Surah al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2 : 259

Overview (Verse 259)
 
Where Life Originates
 
Still on the subject of the miraculous nature of life and death, the sūrah relates another brief tale: “Or, [are you not aware) of him who, passing by a township which had fallen into utter ruin, exclaimed: “How can God bring this town back to life now that it is dead?’ Thereupon God caused him to be dead for a hundred years, then brought him back to life, and said, ‘How long have you remained thus?’ He said, ‘I have remained thus a day or part of a day.’ God said, No. You have remained thus for a hundred years. Just look at your food and drink: none of it has rotted. And look at your ass. We will make you a sign for mankind. Look you at the bones, how We put them up and then clothe them with flesh.’ When it had all become clear to him, he said, I know now that God has power over all things.’“ (Verse 259)
 
Again, the Qur’ān does not give details of the identity of the man or the ruined township because such details add little to the significance and impact of the story. Were these necessary, they would not have been omitted in the Qur’ān. Despite the absence of detail, however, the scene comes to life and stirs the imagination with great clarity and power. It is a scene of death, desolation and destruction; a town in ruins, with walls and columns caved in on their foundations, the effect of which is eloquently expressed in the man’s incredulity as he exclaims: “How can God bring this town back to life now that it is dead?” (Verse 259)
 
The man is perfectly aware of God’s presence, but the impact of that scene of devastation is so powerful that he wonders in disbelief how life could ever be returned to that rubble. It is a most evocative and moving impression which the
 
Qur’ān, in its inimitable style, depicts with eloquence and awesome brilliance. “Thereupon God caused him to be dead for a hundred years, then brought him back to life, and said, ‘How long have you remained thus?’ He said, I have remained thus a day or part of a day.’ God said, No. You have remained thus for a hundred years. Just look at your food and drink, none of it has rotted. And look at your ass. We will make you a sign for mankind. Look you at the bones, how We put them up and then clothe them with flesh.’” (Verse 259)
 
The man was not given a rational argument as to how a dead body could be brought to life again, but was himself made to undergo that experience. Such a personal direct approach is often more effective than any logical or visible demonstration. It involves one’s senses, emotions and feelings. Its impact is sharp and overwhelming.
 
While he was dead, the man naturally lost all sense of time and could not tell how long he had been in that state. This is easy to understand, since human beings can misjudge things even when they are in control of their senses. Our material senses are not the only or the most accurate means of perception.
 
God said: “No. You have remained thus for a hundred years.” (Verse 259) But the man had no way of telling. His provisions remained in good condition.
 
“And look at your ass. We will make you a sign for mankind. Look you at the bones, how We put them up and then clothe them with flesh.” (Verse 259) Which bones are referred to here: the man’s own bones, as some commentators maintain? Had it been so, he would have immediately noticed, and would not have thought that he remained in that state for only a few hours or a day. Therefore, we are inclined to uphold the view that the reference here is to the bones of the ass whose gathering together and covering with flesh, before the man’s own eyes, was a compelling sign of God’s power. The fact that the man, the ass, and the provisions were affected in different wais under the same physical and environmental conditions is another sign of that absolute, limitless and unrestricted divine power. Thus the man gas made to understand how God could bring that desolate town back to life again.
 
As to how this miracle was achieved, the answer is: in the same way as every other miracle, including the creation of life itself, which we often tend to overlook, forgetting how totally ignorant we are of its reality. All we know is that life comes from God, in the way He wills it to be.
 
In his study The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin, the eminent British biologist, traces life back to the amoeba, a simple single-celled organism, but goes no further in explaining the origin of life. For most unscientific reasons, relating to the historic conflict between science and the Christian Church in Europe, Darwin’s theory does not acknowledge the logical and evident truth that life must originate with a creator. Darwin claims that to explain life’s affairs by the notion of the existence of a creator is to introduce an unnatural element into a purely mechanical situation.
 
The situation, in fact, is far from being a purely mechanical one. What we need to look for is an explanation for this mystery that stares us in the face. It is indeed evident for all to see.
 
Darwin himself is compelled by the force of natural common sense to refer the whole phenomenon of life to ‘the first cause’, without telling us what this cause was. It is the power capable of initiating life in the first instance and, according to Darwin’s own controversial thesis, is capable of directing the descendants of the first living cell in the direction Darwin supposed they had taken in the process of natural selection. It is pure evasion, obfuscation and muddle.
 
Going back to the parable of the man and the ruined city, one wonders what could explain the fact that things can exist in the same place and under the same environmental conditions but be affected differently. It could not be explained in terms of the creation or restoration of life. The explanation lies in the limitless and unrestrained nature of the divine will, which is bound by none of the laws or needs we consider absolute and incontrovertible.
 
Human beings fall into grave error when they apply human rational or ‘scientific’ assumptions to God Almighty or His actions, for a number of reasons. How can God or His actions be subjected to laws based on man’s limited knowledge and experience, and on his imperfect understanding and interpretation of that experience? Even if we assume that the laws man has discovered are final and conclusive, how can we be certain that they are the ultimate and overriding truth? The absolute divine power of God creates laws but is not restricted by them. It is completely free to decide.
 
We learn from this passage that in addition to granting life and causing death, God’s power and will are absolute. The Qur’ān lays particular emphasis on this fact and seeks to instil it in the hearts of believers in order to refer them directly to God, whom they should seek beyond the visible material world. The man in our present story had come to the right conclusion when he said: “I know now that God has power over all things.” (Verse 259)