Quran Universe
2:259

أَوۡ كَٱلَّذِي مَرَّ عَلَىٰ قَرۡيَةٖ وَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا قَالَ أَنَّىٰ يُحۡيِۦ هَٰذِهِ ٱللَّهُ بَعۡدَ مَوۡتِهَاۖ فَأَمَاتَهُ ٱللَّهُ مِاْئَةَ عَامٖ ثُمَّ بَعَثَهُۥۖ قَالَ كَمۡ لَبِثۡتَۖ قَالَ لَبِثۡتُ يَوۡمًا أَوۡ بَعۡضَ يَوۡمٖۖ قَالَ بَل لَّبِثۡتَ مِاْئَةَ عَامٖ فَٱنظُرۡ إِلَىٰ طَعَامِكَ وَشَرَابِكَ لَمۡ يَتَسَنَّهۡۖ وَٱنظُرۡ إِلَىٰ حِمَارِكَ وَلِنَجۡعَلَكَ ءَايَةٗ لِّلنَّاسِۖ وَٱنظُرۡ إِلَى ٱلۡعِظَامِ كَيۡفَ نُنشِزُهَا ثُمَّ نَكۡسُوهَا لَحۡمٗاۚ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُۥ قَالَ أَعۡلَمُ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيۡءٖ قَدِيرٞ

Aw kaallathee marra AAala qaryatin wahiya khawiyatun AAala AAurooshiha qala anna yuhyee hathihi Allahu baAAda mawtiha faamatahu Allahu miata AAamin thumma baAAathahu qala kam labithta qala labithtu yawman aw baAAda yawmin qala bal labithta miata AAamin faonthur ila taAAamika washarabika lam yatasannah waonthur ila himarika walinajAAalaka ayatan lilnnasi waonthur ila alAAithami kayfa nunshizuha thumma naksooha lahman falamma tabayyana lahu qala aAAlamu anna Allaha AAala kulli shayin qadeerun

Or [consider such an example] as the one who passed by a township which had fallen into ruin. He said, "How will Allah bring this to life after its death?" So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years; then He revived him. He said, "How long have you remained?" The man said, "I have remained a day or part of a day." He said, "Rather, you have remained one hundred years. Look at your food and your drink; it has not changed with time. And look at your donkey; and We will make you a sign for the people. And look at the bones [of this donkey] - how We raise them and then We cover them with flesh." And when it became clear to him, he said, "I know that Allah is over all things competent."

Word by word
  1. أَوۡOr
  2. كَٱلَّذِيlike the one who
  3. مَرَّpassed
  4. عَلَىٰby
  5. قَرۡيَةٖa township
  6. وَهِيَand it
  7. خَاوِيَةٌ(had) overturned
  8. عَلَىٰon
  9. عُرُوشِهَاits roofs
  10. قَالَHe said
  11. أَنَّىٰHow
  12. يُحۡيِۦ(will) bring to life
  13. هَٰذِهِthis (town)
  14. ٱللَّهُAllah
  15. بَعۡدَafter
  16. مَوۡتِهَاۖits death
  17. فَأَمَاتَهُThen he was made to die
  18. ٱللَّهُ(by) Allah
  19. مِاْئَةَ(for) a hundred
  20. عَامٖyear (s)
  21. ثُمَّthen
  22. بَعَثَهُۥۖHe raised him
  23. قَالَHe said
  24. كَمۡHow long
  25. لَبِثۡتَۖ(have) you remained
  26. قَالَHe said
  27. لَبِثۡتُI remained
  28. يَوۡمًا(for) a day
  29. أَوۡor
  30. بَعۡضَa part
  31. يَوۡمٖۖ(of) a day
  32. قَالَHe said
  33. بَلNay
  34. لَّبِثۡتَyou (have) remained
  35. مِاْئَةَone hundred
  36. عَامٖyear (s)
  37. فَٱنظُرۡThen look
  38. إِلَىٰat
  39. طَعَامِكَyour food
  40. وَشَرَابِكَand your drink
  41. لَمۡ(they did) not
  42. يَتَسَنَّهۡۖchange with time
  43. وَٱنظُرۡand look
  44. إِلَىٰat
  45. حِمَارِكَyour donkey
  46. وَلِنَجۡعَلَكَand We will make you
  47. ءَايَةٗa sign
  48. لِّلنَّاسِۖfor the people
  49. وَٱنظُرۡAnd look
  50. إِلَىat
  51. ٱلۡعِظَامِthe bones
  52. كَيۡفَhow
  53. نُنشِزُهَاWe raise them
  54. ثُمَّthen
  55. نَكۡسُوهَاWe cover them
  56. لَحۡمٗاۚ(with) flesh
  57. فَلَمَّاThen when
  58. تَبَيَّنَbecame clear
  59. لَهُۥto him
  60. قَالَhe said
  61. أَعۡلَمُI know
  62. أَنَّthat
  63. ٱللَّهَAllah
  64. عَلَىٰ(is) on
  65. كُلِّevery
  66. شَيۡءٖthing
  67. قَدِيرٞAll-Powerful
Al-Baqarah · 2:259Madinah

He doubted the ruin could live. He woke a century later.

