Overall meaning : Allah Almighty recounts to His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the story of the man upon whom Allah had bestowed sovereignty, and who argued with Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him, about the existence of Allah and His Lordship, and being the sole God deserving of worship. He only disputed with Abraham, peace be upon him, because of the kinship Allah, his own Creator, granted him, as a result of which he became arrogant and denied Allah’s existence altogether. In an attempt to prove to him the existence of the Lord Almighty as the only true God worthy of worship Abraham, peace be upon him, informed him that Allah has the power over life and death. The conceited king stubbornly replied that he, too, could give life and cause death by virtue of the fact that he could reverse or impose the death penalty upon whomever he wished. Abraham, peace be upon him, responded that Allah brings the sun from the east every day and asked him to make it rise from the west instead if he was a true god who can truly give life and cause death. The false contender was clearly dumbfounded and remained silent after running out of arguments. Allah Almighty does not give guidance and help to those who wrong themselves by choosing unbelief over faith.
The Almighty then relates to his Prophet, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the story of the man who passed by a desolate village, whose buildings had been reduced to utter ruin and its inhabitants had all died. Amazed at how life could ever be returned to that deserted village, the man wondered, ‘How can Allah give life to this village, now that it is dead?’ Thereupon Allah caused him to die, and after a hundred years brought him back to life. ‘How long have you been here?’ Allah asked. Thinking that he had woken up from sleep, the man replied that he had remained there for a day or part of a day. ‘No,’ Allah said to him, ‘you have rather remained thus for a hundred years! Now look at your food and drink which has not spoiled even though they are among the things that are easily affected by the passage of time. Look at your donkey that has died and now is but a pile of scattered bones that had rotted away and almost crumbled to dust. We have done this to make you a sign for people proving His mighty power to bring them life after death. Look at its decayed bones and how We will revive them and clothe them with flesh.’ When he saw what he saw all that happen before his very eyes, he was convinced beyond any doubt and more than ever before of Allah’s mighty power. ‘Now I know that God has power over all things,’ he said with absolute certainty.
Then He recounts to His Prophet the story of Abraham, peace be upon him, when he asked his Lord to make him see with his own eyes how Allah could raise the dead, so Allah Almighty asked him, ‘Do you not then believe?’ Abraham, peace be upon him, replied that He was a true believer, that he had no doubt about Allah’s formidable power and that he just wanted to reassure his heart even more and so that his faith would be strengthened further. The Almighty commanded him to take four birds, slaughter them, cut them to pieces, scatter them over several mountain-tops and then call them back and they would come swiftly to him. Abraham did as he was commanded and, sure enough, the birds came to him flying, just as Allah had assured him. Allah Almighty commanded him to be absolutely certain that He is All-Mighty, All-Wise.