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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