My Lord, Show Me How You Give Life to the Dead

Allah (swt) says: wa idh qāla Ibrāhīmu rabbi arinī kayfa tuḥyī al-mawtā — and remember when Ibrāhīm said: my Lord, show me how You give life to the dead. Show me. He wants to see it. That does not mean that Ibrāhīm does not believe in it. Ibrāhīm does believe in it, and his argument with the king was based on that belief. But he wants to see it.

So Allah asked him: qāla a-wa lam tuʾmin — Allah said, do you not believe? Ibrāhīm said: qāla balā wa lākin li-yaṭmaʾinna qalbī. He said: yes, I believe, but to be stronger in faith. I do believe, but I want to be stronger in faith.

So Allah (swt) told Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him): take a bird — four birds. Slaughter them, chop them into pieces, grind them. Ground — not ground beef; ground birds. Grind them together. Mix these four birds together. Mesh the flesh so it's inseparable. And then split this mixture into four parts, and put one part on the top of a mountain. So you have four mountains, and a quarter of these ground birds: put a quarter of it on the top of a mountain. And then call them.

So Ibrāhīm put these four quarters of ground bird on the tops of these four mountains, and then he called them. He said: come. All of these birds came together, alive. Four birds. So Ibrāhīm witnessed the miracle of life in front of his eyes.

Thumma udʿuhunna yaʾtīnaka saʿyā, wa-ʿlam anna Allāha ʿazīzun ḥakīm. And remember when Ibrāhīm said: my Lord, show me how You give life to the dead. Allah said: do you not believe? Ibrāhīm said: yes, I believe, but to be stronger in faith. Allah said: take four birds, then cause them to incline towards you, and then put a portion of them on every hill, and call them; they will come to you in haste. And know that Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.