Four Birds Whome God Made Alive after Dissection

Another event mentioned in the Holy Quran concerns Ibrahim (a.s.). Once he submitted to the Almighty God, "My Lord! I want to see how You make the dead alive, so that my heart may get satisfaction." Came the Command, "Take four birds (four kinds viz. a crow, a cock, a dove, and a peacock). Slaughter them and dissect their bodies into pieces and mix up their pieces of all of them with one another. Then make four heaps of the said mixed up meat and put one heap each on four different hills. Then call up each one of the birds by their names. Every one of them will fly and come to you within no time.

And when Ibrahim said: My Lord! Show me how Thou givest life to the dead, He said: What! and do you 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, then place on every mountain a part of them, then call them, they will come to you flying; and know that Allah is Mighty, Wise. (2:260)

It is mentioned in the commentary that Ibrahim (a.s.) had held the heads of all the four birds in his hands and he was calling them one by one. Then he saw that the body particles (dissected portion) began to join with one another and to reform the bodies as they were re-assembled the head-less birds flew speedily towards their heads in the hands of Ibrahim (a.s.). In order to check the accuracy, Ibrahim (a.s.) tried to make the body of one bird join with the head of another but he could not succeed as every body was rushing towards its own head and finally got joined. All the four birds thus became alive.

Adapted from the book: "The Hereafter (Ma'aad)" by: "Ayatullah Dastghaib Shiraazi"