ONE AYAT A DAY
اَوْ كَالَّذِيْ مَرَّ عَلٰى قَرْيَةٍ وَّهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلٰى عُرُوْشِهَاۚ قَالَ اَنّٰى يُحْيٖ هٰذِهِ اللّٰهُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا ۚ فَاَمَاتَهُ اللّٰهُ مِائَةَ عَامٍ ثُمَّ بَعَثَهٗ ۗ قَالَ كَمْ لَبِثْتَ ۗ قَالَ لَبِثْتُ يَوْمًا اَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍۗ قَالَ بَلْ لَّبِثْتَ مِائَةَ عَامٍ فَانْظُرْ اِلٰى طَعَامِكَ وَشَرَابِكَ لَمْ يَتَسَنَّهْ ۚ وَانْظُرْ اِلٰى حِمَارِكَۗ وَلِنَجْعَلَكَ اٰيَةً لِّلنَّاسِ وَانْظُرْ اِلَى الْعِظَامِ كَيْفَ نُنْشِزُهَا ثُمَّ نَكْسُوْهَا لَحْمًا ۗ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهٗ ۙ قَالَ اَعْلَمُ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ
Au kal-lażī marra ‘alā qaryatiw wa hiya khāwiyatun ‘alā ‘urūsyihā, qāla annā yuḥyī hāżihillāhu ba‘da mautihā, fa'amātahullāhu mi'ata ‘āmin ṡumma ba‘aṡah(ū), qāla kam labiṡt(a), qāla labiṡtu yauman au ba‘ḍa yaum(in), qāla bal labiṡta mi'ata ‘āmin fanẓur ilā ṭa‘āmika wa syarābika lam yatasannah, wanẓur ilā ḥimārik(a), wa linaj‘alaka āyatal lin-nāsi wanẓur ilal-‘iẓāmi kaifa nunsyizuhā ṡumma naksūhā laḥmā(n), falammā tabayyana lah(ū), qāla a‘lamu annallāha ‘alā kulli syai'in qadīr(un).
Or [consider such an example] as the one who passed by a township which had fallen into ruin. He said, "How will Allāh bring this to life after its death?" So Allāh caused him to die for a hundred years; then He revived him. He said, "How long have you remained?" He [the man] said, "I have remained a day or part of a day." He said, "Rather, you have remained one hundred years. Look at your food and your drink; it has not changed with time. And look at your donkey; and We will make you a sign for the people. And look at the bones [of this donkey] - how We raise them and then We cover them with flesh." And when it became clear to him, he said, "I know that Allāh is over all things competent."
The Story of `UzayrAllah's statement,أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِى حَآجَّ إِبْرَهِيمَ فِى رِبِّهِ(Have you not looked at him who disputed with Ibrahim about his Lord) means, "Have you seen anyone like the person who disputed with Ibrahim about his Lord" Then, Allah connected the Ayah,أَوْ كَالَّذِى مَرَّ عَلَى قَرْيَةٍ وَهِىَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَى عُرُوشِهَا(Or like the one who passed by a town in ruin up to its roofs) to the Ayah above by using `or'.Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that `Ali bin Abi Talib said that the Ayah 2:259 meant `Uzayr. Ibn Jarir also reported it, and this explanation was also reported by Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim from Ibn `Abbas, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Sulayman bin Buraydah.Mujahid bin Jabr said that the Ayah refers to a man from the Children of Israel, and the village was Jerusalem, after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it and killed its people.وَهِىَ خَاوِيَةٌ(in ruin) means, it became empty of people. Allah's statement,عَلَى عُرُوشِهَا(up to its roofs) indicates that the roofs and walls (of the village) fell to the ground. `Uzayr stood contemplating about what had happened to that city, after a great civilization used to inhabit it. He said,أَنَّى يُحْىِ هَـذِهِ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا(Oh! How will Allah ever bring it to life after its death) because of the utter destruction he saw and the implausibility of its returning to what it used to be. Allah said,فَأَمَات…