Alas for mankind! Whenever a messenger comes to them, they level ridicule on him. Are they not aware of how many a generation We have destroyed before them, and that they (who have perished) will never return to them? Yet, they all will be brought before Us. There is a sign for them in the lifeless earth: We give it life and produce out of it grain for them to eat. We place in it gardens of date palms and grapes, and cause springs to gush out of it, so that they may eat of its fruit. It was not their own hands that made all this. Will they, then, not give thanks? Limitless in His glory is He who created all things in pairs: whatever the earth produces, their own human kind and other creatures of which they have no knowledge. (Ya Seen: 36: 30-36)
The first passage of the surah, comprising 29 verses, spoke about the idolaters who opposed the message of Islam and cited the case of the people of the township who rejected their three messengers and how it took no more than one blast for them to fall down lifeless. In the second passage the surah speaks generally of all people who oppose every divine religion. It shows mankind straying in error across the generations. It calls with sorrow on all people to take heed of what happened to earlier communities who passed before them and who will not return until the Day of Resurrection, when “they all will be brought before Us.” (Verse 32)
The surah then presents a number of universal signs which people see constantly without paying any attention to the message they impart. These signs are within themselves and all around them, while others have passed into history, yet still they pay no heed, and when they are reminded, they choose not to remember: “Every single sign that comes to them from their Lord do they ignore.” (Verse 46) Indeed, they hasten their own punishment, believing that it will never happen: “They also ask: When will this promise be fulfilled, if what you say be true?” (Verse 48)
The passage also presents a long scene from the Day of Judgment, showing the fate that they hasten. This is done in such a way that it appears to happen before their very eyes.
“Alas for mankind!” This phrase occurring at the beginning of this passage expresses reaction to a sorrowful situation. This situation cannot be changed though sorrow and pain about it can be expressed. God Almighty does not experience such a feeling Himself, but He states that the situation these people are in deserves such reaction by others. Theirs is a depressing condition that leads to great misery.
“Alas for mankind!” They are offered a chance to save themselves but they turn away. This even though they see how earlier communities perished, yet they benefit nothing by the lessons they present. God opens wide the doors of His mercy to them, time after time, as He sends them messengers, but they ignore His mercy and behave with insolence and ill manners: “Whenever a messenger comes to them, they level ridicule on him. Are they not aware of how many a generation We have destroyed before them, and that they (who have perished) will never return to them?” The fact that earlier communities, over countless generations, perished should provide a clear lesson to anyone who reflects. People, however, do not pay heed, even though they realize that they are going to meet the same end. What could invite greater sorrow? An animal shudders to see its fellow animal perish, and it will inevitably try to avoid the same fate. How come that man sees so many communities suffering and meeting the same end, and yet he continues to follow in their footsteps? Arrogance blinds him to the result, which he will inevitably reach.
While those who had already gone will not return to their successors, they will not be ignored or left without reckoning. They will all face that at the proper time: “Yet, they all will be brought before Us.”
Everything around them in the universe speaks to them about God, giving evidence of His presence. They only need to look at the land in front of them and how they see it dead, lifeless, lacking a drop of water. Then they see it quicken, producing grain and adorned with gardens replete with dates and grapes. Springs of water gush through it; and in no time, it is full of life.
Life is a miracle, which no man can produce. It is God’s hand that produces miracles, initiating life in what has been dead. The sight of growing plants, flowering gardens and ripening fruit should open people’s eyes and hearts to appreciate the wonderful work engendered by God’s hand. It splits the earth to allow the shoot to appear, longing for freedom and light, gives vigor to the stem which is eager to enjoy sunlight, loads the branches with leaves and fruit, opens up flowers and gets the fruit ready for picking. “So that they may eat of its fruit. It was not their own hands that made all this.” It was God’s dexterous hand that enabled them to achieve all this; it was He who made the plants grow and yield their harvest: “Will they, then, not give thanks?”
Having given them this gentle and inspiring touch, the surah then turns away from them a little to glorify God who gave them the flourishing gardens, making all plants in pairs, male and female, like men and women and countless other species known only to God: “Limitless in His glory is He who created all things in pairs: whatever the earth produces, their own human kind and other creatures of which they have no knowledge.”