Ayah

Word by Word
أَوۡ
Or
كَٱلَّذِي
like the one who
مَرَّ
passed
عَلَىٰ
by
قَرۡيَةٖ
a township
وَهِيَ
and it
خَاوِيَةٌ
(had) overturned
عَلَىٰ
on
عُرُوشِهَا
its roofs
قَالَ
He said
أَنَّىٰ
How
يُحۡيِۦ
(will) bring to life
هَٰذِهِ
this (town)
ٱللَّهُ
Allah
بَعۡدَ
after
مَوۡتِهَاۖ
its death
فَأَمَاتَهُ
Then he was made to die
ٱللَّهُ
(by) Allah
مِاْئَةَ
(for) a hundred
عَامٖ
year(s)
ثُمَّ
then
بَعَثَهُۥۖ
He raised him
قَالَ
He said
كَمۡ
How long
لَبِثۡتَۖ
(have) you remained
قَالَ
He said
لَبِثۡتُ
I remained
يَوۡمًا
(for) a day
أَوۡ
or
بَعۡضَ
a part
يَوۡمٖۖ
(of) a day
قَالَ
He said
بَل
Nay
لَّبِثۡتَ
you (have) remained
مِاْئَةَ
one hundred
عَامٖ
year(s)
فَٱنظُرۡ
Then look
إِلَىٰ
at
طَعَامِكَ
your food
وَشَرَابِكَ
and your drink
لَمۡ
(they did) not
يَتَسَنَّهۡۖ
change with time
وَٱنظُرۡ
and look
إِلَىٰ
at
حِمَارِكَ
your donkey
وَلِنَجۡعَلَكَ
and We will make you
ءَايَةٗ
a sign
لِّلنَّاسِۖ
for the people
وَٱنظُرۡ
And look
إِلَى
at
ٱلۡعِظَامِ
the bones
كَيۡفَ
how
نُنشِزُهَا
We raise them
ثُمَّ
then
نَكۡسُوهَا
We cover them
لَحۡمٗاۚ
(with) flesh
فَلَمَّا
Then when
تَبَيَّنَ
became clear
لَهُۥ
to him
قَالَ
he said
أَعۡلَمُ
I know
أَنَّ
that
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
عَلَىٰ
(is) on
كُلِّ
every
شَيۡءٖ
thing
قَدِيرٞ
All-Powerful
أَوۡ
Or
كَٱلَّذِي
like the one who
مَرَّ
passed
عَلَىٰ
by
قَرۡيَةٖ
a township
وَهِيَ
and it
خَاوِيَةٌ
(had) overturned
عَلَىٰ
on
عُرُوشِهَا
its roofs
قَالَ
He said
أَنَّىٰ
How
يُحۡيِۦ
(will) bring to life
هَٰذِهِ
this (town)
ٱللَّهُ
Allah
بَعۡدَ
after
مَوۡتِهَاۖ
its death
فَأَمَاتَهُ
Then he was made to die
ٱللَّهُ
(by) Allah
مِاْئَةَ
(for) a hundred
عَامٖ
year(s)
ثُمَّ
then
بَعَثَهُۥۖ
He raised him
قَالَ
He said
كَمۡ
How long
لَبِثۡتَۖ
(have) you remained
قَالَ
He said
لَبِثۡتُ
I remained
يَوۡمًا
(for) a day
أَوۡ
or
بَعۡضَ
a part
يَوۡمٖۖ
(of) a day
قَالَ
He said
بَل
Nay
لَّبِثۡتَ
you (have) remained
مِاْئَةَ
one hundred
عَامٖ
year(s)
فَٱنظُرۡ
Then look
إِلَىٰ
at
طَعَامِكَ
your food
وَشَرَابِكَ
and your drink
لَمۡ
(they did) not
يَتَسَنَّهۡۖ
change with time
وَٱنظُرۡ
and look
إِلَىٰ
at
حِمَارِكَ
your donkey
وَلِنَجۡعَلَكَ
and We will make you
ءَايَةٗ
a sign
لِّلنَّاسِۖ
for the people
وَٱنظُرۡ
And look
إِلَى
at
ٱلۡعِظَامِ
the bones
كَيۡفَ
how
نُنشِزُهَا
We raise them
ثُمَّ
then
نَكۡسُوهَا
We cover them
لَحۡمٗاۚ
(with) flesh
فَلَمَّا
Then when
تَبَيَّنَ
became clear
لَهُۥ
to him
قَالَ
he said
أَعۡلَمُ
I know
أَنَّ
that
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
عَلَىٰ
(is) on
كُلِّ
every
شَيۡءٖ
thing
قَدِيرٞ
All-Powerful

Translation

Or (take) the similitude of one who passed by a hamlet, all in ruins to its roofs. He said: "Oh! how shall Allah bring it (ever) to life, after (this) its death?" but Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him up (again). He said: "How long didst thou tarry (thus)?" He said: (Perhaps) a day or part of a day." He said: "Nay, thou hast tarried thus a hundred years; but look at thy food and thy drink; they show no signs of age; and look at thy donkey: And that We may make of thee a sign unto the people, Look further at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh." When this was shown clearly to him, he said: "I know that Allah hath power over all things."

Tafsir

Or, did you see, such as he, Ezra ('Uzayr), who (the kaaf of ka'lladhee, 'such as he who', is extra) passed by a city, namely, the Holy House [sc. Jerusalem], riding on an ass and carrying with him a basket of figs and a cup of juice, [a city] that was fallen down, collapsed, upon its turrets, its roof tops: after Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed it; he said, 'How (annaa means kayfa, 'how') shall God give life to this now that it is dead?', challenging the power of the exalted One, so God made him die, and remain dead for, a hundred years, then he raised him up, brought him back to life to show him how this could be done; He, God, said, 'How long have you tarried?', been here?; he said, 'I have tarried a day, or part of a day', because he fell asleep before noon, and was made dead and then brought back to life again at sunset, and thus he thought it was a day's sleep; He said, 'Nay; you have tarried a hundred years. Look at your food, the figs, and drink, the cup of juice, it has not spoiled, despite the length of time (the final haa' of yatasannah, 'to spoil', is said to belong to the original root, s-n-h; but it is also said to be silent, in which case the root would be s-n-y; a variant reading omits the final haa'); and look at your ass, how it is, and he ﷺ that it had died, and all that remained were its withered white bones. We did this so that you would know and, so that We would make you a sign, of [the truth of] the Resurrection, for the people. And look at the bones, of the ass, how We shall set them up, how We shall raise them back to life (nunshiruhaa, or nanshiruhaa, derived from the two expressions, nashara and anshara; a variant reading has nunshizuhaa, meaning 'How We shall move it and make it stand'); and then clothe them with flesh', and when he looked at it, he ﷺ that [the bones] had been reconstituted and clothed with flesh, and that the Spirit had been breathed into it, making it bray. So, when it was made clear to him, as a result of witnessing it, he said, 'I know (a variant reading for a'lam, 'I know', has [the imperative] i'lam, 'know!', thus making it a command from God), with the knowledge of direct vision, that God has power over all things'.

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