Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 259

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.