Question: Allah سبحانه وتعالى says: قَالَ مَنْ يُحْيِ الْعِظَامَ وَهِيَ رَمِيمٌ "Who will give life to bones while they are disintegrated?" (YaSin, 36:78) Is the phrase يُحْيِ الْعِظَامَ "give life to bones" in the above verse a metaphor where a part is mentioned to represent the whole? May Allah reward you goodness, and may He preserve you support and treasure for the great Muslim Ummah. May He سبحانه وتعالى grant you victory. From: A. Hamza Answer: We do not rely on metaphor unless applying the reality is impossible, for example: يَجْعَلُونَ أَصَابِعَهُمْ فِي آذَانِهِمْ مِنَ الصَّوَاعِقِ حَذَرَ الْمَوْتِ "They put their fingers in their ears against the thunderclaps in dread of death" أصابعهم "their fingers" is a metaphor for the ends of the fingers because the whole finger in reality cannot be put in to the ears. Only the ends of the fingers can be put in the ears. Another example is: وَدَخَلَ مَعَهُ السِّج
"Thoughts are the greatest wealth of any nation."