The people of Uzair - in the Quran

In the Quran, there is a mention of a people or a group known as "the people of Uzair," also sometimes spelled as "Ezra" or "Ezraa" in different translations of the Quran.

The people of Uzair or Ezra are briefly mentioned in the Quran in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:259) in the context of a story about a man who passes by a town that had fallen into ruin and wonders how Allah will bring it back to life after its death. Allah then causes the man to die for a hundred years and revives him, demonstrating His power to bring back the dead to life.

The identity of the people of Uzair is not explicitly explained in the Quran, and therefore, there are various interpretations among scholars and commentators. Some believe that Uzair was a prophet and a scribe who lived during the Babylonian exile of the Israelites in the 6th century BCE. They believe that he was a prominent religious leader among the Israelites who played an important role in preserving and transmitting their religious scriptures.

According to this view, the people of Uzair were the followers of this prophet and were known for their commitment to preserving the religious teachings of the Israelites. However, they were also known for their tendency to exaggerate and add their own interpretations and innovations to the scriptures, which led to a divergence from the original teachings of the prophets. Some scholars believe that this is why the Quran mentions the people of Uzair in the context of a story about the power of Allah to revive the dead, as a warning to those who distort and corrupt His teachings.

Other scholars believe that the people of Uzair may have been a Jewish sect or a community of believers who were associated with Uzair but were not necessarily his direct followers. Some even suggest that the reference to Uzair in the Quran may be a mistranslation or a misinterpretation, and that the original text may have referred to someone else entirely.

In any case, the identity and nature of the people of Uzair remain unclear, and the Quranic text provides only a brief mention of them in passing. Therefore, much of what is known about them comes from external sources and historical accounts, which can be subject to various interpretations and debates.

The Quran mentions them in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:259) as an example of Allah's power to bring back the dead to life. The verse reads as follows:

"Or [consider such an example] as the one who passed by a township which had fallen into ruin. He said, "How will Allah bring this to life after its death?" So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years; then He revived him. He said, "How long have you remained?" The man said, "I have remained a day or part of a day." He said, "Rather, you have remained one hundred years. Look at your food and your drink; it has not changed with time. And look at your donkey; and We will make you a sign for the people. And look at the bones [of this donkey] - how We raise them and then We cover them with flesh." And when it became clear to him, he said, "I know that Allah is over all things competent."

The verse describes a man who passes by a town that had fallen into ruin and wonders how Allah will bring it back to life after its death. Allah then causes the man to die for a hundred years and revives him, demonstrating His power to bring back the dead to life. The story concludes with the man realizing that Allah is over all things competent.

While there is only one explicit reference to the people of Uzair in the Quran, some scholars suggest that there may be indirect references to them or to their teachings in other parts of the text. For example, some have suggested that the Quranic condemnation of those who add to or subtract from the religious teachings of the prophets may be a warning against the excesses of the people of Uzair. However, such interpretations are subject to debate and are not universally accepted.

Some interpreters of the Quran have identified the man in this story as the prophet Uzair or Ezra, who was believed by some to have been a scribe and a religious leader among the Israelites. However, this identification is not explicitly mentioned in the Quranic text itself. Therefore, the identity and nature of the people of Uzair remain ambiguous, and the topic is open to various interpretations.