And when Abraham said “My Lord show me how You give life to the dead.” He said “Why do you not believeḍ” “Yes” he said “but so that my heart may be re-assured.” Said He “Take four birds and twist them to you then set a part of them on every hill then summon them and they will come to you in haste. And know that God is Mighty Wise.” It is said that he was looking for increased certainty and wanted to compare the truth of certainty ḥaqq al-yaqīn with what he had already obtained from the eye of certainty ʿayn al-yaqīn. It is said that what [Abraham] said here was meant to elicit His words سبحانه Why do you not believeḍ [Abraham] said “Yes I believe but I longed to have You say to me 'Why do you not believeḍ' and Your saying this to me is a reassurance to my heart.” The lover is forever striving to find a way to address his beloved in any way that he can. It is said that [Abraham] was seeking a vision of the Real سبحانه by hint or allusion for he was held back by the allusion in His words “And know that God is Mighty Wise.” When Moses عليه السلام asked for the vision directly saying “My Lord! Show me that I may behold You!” [7:143] [God] replied directly and clearly and it was said to him “You shall not see Me” [7:143]. It is said that he only sought the life of his heart and this was shown to him by the sacrifice of these birds. Among the four birds there was a peacock and the allusion in its sacrifice relates to the ornament and beauty of the present world. There was also a crow because of his greed a rooster because of his [strutting] walk and a duck because of his seeking provision. When Abraham عليه السلام said “Show me how You give life to the dead” it was said to him “Will you show Me how you sacrifice lifeḍ” which meant Ishmael-one demand [was made] for another. When [Abraham] fulfilled what was asked of him the Real fulfilled what he had requested. It is said that part of the promise from the Real سبحانه was that He took [Abraham] as a friend khalīl and the sign of that was [God's] reviving the dead through his hand.
