahyaytana).
- If the first 'Amattana' only means 'creating in the state of death', then the word is really redundant because the word 'Ahyaytana' (you gave us life) was enough to imply that the person was dead before this. It is causing death and then bringing back to life that seems to be that shocking factor for the sinners which makes them confess.
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September 2013
This verse mentions Allah gives us death twiceand and life twice. Comparing it with 2:28, I can understand that we were lifeless at first and had our first life and after the second trumpet will awaken for the second time. We will have one death when we die which is the second death?
Answer:
The verse is as follows:
قَالُواْ رَبَّنَا أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَينِْ وَ أَحْيَيْتَنَا اثْنَتَينِْ فَاعْترَفْنَا بِذُنُوبِنَا فَهَلْ إِلىَ خُرُوجٍ مِّن سَبِيل
They shall say: Our Lord! You made us subject to death twice, and gave us life twice, so we confess our faults; is there then a way to get out? (40:11)
There are two popular interpretations for this verse:
1. It refers to the status of not having life before birth and death after living in this world, which then means the two lives will be life in this world and life in the day of judgement.
Popular objection to this is as follows:
We may say we were dead before being born, but we cannot say God made us die before we were born.
Zamakhshari in Kashshaf answers this by giving examples from the Arabic language. He argues that 'Amattana' does not necessarily means 'you subjected us to death', it can also mean 'you created us in the state of death'.
2. It refers to death after this life and then the transition from Barzakh to the day of judgement which is like a second death. This means the two lives are life in Barzakh and life at the day of judgement.
Popular objection to this is as follows:
If we want to count the life in Barzakh as well then there should be three lives (this life, the one in Barzakh and the one in the day of judgement) not two.
Tabatabayee in Al-Mizan answers this by saying that the point of the verse is not to count all the instances of life and death, but is to count the ones that made the sinners confess to their bad deeds.
**********
Based on my current understanding I prefer the second interpretation. This is primarily for three reasons:
- The two lives and the two deaths should be something that shakes up the sinners and make them confess to their wrong ways. We do not have any memories about being born in this world and our state before being born. It does not seem appropriate to refer to something that cannot be remembered as what makes the person confess.
- The argument of Zamakhshari refers to a correct literal point in Arabic. However what his argument implies is that the verb 'Amattana' should be interpreted as 'you created us in the state of death' for the first death and then 'you caused us death' for the second death. This does not seem to be inline with the style of the Qur'an and its eloquence. The relationship between the two pairs of death and life that are referred to in the verse should be similar to each other as the two deaths and the two lives are each referred to by the same verb (Amattana - Ahyaytana).
- If the first 'Amattana' only means 'creating in the state of death', then the word is really redundant because the word 'Ahyaytana' (you gave us life) was enough to imply that the person was dead before this. It is causing death and then bringing back to life that seems to be that shocking factor for the sinners which makes them confess.
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September 2013