SIMILARITIES OF PROPHET UZAIR & PROPHET IBRAHIM:

PERTAINING TO THE OMNIPOTENCE OF ALLAH (SwT) TO RESSURECTION

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 {2:259}

[Q2:259] Aw kallazee marra 'alaa qaryatinw wa hiya khaawiyatun 'alaa 'urooshihaa qaala annaa yuhyee haazihil laahu ba'da mawtihaa fa amaatahul laahu mi'ata 'aamin suumma ba'asahoo qaala kam labista qaala labistu yawman aw ba'da yawmin qaala bal labista mi'ata 'aamin fanzur ilaa ta'aamika wa sharaabika lam yatasannah wanzur ilaa himaarika wa linaj'alaka Aayatal linnaasi wanzur ilal'izaami kaifa nunshizuhaa summa naksoohaa lahmaa; falammaa tabiyana lahoo qaala a'lamu annal laaha 'alaa kulli shai'in Qadeer.

[Q2:259] Or the like of him (Uzair) who passed by a town, and it had fallen down upon its roofs; he said: When will ALLAH (SWT) give it life after its death? So ALLAH (SWT) caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him to life. He said: How long have you tarried? He said: I have tarried a day, or a part of a day. Said He: Nay! you have tarried a hundred years; then look at your food and drink-- years have not passed over it; and look at your ass; and that We may make you a sign to men, and look at the bones, how We set them together, then clothed them with flesh; so when it became clear to him, he said: I know that ALLAH (SWT) has power over all things.

[Q2:259] Atau (tidakkah engkau pelik memikirkan wahai Muhammad) tentang orang yang melalui sebuah negeri yang telah runtuh segala bangunannya, orang itu berkata: “Bagaimana ALLAH (SwT) akan menghidupkan (membina semula) negeri ini sesudah matinya (rosak binasanya)?” Lalu ia dimatikan oleh ALLAH (SwT) (dan dibiarkan tidak berubah) selama seratus tahun, kemudian ALLAH (SwT) hidupkan dia semula lalu bertanya kepadanya: “Berapa lama engkau tinggal (di sini)?” Ia menjawab: “Aku telah tinggal (di sini) sehari atau setengah hari”. ALLAH (SwT) berfirman:” (Tidak benar), bahkan engkau telah tinggal (berkeadaan demikian) selama seratus tahun. Oleh itu, perhatikanlah kepada makanan dan minumanmu, masih tidak berubah keadaannya, dan perhatikanlah pula kepada keldaimu (hanya tinggal tulang-tulangnya bersepah), dan Kami (lakukan ini ialah untuk) menjadikan engkau sebagai tanda (kekuasaan Kami) bagi umat manusia; dan lihatlah kepada tulang-tulang (keldai) itu, bagaimana Kami menyusunnya kembali kemudian Kami menyalutnya dengan daging “. Maka apabila telah jelas kepadanya (apa yang berlaku itu), berkatalah dia: Sekarang aku mengetahuinya (dengan yakin), sesungguhnya ALLAH (SwT) Maha Kuasa atas tiap-tiap sesuatu”.

Wherever "giving life after death" is used in Qur’an, the Ahmadi commentator and his like say that it is a metaphorical reference to the revival of the stagnant nations, because the Ahmadis are averse to the fact that ALLAH (SWT) and His chosen friends are able to cause miracles. To them the death and revivification of prophet Uzayr, referred to in this verse, was only a vision, not an actual happening. Since their self-made prophet was unable to work any miracle, the Ahmadis have decided not to accept the agency of miracles at all. To show their point of view as the only truth, the Ahmadi commentator says: "it appears that" and then quotes the events connected with Ezekiel from chapter 37 of Ezekiel and misinterprets them to serve his perverted ideas, although there is nothing in common in the event referred to in this verse and the events mentioned in the above noted chapter of the Old Testament. ***IT IS NOT EZEKIEL BUT EZRA (UZAYR) WHO IS REFERRED TO IN THIS VERSE. It refers to the death and revivification of Uzayr and his donkey, whilst the events in chapter 37 of Ezekiel refer to the revival of a town.

v  It was prophet Uzayr who, like Ibrahim in the next verse, prayed and asked ALLAH (SWT)  to show him how the dead are brought back to life again.

THE TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE IS GIVEN BELOW:

Nebuchadnezzar conquered and destroyed Jerusalem. The corpses of the inhabitants were left to be eaten by the wild beasts and birds of prey. When prophet Uzayr passed by the ruins of the city, he wondered if the people whose desiccated bones were lying on the ground could ever be brought to life again so as to rebuild the devastated town? SO ALLAH (SWT) caused him and his donkey to die.

