Continuing from my previous post on the
subject of the impossibility for the souls of the dead to return to this world,
one of the proofs presented by those who dispute this fact is the proceeding
Verse of the Holy Qur’an:
أَوْ كَالَّذِي مَرَّ عَلَىٰ قَرْيَةٍ وَهِيَ
خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا قَالَ أَنَّىٰ يُحْيِي هَـٰذِهِ اللَّـهُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا
فَأَمَاتَهُ اللَّـهُ مِائَةَ عَامٍ ثُمَّ بَعَثَهُ قَالَ كَمْ لَبِثْتَ قَالَ لَبِثْتُ
يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ قَالَ بَل لَّبِثْتَ مِائَةَ عَامٍ فَانظُرْ إِلَىٰ طَعَامِكَ
وَشَرَابِكَ لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ وَانظُرْ إِلَىٰ حِمَارِكَ وَلِنَجْعَلَكَ آيَةً لِّلنَّاسِ
وَانظُرْ إِلَى الْعِظَامِ كَيْفَ نُنشِزُهَا ثُمَّ نَكْسُوهَا لَحْمًا فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ
لَهُ قَالَ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ اللَّـهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
Translation: 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." (Surah 2:259)
Those who argue that the souls of the dead
can return to the world use this verse as their strongest evidence. For
example, Abul Ala Mawdudi, founder of the Islamist group (Jama’at-i-Islami)
writes: “It is certainly of no avail at this juncture to open the debate as to
whether the Holy Christ is dead or exists alive somewhere in the world.
Supposing he is dead, God has the power to raise him alive, otherwise also it
is not beyond the Divine power of God to keep a man alive somewhere in the
cosmos for as long as thousands of years; and to bring the man back to the
world at His Will.”
In the footnote to this comment, Mawdudi
says: “Those who deny this possibility should go through verse 259 of Surah al-
Baqarah, in which God affirms in clear words that He let one of His creatures
lie dead for a hundred years and at the end of this period He raised the man
alive.”
Reference: Finality of Prophethood by
A. A. Mawdudi
Before an answer can be given to this
apparently solid argument, we need to first unlock one of the mysteries
presented by this blessed Ayah of the Holy Qur’an. That is concerning the
identity of the man spoken of in Surah 2:259.
According to the majority of the classical Mufasireen
(commentators of the Holy Qur’an), the man spoken of in this verse is Uzair
(Ezra). However, this is based on pure speculation on their part since there is
no evidence from either the text of the Qur’an itself or any Hadith which
confirms the identity of the man in question as being Ezra.
On the other hand I shall demonstrate with
irrefutable arguments (In Sha Allah) that the man mentioned in this verse is
the Prophet Ezekiel. Firstly, even classical Tafasir like Ibn Abi Hatim’s and
Durr al-Manthur of Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti mention this opinion. For example, it
is narrated from Suleman b. Muhammad al-Yasari that a man from the people of Sham
said that the one who Allah caused to die for a hundred years then raised him
back to life was named Hizqeel b. Buzi (Ezekiel son of Buzzi):
Reference: Durr al-Manthur; v.3 p.212
However, the main reason for identifying this
person as being the Prophet Ezekiel son of Buzzi is from the details given in
the Ayat itself which so perfectly match the details given regarding Ezekiel’s
Vision as described in the Hebrew Bible:
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and the
LORD carried me out in a spirit, and set me down in the midst of the valley,
and it was full of bones; and He caused me to pass by them round about, and,
behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
And He said unto me: 'Son of man, can these bones live?' And I answered: 'O Lord
GOD, Thou knowest.' Then He said unto me: 'Prophesy over these bones, and say
unto them: O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD
unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall
live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and
cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall
know that I am the LORD.' So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I
prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a commotion, and the bones came
together, bone to its bone. And I beheld, and, lo, there were sinews upon them,
and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in
them. Then said He unto me: 'Prophesy unto the breath, prophesy, son of man, and
say to the breath: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath,
and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.' So I prophesied as He
commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon
their feet, an exceeding great host. Then He said unto me: 'Son of man, these
bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say: Our bones are dried up,
and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off. Therefore prophesy, and say unto
them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you
to come up out of your graves, O My people; and I will bring you into the land
of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your
graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O My people. And I will
put My spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land;
and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken, and performed it, saith the LORD (Ezekiel 37:1-14)
Even a cursory reading of this passage will
make anyone realize how closely it resembles and matches the Qur’anic account
in Surah 2:259.
First pay attention to the sentence in Surah
2:259:
وَلِنَجْعَلَكَ آيَةً لِّلنَّاسِ
And We shall make you a Sign for the people
We read throughout the Book of Ezekiel that
the Prophet Ezekiel is repeatedly described with similar wording:
For I have set thee for a sign unto the house
of Israel. (Ezekiel 12:6)
Say, I am your sign (Ezekiel 12:11)
Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign (Ezekiel 24:24)
And thou shalt be a sign unto them (Ezekiel 24:27)
Other similarities are listed below:
1. Ezekiel’s vision in the valley of dry bones matches the Holy Qur’an
description of him passing by a habitation which had fallen into disarray.
