Allah
the Almighty says:{Or like the one who passed by a town and it had
tumbled over its roofs. He said: “Oh! 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”}.(Al-Baqarah,
259)
And, {And the Jews say: ‘Uzair (Ezra)
is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: Messiah is the son of Allah. That
is their saying with their mouths, resembling the saying of those who
disbelieved aforetime. Allah’s Curse be on them how they are deluded away from
the truth!}. (At-ÂTaubah,
30)
Al-Hafiz Abu Al-Qasim
Ibn ‘Asakir said: He is ‘Uzair Ibn Jarwah, or Ibn Suraiq Ibn ‘Adiya Ibn Ayyub
Ibn Darzna Ibn ‘Ura Ibn Taqyi Ibn Usbu’ Ibn Finhas Ibn EI-‘Azir Ibn Hamn Ibn
‘Imran. Also, he is said to be ‘Uzair Ibn Smkha. Some narrations state that his
grave is located in Damascus. Then,
Al-HafizIbn ‘Asakir narrated
on the authority of Abu Al-Qasim AI-Baghawi after Dawud Ibn `Amr after
Hibban Ibn `Ali after Muhammad Ibn Kuraib after his father after `Abdullah Ibn
`Abbas as saying: I do not know whether Tubba` was a cursed one or not? And, I
do not know whether `Uzair was a Prophet or not? Then, he narrated the like
from the Hadith of Mu’amil Ibn Al-Hasan on the authority of Muhammad Ibn Ishaq
As-Sajizi after `Abder Razzaq after Mu`amir after Ibn Abu Dhu’aib after Sa`id
Al- Maqbaari on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him).
Then,
he narrated from Ishaq Ibn Bishr -whom is rejected -after Jubair and Muqatil
after Ad Dahha, on the authority of `Abdullah Ibn `Abbas (May Allah be
pleased with him) as saying: `Uzair
was -while a young boy -among those captivated by Bikhtinassar. When he was
forty, Allah the Almighty granted him wisdom. And, none was more knowledgeable
than he, pertaining to the Torah, and he was mentioned with the train of
Messengers and Prophets till his name was erased by Allah the Almighty when he
asked about the Divine Decree. (This
Hadith is Weak and Rejected) and Allah knows best!
Ishaq Ibn Bishr narrated
after Sa`id after Abu `Urubah after Qatadah after Al-Hasan after `Abdullah Ibn
Salam that `Uzair was the man whom Allah caused to die for a hundred years,
then raised him up again.
Ibn
Ishaq Ibn Bishr said: I was told by Sa`id Ibn Bashir after Wahb Ibn Munabih:
`Uzair was a wise, pious worshipper. One day, he went out to look after some of
his properties, when he finished he passed by a ruined place where he was
scorched by the blazing sun. So, he entered that ruined place
riding on his donkey. He got off the donkey holding two baskets, one full of
figs and the other full of grapes. He sat down and brought out a bowl in which
he squeezed the grapes and soaked the dried bread he had therein. He ate
thereof and then slept on his back, relying his two legs against a wall and
started to gaze at the ceiling of the house. He saw some decomposed bones and
said: {Oh! How will Allah
ever bring it to life after its death?} He
did not doubt Allah’s Omnipotence to do this, but he said it in exclamation.
Upon this, Allah the Almighty sent the Angel of Death who seized his soul, and
thus Allah caused him to die for a hundred years. And, after one hundred years,
Allah the Almighty sent to him an Angel who first created his heart to make him
heedful, then, he created his two eyes to enable him to see and realize how
Allah the Almighty revive the death. Then, the Angel continued to complete his
creation once more while he was looking. The, he clothed his bones with flesh,
skin and hair. Then, he breathed the soul into him. All this while he is
looking and perfectly heedful. The Angel asked him saying: {How long did you remain (dead)? He(the man) said: (Perhaps) I remained (dead) a day or part of a day} that he was caused to die in the
afternoon and then was given life again by the end of day while the sun was still
in the sky; that’s why he said: {or part of a day} i.e. not even a whole day.
