Allah names two ways the human being wrongs Him, and then answers each with a quiet, overwhelming truth. The denial: that Allah will not bring us back after death. The reviling: the claim that Allah has taken a son.
To the first He says the One who made you from nothing the first time is not unable to remake you. To the second He says: I am the One, I beget not, nor am I begotten, and none is like Me.
Where this hadith comes from
This is a hadith qudsi: the Prophet (peace be upon him) reports the very words of Allah, words that fall outside the Qur'an yet are conveyed by His Messenger. It was narrated by Abu Hurayrah (ra) and recorded by al-Bukhari, and it is graded sahih (authentic).
Allah states that the human being wronged Him in two ways he had no right to: he denied Him, by rejecting that Allah will raise the dead, and he reviled Him, by claiming Allah has taken a son. The hadith sits squarely in the creed (tawhid and the resurrection), and Allah answers each charge with a truth about Himself.
The key words
What it means, line by line
The first wrong is the denial: the human being says Allah will not remake him as He first made him. Allah answers with plain logic from His power. The One who brought a person into being from nothing is not less able to bring him back; if anything, the first creation was the harder of the two, and nothing is hard for Allah at all.
The second wrong is the reviling: the claim that Allah has taken a son. Allah answers with His own description, the words of Surah al-Ikhlas: He is al-Ahad, the One, and as-Samad, the Self-Sufficient; He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none comparable to Him. A son would mean need, likeness, and an equal, and the perfect, self-sufficient Lord is far above all of that.
He is not unable to recreate
The denial of the resurrection always hides a low estimate of Allah, as if the One who began us could not begin us again. The Qur'an meets it with simple logic: the first creation was not hard for Him, so the second is not harder. The skeptic imagines starting over is the difficult part; for Allah, nothing is difficult at all.
Belief in the Day we return to Him is not a gloomy doctrine; it is what gives this life its weight. If we are met and answered, then every deed matters, every wrong can be redressed, and no good is ever lost.
He is One, and begets not
The reviling, ascribing a son to Allah, diminishes His perfection, for the One who needs no heir, no equal, and no like cannot be divided or doubled. He is as-Samad, the Self-Sufficient upon whom all depend while He depends on none.
So the believer's whole life rests on these two truths the hadith defends: there is a Day, and there is One God. Get these right, and everything else finds its place.
Carry this with you
Two pillars of the creed, defended by Allah Himself.
He can raise you again.
The One who created you from nothing is not unable to recreate you. The second creation is no harder than the first.
The Day gives life its weight.
Because we return to Him and are answered, every deed matters and no good is ever lost.
He is One, begets not.
Ascribing a son to Allah denies His perfection. He is as-Samad, needing no heir and no equal.
Get these two right.
One God, and a Day of meeting. Anchor your life in them and the rest falls into place.
A du'a to carry
سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ۖ غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ
Sami'na wa ata'na, ghufranaka Rabbana wa ilayka-l-masir
We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination. (Al-Baqarah 2:285)
A du'a of the believing heart
Allah Himself answered the two great lies told about Him: that there is no return, and that He is not One. To the heart that accepts His answer, life becomes serious and worship becomes clear.
O Allah, we believe that You are One, that You beget not and are not begotten, and that to You we return. We hear and we obey; Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the destination. Ameen.
The hadith qudsi is from sunnah.com: 'The son of Adam denied Me and he had no right to do so...' narrated by Abu Hurayrah (ra), recorded by al-Bukhari, graded sahih. The supporting Qur'an (2:285) is in Uthmani script verified via quran.ai (ar-uthmani-minimal) with the Saheeh International translation; the allusions to Surah al-Ikhlas reflect its well-known meaning. Per the editorial policy this stays with the creed (tawhid and the resurrection). FOR SCHOLAR REVIEW before publication.