@3Al-Bâhith! Opener of the tombs! we praise Thy power, which unto life the dead can raise@1. Iblis spake to Abraham: "What is this thy Lord hath told thee? Shall the Resurrection be When the moldering clods enfold thee? Nay! and if a man might rise, Buried whole, in heedful wise, See yon carcase, tempest-beaten— Part the wandering fox hath eaten, Part by fishes hath been torn, Part the sea-fowl hence have borne; Never back those-fragments can Come to him who was a man." Abraham spake unto his Lord: "Show me how is wrought this wonder; Can Thy resurrection be When a man's dust lies asunder?" "Art thou therefore not believing," Allah said, "because deceiving Iblis fills with lies thy heart?" "Nay," he answered, "but impart Knowledge, Mightiest One and Best! That my heart may be at rest." God said: "Take, thou doubting one! Four birds from among My creatures; Sever each bird's head, and so Mingle feathers, forms, and features, That the fragment shall not be Knowable to such as ye. Into four divide the mass, Then upon the mountains pass, On four peaks a portion lay, And, returning homeward, say, 'By the name and power of God— Who hath made men of the clod, And hath said the dead shall rise— Birds! fly hither in such wise As ye lived.' And they shall come, Perfect, whole, and living, home." Thereupon Al-Khalîl took A raven, eagle, dove, and cock; From their bodies shore the heads, Cut the four fowl into shreds, Mingled all their mass together, Blood and bone, and flesh and feather; Then, dividing this four-wise, Laid it where four peaks did rise Two to south and two to north. Then the dove's head held he forth, Crying, "Come!" Lo! at the word Cooed at his feet the slaughtered bird. "Come, raven!" spake he: as he spoke, On glossy wing, with eager croak, Flew round the raven. Then he said, "Return! thou cock." The cock obeyed. Lastly the eagle summoned he, Which circling came, on opinions free, Restored and soaring to the sky, With perfect plumes and undimmed eye. So in the Holy Book 'tis writ How Abraham's heart at rest was set. @3Why should we fear to yield our breath, To Thee that art the Lord of Death?@1 | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MARY MAGDALENE by GEORGE HERBERT SONNET: 17. TO SIR HENRY VANE THE YOUNGER by JOHN MILTON KARMA by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON IF I ONLY WAS THE FELLOW by WILL S. ADKIN COMPENSATION by MARION L. BERTRAND THE FAREWELL. TO THE BRETHREN OF ST. JAMES'S LODGE, TARBOLTON by ROBERT BURNS |