Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 259

(Ayah 259) ➊ {اَوْ كَالَّذِيْ مَرَّ عَلٰى قَرْيَةٍ :} Its { ’’ اَوْ ‘‘} is connected to the { ”الَّذِيْ“ } mentioned in the previous verse { ”اَلَمْ تَرَ اِلَى الَّذِيْ“ }, meaning: Have you not seen the one who disputed with Ibrahim... or have you not seen someone like this person... The meaning of { ”اَلَمْ تَرَ“ } is { ”اَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ“ }. (See the footnotes of Surah Al-Fil) And the purpose of { ”اَلَمْ تَرَ“ } is to create eagerness in the listener before narrating some amazing incident.

➋ {خَاوِيَةٌ:} This is the active participle from the form { ”ضَرَبَ“ }, the root is "kh-w-y," which means to be hollow. Since being hollow results in collapsing, it also means to collapse. Usually, the roof collapses first, then the walls fall upon it, so it is said: "whose roofs had collapsed upon it."

➌ {لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ:} The root of this word is either "s-n-n," which means to be foul-smelling, as it is said: «مِّنْ حَمَاٍ مَّسْنُوْنٍ» [الحجر : ۲۶ ] "which was of foul-smelling, black mud." In the form taf‘ul, it became { ’’ لَمْ يَتَسَنَّنْ ‘‘ }, then the last "nun" was changed to "ha," as: { ”لَمْ يَتَقَضَّضِ الْبَازِيْ“ } (the falcon did not swoop swiftly) is changed to { ”لَمْ يَتَقَضَّهْ“ }, or its root is "s-n-n-h," from which the form taf‘ul {”تَسَنَّهَ“} means for bread to become foul-smelling. In this case, "ha" is original, so { ”لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ“ } means it did not become foul-smelling.

➍ The purpose of the previous story was to establish the oneness (tawheed) of the Creator of the universe, while the purpose of this story and the one after it is to establish resurrection and revival. There is no mention with an authentic chain from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) or the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) regarding who this person mentioned in this verse was. Some of the Tabi‘een have named him Uzair (peace be upon him), and some have said Jeremiah, and it is clear that the source of this is the Israelite traditions, which can neither be affirmed nor denied. And Allah knows best!

However, it is certain that he was a prophet of Allah. The evidence is that Allah asked him and then informed him of the actual duration. Now the question arises: if he was a prophet of Allah, why did he consider it unlikely that Allah would revive this town? The answer is that he did not ask this question out of doubt or considering it unlikely, nor did he have any doubt about the Resurrection and revival, but rather he sought reassurance and wanted to witness the revival with his own eyes, just as Allah allows the prophets to witness some realities with their own eyes. The purpose of both these incidents is to show how, when Allah is someone's friend and helper, He brings him out from darkness into light. (Razi)

It appears that when this prophet passed away, it was already some time into the day, and when he was revived, the sun was about to set, so despite a hundred years having passed, he thought that only a day or part of a day had passed.

259. 1. The phrase "Or like the one" is connected to the previous incident, and the meaning is that you did not look at the story of that person who passed by a town, just as you did not look at the previous incident. Who was this person? Many opinions have been narrated regarding this; the most famous is the name of Hazrat Uzair (علیہ السلام), which some companions and followers have accepted. And Allah knows best. In the previous incident (Hazrat Ibrahim علیہ السلام and Nimrod), the affirmation was of the Creator, that is, Allah Almighty, and in this second incident, the affirmation is of Allah Almighty's power to resurrect the dead, as Allah Almighty revived this person and his donkey after one hundred years, even his food and drink did not spoil. That same Allah Almighty will resurrect all humans on the Day of Resurrection; when He can revive after one hundred years, then reviving after thousands of years is not difficult for Him.

259. 2. It is said that when that mentioned person died, some part of the day had passed, and when he was revived, evening had not yet come. From this, he estimated that if I had come here yesterday, then one day has passed; if this happened today, then only a part of the day has passed. Whereas in reality, one hundred years had passed since his death.

259. 3. That is, I already had certainty, but now after witnessing with my own eyes, my certainty and knowledge have become even more firm and increased.

259. Or (have you not considered) the case of the one who passed by a town [371] that had fallen into ruin, its roofs collapsed. He said, "How will Allah bring this back to life after its death?" So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then revived him. He asked, "How long have you remained here?" He replied, "I have remained a day or part of a day." [372] Allah said, "No, you have remained for a hundred years. Now look at your food and drink; they have not decayed. And look at your donkey (whose bones have decayed). And We did this so that We might make you a sign for the people [373]. And look at the bones—how We assemble them and then clothe them with flesh." When it became clear to him, he said, "Now I know that Allah is capable of all things."

[371]
The Attack of Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonian on Bayt al-Maqdis:

To show in what astonishing ways Allah Almighty can exercise control over the things of the universe, Allah has narrated another incident. This incident is related to Hazrat Uzair ؑ, about whom it is famous that he had memorized the entire Torah. When Nebuchadnezzar attacked Syria and devastated Bayt al-Maqdis, taking many Israelites captive to Babylon, Hazrat Uzair ؑ was among them. After some time, they were released, and while returning to their homeland, he saw a ruined city on the way, which had been destroyed as a result of Nebuchadnezzar’s attack. Upon seeing it, he thought in his heart: When and how will Allah bring this town back to life? At that time, he was riding a donkey and had provisions for food and drink with him. As soon as this thought came, Allah seized his soul.

[372] And after making him sleep the sleep of death for a full hundred years, He revived him and asked: “Tell me, how long have you remained in this state?” Now, Hazrat Uzair ؑ had no means of knowing the time except the sun; when he had set out, it was the first part of the day, and now it was the second part. He said, “It is just a part of a day, or it may be the second day,” because a person never sleeps more than that.

[373]
Sayyiduna Uzair and the Ruined Town:

Allah Almighty said: Look, you have remained here for a hundred years. When Uzair ؑ looked at his body and physical condition, and at his food and drink, it seemed as if it was the very day when sleep had overtaken him. But when he looked at his donkey, its bones had decayed, so he realized that indeed a hundred years must have passed. Before his very eyes, the bones began to move, then they joined together. Then flesh and skin covered the skeleton, and before his very eyes, the donkey stood up alive. Then he looked towards the town, about which he had wondered, and it too had become inhabited. Now see, the following miracles occurred in this incident.

The Person of Sayyiduna Uzair Himself Was a Miracle:

Hazrat Uzair ؑ himself, his donkey, and that town—all were brought back to life after death. In this way, Allah Almighty answered Hazrat Uzair’s ؑ thought in three ways, through which he attained absolute certainty.
2. The period of one hundred years had no effect on his person, nor on his food and drink. Thus, when he returned home, his sons and grandsons had grown old, while he himself was younger than them. In this way, his very person became a miracle for all people. Probably for this reason, a sect of the Jews began to call him the son of Allah.
3. But all the effects of the passage of a hundred years were present on the donkey. This contradiction in time was also a very astonishing matter and a miracle.
4. Before his very eyes, the joining of the donkey’s bones, the completion of its skeleton, the covering of flesh and skin, and then its coming to life is a great proof of the perfect power of Allah Almighty.