The Angel said: {Nay, you have remained (dead) for a hundred years, look at your food and your drink} i.e. the dried bread and the squeezed
grapes that did not alter or turn bad, {they show no change} , and the grapes and the figs
did not change as well. As if he began to deny the matter by his heart, the
Angel said: do you deny what I have said? {and look at your donkey!} he looked at his donkey and
found his bones to be decomposed and became totally ruined. The Angel called
upon the donkey’s bones and they answered his call and gathered together from
all directions till he was made one whole again –while ‘Uzair was looking Âand
he clothed them with flesh, skin and hair. Then, the Angel breathed life into
it and it roused erecting his ears and head towards the sky thinking the Last
Hour had come. That was stated in His Saying: {and look at your donkey! And thus We have made of you a sign for thepeople.
Look at the bones, how We
bring them together and clothe them with flesh}. And {When this wasclearly shown to him, he said, I know
(now) that Allah is Able to do all things} .Then, he rode on his donkey
back to his village where he seemed unfamiliar to the people and the people
looked unfamiliar to him. Even, he did not find his own house easily. When he
reached the house, he found a crippled blind old woman at the age of one
hundred twenty years old. She was a maid owned by him in the past and he left
her while she was only twenty years old. He asked her saying: is this the house
of ‘Uzair? She said: Yes, it is. She wept and said: Today, no one ever
remembers `Uzair. He told her that he was ‘Uzair and Allah the Almighty caused
me to die for one hundred years then He gave me life again. She said: Glory is to
be to Allah! We lost ‘Uzair one hundred years ago and never heard anything
about him. He said: Verily, I am ‘Uzair. She said: ‘Uzair was a man whose
supplications were acceptable by Allah the Almighty, so invoke Allah to return
my sight to me to look at you, so if you were ‘Uzair, I would certainly know
you. Consequently, he invoked Allah the Almighty, then, he wiped over her eyes
and they were recovered and took her by the hand and said: Stand up by the
Leave of Allah! She stood up by the Leave of Allah. She looked at him and said:
I bear witness that you are ‘Uzair. Then, she set out for the Children of
Israel in their meetings and gatherings and ‘Uzair’s son who was about one
hundred and eighteen years old and his grandsons, and she called them saying:
This is ‘Uzair who came back to you. They belied her, but she said: I am so and
so, your maid. He invoked Allah for me and He recovered my eyesight and legs.
She added: he claims that Allah caused him to die for one hundred years and
then He gave him life again. The people rose up and went to look at him. His
son said: my father had a black mole between his shoulders. He disclosed his
shoulders and they realized that he was ‘Uzair. The Children of Israel said:
‘Uzair was the only one who committed the whole Torah to his heart and
Bikhtinassar burnt it and nothing is left thereof but. what the men can
remember, so (if you are the true ‘Uzair) write it down for us. His father,
Surukha buried the Torah during that era of Bikhrinassar in a place known to
nobody but ‘Uzair. Thus, he took them to that place and brought it out, but
unfortunately, the papers were rotten and ruined. Consequently, he sat under
the shade of a tree circulated by the Children of Israel and he renovated the
Torah for them. At that time, two stars descended from the sky and entered into
his mouth whereby he remembered the whole text of the Torah and thus renovated
it to the Children of Israel. Thus, {The
Jews say: ‘Uzair (Ezra) is the son of Allah}. (At-Taubah,
30) for the matter of the two stars, renovating the Torah and charging the
affairs of the Children of Israel. He renovated the Torah for them in the land
of As-Sawad. The town in which he died is said to be called “Sairabadh.”
‘Abdullah
Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) said: Thus he was as said by Allah
the Almighty: {And thus We
have made of you a sign for the people} i.e.
for the Children of Israel. That he was with his sons a young man among old
people for he died when he was only forty and was revived on the same age and status.
‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas said: he was resurrected after the time of Bikhtinassar.
The same was related by Al-Hasan.
Was
He a Prophet?
It is well known that
‘Uzair was one of the Prophets sent to the Children of Israel; he came during
the interval between Dawud and Sulaiman, and Zakariya and Yahya. At his time,
none from among the Children of Israel happened to memorize the Torah, Allah
the Almighty inspired him to commit it to his heart and then he recited it to
the Children of Israel. Wahb Ibn Munabih said: Allah the Almighty ordered an
Angel to descend with light to throw on ‘Uzair .In doing this, he copied the
Torah letter by letter till he was finished.
