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Resurrection of 'Uzayr

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Resurrection of 'Uzayr (Arabic: إحياء عزير النبي) is one of the Qur'anic stories which refers to the death and resurrection of Prophet 'Uzayr (a) after one hundred years. This event is considered one of the Qur'anic proofs of Resurrection (Ma'ad) and God's ability to revive the dead. Shi'as also consider it one of the proofs for establishing Raj'a.

The event of 'Uzayr's resurrection is mentioned in Qur'an 2:259. Based on this verse, 'Uzayr saw a village whose inhabitants had died and their bodies had decayed. At this moment, he asked himself how these decayed bodies would be revived again. Therefore, God caused him to die for one hundred years and then resurrected him. Some have dated this event to about 450 BC.

Story of 'Uzayr's Death and Resurrection in the Qur'an

Qur'an 2:259 mentions a person who, during his journey, reached a village whose houses were ruined and its inhabitants had died, and their bodies and bones had decayed.[1] Exegetes have identified this person as Prophet 'Uzayr (a). According to the Qur'an, 'Uzayr asked himself how God would revive these.[2] At this moment, God took his life and resurrected him after one hundred years. Then He asked him about the duration he had stayed in that place, and he imagined that he had been there for a day or less. God informed him that he had stayed in that place for one hundred years.[3] To show him the reality of this event and His power, God kept his food fresh but caused his mount, which was a donkey, to die and its body to decay over time.[4] Then, before 'Uzayr's eyes, He revived the donkey; in such a way that first the bones joined together and then were covered by flesh and skin.[5]

Some have dated 'Uzayr's resurrection to 450 BC and his initial death to 560 BC.[6] According to al-Fayd al-Kashani, in narrations, this event occurred after the martyrdom of Prophet Yahya (a) and the massacre of Bani Isra'il by Nebuchadnezzar.[7]

How Did 'Uzayr Prove His Resurrection to People?

According to Shaykh al-Tabarsi, after 'Uzayr was resurrected, he returned to his city.[8] By finding the Torah buried by his father in a garden and reciting the Torah from memory, he was able to prove his true identity to the people.[9] The Miracle of restoring sight to his family's servant, who had become blind during this time, is mentioned as another action to prove his identity.[10]

Story of 'Uzayr: A Sign for Resurrection and Raj'a

See also: Raj'a

Muslim exegetes and scholars have considered the resurrection of 'Uzayr after a hundred-year death as a clear sign of the reality of Resurrection (Ma'ad) and the revival of the dead after death and the decay of their bodies.[11] 'Allama Tabataba'i (d. 1360/1981) listed 'Uzayr's resurrection, along with the revival of Abraham's four birds and his debate with Nimrod, as instances of divine guidance mentioned in Qur'an 2:257.[12]

Some individuals, such as Shaykh Ahmad Mustafa al-Maraghi (d. 1364/1945), an Egyptian exegete, because they consider the revival of the dead in this world impossible, assume that 'Uzayr did not die but was only in a coma.[13] 'Allama Tabataba'i described the claim of impossibility as lacking valid evidence.[14]

Also, Shi'as have considered this story as a proof for establishing Raj'a as one of the doctrinal beliefs of the Shi'a.[15]

Age of 'Uzayr

It is narrated from Imam al-Baqir (a) that 'Uzayr was 30 years old at the time of his first death.[16] According to this narration, 'Uzayr had a twin brother, and both died together and were buried in the same grave; while 'Uzayr's brother had lived for 150 years, 'Uzayr had lived only 50 years.[17] According to Imam Ali (a), 'Uzayr was 50 years old when he went on the journey, and his wife was pregnant at that time. When he returned to his city, his child was 100 years old, but 'Uzayr was in the form of a 50-year-old human.[18]

