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Fatwa CenterMy Lord, show me how Thou give life to the dead
Question
This is the verse I read today which I could not understand, 2: 260 "And remember when Abraham said, `My Lord, show me how Thou give life to the dead.' God said, `Dost thou not believe?' Abraham said, `Yes, but I ask this that my heart may be at ease.' God answered, `Take four birds and make them attached to thee. Then put each of them on a hill; then call them; they will come to thee in haste.' And know that Allah is Mighty and Wise. Now here's what I don't understand: 1) Why does Allah ask Abraham (AS) if he doesn't believe, when surely He know that he believes? 2) More puzzlingly, Abraham's (AS) request is that Allah should show him how He brings life to the dead. So what is the significance of the four birds? Were they dead? Did Abraham (AS) put tie four dead birds with ropes to himself, then put each one on a separate hill, and call them? This makes no sense to me, if we take a literal interpretation. Then what is the meaning of this verse?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. 1) Allah Almighty directed a question to Ibraheem (Abraham- peace be upon him) that entails Allah's infinite and comprehensive knowledge about Abraham 's faith, and not His lack of knowledge about something unknown or vague for Him. No bit of ignorance or misunderstanding can ever be attributed to Allah, for He is Aware and Cognizant of everything. Allah's Question to Abraham : "Do you not believe?" means 'did you not know and believe that I am Omnipotent to re-create (restore life to) living things so much so that you ask Me to show you that?' Abraham said: "Definitely yes, O my Lord. I do know and believe that You are Omnipotent to do so, but I only asked for that so that my heart becomes fully assured and satisfied by the combination of what I see by my own eyes and the established points of evidence of belief. Thus, with the accumulation of proofs my belief is strengthened". al-Bukhari reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had said: We are more liable to doubt than Ibraheem . The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) meant: "If Ibraheem were to have doubt in (Allah's Omnipotence and Greatness), then I ( Muhammad ) am more prone to doubt than him. And since I did never have any doubt, then, more surely, then it is more likely that Prophet Ibraheem did not have the least degree of doubt, for he is less liable to have doubts (than I)". 2) As to the solid evidence Allah showed to Ibraheem (restoring life to the four dead birds) for him to increase his faith, then all can be said here is that Allah Almighty ordered Ibarheem to take four different birds. Neither the Qur'an not the Sunnah (Prophet's tradition) contain any reference as to what kind of birds they were (their names) or why they were four in number. All what the scholars of Tafseer (explanation of the Qur'an) said in this regard was no more than either Ijtihad or citations from the books of the People of the Scriptures-Old and New Testament (Jews and Christians). Neither does one's knowledge of such details avail him and increase his cognizance, nor does failure to know them harm him. Such minor and insignificant pieces of information do not entail any Shariah (Islamic) ruling. Had such pieces of information been of any significance for Muslims, Allah would never have disregarded mentioning them in the Qur'an in spite of people's need for them. We advice our brother inquirer to check the Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an in the English language, by: Dr. Muhammad al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad khan , where he may find clearer and more detailed matters on this regard. Allah knows best.
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