Chapter 2, Verse 261

Important Words:

تحی الموتی (Thou givest life to the dead). For the meaning of حیاة (life) and موت (death) and میت (dead person) see 2:20; 2:29; 2:57 and 2:74.

یطمئن (be at rest) is derived from طمئن. They say طمئن ظھرہ i.e. he bent his back low. طمئن الشیء means, he made the thing calm and set it at rest. اطمأن means, it or he was at rest; it or he became calm after being agitated; it or he became docile and submissive. المطمئن means, (1) one who is calm and tranquil or in a state of rest or ease; that which is motionless and stationary; (2) if used in connection with some piece of land, it means a low-lying, soft piece of land (Aqrab).

صرھن الیك (make them attached to thyself). صرھن is derived from صار with واو as the central root letter. They say صار الشیء الی نفسه i.e. he inclined the thing to himself. صار وجھه الی means, he inclined his face towards me. صرت الغصن لاجتنی الثمر means, I inclined the branch towards myself in order to pluck the fruit. صار with ی as the central root letter, means, he cut a thing, etc. into pieces (Aqrab). The Quran uses here صار with واو as the central root letter as the dammah in صرھن indicates. Moreover, the preposition الی (to) determines the significance of the word in the sense of inclining or attaching and not cutting.

جزء (each) is derived from جزاء. They say جزأ الشیء i.e. he divided the thing into parts. So جزء means, part or portion or division of a thing (Lane). Thus, if a thing consists of, and comprises, a group, the word part or division would signify each member of it.

Commentary:

This verse provides yet another illustration of the process of life and death arranged by God in this world. In other words, the rise of a fallen nation is further discussed. Abraham asked God to show him how He caused a people to come to life after they had become fallen and degraded.

The difference between إیمان (belief) and اطمینان (heart being at rest) is that in the former state one simply believes that God can do a thing, while in the latter one receives the assurance that the thing would be done in his case also. Abraham did indeed believe that God could bring a dead people to life, but what he desired was the personal satisfaction of knowing that He would do so in the case of his own posterity as well; hence the words, so that my heart may be at rest.

The verse proceeds to describe a vision of Abraham. By asking him to take four birds, God hinted that his posterity would rise and fall four times. This rise and fall was witnessed twice among the Israelites, and the same phenomenon was to be repeated among the followers of the Holy Prophet of Islam who was descended from Abraham through Ishmael. The power of the Jews, the progeny of Abraham through Isaac, was crushed twice, first by Nebuchadnezzar and then by Titus (the Quran, 17:5-8; the Bible, II Kings ch. 25 and Enc. Brit. under Jews); and each time God raised them after their fall, the second revival having been brought about by the acceptance of Christianity by the Roman Emperors. As to the power of Islam, it was first rudely shaken when Baghdad fell to the arms of the Tartars, after which it again revived owing to the conquerors being won over to Islam. The second fall came later when there was a general and wholesale decline of Muslims both in the spiritual and the political field. The final rise is being arranged by God through the Ahmadiyya Movement founded by Ahmad, the Promised Messiah.

Referring to the verse under comment, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "We are more deserving of entertaining شك than Abraham" (Muslim). Here شك does not mean "doubt" but an intense hidden desire anxiously awaiting fulfilment, for the Holy Prophet never entertained any doubt. This shows that Abraham also never doubted and his question was not prompted by doubt but simply by an anxious desire. He had firm faith in the power of God and fully believed that He could restore a fallen people to prosperity; what he wanted was simply the satisfaction of his hidden desire, i.e. an assurance that God would do so in the case of his people also. The word شك therefore here only means the feeling of anxiety in the mind, or the state of commotion or disturbance of the heart and mind (Lane).

The double fall and subsequent rise of the Israelites and of the posterity of Ishmael making the total number of such phenomena four may be interpreted in another way also. The Israelites were a fallen people before Moses and God raised them through him. They fell again before the time of Jesus and were again given new life through him. Similarly, the Ishmaelites were a fallen people before the advent of the Holy Prophet who gave them new life, and they are again a fallen people now when they are being given a new life by Ahmad, the Promised Messiah.

Many commentators have translated the word صرھن as, "cut them into pieces and mince them", but this is clearly wrong; for as explained under Important Words above صار یصور (with واو as the central root letter) means "inclining" and not "cutting", particularly when it is used with the preposition الی. So the expression صرھن would mean "make them inclined towards thyself", so that they may become attached to thee. In this case the placing of a جزء of the four birds each on a hill would mean, putting each separate bird on a separate hill, and not placing portions of the minced meat thereon. The commandment to place the four birds separately on separate hills is to point to the fact that the rise and fall of the progeny of Abraham would take place at four distinct and separate times. The word جزء has been used in this sense elsewhere also (15:45).

The difference between Iman (belief) and Itminan (the heart being at ease) is that in the former state one simply believes that God can do a thing, while in the latter one receives the assurance that the thing would be done in his case also. Abraham did indeed believe that God could bring the dead to life, but what he desired was his personal satisfaction of knowing that God would do so in the case of his own posterity as well. Referring to the verse under comment, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "We are more deserving of entertaining Shak (doubt) than Abraham" (Muslim), the word Shak signifying an intense hidden desire anxiously awaiting fulfilment; for the Holy Prophet never entertained any doubt about any of God’s promises or doings. This shows that Abraham’s question was not prompted by doubt but simply by an anxious desire.

Surtul-Ghusna Ilayya means, I inclined the branch towards myself (Lane). The preposition ila determines the significance of the word Surhunna in the sense of inclining or attaching and not cutting.

Juz’ means, a part or portion or division of a thing. Thus, if a thing consists of or comprises a group, the word "part" or "division" would signify each member of it.

This is a vision of Abraham. In "taking four birds" the implication was that his posterity would rise and fall four times, which phenomenon was to be witnessed twice among the Israelites, and to be repeated twice among the followers of the Holy Prophet of Islam who was descended from Abraham through Ishmael. The power of the Jews, the progeny of Abraham through Isaac, was crushed twice, first by Nebuchadnezzar and then by Titus (17:5-8; Enc. Brit. under Jews); and each time God raised them after their fall, the second revival having been brought about by Constantine, the Roman Emperor who accepted Christianity. Similarly, the power of Islam, was first rudely shaken when Baghdad fell to the Tartar hordes, but soon it recovered from the crushing blow. The victors became the vanquished and the grandson of Halaku, the despoiler of