Verse. 267

'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī

تفسير : (and when abraham) also (said: my lord! show me how thou givest life to the dead) how you gather the bones of the dead again, (he said: dost thou not believe?) are you not convinced? (abraham said: yea) i am convinced, (but (i ask) in order that my heart may be at ease) in order that the heat of my heart abates and so that i know that i am your friend and that my prayers are answered. ((his lord) said: take four of the birds) of different kinds: a cockerel, a raven, a duck and a peacock (and cause them to incline unto you) cut them into pieces, (then place a part of them on each hill) four different hills, (then call them) by their names, (they will come to thee) walking (in haste). (and know) o abraham! (that allah is mighty) for he is vengeful against those who do not believe in bringing the dead back to life, (wise) he gathers the bones of the dead and bring them back to life, just as he gathered these birds and brought them back to life.

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī

تفسير : and, mention, when abraham said, ‘my lord show me how you give life to the dead,’ he, god, exalted be he, said, to him, ‘why, do you not believe?’, in my power to revive; god asks him this even though he knows of his belief in this [power], as a response to his request, and so that the ones listening will know the purpose [of the request]; ‘yes,’, i do believe, he said, ‘but, i ask you, so that my heart may be re-assured’, [so that it may be] at peace, through direct vision, in addition to that [certainty] which is sought through logical reasoning. said he, ‘take four birds, and twist them to you (sirhunna, or surhunna), turn them towards you, cut them up and mix together their flesh and feathers, then set a part of them on every hill, in the land around you, then summon them, to you, and they will come to you in haste. and know that god is mighty, that nothing is beyond him, wise’, in his actions. abraham took a peacock, an eagle, a raven and a cock and did with them as has been mentioned, but kept their heads with him. he called them, and all the parts began to fly back together, combining until they were whole and returning to their heads.

Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi

تفسير : (and when abraham said (unto his lord): my lord! show me how thou givest life to the dead…) [2:260]. the commentators of the qur’an have mentioned the reason why ibrahim asked his lord to show him how he brings the dead back to life. sa‘id ibn muhammad ibn ahmad ibn ja‘far informed us> shu‘bah ibn muhammad> makki ibn ‘abdan> abu’l-azhar> ruh> sa‘id > qatadah who said: “it was mentioned to us that ibrahim passed by a corpse of a beast which was surrounded by beasts of the sea and of the land, and so he said: ‘o allah! show me how you bring the dead back to life!’ ” also, al-hasan, ‘ata’ al-khurasani, al-dahhak and ibn jurayj said: “ibrahim, allah’s intimate friend, passed by a dead donkey lying on seashore (‘ata’ said this was rather tiberias lake). he saw the carrion surrounded by beasts of the water and of the land. when the water rose up, the fish and the beasts of the sea came forward and ate of it, and whatever fell of the carrion was swept away by water; and when the sea ebbed away, wild animals went forward and ate of it, and whatever fell of the carrion became dust. when the wild animals went away, birds came forward and ate of the carrion, and whatever fell from them, the wind scattered it away in the air. ibrahim was amazed when he saw this. he said: ‘o lord! i know very well that you will gather its parts, please show me how you bring it to life, so that i can see it with my own eyes’ ”. said ibn zayd: “ibrahim passed by a dead whale, half of which was in the sea and half in the land. the part which was in the sea was eaten up by the beasts of the sea while the part which was in the land was eaten up by the beasts of the land. satan the evil one whispered to him: ‘how is allah going to gather the different parts of this from the bellies of all these beasts?’ ibrahim said: (my lord! show me how thou givest life to the dead, he said: dost thou not believe? abraham said: yea, but (i ask) in order that my heart may be at ease) by dispelling satan’s whispering”. abu nu‘aym al-asfahani informed me, among that which he authorized me to narrate from him> ‘abd allah ibn muhammad ibn ja‘far> muhammad ibn sahl> salamah ibn shabib> ibrahim ibn al-hakam ibn aban> his father who said: “i was sitting with ‘ikrimah at a seashore when he said: ‘those who drown in the seas, the fish share their meat such that nothing remains of them except bones. these bones are then washed out by the sea. these bones then become transformed and hollow. camels then pass by them and eat them. then they become dung. people will then come and use this dung to lit fire. when the fire is put out, the wind comes and scatters the ashes all over. when the trumpet is blown, these people and the inhabitants of the graves will emerge together. this is what is meant by allah’s saying (… and behold them standing waiting!) [al-zumar, 39:68]’ ”. said muhammad ibn ishaq ibn yasar: “when ibrahim argued with nimrod, he said: ‘my lord is he who gives life and death. nimrod said: ‘i also give life and death’. he killed a man and set another free and then said: ‘i have killed this one and given life to this one’. ibrahim said to him: ‘well, allah gives life by restoring the spirit to this dead body’. nimrod said: ‘and did you see that which you now say with your own eyes?’ he could not say: yes, i saw it! and so he moved on to another argument. then he requested his lord to show him how he brought the dead back to life so that he may set his heart at ease upon argumentation, such that his argument would be based upon direct seeing and witnessing’ ”. ibn ‘abbas, sa‘id ibn jubayr and al-suddi also said: “when allah took ibrahim as his intimate friend, the angel of death took permission from his lord to go and give ibrahim this glad tiding. he went to ibrahim and said: ‘i came to give you the glad tiding that allah, exalted is he, has taken you as an intimate friend’. ibrahim praised allah, glorious and majestic is he, and then said: ‘what is the sign of this intimate friendship?’ the angel said: ‘its sign is that allah answers your supplication and brings the dead back to life by your request’. the angel then left. ibrahim said: ‘my lord! show me how you give life to the dead’. allah said: ‘do you not believe?’ ibrahim said: ‘i do, but i ask in order that my heart may be at ease, knowing that you answer my request when i request you and give me when i ask you, and that you have indeed taken me as an intimate friend’ ”.

