Surah An-Nazi'at, Ayah 28

Creating the Heavens and the Earth is more difficult than repeating Creation

in refutation of the claim rejecting resurrection due to the renewal of creation after its original state, Allah says;

ءَأَنتُمْ

(Are you) `O people'

أَشَدُّ خَلْقاً أَمِ السَّمَآءُ

(more difficult to create or is the heaven...) meaning, `rather the heaven is more difficult to create than you.' As Allah said;

لَخَلْقُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ أَكْـبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ النَّاسِ

(the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of mankind;) (40:57) And His saying;

أَوَلَـيْسَ الَذِى خَلَقَ السَّمَـوتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ بِقَـدِرٍ عَلَى أَن يَخْلُقَ مِثْلَهُم بَلَى وَهُوَ الْخَلَّـقُ الْعَلِيمُ

فَأَخَذَهُ اللَّـهُ نَكَالَ الْآخِرَ‌ةِ وَالْأُولَىٰ (So, Allah seized him for the deterrent punishment in the Hereafter and the present world....79:25). The word nakal means an 'exemplary punishment' or 'an extremely severe punishment given to an offender to deter others against committing a similar offence or sin'. The phrase 'punishment of the 'akhirah' refers to the punishment of the Hereafter that will be meted out to Fir'aun (the Pharaoh). The phrase 'punishment of the 'al a' refers to the punishment meted out to Fir'aun (the Pharaoh) and his army in this world whereby they were destroyed by drowning.

The life of Pharaoh and other deniers of the truth like him provides proof of the fact that one who denies realities is ultimately punished for it. These historical examples are enough to teach man a lesson. But an instructive event is such only to one who has a prudent mentality, and who examines an action from the viewpoint of its end-result and not just in relation to its beginning.