Uzair (Ezra) AS is a significant figure in Islamic history, revered for his wisdom and knowledge of the Torah. He descended from the lineage of Prophet Harun (Aaron) AS. He lived during the difficult era after the destruction of Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis) by the tyrant Nebuchadnezzar (Bukhtanasar). The Israelites had been killed or taken as captives to Babylon, the Torah had been burned and lost, and the holy city lay in utter ruin.
Ibn Kathir and Ibn Ishaaq reported that Uzair was a saint and a wise man (and according to many scholars, a Prophet) who was deeply grieved by the state of his people and the loss of their Holy Scripture.
One day, Uzair was traveling on his donkey. He carried with him a basket of figs and a vessel of grape juice. About noon he came to a deserted, ruined place—which scholars identify as the ruins of Jerusalem or a village nearby called Sayrabadh. The heat was intense, so he entered the ruined town and dismounted his donkey. He saw the destruction: roofs had caved in, walls had crumbled, and the bones of the dead were scattered and bleached by the sun.
He sat under the shade of a tree (some say a Khaiba tree) and ate his food. Looking at the desolation, he pondered the power of Allah. It was not a question of doubt, but of wonder at how such a dead, decimated city could ever rise again.
As he sat there reflecting, Allah sent the Angel of Death to take his life. Uzair died, and his donkey died beside him. Allah kept him in this state of death for one hundred years. During this century, events changed dramatically. The Persians conquered Babylon, the Israelites were allowed to return to their lands, and the reconstruction of Jerusalem began.
After one hundred years had passed, Allah sent an angel to revive Uzair. He revived his heart and eyes first, so that Uzair could witness the process of resurrection with his own vision. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, thinking he had merely taken a nap.
The angel asked: “For how long did you sleep?” Uzair looked at the sun; he had laid down when it was high noon, and now the sun was setting. He replied: “A day or part of a day.”
The angel said: “Nay, you have remained dead for one hundred years.” The angel then told him to look at his food. Amazingly, the figs and the grape juice had not rotted or spoiled; they were as fresh as the moment he prepared them 100 years ago. This was a sign of Allah’s power over time.
Then the angel said: “And look at your donkey!” Uzair looked and saw only the white, crumbled bones of his donkey scattered on the ground. Then, before his eyes, Allah commanded the wind to gather the bones. They joined together, forming a skeleton. Then they were clothed with flesh, muscles, and nerves, and finally covered with skin. The angel breathed the soul into it, and the donkey stood up and brayed.
Uzair rode his donkey back to his native place. The city had been rebuilt, and the faces were new. He did not recognize the people, and they did not recognize him. He went to his old house and found a very old, blind, crippled woman sitting there. She was the maidservant of his house, who was only 20 years old when he left; she was now 120 years old.
He asked her: “Is this the house of Uzair?” She wept and said: “Yes, but the people have long forgotten Uzair. No one mentions him anymore.” He said: “I am Uzair! Allah had taken my life for one hundred years and has now returned it to me.”
The woman was astonished. She said: “Uzair was a man whose prayers were answered by Allah. If you are him, pray to Allah to cure me of blindness so I can see you.” Uzair prayed for her and wiped his hand over her eyes. By the power of Allah, her sight was restored, and her crippled legs were healed. She looked at him and cried: “I bear witness that you are Uzair!”
She rushed to the assembly of the Israelites. Uzair’s own son was there, now an old man of 118 years, while Uzair was still a man of 40. His grandchildren were the lords of the assembly. The maid called out: “This is Uzair come back to you!” They accused her of lying or being senile. She said: “Look at me! I am your old maid. He prayed for me, and Allah healed me.”
The people stood up and looked at him. His son said: “My father had a distinct black mole between his shoulders.” Uzair revealed his shoulder, and the mark was there. The people were amazed but still tested him. They said: “None among us memorized the Torah since Nebuchadnezzar burned it, except Uzair. There is only one copy hidden by your father Sarukha, buried in a place none but Uzair knows. If you are him, find it.”
Uzair went to the hidden place and dug up the copy of the Torah. Its leaves had rotted, and the book was crumbling. However, Uzair sat under the shade of a tree, and Allah revived the complete knowledge of the Torah in his heart. He recited the Torah perfectly and wrote it down for the Children of Israel, renewing their religion and law.
Because of these two great miracles—coming back to life after 100 years and restoring the lost Torah from memory—some of the Jews fell into a grave error. Overwhelmed by reverence, they claimed that Uzair was the "Son of God" (Son of Allah). This was a deviation similar to the Christians' claim regarding Jesus (Isa). The Quran refutes this falsehood:
Ibn Abbas commented: “So it is as Allah said: 'We have made of you a sign for the people.' That is, for the Israelites, in that he was sitting among his children who were old men, while he was a youth. He died as a forty-year-old, and Allah resurrected him at the same age on the day of his death.”