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Quran 2:259 – Are The Bones The Bones Of The Donkey?
Al-Baqarah – 2:259
Arabic
أَوۡ كَٱلَّذِى مَرَّ عَلَىٰ قَرۡيَةٍ وَهِىَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا قَالَ أَنَّىٰ يُحۡىِۦ هَٰذِهِ ٱللَّهُ بَعۡدَ مَوۡتِهَاۖ فَأَمَاتَهُ ٱللَّهُ مِاْئَةَ عَامٍ ثُمَّ بَعَثَهُۥۖ قَالَ كَمۡ لَبِثۡتَۖ قَالَ لَبِثۡتُ يَوۡمًا أَوۡ بَعۡضَ يَوۡمٍۖ قَالَ بَل لَّبِثۡتَ مِاْئَةَ عَامٍ فَٱنظُرۡ إِلَىٰ طَعَامِكَ وَشَرَابِكَ لَمۡ يَتَسَنَّهْۖ وَٱنظُرۡ إِلَىٰ حِمَارِكَ وَلِنَجۡعَلَكَ ءَايَةً لِّلنَّاسِۖ وَٱنظُرۡ إِلَى ٱلۡعِظَامِ كَيۡفَ نُنشِزُهَا ثُمَّ نَكۡسُوهَا لَحۡمًاۚ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُۥ قَالَ أَعۡلَمُ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ قَدِيرٌ
The ayah already mentions donkey before, seemingly giving the impression that it is the same as the food. But most translators add that the bones are of the donkey. Why would the donkey be mentioned prior and then again? It seems that the bones are perhaps of something else?
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5 Replies
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Quran 2:259 – Are The Bones The Bones Of The Donkey?
updated 3 years, 2 months ago
3 Members
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5
Replies
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Evidently the man had a donkey before he was given death. When he woke up 100 years later, his food was still fresh but bones were all that was left of his donkey. He was asked to look at those bones while God made the donkey come back to life so that he would understand that God can will anything and that His promise of the hereafter is indeed true.
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But that doesn’t seem an intuitive way to say it:
‘Look at Your Food and Drink, they have not gone off! And your donkey- we will make you a sign for the people! And look at the bones…’
The donkey seems to be grouped together with the food and drink. And if we see Ezekiel 37, the bones seem to be referring to the house of Israel rather than the donkey.
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These two incidents are not necessarily the same incident.
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So why is it staggered? Is the donkey like the food or is the donkey bones? Or are the bones of something else?
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The context drives our attention to the donkey to be bones which were resurrected. The quality of food were told that it was not stale but for donkey nothing is said, although if it were alive, it must be mentioned. Then comes the mention of the bones and our attention diverts to donkey whose bones were going to be resurrected.
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