     After seventy (70) years, Cyrus gave permission to rebuild Jerusalem. Within thirty years Jerusalem was an active city again. When Uzayr died, it was morning. After hundred years he was brought to life again. The sun had not yet set. "How long have you tarried?" the angel, who was sent to meet Uzayr, asked him.“I have tarried a day, or part of a day," he replied. No! You have tarried a hundred years," the angel informed him. He also asked him to look at his food and drink in his bag. It was as fresh as it was a hundred years ago. He looked at his donkey. There were only its bones lying beside him. As he was looking at his donkey, its scattered bones were joined together and it stood before him, alive and breathing.

     The purpose of this miracle was to make prophet Uzayr AN INSTRUCTIVE EXAMPLE TO THOSE WHO [1] either do not know how the dead will be brought to life again on the day of resurrection, or [2] who disbelieve in ALLAH (SWT) 's warning. So when it became clear to Uzayr, he said: "I know that ALLAH (SWT) has power over all things."

     At home he found his son, born after his departure, one hundred years old; his young maid one hundred and twenty years old, and all his grandchildren older than him. They looked at the fifty year old Uzayr and wondered. UZAYR BECAME A LIVING SIGN OF ALLAH (SWT)'S OMNIPOTENCE.

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(2:259) Or take the case of the one who passed by a township that had fallen down upon its roofs. *293 He exclaimed, "How shall Allah bring back to life this township that has become dead?" *294 At this Allah caused him to die and he lay dead for a hundred years. Then Allah brought him back to life and asked him, "How long have you lain here?" He answered. "I might have lain here for a day or a few hours." Allah said, "Nay, you have been lying here in this state for a hundred years: now, just have a look at your food and your drink; they have not become spoiled in the least. Then have a look at your ass, (and see that his very bones have become rotten) and We have done this in order to make you a Sign for the people. *295 Look, how We raise up the skeleton and set the bones (of the ass) and cover them with flesh and (put breath of life into them)." And when the Reality became manifest to him, he said, "I know that Allah has power over everything."

*293. It is irrelevant to ask who the person was and the place where this incident occurred. The real purpose in mentioning this event is to show how God showed light to the one who had chosen God as his protector and supporter. As for determining the name of the person and the locality, we neither possess the means to do so, nor is such an endeavour in any way beneficial. What seems to be evident from the statement that follows is that the person concerned must necessarily have been a Prophet. 
*294. This question does not signify that the person concerned denied or entertained any doubts regarding life afterdeath. His enquiry merely indicates his wish to have direct knowledge of reality, like the Prophets of the past.
*295. The restoration of life to a man considered to have died a hundred years ago was in itself sufficient to make him, for his contemporaries, a living testimony. 

وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ أَرِنِي كَيْفَ تُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ ۖ قَالَ أَوَلَمْ تُؤْمِنْ ۖ قَالَ بَلَىٰ وَلَٰكِنْ لِيَطْمَئِنَّ قَلْبِي ۖ قَالَ فَخُذْ أَرْبَعَةً مِنَ الطَّيْرِ فَصُرْهُنَّ إِلَيْكَ ثُمَّ اجْعَلْ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ جَبَلٍ مِنْهُنَّ جُزْءًا ثُمَّ ادْعُهُنَّ يَأْتِينَكَ سَعْيًا ۚ وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ {2:260}

[Q2:260] Wa iz qaala Ibraaheemu Rabbi arinee kaifa tuhyil mawtaa qaala awa lam tu'min qaala balaa wa laakil liyatma'inna qalbee qaala fakhuz arab'atam minal tairi fasurhunna ilaika summaj'ala 'alaa kulli jabalim minhunna juz'an sumaad 'uhunna yaateenaka sa'yaa; wa'lam annal laaha 'Azeezun Hakeem.

[Q2:260] And when Ibrahim said: My Lord! Show me how Thou givest life to the dead, He said: What! And do you not believe? He said: Yes, but that my heart may be at ease. He said: Then take four of the birds, then train them to follow you, then place on every mountain a part of them, then call them, they will come to you flying; and know that ALLAH (SWT) is Mighty, Wise.

[Q2:260] Dan (ingatlah) ketika Nabi Ibrahim (merayu dengan) berkata: “Wahai Tuhanku! Perlihatkanlah kepadaku bagaimana Engkau menghidupkan makhluk-makhluk yang mati?” ALLAH (SwT) berfirman: “Adakah engkau belum percaya (kepada kekuasaanku)?” Nabi Ibrahim menjawab: “Bahkan (aku percaya dan yakin), akan tetapi (aku memohon yang demikian ialah) supaya tenteram hatiku (yang amat ingin menyaksikannya)”. ALLAH (SwT) berfirman: “(Jika demikian), ambilah empat ekor burung, kemudian kumpulkanlah olehmu (dan cincanglah semuanya). Setelah itu letakkanlah di atas tiap-tiap sebuah bukit sebahagian daripadanya. Kemudian serulah burung-burung itu nescaya semuanya akan datang kepadamu dengan segera”. Dan ketahuilah sesungguhnya ALLAH (SwT) Maha Kuasa, lagi Maha Bijaksana.