In narrative sources, a debate between Imam al-Baqir (a) and a Christian scholar in the Sham region is narrated.[19] In this debate, the Christian scholar asks Imam al-Baqir (a) how two twin brothers who were born on the same day and died on the same day, one lived for 50 years and the other for 150 years. Imam al-Baqir (a) mentions 'Uzayr and his brother 'Azra and states that because 'Uzayr was dead for 100 years, he lived 100 years less than his brother.[20]

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 294.
  2. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 294.
  3. ↑ Javādī Āmulī, Tafsīr-i Tasnīm, 1388 Sh, vol. 12, p. 260.
  4. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 298.
  5. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 2, p. 300.
  6. ↑ Ibn ʿĀshūr, Al-Taḥrīr wa l-tanwīr, 1420 AH, vol. 2, p. 509.
  7. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, 1374 Sh, vol. 1, p. 291.
  8. ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1408 AH, vol. 2, p. 641.
  9. ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1408 AH, vol. 2, p. 641.
  10. ↑ Shāh-ʿAbd al-ʿAẓīmī, Tafsīr-i ithnā-ʿasharī, 1363 Sh, vol. 1, pp. 472-473.
  11. ↑ Javādī Āmulī, Tafsīr-i Tasnīm, 1388 Sh, vol. 12, p. 275.
  12. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1352 Sh, vol. 2, p. 359.
  13. ↑ Marāghī, Tafsīr al-Marāghī, Dār al-Fikr, vol. 3, p. 22.
  14. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1352 Sh, vol. 2, p. 362.
  15. ↑ Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Al-Īqāẓ min al-hajʿa, 1362 Sh, p. 3; Jaʿfarī, Tafsīr-i Kawthar, 1398 Sh, vol. 2, pp. 9-10.
  16. ↑ Huwayzī, Tafsīr Nūr al-thaqalayn, 1415 AH, vol. 1, p. 271.
  17. ↑ Huwayzī, Tafsīr Nūr al-thaqalayn, 1415 AH, vol. 1, p. 271.
  18. ↑ Baḥrānī, Al-Burhān, 1415 AH, vol. 1, p. 534.
  19. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 8, p. 122.
  20. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 8, p. 123.

References

  • Baḥrānī, Hāshim b. Sulaymān al-. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Muʾassisa al-Biʿtha, 1st ed., 1415 AH.
  • Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Muḥsin al-. Al-Ṣāfī fī tafsīr kalām Allāh al-wāfī. Tehran: Maktabat al-Ṣadr, 2nd ed., 1374 Sh.
  • Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al-. Al-Īqāẓ min al-hajʿa bi-l-burhān ʿalā l-rajʿa. Edited by Hāshim Rasūlī. Translated by Aḥmad Jannatī. Tehran: Navīd, 1362 Sh.
  • Huwayzī, ʿAbd ʿAlī b. Jumʿa al-. Tafsīr Nūr al-thaqalayn. Qom: Ismāʿīliyān, 4th ed., 1415 AH.
  • Ibn ʿĀshūr, Muḥammad al-Ṭāhir. Al-Taḥrīr wa l-tanwīr. Beirut: Muʾassisa al-Tārīkh al-ʿArabī, 1st ed., 1420 AH.
  • Jaʿfarī, Yaʿqūb. Tafsīr-i Kawthar. Qom: Hijrat, 3rd ed., 1398 Sh.
  • Javādī Āmulī, ʿAbd Allāh. Tafsīr-i Tasnīm. Qom: Markaz-i Nashr-i Isrāʾ, 2nd ed., 1388 Sh.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī & Muḥammad Ākhūndī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 4th ed., 1407 AH.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 32nd ed., 1374 Sh.
  • Marāghī, Aḥmad Muṣṭafā. Tafsīr al-Marāghī. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1st ed., n.d.
  • Shāh-ʿAbd al-ʿAẓīmī, Ḥusayn. Tafsīr-i ithnā-ʿasharī. Tehran: Mīqāt, 1st ed., 1363 Sh.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Muʾassisa al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 3rd ed., 1352 Sh.
  • Ṭabarsī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, 2nd ed., 1408 AH.
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