Once Sayyiduna Ibraheem Khaleelullah asked Allah ‘O Allah show me how will You resurrect the dead?’ Allah said, ‘O Ibraheem, don’t you have faith in it?’
Sayyiduna Ibraheem said, ‘Why not? Although I have faith in it but I wish to observe this spectacle with my own eyes to solace my heart.’ Allah then said, ‘Raise four birds and nourish them well by feeding them, then slaughter them and make minced meat from their flesh and place little portion of it on top of some mountains in your surroundings. Then call upon these birds to you, those birds will come back to life and rush to you and thus you will witness the spectacle of resurrection of the dead with your own eyes.’
Therefore, Sayyiduna Ibraheem tended four birds: A rooster, a pigeon, a vulture and a peacock. He raised them for a certain period of time whilst nourishing and taming them well. Then he slaughtered them and kept their heads with himself and after mincing their meat, placed little part of it on the surrounding mountains. He then called these birds from distance by exclaiming: یٰاَیُّھَا الدِّیْکُ(0 rooster), . (0 pigeon)یٰاَیَّتُھَا الْحَمَامَۃُ , . (0 vulture), (0 peacock)! The meat from the mountains started soaring up into the air on his call and the flesh, bones and feathers assembled and then all four birds were formed and they each rushed to Sayyiduna Ibraheem tll1J1 ” headless and after connecting to their respective heads, they started picking grains and chirping in their own language. Thus Sayyiduna Ibraheem witnessed the spectacle of the resurrection of the dead and his heart solaced.
Allah described this event in Surah Al-Baqarah of the Holy Quran in the following words:
Sayyiduna Ibraheem said, ‘Why not? Although I have faith in it but I wish to observe this spectacle with my own eyes to solace my heart.’ Allah then said, ‘Raise four birds and nourish them well by feeding them, then slaughter them and make minced meat from their flesh and place little portion of it on top of some mountains in your surroundings. Then call upon these birds to you, those birds will come back to life and rush to you and thus you will witness the spectacle of resurrection of the dead with your own eyes.’
Therefore, Sayyiduna Ibraheem tended four birds: A rooster, a pigeon, a vulture and a peacock. He raised them for a certain period of time whilst nourishing and taming them well. Then he slaughtered them and kept their heads with himself and after mincing their meat, placed little part of it on the surrounding mountains. He then called these birds from distance by exclaiming: یٰاَیُّھَا الدِّیْکُ(0 rooster), . (0 pigeon)یٰاَیَّتُھَا الْحَمَامَۃُ , . (0 vulture), (0 peacock)! The meat from the mountains started soaring up into the air on his call and the flesh, bones and feathers assembled and then all four birds were formed and they each rushed to Sayyiduna Ibraheem tll1J1 ” headless and after connecting to their respective heads, they started picking grains and chirping in their own language. Thus Sayyiduna Ibraheem witnessed the spectacle of the resurrection of the dead and his heart solaced.
Allah described this event in Surah Al-Baqarah of the Holy Quran in the following words:
وَ اِذْ قَالَ اِبْرٰہٖمُ رَبِّ اَرِنِیۡ کَیۡفَ تُحْیِ الْمَوْتٰی ؕ قَالَ اَوَلَمْ تُؤْمِنۡ ؕ قَالَ بَلٰی وَلٰکِنْ لِّیَطْمَئِنَّ قَلْبِیۡ ؕ قَالَ فَخُذْ اَرْبَعَۃً مِّنَ الطَّیۡرِ فَصُرْہُنَّ اِلَیۡکَ ثُمَّ اجْعَلْ عَلٰی کُلِّ جَبَلٍ مِّنْہُنَّ جُزْءًا ثُمَّ ادْعُہُنَّ یَاۡتِیۡنَکَ سَعْیًا ؕ وَاعْلَمْ اَنَّ اللہَ عَزِیۡزٌ حَکِیۡمٌ ﴿260﴾٪
And when Ibraheem submitted, ‘O My Lord! Show me how You will revive the dead?’ He (Allah) said, ‘Do you not believe?’ Ibraheem submitted, ‘Why not? But I desire to put my heart at ease.’ He (Allah) said, ‘Take four birds and familiarise them to yourself, then (after slaughtering them) place a part of each of them on separate mountains, then call them; they will come running to you on their feet. And know that Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.’
[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)] (Part 3, Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 260)
Moral: The abovementioned Quranic event sheds light on the following Shar’i rulings. Read these carefully and avail the light of guidance and transmit it to others also.
