Verse 259 of Surah Al-Baqarah, like a clear mirror, portrays the boundless power of God in bringing life and causing death. This verse narrates the story of an individual who passed by a ruined village and, with astonishment, inquired how God could revive it after its demise. This question not only reflects a profound concern to comprehend the reality of life and death but also serves as an invitation to contemplate the limitless capabilities of the Lord. In this treatise, relying on the content of the lecture series and exegetical analyses, we examine various dimensions of this verse. The aim is to elucidate the wise operations of God, critique passivity in utilising power verses within religious knowledge, and call for the production of practical knowledge alongside the registration of scientific innovations. The structure of this text, with systematic sections and detailed analyses, is designed for educated audiences and researchers to clarify, while preserving faithfulness to the original content, the semantic connections and contemporary applications of the verse.
أَوْ كَالَّذِي مَرَّ عَلَىٰ قَرْيَةٍ وَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا قَالَ أَنَّىٰ يُحْيِي هَٰذِهِ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا ۖ فَأَمَاتَهُ اللَّهُ مِائَةَ عَامٍ ثُمَّ بَعَثَهُ ۖ قَالَ كَمْ لَبِثْتَ ۖ قَالَ لَبِثْتُ يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ (البقرة: 259)
Translation: Or [consider] the one who passed by a town which had fallen into ruin, and said: "How will Allah bring this to life after its death?" So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then resurrected him. He said: "How long have you remained [dead]?" He replied: "I have remained a day or part of a day."
Key Point: Verse 259 of Surah Al-Baqarah, like a blazing torch, manifests the divine power in giving life and causing death, revealing a wise operation before the eyes.
This verse, through its powerful weight, emphasises God's limitless ability to revive creatures and reconstruct life. The individual's question about how the village can be revived serves as a gateway to contemplation of divine grandeur that not only restores life but also reconstitutes it with astonishing diversity and order.
Divine power in this verse is manifested not only in giving life and causing death but also in the diversity of these processes, encompassing three main aspects:
This diversity, like a harmonious melody, illustrates divine wisdom and authority in reconstructing life.
Verse 259 of Surah Al-Baqarah, by elucidating divine power in life and death, invites reflection on the majesty of the Lord. This verse, by presenting diversity in life and death processesfrom material preservation to gradual component reconstructionreveals a wise operation before humanity. The question أَنَّىٰ يُحْيِي is not merely a matter of faith but a call for research and exploration into the mysteries of creation.
Key Point: Religious knowledge, confronted with power verses such as verse 259, has fallen into passivity and neglected investigation into life and death processes.
Religious knowledge, which should flow like a gushing spring energising Quranic sciences, has become passive when facing power verses such as Surah Al-Baqarah 259. This estrangement stems from focusing on non-practical activities such as repetitive book writing and superficial teachings that stray from the scientific and practical depth of the Holy Quran.
Today's Quranic communities, instead of exploring the profound meanings of the verses, have confined themselves to activities such as recitation, Tajweed, and limited memorisation. While valuable, these efforts have devolved into childish exercises lacking scientific depth and transformative impact. The Holy Quran, like a deep ocean, demands profound exploration rather than superficial games that divert from its principal function.
Key Point: Consuming the Quran without concern for revival and death processes is wasteful and a squandering of time that deprives it of its transformative function.
Reading and reciting the Holy Quran without questioning how life and death are revived is akin to pouring water into a barren desert. This wastefulness not only squanders time but also distances the Quran from its operational and transformative role.
The question أَنَّىٰ يُحْيِي هَٰذِهِ اللَّهُ is the axis of the verse and must be the axis of religious knowledge. This question is an invitation to research the secrets of life and death, which religious knowledge has neglected. Without posing such questions, scientific activities become repetitive and routine.
Passivity of religious knowledge towards power verses acts like a heavy shadow that obstructs the flourishing of Quranic potentials. Critique of Quranic communities and emphasis on posing power questions pave the way for reviving religious knowledge. This section, warning against wastefulness in Quranic consumption, stresses the need for deep and practical research.
Divine power in verse 259 is divided into various types, each opening a window to understanding the greatness of the Lord:
This classification, like a rainbow of divine authority, displays the diversity and expansiveness of Gods power.
Key Point: Neglect of religious knowledge regarding the types of divine power has confined it to storytelling and non-practical activities.
Religious knowledge, instead of exploring the types of divine power, has limited itself to storytelling and superficial narrations. This neglect acts like a dust cloud over the mirror of knowledge, preventing the brilliance of Quranic truth from shining.
Religious knowledge, instead of producing innovative science, is trapped in repetitive book writing and non-scientific activities such as building schools and trade. This book-play, often accompanied by redundant labels such as under supervision or on review, wastes religious budgets and lacks scientific value. These activities resemble a mirage in the desert, appearing as science but devoid of its reality.
Constructing schools and engaging in building projects is not the role of religious scholars. These affairs, well managed by merchants and engineers, should not replace scientific production. The religious scholar is like a gardener who must nurture the sapling of knowledge rather than stacking stones and bricks.
The diversity of divine power invites exploration of various dimensions of the Lords authority. Nevertheless, passivity in religious knowledge and inclination towards non-scientific activities like book-play and school construction have hindered realisation of these capacities. This section, by critiquing these approaches, stresses the necessity of returning to scientific production.
كَـ and الَّذِيThe word كَالَّذِي in the verse is a similitude particle and functions similarly to الَّذِي in verse 258. This simile indicates a structural link between the two verses. According to al-Suyutis analysis, the similitude particle in cases such as كَاسْتَقَمَ means
