قَالُوا رَبَّنَا أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ وَأَحْيَيْتَنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ فَاعْتَرَفْنَا بِذُنُوبِنَا فَهَلْ إِلَىٰ خُرُوجٍ مِّن سَبِيلٍ (11)
(40:11) They will say: 'Our Lord, twice have You caused us to die and twice have You given us life. *15 We have now confessed our sins. *16 Is there, then, any way out?' *17
*15) This same thing has already been mentioned in Al-Baqarah: 28 above. It implies this: "How can you disbelieve in AIlah? He granted you life when you were lifeless; then He will give you death. and then will again raise you back to life." The disbelievers do not deny the first three of these conditions, because they are perceptible and therefore un-deniable. But they refuse to accept the occurrence of the fourth condition, for they have not yet experienced it, and only the Prophets have foretold it. On the Day of Resurrection when the fourth condition also will be practically experienced by them, then they will acknowledge that the same which the Prophets had foretold had actually happened.
*16) That is, "We confess that we made a grave mistake when we denied this after-life; our life was filled with sins when we followed falsehood."
*17) That is, "Is there any possibility now that our confession of sins be accepted and we be rescued from this state of torment in which we have been seized?"