The man with a book said, "O young man, Allah is able to bring the dead to life but He has set the principle for this earth that He will not revive them before the Day of Resurrection. However, there have been instances of the dead being resurrected on the supplication of a Prophet or pious people so that the living may take a lesson from that and know that Allah is capable of doing everything. Among these are the story of Ezekiel, the story of Uzair, and the story of a cow. All of these stories are about the Children of Israel.
The Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet (ﷺ) told us unusual cases of the Children of Israel so that we may take a lesson from them." The young wayfarer asked, "Why was the Children of Israel?" The man said, "This is because they were a very unusual people. They were very different from other people in habit and their living. Thus there are many unusual cases of their conduct which are full of lessons and guidance for us.
There is no doubt whatsoever about the authenticity of the reports of earlier people as narrated by the Qur'an and Hadith. We must draw a lesson from them. However, we cannot say anything conclusively of reports received from sources other than the Qur'an and Hadith.
There are some reports that have come to us through the Jews or Christians. These are the Isra'iliyat (or Judaic/Judaistic traditions) and nothing can be said with confidence about their reliability. The agreed principle in this regard is that any of the Judaic traditions which contradict the Qur'an or Hadith should be rejected outright."
The young wayfarer asked, "What is the Isra'iliyat?" The man said, "Some of the Companions were attached to Jews or Christians religions before they embraced Islam. When they came across references in the Qur'an and Hadith to the earlier people, they remembered what they had read in the Books of their previous religions, and they related the tales to the Muslims. These found their place in the exegesis as Isra'iliyat. Ibn Kathir has said that the Isra'iliyat are of three kinds, first, those traditions which are proved true by the Qur'an and sunnah. For example, the Isra'iliyat relates that Prophet Musa, alaihissalam, visited the Mount Tur, or that the Pharaoh was drowned. The Qur'an confirms these reports.
Second, those traditions which the Qur'an and sunnah prove as wrong. For instance, the Judaic traditions hold that Prophet Sulayman, alaihissalam, turned an apostate in his last days (we seek refuge with Allah). The Qur'an rejects it [QS.2:102]. The Judaic traditions also say (we seek the protection of Allah) that Prophet Dawood, alaihissalam, committed adultery with the wife of his soldier Awriya; this too is a lie according to the spirit of the Qur'an and sunnah. We must, therefore regard such reports as false.
Third, those traditions about which the Qur'an or sunnah or other evidences of Shari'ah do not say anything. For example, the commands in Torah, and so on. The teachings of the Prophet (ﷺ) ask us to say nothing about them, neither must we confirm them nor deny them.
So, let me tell you an incident about the Children of Israel. The incident which will be narrated, is from Hadith and it is absolutely true and the story is authentic. The incident is an example of the powers of Allah. The incident is about the revival of the dead to life, to impress upon us that Allah, Who has revived them, will certainly revive all mankind on the Day of Resurrection. Thus the objection of the ignorant is foolish that the dead cannot come back to life because not only their bodies but their bones too would have rotted and wasted." The young wayfarer said, "Tell me about the incident!"
The man said, "Jabir bin Abdullah, radiyallahu 'anhu, has said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,
Reference :"A party of the Children of Israel set out on a journey. They came to one of their several graveyards in the course of their jorney and said to one another 'If we should offer two raka'at Salat and supplicate Allah, the Full of Glory, perhaps He would revive one of the dead men for us and bring him out that we may ask him about death.It is human nature to try to know more about death and what transpires in the grave. A group of the Children of Israel were travelling and they happened to pass through a graveyard. Suddenly, a thought passed their minds that if one of the dead buried there, came back to life, they would find out from him the nature of death and the grave. They agreed among themselves that they should offer Salat and make a supplication to Allah for that.
They did what they had suggested. Meanwhile, from one of the graves, a man raised his head. He was wheat-coloured and between his eyes there was a mark of prostration. He addressed these people saying, 'O you there! What do you intend with me? (Why have you got me revived?) I have been dead for the past hundred years and the fever of death has not yet cooled on me. It is there till now! Pray to Allah, the Glorious, the Majestic, that He may restore me as I was'." [Ahmad, Abu Shaybah, Al-Bazzat]
Hence they offered the Salat and made a supplication to Allah Who accepted their plea and a dead pious man came back to life. As soon as he was returned to the living, he addressed some words to these people. The Prophet (ﷺ) described him as a wheatcoloured man who had a mark of prostration between his eyes. It shows that this man had been regular in offering Salat and obedient to Allah when he lived on earth.
When he was restored to life, the first thing he said to those men was to express his displeasure on their getting him back to life. He disclosed that he had been dead for a hundred years and all the while the heat of death had not cooled. He requested them to pray to Allah to restore him to his condition, (that is, to death). This shows that the severity of death lasts for a long period of time."
The young wayfarer said, "What is the lessons and the messages of the incident?" The man said, "The Hadith tells us that before doing anything important we must offer two raka'at Salat and make a supplication to Allah. This is mustahabb and it will invite the mercy and blessings of Allah on what we do. The blessings through Salat ensure goodness in all our affairs and they are accomplished easily. This is why the Qur'an has commanded the Believers to observe this conduct.
The Hadith also gives evidence that the righteous and pious people are favoured with supernatural and extraordinary occurences. We have seen that Allah raised a dead man on the supplication of the few pious people. Sometimes, Allah grants the supplication of some of His slaves even though generally such supplications are not granted and may even be contrary to the general practice of Allah. And Allah know best."
Then man said, "O young man, may Allah preserve all believers from the severity of death and the agony of the final moments of life! May He grant us comfort in this world and the Hereafter and let our graves be gardens of Paradise. Aameen!"
وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ذَلِكَ مَا كُنْتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ"And the intoxication of death will bring the truth; that is what you were trying to avoid." - [QS.50:19]
- Maulana Muhammad Zakaria Iqbal, Stories from the Hadith, Darul Isha'at
