Al-Baqarah: (243) Have you not seen...

It is Allah's custom in the Qur'an to mention stories after explaining rulings to provide a lesson for the listener, encouraging them through this lesson to abandon rebellion and obstinacy, and to increase submission and compliance. Thus, He said: {Have you not seen those who went forth from their homes} (Al-Baqarah: 243).

Regarding the phrase {Have you not seen}, there are several issues:

Issue 1: The Meaning of "Seeing" (Ra'a)

The word ru'yah (seeing) sometimes comes to mean the sight of insight and the heart, which refers back to knowledge, like His saying: {And show us our rites} (Al-Baqarah: 128), meaning: teach us. And His saying: {Judge between people by what Allah has shown you} (An-Nisa: 105), meaning: what Allah has made you know.

This term may be used for something the addressee is already aware of, or for something they are not aware of. A person might say to another, intending to inform them for the first time: "Have you not seen what happened to so-and-so?" In this case, it is an initial notification.

Based on this, it is possible that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not know this story except through this verse. Alternatively, we can say that knowledge of the story preceded the revelation of this verse, and then Allah revealed this verse in accordance with that prior knowledge.

Issue 2: The Addressee

The apparent address is to the Prophet (peace be upon him), but it is not unlikely that the intended meaning includes him and his Ummah. However, the address begins with him, similar to His saying: {The Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them for their prescribed period} (At-Talaq: 1).

Issue 3: The Inclusion of the Particle {إلى} (to/towards)

The inclusion of the particle {إلى} in {Have you not seen to those who...} might be because {إلى} is considered a particle of termination, like saying, "From so-and-so to so-and-so." If someone gains knowledge through a teacher, it is as if that teacher has brought the learner to the known thing and concluded it for him, making the inclusion of {إلى} appropriate from this perspective. A parallel is His saying: {Have you not seen how your Lord has extended the shade?} (Al-Furqan: 45).

Regarding {those who went forth from their homes}, there are several narrations:

Narration 1 (As-Suddi): There was a village afflicted by the plague. Most of its inhabitants fled, and many of those who remained died. A group remained suffering from the illness and affliction. After the plague subsided, those who had fled returned safe. Those who remained sick said: "These people are more eager [to live] than us; if we had done what they did, we would have been saved from illness and calamity." So, if the plague returned, they would leave. They were thirty-odd thousand people. When they left that valley, two kings, one from the lower part of the valley and one from the upper part, called out to them: "Die!" So they all perished, and their bodies decayed. A prophet named Hizqil passed by them. When he saw them, he stopped and reflected upon them. Allah revealed to him: "Do you wish that I show you how I revive them?" He said: "Yes." He was told: "Call out, O bones, that Allah commands you to gather!" So the bones flew toward each other until the skeletons were complete. Then Allah revealed to him: "Call out, O bones, that Allah commands you to be clothed with flesh and blood!" So they became flesh and blood. Then it was said: "Call out that Allah commands you to stand up!" So they stood up. When they became alive, they stood up, saying: "Glory be to You, our Lord, and praise belongs to You; there is no god but You." Then they returned to their village after being revived and remained until they died according to their appointed times, though the signs of their previous death were apparent on their faces.

Narration 2 (Ibn Abbas): A king of the Children of Israel commanded his army to fight. They feared fighting and told their king: "The land we are going to has a pestilence, so we will not go until that pestilence is gone." So Allah caused them all to die. They remained for eight days until they swelled up. News of their death reached the Children of Israel, so they went out to bury them. They were too numerous to bury, so they fenced them off in enclosures. Allah revived them after eight days. Some of that stench remained on them and in their offspring until this day. Those who hold this view cite the verse immediately following this one: {And fight in the cause of Allah} (Al-Baqarah: 190).

Narration 3: The Prophet Hizqil called his people to Jihad, but they disliked it and showed cowardice. Allah sent death upon them. When death became widespread among them, they left their homes fleeing death. When Hizqil saw this, he said: "O Allah, Lord of Jacob and Lord of Moses, You see the disobedience of Your servants. Show them a sign in themselves that indicates the execution of Your power and that they cannot escape Your grasp." So Allah sent death upon them again. Then Hizqil felt distressed by their death, so he supplicated once more, and Allah revived them.

Regarding His saying: {and they were thousands} (wa hum aluuf), there are two opinions:

Opinion 1: Statement of Number This means stating the count. They differed on the exact number. Al-Wahidi said they were not less than three thousand nor more than seventy thousand. Linguistically, since aluuf is the plural of alaf (thousands), it implies a number exceeding ten thousand, as the term is not used for ten or fewer.

Opinion 2: Unity of Hearts Aluuf is the plural of aalf (one who is familiar/attached), similar to qu'ood (plural of qa'id) or juluus (plural of jaalis). This means they were united in heart (mu'talifi al-qulub). Al-Qadi favored the first opinion, arguing that the arrival of death upon such a large multitude provides a greater lesson, as the death of a great assembly all at once is an extraordinary event that yields a significant admonition. The arrival of death upon people who were united in affection does not change the nature or degree of the lesson.

