Explanations of the Qur'an for Christians (2)

One of my favorite passages in the Qur'an
(out of many favorites)

Surah 2:260

And when Ibrahim said: My Lord! show me how Thou givest life to the dead, He said: What! and you do not believe? He said: Yes, but that my heart may be at ease. He said: Then take four of the birds, then train them to follow you, and place on every mountain a part of them, then call them, they will come to you flying, and know that Allah is Mighty, Wise.

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Ibrahim is Abraham. Those of you who have read about Abraham in the Old Testament will recall that Abraham had frequent conversations with God, mostly in the form of his dreams/visions, and also in person, when the Lord visited in the form of an angel/traveler. Notice the confidence, almost childlike in its charm, that this great Patriarch Abraham had in asking God to "show him how Thou givest life to the dead." God knows that Abraham is not being insolent and asking for a test of God's knowledge and powers, and so replies to Abraham as a loving father would to a son, knowing that this question was actually a request to strengthen Abraham's faith. God replies, "What! and you do not believe!" Again this is just as a loving father would say, in pretend surprise to his questioning son. Abraham replies, "Yes, but that my heart may be at ease."

Before I continue with talking about this passage, think of how Abraham's words parallel the father of the possessed boy who Jesus cures. Mark 9:20-24:

So he [Jesus] asked his [the boy's] father, "how long is it since this has come upon him?' And he said, "From his infancy. Oftentimes it has thrown him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him. But if you canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us." But Jesus said to him, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him who believes." At once the father of the boy cried out, and said with tears, "I do believe; help my unbelief." Now when Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Thou deaf and dumb spirit, I command thee, go out of him and enter him no more."

This father of the possessed boy has come down through the sacred scriptures as saying one of the most profound things in the pursuit of salvation and grace, "I do believe; help my unbelief." One must have a base line of belief, and then go to God to ask for help with the unbelief that remains. And so in this passage of the Qur'an, there is such a beautiful illustration of this for the benefit of all who listen and hear, as Abraham, the Patriarch, feels the need and the right to ask Allah for strengthening his belief and easing his unbelief so that his "heart may be at ease."

Allah's answer is not complicated, yet it conveys a profundity of understanding of the way to Allah/God. Allah tells Ibrahim to take "four of the birds, then train them to follow you." You can think of the birds as doves or pigeons, the kinds that can be trained to return to home, traveling amazing distances. Allah then tells Ibrahim to take four birds that have been trained to return to him, and place a bird on each mountain (and so it is implied that there are four birds on four mountains, just like the four corners of the entire earth.) This symbolism indicates that Allah "givest life to the dead" no matter where on the earth they reside. Allah then says, "then call to them, they will come to you flying." And so Allah shows Ibrahim that the homing pigeons that have been trained will return to the one who trained them, as is Ibrahim in this example that Allah uses to illuminate Ibrahim. Allah says, "they will come to you flying and know that Allah is Mighty, Wise." Allah provides an example where Ibrahim can imagine how Allah provides the way back to him at the end of earthly life, because like the homing pigeons, those trained in the love and fear of Allah, and obey him, will fly back to him when their life on earth has passed. So in a simple conversation, admirably brought about by Ibrahim's faith to ask Allah this question, and the Qur'an's beautiful recording of this dialogue, anyone can understand "how" Allah "givest life to the dead."