Ibn
‘Asakir narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased
with him) that he asked’ Abdullah Ibn Salam about Allah’s Statement: {The Jews say: ‘Uzair (Ezra) is
the son of Allah}. (At-Taubah,
30) why did they say so? Ibn Salam mentioned his (‘Uzair’s) writing down of the
Torah out of his memory, and the saying of the Jews that Musa (Moses) could not
get them the Torah but in a book, and that ‘Uzair got it without a book.
Thereupon, some of them said: ‘Uzair (Ezra) is the son of Allah. For this
reason, many scholars say: there was a discontinuation pertaining to the
transmission of the Torah at the time of ‘Uzair. This is very likely if ‘Uzair
was not a Prophet which is adopted by ‘Ata ‘Ibn Abu Rabah and Al-Hasan
Al-Basri, and that was narrated by Ishaq Ibn Bishr after Muqatil Ibn Sulaiman
after ‘Ata ‘Ibn Abu Rabah as saying: that period witnessed nine things:
Bikhtinassar, Sanaa garden, Saba’ garden, Owners of the Ditch, Gasura, Owners
of the Cave, Owners of the Elephant, Antioch, and Tubba’.
Ishaq
Ibn Bishr said: I was told by Sa’id after Qatadah after Al-Hasan as saying:
That period witnessed the issues of ‘Uzair and Bikhtinassar. Moreover, it is
transmitted in the Sahih Muslim that Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him)
said: “l am most akin to the
son of Mary among the whole of mankind and the Prophets are of different
mothers, but of one religion, and no Prophet was raised between me and him
(Jesus Christ). ”
Wahb Ibn Munabih said:
He was raised between Sulaiman and ‘Isa (Jesus) (Peace be upon them). Ibn
‘Asakir narrated after Anas Ibn Malik and’ Ata ‘Ibn As-Sa’ib as saying: ‘Uzair
was raised during the time of Musa Ibn ‘Imran, and that he asked for permission
to meet with Musa (Peace be upon him), but he refused because of his asking
about the Divine Decree. He left while saying: to die a hundred times, is
easier than tasting the humiliation for an hour.
As for what was narrated
by Ibn ‘Asakir and others on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, Nuf AIÂBakali,
Sufyan Ath-Thawri and others that he asked about the Divine Decree and
consequently his name was erased from among the names of the Prophets. It is a
rejected and unauthentic Hadith that it is likely to be copied from the tales
and stories that were invented by the Israelites.
Narrated ‘Abdul Razzaq
and Qutaibah Ibn Sa’ id after Ja’far Ibn Sulaiman after Abu ‘Imran Al-Juni
after Nuf Al-Bakali as saying: ‘Uzair said to his Lord: 0 Lord! You fashioned
the creation, and You mislead whom You will and guide whom You will. It was
thus said to him: Turn away from this! But, he returned back. It was again said
to him: Turn away from this or your name as a Prophet would be wiped out; I am
not to be questioned about My Doing, while they (all creatures) are brought
into account pertaining to what they do.
The
Group, all but At-Tirmidhi, narrated from the Hadith of Yunus Ibn Yazid after
Az-Zuhri after Sa’id and Abu Salamah after Abu Hurairah; also it was narrated
by Shu’ aib after Abu Az- Zinad after Al-A’raj after Abu Hurairah as saying:
Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) said: “An
ant had bitten a Prophet (one amongst the earlier Prophets) and he ordered that
the colony of the ants should be burnt. And Allah revealed to him: Because of
an ant’s bite you have burnt a community from amongst the communities which
sings My glory “. This
Prophet was narrated to be ‘Uzair by Ishaq Ibn Bishr after Ibn Juraij
afterMuhammad Ibn ‘Abdel Wahhab Ibn Mujahid after his father; also this was
narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with
him) and Al-Hasan AIÂBasri. Allah knows best!
“Stories in the Quran” by Imam Ibn kathir