Sahl al-Tustari

تفسير : and when abraham said, ‘my lord! show me how you give life to the dead’…[sahl] was asked whether or not abraham was in doubt concerning his faith, and was therefore asking his lord to show him a sign or miracle in order to restore his faith. he replied:his question was not out of doubt; he was merely asking for an increase in certainty (ziyādat al-yaqīn) to the faith he already had. thus he asked for an unveiling of the cover of visual beholding with his physical eyes, so that by the light of certainty, his own certainty regarding god’s omnipotence might be increased, and [his certainty] regarding his creative [power] mightth be consolidated. do you not notice how when he asked [him], ‘why, do you not believe?’ he replied ‘yes.’ if he had been in doubt he would not have said ‘yes’. furthermore, if god was aware of any doubt in him and had he given him the answer ‘yes’, [attempting to] conceal his doubt, god would definitely have disclosed that, exalted is he, as such things cannot be concealed from him. therefore, this confirms that the request for [his heart’s] reassurance (ṭumaʾnīna) signified a request for an increase in his certainty. then it was asked, ‘surely the people of the “table spread” sought profound peace of mind, through the sending down of the feast, and their [request] was out of doubt. so how does this correspond?’ he replied:abraham <img border="0" src="images/alyhialsalam.jpg" width="34" height="19"> made it known that he was a believer, and he only asked for profound peace of mind in addition to faith in order to receive greater [certainty]. the people of the table spread, on the other hand, made it known that they would believe only after they had found calm reassurance in their hearts. as he said: and that our hearts may be reassured, and that we may know that you have spoken to us truthfully [5:113]. thus they made it known that their knowledge of his [jesus’] truthfulness, after they had been reassured by witnessing the feast, was to be the starting point of their faith.abū bakr [al-sijzī] said: i heard him say on another occasion:…but so that my heart may be reassured… [2:260] — that is, ‘i do not feel secure against one of your enemies challenging me if i should say, my lord is he who gives life and death [2:258], and then [one of them] should ask, “did you see him give life and death?” in this way my heart would be at ease in being able to answer “yes” to him, once i had witnessed that.’ this is why the prophet <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22"> said: ‘hearing about something is not the same as seeing it.’sahl also said:[abraham’s request] might also have another meaning: he might have asked god to show him the reviving of the dead so that he could feel sure that he had [truly] been chosen as the friend (al-khalīl). sahl then said:another aspect [of meaning] is the following: ‘what i have requested of you, i have no right to, save [for] that which you will realise for me’ — and this is the position of the elect of his creation — ‘so my request for you to show me the reviving of the dead was in order to put my own heart at rest.’ this was because he was called the ‘intimate friend’ (al-khalīl) even in the ‘time of ignorance’ (jāhiliyya). and as we said, his words ‘that my heart may be reassured’ mean ‘[that it may be reassured] of my friendship [with you]. this, because i know that you give life and death’.sahl was asked: ‘if the servant reaches the face-to-face encounter of direct vision (kifāḥ al-ʿiyān), what signs of this will be manifest?’ he replied:he [the servant] triumphs by repelling satan, and this is because the lower self is extremely weak; there is no way for him, when it comes to [dealing with] the lower self and satan, andcutting them both off, save the protection of the all-merciful.he [sahl] then recited a poem [in wāfir metre]:the abundant sufficiency of direct encounter [with god] [attained] through my good opinion of him is like the spider’s web covering the cave’s entrance good opinion has traversed every veil,good opinion has traversed beyond the fire’s light, the signs of the one brought near are clear,near or far it is the same to the night voyager, for the one who has beheld god directly,there is no sleep to settle him until day.three times did god ask of them:‘is there anyone to ask for the kindness of the maker?’when did the lapping [of a dog] defile an ocean of love?so ignore the barking of that wretched creature at my porcho ego along with satan! be off!and likewise the falsity of incitement and trouble.in his saying, ‘the abundant sufficiency of direct encounter (kifāḥ) [with god] [attained] through my good opinion of him’, it is as if he is alluding to his words: is it not sufficient that your lord is witness to all things? [41:53], to which the messenger of god <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22"> replied, ‘yes it is, o lord.’ so it was, when the