THE WORDS OF THIS VERSE ARE VERY CLEAR. Ibrahim asked ALLAH (SWT) to show him how ALLAH (SWT) gives life to the dead, SO THAT HIS HEART MAY BE AT EASE. It is narrated that as directed by ALLAH (SWT), Ibrahim took *a pigeon, *a peacock, *a cock and *a crow, cut them into very small pieces, mixed them together and put portions of the mixture on the top of four separate mountains, AND THEN called out to them; they came flying to him as individual birds. It became clear to Ibrahim that ALLAH (SWT) does what He wills because He is mighty, wise.

The Ahmadi commentator wrongly refers to ''Abraham said: O Lord ALLAH (SWT), how can I be sure that I shall occupy it?" (Genesis 15: 8). He does it to lower the status of Ibrahim, a true prophet of ALLAH (SWT), by saying that Ibrahim had asked ALLAH (SWT) about a factor which any ordinary man of common sense knows without receiving information from anyone. Genesis 15: 8 refers to Ibrahim's prayer about the kingdom ALLAH (SWT) promised to give him, whereas this verse refers to Ibrahim's request to show him how the dead will be brought to life again. When his arguments lead him to a dead end, the Ahmadi commentator presumes that this verse has been tampered with, because he cannot prove that this verse refers to the promise that the land of Canaan will be given to Ibrahim, although he gives irrelevant references from the Bible.

SOME SPIRITUALISTS SAY THAT THE SLAYING OF THE FOUR KINDS OF BIRDS IS MEANINGFUL FOR THOSE WHO ASPIRE FOR A SPIRITUAL LIFE.

(1) The pigeon stands for social life - the LOVE FOR FAMILY, FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES, which must be sacrificed.

(2) The cock stands for ANIMAL PASSION which must be killed.

(3) The crow stands for GREED which must be destroyed.

(4) The peacock stands for WORLDLY ADORNMENT which must be smothered.

WHEN ALL THE ABOVE FOUR DESIRES ARE CRUSHED, THE SOUL MERITS THE BLISS OF THE ETERNAL LIFE.

"ALLAH (SWT) gives life and causes to die, and then He gives life to the dead", mentioned in verses 2:258, 259 and 260 of Al-Baqarah, makes clear the power and authority of almighty ALLAH (SWT), BUT TO DENY the miracles associated with the prophets of ALLAH (SWT), the Ahmadi commentator and others like him rely on conjecture to find out metaphorical parallels, as if they are aware of all that is possible or impossible, and the laws governing the operation of creation.

©  Of such a claim, verse 18:51 of al Kahf says:

"I made them not to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor at the creation of themselves, nor am I He who chooses those who lead (the people) astray, (as My) helpers."

In the following two Persian lyrics, life on earth in relation to heavenly existence has been meaningfully described.

(1) What does the mosquito know from where came the garden and how it grew. It is born in the spring and dies in the autumn.

(2) The heavenly existence addresses life on earth:

"For us, a century of years is only a breath,

an ocean of yours a moisture,

we only see and move on."

The terms life and death can be applied, in the physical sense,

1.        To a man or any other creature, a group of men or a nation.

2.        It can also be applied to a man's or a nation's spiritual rise and fall, with reference to knowledge or faith or any accomplishment.

IN BOTH THE MEANINGS IT MAY TAKE PLACE IN ITS USUAL OR NATURAL COURSE, KNOWN TO US, OR IT MAY TAKE PLACE ON ACCOUNT OF AN UNUSUAL COURSE NOT KNOWN TO OR UNKNOWABLE TO US. WHATEVER TAKES PLACE IS AN EFFECT OF ALLAH (SWT)'S WILL.

Ø  Though many a commentator says that these verses refer to Ibrahim and the Israelite prophets. Yet the Jews and the Christians of today may not accept their conclusions, based upon the references to the Old and the New Testaments, as likely and reliable.

The Shia commentators rely on the reports and opinions of the Ahlul Bayt whose source of information is the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) whom ALLAH (SWT) Himself gave the wisdom and knowledge of all creation directly.

Ó  The ideas, theories and events presented by the scholars of the highest calibre, by referring to the Old or the New Testament or any other book, cannot be accepted if these do not agree with the Qur’an or the explanation or interpretation given by the holy Imams.

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(2:260) Call to mind the other event also, when Abraham said, "My Lord, show me how Thou bringest the dead back to life?" He said "Have you no faith in this?" Abraham humbly replied, "I do believe but I ask this to reassure my heart." *296 Allah said, "Well, take four birds and tame them with yourself and then (cut them into pieces) and place a piece of each of them on each hill. Then call them and they will come running to you; know this for certain that Allah is All-Powerful, 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, [1]  the Prophets had to tell the world that while others resorted to conjecture and fancy, they spoke from personal direct observation and experience; [2] that while others could claim to possess only imagination, they possessed reliable knowledge; [3] 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 Suah 9, nn. 17, 18, 19 and 34.)