2. [ al-Baqara, Median 87 ]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
أَوْ
كَالَّذِي
مَرَّ عَلَى
قَرْيَةٍ وَهِيَ
خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَى
عُرُوشِهَا...
2: 259. Or (take) the similitude of one who passed by a hamlet, all in ruins to its roofs.
C304. This incident is referred variously;
1. to Ezekiel's vision of dry bones (Ezekiel, 37:1-10).
2. to Nehemiah's visit to Jerusalem in ruins after the Captivity, and to its re-building (Nehemiah, 2:12-20): 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.
... قَالَ أَنَّىَ يُحْيِـي هَـَذِهِ اللّهُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا...
He said: "Oh! how shall Allah bring it (ever) to life, after (this) its death?"
... فَأَمَاتَهُ اللّهُ مِئَةَ عَامٍ ثُمَّ بَعَثَهُ قَالَ كَمْ لَبِثْتَ...
But Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him up (again). He said: "How long didst thou tarry (thus)?"
... قَالَ لَبِثْتُ يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ...
He said: "(Perhaps) a day or part of a day."
... قَالَ بَل لَّبِثْتَ مِئَةَ عَامٍ فَانظُرْ إِلَى طَعَامِكَ وَشَرَابِكَ لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ...
He said: "Nay, thou hast tarried thus a hundred years; but look at thy food and thy drink; they show no signs of age;
... وَانظُرْ إِلَى حِمَارِكَ وَلِنَجْعَلَكَ آيَةً لِّلنَّاسِ...
and look at thy donkey: and that We may make of thee a Sign unto the people,
... وَانظُرْ إِلَى العِظَامِ كَيْفَ نُنشِزُهَا ثُمَّ نَكْسُوهَا لَحْمًا...
look further at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh!
C305. A man is in despair when he sees the destruction of a whole people, city, or civilization. But Allah can cause resurrection, as He has done many times in history, and as He will do at the final Resurrection.
Time is nothing before Allah. 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:
- Time is nothing to Allah;
- it affects different things in different ways;
- The keys of life and death are in Allah's hands;
- Man's power is nothing; his faith should be in Allah.
... فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ قَالَ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ اللّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ﴿٢٥٩﴾
When this was shown clearly to him he said: "I know that Allah hath power over all things."
2: 259
Asad ……………”How could God bring all this back to life after its death?”
…………Said [God]: “Nay, but you have remained thus for a hundred years! But look at your food and your drink – untouched……..And look at the bones [of animals and men] – how We put them together and then clothe them with flesh [note 255]!
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.
Au kallazi marra 'ala_ qaryatiw wa hiya kha_wiyatun'ala_ 'uru_syiha_, qa_la anna_ yuhyi ha_zihilla_hu ba'da mautiha_, fa ama_tahulla_hu mi'ata 'a_min summa ba'asah(u_), qa_la kam labist(a), qa_la labistu yauman au ba'da yaum(in), qa_la bal labista mi'ata'a_min fanzur ila_ ta'a_ a syara_bika lam yatasannah, wanzur ila_ hima_rik(a), wa linaj'alaka a_yatal linna_si wanzur ilal'iza_mi kaifa nunsyizuha_ summa naksu_ha_ lahma_(n), falamma_ tabayyana lahu_ qa_la a'lamu annalla_ha 'ala_ kulli syai'in qadir(un).
[ Asad’s note 253 – 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 speculation 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.
255- The Quran 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. ]
[304 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. (2.259)
305 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. (2.259)]