following verse was sent down: is not god the fairest of all judges? [95:8], to which the messenger of god <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22"> also replied, ‘yes, o lord.’ and from the way they understand the qurʾān [this means]: is it not sufficient that your lord, o muḥammad, has supported you in this world against your enemies through killing and defeating [them], and in the next life, by granting you the praiseworthy station (maqām maḥmūd) and the right to intercession, and in paradise by granting you the encounter and the visitation (ziyāra)? his saying, ‘like the spider’s web covering the entrance of a cave’, [is an allusion to] the cave of mystics (ʿārifūn) [which is] the[ir] innermost secret (sirr), and the[ir] beholding (iṭṭilāʿ) of the lord of the worlds, when they reach the station of face-to-face encounter (maqām al-kifāḥ), that is, the immediate vision of direct witnessing (ʿiyān al-ʿiyān) beyond what has been [verbally]elucidated (bayān). then there is nothing between the servant and god except the veil of servanthood, due to his contemplation (naẓar) of the attributes of lordliness (rubūbiyya), ipseity (huwiyya), divinity (ilāhiyya), and [god’s being] self-sufficing and besought of all, to eternity (ṣamadiyya ilā’l-sarmadiyya), without any obstacle or veil. one similitude among many might be that of a spider’s web when it encompasses his heart (qalb), his innermost secret (sirr) ⸢and⸣ his heart’s core (fuʾād), through the grace of lordship (luṭf al-rubūbiyya) and complete compassion(kamāl al-shafaqa), such that there is no veil between him and god, exalted is he. just as through the spider’s web, which covered the entrance to the cave of the messenger of god <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22">, god turned away all the enemies among the leaders of the quraysh who were being directed by iblīs against him, so in the case of the people of gnosis, when they reach the stationof direct witnessing (ʿiyān) beyond elucidation (bayān), the provocations of satan and the sultan of the lower self are cut off and repelled, and their scheming becomes ineffectual, as is expounded in his words, surely the plotting of satan is ever feeble [4:76], meaning, that it had become ineffectual against them, just as he also said, truly over my servants you [satan] shall have no warrant… [15:42]. this is because, if the servant traverses all veils through his good opinion [of god], such that there remains no veil between him and god, thereafter the lower self, satan and the world can have no access to his heart and mind by means of provocation. thus did the prophet <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22"> say, ‘yesterday i saw an amazing thing; a servant between whom and god there was a veil, but then when his good opinion of god appeared, he drew him in from behind the veil’.regarding his saying [in the poem], ‘good opinion has traversed beyond the light of fire’, it is as if this is alluding to the honour of following the messenger <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22">, due to his being given preference [by god] over the friend of god [abraham] and the interlocutor of god [moses], for in the station of perceiving fire and light prophets and saints are [accorded] different ranks (maqāmāt). the friend [of god] saw the fire and it became for him a source of coolness and safety [21:69]. the interlocutor [of god] saw the fire as light as is expounded in his words, wait, i see a fire in the distance’ [20:10; 28:29]. however, this [fire] was in origin light, as [is indicated] by his words, blessed is he who is in the fire [27:8], which refer to moses surrounded by [lit. in the midst of] light. but then [moses] became preoccupied with the light, so god reprimanded him saying, ‘do not preoccupy yourself with the light, for truly i am the illuminator of light’, as expounded in his words, indeed, i am your lord. so take off your sandals [20:12]. however, when it cameto the beloved [of god] [muḥammad <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22">], god showed him the fire and the light, and took him beyond the veil of fire and light. then he brought him near without fire or light until he saw in the closest proximity the illuminator of lights, as is expounded in his words, the heart did not deny what he saw [53:11]. thus did he elevate [his] beloved [muḥammad] above the station of [his] friend [abraham] and [his] interlocutor [moses], and the stations of all of the prophets who were brought nigh, until he was addressed by god without the means of any revelation (waḥy) or interpreter (tarjumān), as is expounded in his words, whereat, he revealed to his servant what he revealed [53:10], meaning, ‘the beloved communicated with the beloved in secret, and taught him and honoured him by granting him the opening of the book (al-fātiḥa) and the closing verses of sūrat al-baqara. when he says [in the poem], ‘the signs