Surah 2. Al-Baqara, Ayah 259
| أَوْ كَالَّذِي مَرَّ عَلَىٰ قَرْيَةٍ وَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا قَالَ أَنَّىٰ يُحْيِي هَٰذِهِ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا ۖ فَأَمَاتَهُ اللَّهُ مِائَةَ عَامٍ ثُمَّ بَعَثَهُ ۖ قَالَ كَمْ لَبِثْتَ ۖ قَالَ لَبِثْتُ يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ ۖ قَالَ بَلْ لَبِثْتَ مِائَةَ عَامٍ فَانْظُرْ إِلَىٰ طَعَامِكَ وَشَرَابِكَ لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ ۖ وَانْظُرْ إِلَىٰ حِمَارِكَ وَلِنَجْعَلَكَ آيَةً لِلنَّاسِ ۖ وَانْظُرْ إِلَى الْعِظَامِ كَيْفَ نُنْشِزُهَا ثُمَّ نَكْسُوهَا لَحْمًا ۚ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ قَالَ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ |
| Transliteration | : | 'aw ka- 'alladhe marra calaa qaryah wa- hiya khaawiyah calaa curosh -haa qaala 'annaa yuh.ye haadhihi 'allaah bacda mawt -haa fa- amaata -hu 'allaah mi'ah caam thumma bacatha -hu qaala kam labithta qaala labithtu yawm(an) 'aw bacd. yawm qaala bal labithta mi'ah caam fa- unz.ur 'ilaa t.acaam -ka wa- sharaab -ka lam yatasannah wa- unz.ur 'ilaa h.imaar -ka wa- li- najcal -ka 'aayah li- an- naas wa- unz.ur 'ilaa al- ciz.aam kayfa nunshiz -haa thumma nakso -haa lah.m(an) fa- lammaa tabayyana la- -hu qaala aclam 'anna 'allaah calaa kull shay' qader |
| Pickthall | : | Or (bethink thee of) the like of him who, passing by a township which had fallen into utter ruin, exclaimed: How shall Allah give this township life after its death? And Allah made him die a hundred years, then brought him back to life. He said: How long hast thou tarried? (The man) said: I have tarried a day or part of a day. (He) said: Nay, but thou hast tarried for a hundred years. Just look at thy food and drink which have rotted! Look at thine ass! And, that We may make thee a token unto mankind, look at the bones, how We adjust them and then cover them with flesh! And when (the matter) became clear unto him, he said: I know now that Allah is Able to do all things. |
| Asad | : | Or [art thou, O man, of the same mind] as he252 who passed by a town deserted by its people, with its roofs caved in, [and] said, "How could God bring all this back to life after its death?"253 Thereupon God caused him to be dead for a hundred years; whereafter He brought him back to life [and] said: "How long hast thou remained thus?" He answered: "I have remained thus a day, or part of a day." Said [God]: "Nay, but thou hast remained thus for a hundred years! But look at thy food and thy drink - untouched is it by the passing of years - and look at thine ass!254 And [We did all this so that We might make thee a symbol unto men. And look at the bones [of animals and men] - how We put them together and then clothe them with flesh!"255 And when [all this] became clear to him, he said: "I know [now] that God has the power to will anything!" |
| Malik | : | Or take another example of the one (Prophet Ezra) who passed by a town which has fallen down upon its roofs. He exclaimed: "How can Allah bring this dead township back to life?" Thereupon Allah caused him to die, and after one hundred years brought him back to life. Allah asked: "How long did you remained here?" Ezra replied: "Perhaps a day or part of a day." Allah said: "Nay! You have remain here for one hundred years: now just have a look at your food and drink; they have not rotten; and then look at your donkey and see that his very bones have decayed. We have done this to make you a Sign for mankind. Look at the bones of your donkey how We bring them together then clothe them with flesh and bring him back to life! When this all was shown clearly to him he said: "Now I know that Allah has power over everything." |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Or (take) the similitude of one who passed by a hamlet all in ruins to its roofs. He said: "Oh! how shall Allah bring it (ever) to life after (this) its death?" But Allah caused him to die for a hundred years then raised him up (again). He said: "How long didst thou tarry (thus)?" He said: "(perhaps) a day or part of a day." He said: "Nay thou hast tarried thus a hundred years; but look at thy food and thy drink; they show no signs of age; and look at thy donkey: and that We may make of thee a Sign unto the people look further at the bones how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh! When this was shown clearly to him he said: "I know that Allah hath power over all things." 304 305 |
Note - 252Lit., "Or like him". The words interpolated by me between
brackets are based on Zamakhshari's interpretation of
this passage, which connects with the opening of the
preceding verse.