2. In the Holy Qur’an the man asks how can Allah bring back the habitation
to life after its death. In the Book of Ezekiel God Himself asks if these bones
can live to which Ezekiel replies that only God knows.
3. In the Qur’anic account Allah tells the man to look at the bones as
they become clothed with flesh and are re-animated. Exactly the same image is
given in the Book of Ezekiel.
The only difference seems to be that which
the Biblical account is clearly understood by both Jews and Christians to be
describing a Vision, Muslims have mistakenly interpreted the Qur’anic account
of the same incident and personality (Ezekiel) as having been an actual event.
However, one prominent classical commentator,
Ataa b. Abi Rabah (d.114 H) recognized the episode described in Surah 2:259 as
being a parable and not an actual event:
Reference: Al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah; v.2 p.282
There are other very pertinent clues within
the verse itself which plainly indicate that it was a sort of Kashaf (Vision)
and not an event occurring in this world and in this dimension of time.
One such clue is that after causing Ezekiel
to die for a hundred years than raising him back to life, Allah Most High draws
Ezekiel’s attention to his food and drink which have not spoiled. Had really a
hundred years lapsed from our point of view and Ezekiel had literally died for
that duration than brought back to life there would be no trace left of his
food and drink. Allah also draws attention to his donkey which is also still
present and alive.
Furthermore, keep in mind the context of this
verse of the Holy Qur’an, whose purpose is to produce certainty in our hearts
and minds about the reality of the bodily resurrection which will happen on
Judgment Day. This is one of the powerful proofs and arguments which Allah Most
High is presenting to convince Ezekiel as well as the rest of us about His power
to raise the dead back to life. The verse mentions that although Ezekiel died
for a hundred years, when he was raised back to life he perceived that only a
day or part of a day had lapsed. This indicates the duration of his vision from
our point of view, though in the vision itself Ezekiel had been taken and his
time occupied for a hundred years. In the actual vision he is made to see the
re-animation of rotting bones being brought back to life and being clothed with
flesh. He sees a vision of the habitation coming back to life which convinces
him of the power of Allah to raise the dead. It is not necessarily that the
habitation comes to life in his own time, as this is also historically proven
that Jerusalem and the House of Israel were only restored after the Babylonian
captivity. However, the Prophet Ezekiel never lived to see the end of the
Babylonian captivity and the restoration of Jerusalem except through the divine
vision described in this Verse.
The question arises that if this was a
Vision, why did Allah Most High say:
فَأَمَاتَهُ اللَّـهُ مِائَةَ عَامٍ ثُمَّ
بَعَثَهُ
So Allah caused him to die for a hundred
years than raised him up
The word death, in Islamic terminology,
refers to both actual death as well as sleep. For example, the Prophet
(Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) is reported to have said:
النَّوْمُ أَخُو الْمَوْتِ
Sleep is the sister of Death (Hadith)
Even more profound are the Masnoon
supplications that Muslims are recommended to read before going to sleep and
after waking:
باسْمِكَ اللهُمَّ اَمُوتُ وَاَحْيَا
In Your Name, O my
Allah, do I die and come back to life (Masnoon
Du’a before going to sleep)
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِىْ اَحْيَانَا
بَعْدَ مَآ اَمَاتَنَا وَاِلَيْهِ النُّشُوْرُ
All praise belongs to
Allah Who has given us life after causing us to die and to Him is the return (Masnoon Du’a after waking from sleep)
The author of the
well-respected Tafsir Mazhari, Qadi Thana Ullah Panipati has also explicitly clarified that the death and
resurrection of Ezekiel as mentioned in this verse refers to his sleep and being
awoken from sleep after the vision:
Reference: Tafsir
Mazhari; v.2 p.31
Another piece of
evidence presented by those who claim the dead can return to this world is
Surah 2:243:
لَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ
خَرَجُوا مِن دِيَارِهِمْ وَهُمْ أُلُوفٌ حَذَرَ الْمَوْتِ فَقَالَ لَهُمُ اللَّـهُ
مُوتُوا ثُمَّ أَحْيَاهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ
أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ
Have you not considered
those who left their homes in many thousands, fearing death? Allah said to
them, "Die"; then He restored them to life. And Allah is full of
bounty to the people, but most of the people do not show gratitude. (2:243)
The fact of the matter
is that this verse is intimately connected to the one already under discussion
(2:259). Ibn Wahb narrates from Ibnu Zayd concerning 2:243 that is speaks of
the same people whose bones are mentioned in 2:259 which were passed by Ezekiel
when he came upon their habitation:
Reference: Tafsir Ibn
Jarir; v.4 p.584
Therefore, what is
mentioned about such people dying and then being brought back to life must be
understood in light of what we have already established about 2:259, that it occurred
through Ezekiel’s Vision.
These people were
perhaps the Israelites during the Babylonian captivity who had been banished
from the Holy Land beginning around 597 BCE. It was their nation which had died
and was in a state of death. Nevertheless, Allah, out of His grace, restored
the nation and caused them to be released from captivity and return to
Jerusalem to rebuild the temple in 538 BCE after Cyrus’s proclamation.