An answer can be given to the second opinion: perhaps it means that each one of them was deeply attached (aalif) to his life, loving this world. This returns to what Allah said about their description: {You will surely find them the most eager of people for life} (Al-Baqarah: 96). Despite their extreme love for life and their understanding of it, Allah caused them to die and perish, to show that man's eagerness for life does not protect him from death. Thus, this view is not far-fetched.

Regarding {fearing death} (hadhara al-mawt), it is in the accusative case (mansub) as an object of cause (maf'ul lah), meaning: because of fearing death. Since everyone fears death, singling out this instance implies that the cause of death in that event was more prevalent, either due to the severity of the plague or due to the command to fight.

Regarding His saying: {Then Allah said to them: Die!} (fa qala lahum Allahu mutu), there are two interpretations for "Allah said":

Interpretation 1: It is analogous to His saying: {Indeed, Our word to a thing when We intend it is only that We say to it, "Be," and it is} (An-Nahl: 40). As previously explained, this does not imply the utterance of a sound, but rather that when Allah wills something, it occurs without hindrance or delay. This usage is well-known in the language. His saying {Then He revived them} supports this; if revival can occur by the word, then so can causing death.

Interpretation 2: Allah commanded the Messenger to say to them, "Die," and to say what we narrated from As-Suddi upon their revival. It is also possible that the king said it. The first interpretation is closer to the truth.

Regarding His saying: {Then He revived them} (thumma ahyahum), there are several issues:

Issue 1: Proof of Revival

This verse proves that Allah revived them after they had died, making certainty about this necessary. Revival is inherently possible because the arrangement of parts into a specific form is possible (otherwise, they would not have existed initially), and the possibility of those parts having life is also possible (otherwise, they would not have existed initially). Once possibility is established, and a truthful messenger reports its occurrence, certainty about its occurrence is mandatory.

Issue 2: Mu'tazilite View on Miracles

The Mu'tazilites argue that reviving the dead is an extraordinary act (khariq lil-'adah), and Allah should only manifest such acts as a miracle for a Prophet. If such an act occurred without being a miracle for a Prophet, its evidential value for prophethood would be nullified.

Our scholars (Ahl al-Sunnah) maintain that extraordinary acts can occur as a karamah (honor) for a saint (wali), or for other purposes, thus invalidating the Mu'tazilites' restriction.

The Mu'tazilites further argue that it is narrated that this revival occurred during the time of the Prophet Hizqil through the blessing of his supplication, which confirms their point that such things only occur as miracles for Prophets. Some say Hizqil was Dhu al-Kifl, named so because he guaranteed the safety of seventy prophets and saved them from being killed. Others say he passed by them while they were dead, pondered over them in amazement, and Allah revealed to him: "If you wish, I will revive them and make it a sign for you." He said: "Yes," so Allah revived them through his supplication.

Issue 3: Knowledge and Accountability After Revival

It is established by proofs that the knowledge of accountable persons becomes necessary (dharuriyyah) when death approaches or when facing terrors and hardships. These people whom Allah caused to die and then revived must fall into one of two categories:

1. They witnessed the terrors and states that made their knowledge necessary. If this is the case, it is impossible to say they forgot those terrors and the knowledge of their Lord that became necessary, because great experiences cannot be forgotten with complete reason. Therefore, that necessary knowledge must have remained with them after revival. The persistence of this necessary knowledge would prevent the validity of accountability, just as accountability ceases in the Hereafter.
2. Or, it is said that they remained un-accountable after revival, and there is nothing in the verse to prevent this.
3. Or, Allah did not show them any of the great signs that make their knowledge necessary when He caused them to die. That death was not like the death of other accountable people who witness terrors near death. Allah knows the realities of matters best.

Issue 4: Purpose of Revival

Qatadah said they were revived so they could complete the remainder of their appointed terms. This view is subject to much discussion and lengthy debate.

Regarding His saying: {Indeed, Allah is full of bounty to mankind} (inna Allaha la-dhu fadlin 'ala an-nas), there are several aspects:

1. It is a bounty upon those people whom He caused to die, because He revived them. Since they left the world in a state of disobedience, Allah returned them to the world, enabling them to repent and make amends.
2. The Arabs who denied the Resurrection often relied on the sayings of the Jews regarding many matters. When Allah alerted the Jews to this event—which was known to them and which they recounted to the Arabs denying the Resurrection—it is likely that those deniers would return from the false religion (denial) to the true religion (affirmation of resurrection and gathering), thus being saved from punishment and deserving reward. Therefore, mentioning this story was a bounty and favor from Allah upon these deniers.
3. This story indicates that fearing death is futile. This story encourages a person to engage in obedience to Allah regardless of the circumstances and removes the fear of death from the heart. Thus, mentioning this story was a means for the servant to move away from disobedience and closer to obedience, through which he attains great reward. Therefore, mentioning this story was a bounty and favor from Allah upon His servant.

Then He said: {but most people are not grateful} (wa lakinna akthara an-nasi la yashkurun), which is like His saying: {But most people refuse except disbelief} (Al-Furqan: 50).

{And fight in the cause of Allah and know that Allah is Hearing, Knowing.}