|
Note - 253The story told in this verse is obviously a parable meant
to illustrate God's power to bring the dead back to life:
and, thus, it is significantly placed between Abraham's
words in verse {258}, "My Sustainer is He who grants life
and deals death", and his subsequent request, in verse
{260}, to be shown how God resurrects the dead. The
speculations of some of the earlier commentators as to
the "identity" of the man and the town mentioned in this
story are without any substance, and may have been
influenced by Talmudic legends.
|
Note - 254Sc., "and observe that it is alive": thus pointing out
that God has the power to grant life indefinitely, as
well as to resurrect the dead.
|
Note - 255The Qur'an frequently points to the ever-recurring
miracle of birth, preceded by the gradual evolution of
the embryo in its mother's womb, as a visible sign of
God's power to create - and therefore also to re-create -
life.
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Note - 304This incident is referred variously (1) to Ezekiel's
vision of dry bones (Ezekiel, xxxvii. 1-10, (2) to
Nehemiah's visit to Jerusalem in ruins after the
Captivity, and to its re-building (Hehemiah, i. 12-20):
and (3) to Uzair, or Ezra, or Esdras, the scribe, priest,
and reformer, who was sent by the Persian King after the
Captivity to Jerusalem, and about whom there are many
Jewish legends. As to (1), there are only four words in
this verse about bones. As to (2) and (3), there is
nothing specific to connect this verse with either. The
wording is perfectly general, and we must understand it
as general. I think it does refer not only to
individual, but to national, death, and resurrection.
|
Note - 305A man is in despair when he sees the destruction of a
whole people, city, or civilization. But God can cause
resurrection, as He has done many times in history, and
as He will do at the final Resurrection. Time is nothing
before God. The doubter thinks that he has been dead or
"tarried thus" a day or less when the period has been a
century. On the other hand, the food and drink which he
left behind is intact, and as fresh as it was when he
left it. But the donkey is not only dead, but nothing
but bones is left of it. And before the man's eyes, the
bones are reunited, clothed with flesh and blood, and
restored to life. Moral: (1) Time is nothing to God;
(2) It affects different things in different ways; (3)
The keys of life and death are in God's hands; (4) Man's
power is nothing; his faith should be in God.
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Lit., "Or like him". The words interpolated by me between brackets are based on Zamakhshari's interpretation of this passage, which connects with the opening of the preceding verse. |
| |
The story told in this verse is obviously a parable meant to illustrate God's power to bring the dead back to life: and, thus, it is significantly placed between Abraham's words in verse {258}, "My Sustainer is He who grants life and deals death", and his subsequent request, in verse {260}, to be shown how God resurrects the dead. The speculations of some of the earlier commentators as to the "identity" of the man and the town mentioned in this story are without any substance, and may have been influenced by Talmudic legends. |
| |
Sc., "and observe that it is alive": thus pointing out that God has the power to grant life indefinitely, as well as to resurrect the dead. |
| |
This incident is referred variously (1) to Ezekiel's vision of dry bones (Ezekiel, xxxvii. 1-10, (2) to Nehemiah's visit to Jerusalem in ruins after the Captivity, and to its re-building (Hehemiah, i. 12-20): and (3) to Uzair, or Ezra, or Esdras, the scribe, priest, and reformer, who was sent by the Persian King after the Captivity to Jerusalem, and about whom there are many Jewish legends. As to (1), there are only four words in this verse about bones. As to (2) and (3), there is nothing specific to connect this verse with either. The wording is perfectly general, and we must understand it as general. I think it does refer not only to individual, but to national, death, and resurrection. |
| |
A man is in despair when he sees the destruction of a whole people, city, or civilization. But God can cause resurrection, as He has done many times in history, and as He will do at the final Resurrection. Time is nothing before God. The doubter thinks that he has been dead or "tarried thus" a day or less when the period has been a century. On the other hand, the food and drink which he left behind is intact, and as fresh as it was when he left it. But the donkey is not only dead, but nothing but bones is left of it. And before the man's eyes, the bones are reunited, clothed with flesh and blood, and restored to life. Moral: (1) Time is nothing to God; (2) It affects different things in different ways; (3) The keys of life and death are in God's hands; (4) Man's power is nothing; his faith should be in God. |
