Transliteration:( Wa iz qaala Ibraaheemu Rabbi arinee kaifa tuhyil mawtaa qaala awa lam tu'min qaala balaa wa laakin liyatma'inna qalbee qaala fakhuz arba'atan minat tairi fasurhunna ilaika summaj 'al 'alaa kulli jabalin minhunna juz'an summad'uu hunna ya'teenaka sa'yaa; wa'lam annal laaha 'Azeezun Hakeem )
677. One day while Hazrat Ebrahim was walking along the ocean bank he saw a dead body whose flesh was being eaten by the fish during high tide and by the wild animals and birds of prey when the tide was low. This unusual sight brought in him the desire to experience the phenomenon of life and death. Thus he made his request to Allah Almighty.
678. In other words, Hazrat Ebrahim wanted to progress from his convincing knowledge to acquire positive knowledge through this phenomenon i.e. move from ordinary degree of perfection to highest degree of perfection.
679. That you may know them and be able to recognize them after they are brought back tolife.
680. From this it becomes evident that if sometimes it is permissible to call upon lifeless animals to provide bounties, then it is equally permissible to call upon the past Prophets and Saints to receive their bounties.
681. In response to this Divine instruction Hazrat Ebrahim reared a peacock, a rooster, a pigeon and a crow, slaughtered them, he cut them into mince, mixed the flesh of the four placed the meat onto four different mountains, keeping their heads (beaks) with him. Then he called them. By permission of Allah all these limbs flew and joined with their original, their bodies became ready in the air and became alive after the beaks were joined.
682. From this discussion emerge two issues:
1. Whenever the pious servants of Allah become insistent about anything, Allah Almighty fulfils their desire,
2. Although faith in the unseen forms an essential part of our faith, the faith of the Prophets can be based on their actual observation.
259. Or like the one who passed by a town in ruin up to its roofs. He said: “How will Allah ever bring it to life after its death” So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him up (again). He said: “How long did you remain (dead)” He (the man) said: “(Perhaps) I remained (dead) a day or part of a day.” He said: “Nay, you have remained (dead) for a hundred years, look at your food and your drink, they show no change; and look at your donkey! And thus We have made of you a sign for the people. Look at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh.” When this was clearly shown to him, he said, “I know (now) that Allah is able to do all things.”
Allah’s statement,
(Have you not looked at him who disputed with Ibrahim about his Lord) means, “Have you seen anyone like the person who disputed with Ibrahim about his Lord” Then, Allah connected the Ayah,
(Or like the one who passed by a town in ruin up to its roofs) to the Ayah above by using `or’.
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that `Ali bin Abi Talib said that the Ayah ﴿2:259﴾ meant `Uzayr. Ibn Jarir also reported it, and this explanation was also reported by Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim from Ibn `Abbas, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Sulayman bin Buraydah.
Mujahid bin Jabr said that the Ayah refers to a man from the Children of Israel, and the village was Jerusalem, after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it and killed its people.
(in ruin) means, it became empty of people. Allah’s statement,
(up to its roofs) indicates that the roofs and walls (of the village) fell to the ground. `Uzayr stood contemplating about what had happened to that city, after a great civilization used to inhabit it. He said,
(Oh! How will Allah ever bring it to life after its death) because of the utter destruction he saw and the implausibility of its returning to what it used to be. Allah said,
(So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him up (again).)
The city was rebuilt seventy years after the man (`Uzayr) died, and its inhabitants increased and the Children of Israel moved back to it. When Allah resurrected `Uzayr after he died, the first organ that He resurrected were his eyes, so that he could witness what Allah does with him, how He brings life back to his body. When his resurrection was complete, Allah said to him, meaning through the angel,
(“How long did you remain (dead)” He (the man) said: “(Perhaps) I remained (dead) a day or part of a day.”)
The scholars said that since the man died in the early part of the day and Allah resurrected him in the latter part of the day, when he saw that the sun was still apparent, he thought that it was the sun of that very day. He said,
(“Or part of a day. ” He said: “Nay, you have remained (dead) for a hundred years, look at your food and your drink, they show no change.”)
He had grapes, figs and juice, and he found them as he left them; neither did the juice spoil nor the figs become bitter nor the grapes rot.
(And look at your donkey!), “How Allah brings it back to life while you are watching.”
(And thus We have made of you a sign for the people) that Resurrection occurs.
(Look at the bones, how We Nunshizuha) meaning, collect them and put them back together. In his Mustadrak, Al-Hakim, recorded that Kharijah bin Zayd bin Thabit said that his father said that the Messenger of Allah read this Ayah,
(how We Nunshizuha.) Al-Hakim said; “Its chain is Sahih and they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.” The Ayah was also read,
(نُنْشِرُهَا)
“Nunshiruha” meaning, bring them back to life, as Mujahid stated.
(And clothe them with flesh. )
As-Suddi said, ” `Uzayr observed the bones of his donkey, which were scattered all around him to his right and left, and Allah sent a wind that collected the bones from all over the area. Allah then brought every bone to its place, until they formed a full donkey made of fleshless bones. Allah then covered these bones with flesh, nerves, veins and skin. Allah sent an angel who blew life in the donkeys’ nostrils, and the donkey started to bray by Allah’s leave.” All this occurred while `Uzayr was watching, and this is when he proclaimed,
(He said, “I know (now) that Allah is able to do all things,”) meaning, “I know that, and I did witness it with my own eyes. Therefore, I am the most knowledgeable in this matter among the people of my time.”
(2:260) And recall when Abraham said: “My Lord, show me how You give life to the dead,” Allah said: “Why! Do you have no faith?” Abraham replied: “Yes, but in order that my heart be at rest.”[296] He said: “Then take four birds, and tame them to yourself, then put a part of them on every hill, and summon them; they will come to you flying. Know well that Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.”[297]
296. That is, the rest and inner peace that one attains as a result of direct personal observation.
297. People have subjected this incident and the one above to very strange interpretations. If one bears in mind, however, God’s dealings with the Prophets, one will not feel any need to strain one’s energies in hammering out such artificially-contrived interpretations. The truth of the matter is that the kind of function that ordinary believers are required to perform requires of them no more than believing in certain truths without perceiving them through their senses. The function entrusted by God to the Prophets is such that they ought to have direct knowledge of the truths, the acceptance of which they are required to invite others to.
Thanks to the nature of their mission, the Prophets had to tell the world that while others resorted to conjecture and fancy, they spoke from personal direct observation and experience; that while others could claim to possess only imagination, they possessed reliable knowledge; that while others were blind, they alone had the God-given capacity to perceive the Truth. It is for this reason that the angels come to the Prophets and they see them with their own eyes. It is for the same reason that the Prophets were allowed a glimpse of the system of governance of the heavens and the earth. It is for the same reason, again, that they were enabled to observe Heaven and Hell and witness scenes of resurrection.
The Prophets are in possession of faith in the Unseen at the time they are invested with prophethood. After being designated to prophethood, they are further honoured by special favours and privileges, and initiated into what may be termed as faith in the seen’ (for the ‘Unseen’ is changed for them to the ‘seen’). This favour is a special prerogative of the Prophets. For a further explanation see (Surah Taubah, ayat 15-17) note 17-19, (Surah Taubah, ayat 34) note 34.
[107]- i.e., train them to come to you on command.
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