Surah Al-Baqarah 2:260

وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ أَرِنِي كَيْفَ تُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ ۖ قَالَ أَوَلَمْ تُؤْمِن ۖ قَالَ بَلَىٰ وَلَـٰكِن لِّيَطْمَئِنَّ قَلْبِي ۖ قَالَ فَخُذْ أَرْبَعَةً مِّنَ الطَّيْرِ فَصُرْهُنَّ إِلَيْكَ ثُمَّ اجْعَلْ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ جَبَلٍ مِّنْهُنَّ جُزْءًا ثُمَّ ادْعُهُنَّ يَأْتِينَكَ سَعْيًا ۚ

2:260 This verse provides yet another illustration in a beautiful parable of a difficult subject relating to life and death, the rise and fall of nations, spiritual guidance, and how human nature is prepared and in a position to receive Divine guidance. In the first instance, this verse relates the difference between imân إيمان (faith) and itminân إطمينان (being at peace). In the former state, one believes that Allâh can do a certain thing, while in the latter one actually receives confirmation that the act will be done in a certain way as promised. The evidence of actually seeing or experiencing something is of a higher degree than the evidence of just hearing about it.

Tuhyî تُحْيِي - “you give life”, is derived from the root hayya حْيِي and means “to give life” (cf. 21:30), “to live”(cf. 19:31), “be alive”, “fertilize the earth”(cf. 2:164; 29:63), “bring to life”(cf: 50:11), or “rise to life after physical or spiritual death”(cf. 2:28; 6:95; 19:15; 10:31). The root hayya in its 28 forms is used in the Holy Qur’ân 190 times. Mostly it is used in the broader sense of bringing the spiritually dead to life (cf. 2:28; 2: 259; 10:31; 6:95).

Five times a day in all mosques throughout the world, there is a call to Prayer in the following words, Hayya ala-Al-Salât حيٌ علئ الصلاة and Hayya ‘ala-al-Fallâhحيٌ علئ الفلاح . Here hayya does not mean “come to life” in a physical sense, nor does it mean, “come to Prayer”, as most people understand. In these words, there is a call to come back to a life that can only be a spiritual life. Al-Hayyi ألحي is the name and the attribute of Allâh.

Al-Mawtâالْمَوْتَىٰ  is derived from mâtaمات meaning to die, die away in fire, to burn out, become still (wind), cool ones anger, cool ones passions, be obsolete, or to exert ones self to the utmost (Istamâta lahû إستماتئ له). Mautâ موتthus means death, swoon, madness, being about to die, or to spiritually dead. Maut موتَ or death, is of many kinds, just as life hayyaحيٌ , is of many kinds. The decay of strength and vigor of the senses, of the faculty of growth and generative faculty of human beings, animals and of vegetables, of the power of expression, of the sense of taste, touch, of imagination, perception,apprehension, disorientation of the generative faculty, ignorance, grief, sleep, and expiation are examples of maut (cf. 2:260; 57:18; 6:123; 50:12).

The word Surrصرٌ when derived from Sâd ص, Wawو, Râر with waw as the central root letter, means to attach to a thing or incline towards it, particularly when it is used with the proposition ilaإلئ . An example of usage isأرئ لك إليه صرٌة - “I observe that you have an inclination towards him and you love him” (Sihâh, Muhkam, Qâmûs, Zajjâj, Zamakhsharî, Lisân, and Tâj). In modern psychological terminology, it means programming, shaping behaviour, or conditioning. Great lexicologists agreed that the word Sur used here is the imperative form of Sûrr, which means “made to incline, made to attach” (Lisân, Tâj). “Cutting into pieces” is not the significance of this word, and would make the verse meaningless (Râzî, Zamakhsharî). Ibn ‘Abbâs is also of the opinion that Sur-hunna فَصُرْهُنَّ is in the sense of amil-hunna إملهنٌ - “make it incline”. Juz جُزْ has the meaning of a part, a piece, or each one of them. In the verse, it means putting each separate bird on a separate hill and not placing portions of the minced meat there. The number four signifies the four directions, north, east, south, and the west.

The story of cutting the birds into pieces and mincing their meat is absurd and makes no sense, nor is it traceable to any authority. This is a wrong understanding of the verse. The word Tâirالطَّيْرis derived from târa طار meaning to fly, flee, or hasten to do a thing. The Tair is the one who soars in the higher spiritual spheres (cf. 3:49; 5:110; Râzî, Qâmûs, Maydanî, Tâj, Lisân). The answer to Abrahams question, “How do you give life to the (spiritually or physically) dead?”كَيْفَ تُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ  is answered with this beautiful parable. Through the parable of the birds, Abraham is made to realize how Allâh controls the destiny of nations and how He guides the spiritually dead who then fly to higher spiritual spheres. The capacity for receiving guidance is inborn in human nature. Abû Muslim Khurâsâni says, “If a human being is able, as he undoubtedly is, to train birds in such a way as to make them obey his call, then it is obvious that Allâh, whose Will everything obeys, can call the spiritually and physically dead into life by simply decreeing, Be! ” (Râzî).

The three verses (2:258-260) have one thing in common: they speak of “rising to life after death”. The use of the word “death” also stands for spiritual death, and rising to life is a spiritual awakening. Rising to life after death is accomplished through the Prophets with the aid of Divine Revelation (symbolized by rain); thereby the dead earth comes to life again. When the dead earth (the people) receives rain (by listening to the Divine messages of the Prophet), the grains sprout. This symbolism is explained in verse 261 of the Holy Qur’ân more clearly. Similar symbolism is applied to the day and the night (cf. 3:27).The death of a Prophet in a vision signified the spiritual death of his people. That a Prophet remained dead for a hundred years is an allusion to the spiritual degradation and death of his people, and that after every hundred years, Reformers ("Mujaddidin") are sent to awaken the people from their spiritual slumber. In Islamic spiritual history, these Mujaddidin are well known (see also 10.11; 10:47). The mention in ahâdîth of the advent of "Mahdi" is also to be seen in this context.