of the one brought near are clear’, he means that all the prophets and angels have proximity [with god], but muḥammad <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22"> is the closest in proximity (aqrab), following the form of afʿal — one says qarīb meaning close and aqrab meaning closer or closest. now the one who is close (qarīb) [to god] has access to understanding (fahm), conjecture (wahm) and interpretation (tafsīr). but the one who is closest (aqrab) is beyond understanding, conjecture and interpretation, and what is beyond that cannot be contained by expression (ʿibāra) or allusion (ishāra). thus it was that moses, when he heard the call of unicity (waḥdāniyya) from god, on the night of the fire, said, ‘o god! are you near that i may whisper to you, or far away that i should call out to you?’ then he [god] called out to kalīm from a place that was both near and far, telling him that he was near. this, however, was not how the messenger was described when [god] brought him near, such that he greeted him saying, ‘peace be upon you!’ furthermore, god, exalted is he, praised his nation when he said, and the foremost, the foremost: ! they are the ones brought near [to god]’ [56:10, 11]. he did not say ‘they were near’ (qarībūn) [but they were ‘brought near’ (muqarrabūn)]. thus the words [of the poem,] ‘the signs of the one brought near are clear’ refers to this nation. the one who is near experiences bounty and honour from god, but the one who is far away experiences torment and punishment from him. the one who is far away experiences from god veiling and severance [from him], but the one who is brought near experiences from god the encounter [with him] and [his] visitation (ziyāra).as to his saying [in the poem], ‘for the one who has beheld god directly [there is no sleep to settle him until the day]’, [he is referring to] a sign of the people of longing (mushtāqūn), for they can enjoy neither sleep nor rest, by day or at night. among those who were characterised by this trait are Ṣuhayb and bilāl. bilāl was one of the people of longing, and so was Ṣuhayb, forneither of them could sleep or find rest. indeed it was narrated that a woman who had bought Ṣuhayb [as a slave] saw him in this condition and said, ‘i will not be satisfied until you sleep at night, for you are becoming so weak that you are not in a condition to perform the tasks you do for me.’ thereupon Ṣuhayb wept and said, ‘whenever Ṣuhayb thinks of the fire, sleep flees from him, and when he thinks of paradise, he is seized with longing, and when he remembers god his longing (shawq) is perpetuated’.[when] he says [in the poem], ‘three times did god ask them “is there (hal)…?”, [the word] hal is an interrogative particle. verily god, mighty and majestic is he, lifts the veil every night and says, ‘is there (hal) anyone asking, so that i may grant him his request? is there (hal) anyone seeking forgiveness, so that i may forgive him? is there (hal) anyone supplicating, so that i may respond to his supplication?’ however, if it is the night of great merit (laylat al-qadr), god lifts the first condition and says, ‘i have forgiven you even though you didn’t seek forgiveness. i have granted [it] to you even though you didn’t ask [it] of me, and i have responded to you before you even supplicated to me.’ this is the height of generosity (karam).his saying [in the poem], ‘when did the lapping [of a dog] ever defile an ocean of love?’ is an allusion to the lapping of a dog in a vessel which [according to the divine law (sharīʿa)] then requires cleaning seven, or three, times [with water], depending on which of the different wordingsof the sayings transmitted from the prophet <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22"> are followed. however what if a thousand thousand [i.e. a million] dogs lapped [up water] from an ocean? there is no dispute within the community that in such a case the sea would not be defiled. so [it is] with the whisperings of satan and his lapping in the hearts of the mystics and the lovers, for how can this cause defilement in the ocean of love (baḥr al-widād), when each time he laps there, a wave comes and washes over it.regarding his saying, ‘so ignore the barking of a wretched creature at my porch’, he means: ‘leave iblīs in his wretchedness, yelling at the door of this world with all his different kinds of incitement (wasāwis), for he does not harm me.’ as [god] says, when a visitation from satan touches them they remember… [7:201] his oneness in accordance with his words, and when you mention your lord alone in the qurʾān, they turn their backs in aversion [17:46]. his saying: ‘be off!’ means, ‘get far away from me!’ ‘be off!’ is said to dogs and signifies total expulsion and banishment. in this way did he punish them [the inhabitants of hell] in the final punishment that he gave them. thus he said, begone into it! and do not speak to me!’ [23:108]. his words, exalted is he: