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Almighty
Allah said:
Did you (O Muhammad) not think of those who went forth from
their homes in thousands, fearing death? Allah said to them,
"Die." And then He restored them to life. Truly, Allah is full
of Bounty to mankind, but most men think not. (Ch 2:243 Quran).
Mohammad Ibn Ishaaq stated of Wahb Ibn Munbah said that when
Allah took Kalih Ibn Yofra (Jephtha) after Joshua, Ezekiel Ibn
Buzi succeeded him as the prophet to the Israelites. The people
had fled from Palestine for fear of the plague and settled on a
plateau. Allah said to them: "Die you all," and they all
perished. A few centuries passed, and then Ezekiel, passing by,
stopped over them, wondering. There came a voice: "Do you want
Allah to resurrect them while you watch?" He said: "Yes." Then
he was commanded to call those bones to join one to the other
and to be covered with flesh. So he called them by the power of
Allah, and the people arose and glorified Allah in the voice of
one man.
According to Ibn Abbas, this place was called "Damardan." Its
people were inflicted with plague, so they fled, while a group
of them who remained in the village perished. The Angel of Death
called to the survivors: "Die you all," and they perished. After
a long time a prophet called Ezekiel passed by them and stood
wondering over them, twisting his jaws and fingers. Allah
revealed to him: "Do you want Me to show you how I bring them
back to life? He said: "Yes." His idea was to marvel at the
power of Allah over them. A voice said to him: "Call: 'O you
bones, Allah commands you to gather up.'" The bones began to fly
one to the other until they became skeletons. Then Allah
revealed to him to say; "Call: 'O you bones, Allah commands you
to put on flesh and blood and the clothes in which they had
died.'" And a voice said: "Allah commands you to call the bodies
to rise." And they rose. When they returned to life they said:
"Blessed are You, O Lord, and all praises is Yours." Ibn 'Abbas
reported that the dead who were resurrected were four thousand,
while Ibn Salih said they were nine thousand.
Regarding plague, Abu Ubaidah Ibn Al-Jarrah related that 'Umar
Ibn Al-Khattab was on his way to Syria and had reached Sarg when
the leader of the Muslim army, Abu Ubaidah Ibn Al-Jarrah, and
his companions met him and told him of a pestilence that had
broken out in Syria. 'Umar remember the Prophet's (pbuh) saying:
"If it (plague) be in a country where you are staying, do not go
out fleeing it, and if you hear it is in a country, do not enter
it." Umar praised Allah and then went off.
Muhammad Ibn Ishaaq stated that we do not know how long Ezekiel
(pbuh) stayed among the Israelites before Allah took him away.
After him, the Israelites deviated from the right way of life,
as they usually did, and deserted Allah's covenant with them.
They worshipped many idols, among them Ba'al, so Allah sent to
them the Prophet Elijah (pbuh).
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