Allah shows you, slowly, that He can restore

Uzayr's journey
a ruined townroofs fallen in
he asked
how can this live?then died 100 years
woke to
bones clothed in fleshhis donkey alive
What he learned
too far goneno way back
Allah can do all thingsI saw it myself

Ali and Ibn Abbas said this was Uzayr. He passed a ruined town and wondered how Allah could ever revive it. Allah let him die for a century; he woke thinking it was part of a day. His figs and juice had not spoiled, and he watched his donkey's bones gathered and covered in flesh.

Your marriage feels like a ruin. Your faith feels empty. Your hometown or your health has collapsed. You stand there thinking, how could this ever come back? Allah restores things that look fully dead.

Some things are too broken to ever be restored.

If Allah can raise a hundred-year-old ruin, He can restore what I think is lost.

Try this

Make dua today for one thing in your life you had given up as too broken.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Or like the one who passed by a town in ruin up to its roofs. He said: "How will Allah ever bring it to life after its death?" So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him up (again). He said: "How long did you remain (dead)?" He (the man) said: "(Perhaps) I remained (dead) a day or part of a day." He said: "Nay, you have remained (dead) for a hundred years, look at your food and your drink, they show no change; and look at your donkey! And thus We have made of you a sign for the people. Look at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh." When this was clearly shown to him, he said, "I know (now) that Allah is able to do all things. (259)

The Story of 'Uzayr

Allah's statement,

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِي حَاجَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ فِي رَبِّهِ

(Have you not looked at him who disputed with Ibrahim about his Lord?) means, "Have you seen anyone like the person who disputed with Ibrahim about his Lord" Then, Allah connected the Ayah,

أَوْ كَالَّذِي مَرَّ عَلَىٰ قَرْيَةٍ وَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا

(Or like the one who passed by a town in ruin up to its roofs) to the Ayah above by using 'or'.

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that 'Ali bin Abi Talib said that the Ayah [2:259] meant 'Uzayr. Ibn Jarir also reported it, and this explanation was also reported by Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim from Ibn 'Abbas, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Sulayman bin Buraydah.

Mujahid bin Jabr said that the Ayah refers to a man from the Children of Israel, and the village was Jerusalem, after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it and killed its people.

وَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ

(in ruin) means, it became empty of people. Allah's statement,

عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا

(up to its roofs) indicates that the roofs and walls (of the village) fell to the ground. 'Uzayr stood contemplating about what had happened to that city, after a great civilization used to inhabit it. He said,

أَنَّىٰ يُحْيِي هَٰذِهِ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا

(Oh! How will Allah ever bring it to life after its death) because of the utter destruction he saw and the implausibility of its returning to what it used to be. Allah said,

فَأَمَاتَهُ اللَّهُ مِائَةَ عَامٍ ثُمَّ بَعَثَهُ

(So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him up (again).)

The city was rebuilt seventy years after the man ('Uzayr) died, and its inhabitants increased and the Children of Israel moved back to it. When Allah resurrected 'Uzayr after he died, the first organ that He resurrected were his eyes, so that he could witness what Allah does with him, how He brings life back to his body. When his resurrection was complete, Allah said to him, meaning through the angel,

كَمْ لَبِثْتَ قَالَ لَبِثْتُ يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ

("How long did you remain (dead)?" He (the man) said: "(Perhaps) I remained (dead) a day or part of a day.")

The scholars said that since the man died in the early part of the day and Allah resurrected him in the latter part of the day, when he saw that the sun was still apparent, he thought that it was the sun of that very day. He said,

أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ قَالَ بَل لَّبِثْتَ مِائَةَ عَامٍ فَانظُرْ إِلَىٰ طَعَامِكَ وَشَرَابِكَ لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ

("Or part of a day. " He said: "Nay, you have remained (dead) for a hundred years, look at your food and your drink, they show no change.")

He had grapes, figs and juice, and he found them as he left them; neither did the juice spoil nor the figs become bitter nor the grapes rot.

وَانظُرْ إِلَىٰ حِمَارِكَ 

(And look at your donkey!), "How Allah brings it back to life while you are watching."

وَلِنَجْعَلَكَ آيَةً لِّلنَّاسِ

(And thus We have made of you a sign for the people) that Resurrection occurs.

وَانظُرْ إِلَى الْعِظَامِ كَيْفَ نُنشِزُهَا

(Look at the bones, how We Nunshizuha) meaning, collect them and put them back together. In his Mustadrak, Al-Hakim, recorded that Kharijah bin Zayd bin Thabit said that his father said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ read this Ayah,

كَيْفَ نُنشِزُهَا

(how We Nunshizuha.) Al-Hakim said; "Its chain is Sahih and they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it." The Ayah was also read,

(نُنْشِرُهَا)

"Nunshiruha" meaning, bring them back to life, as Mujahid stated.

ثُمَّ نَكْسُوهَا لَحْمًا

(And clothe them with flesh.)

As-Suddi said, " 'Uzayr observed the bones of his donkey, which were scattered all around him to his right and left, and Allah sent a wind that collected the bones from all over the area. Allah then brought every bone to its place, until they formed a full donkey made of fleshless bones. Allah then covered these bones with flesh, nerves, veins and skin. Allah sent an angel who blew life in the donkeys' nostrils, and the donkey started to bray by Allah's leave." All this occurred while 'Uzayr was watching, and this is when he proclaimed,

قَالَ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

(He said, "I know (now) that Allah is able to do all things,") meaning, "I know that, and I did witness it with my own eyes. Therefore, I am the most knowledgeable in this matter among the people of my time."