a man came to him seeking food, he would ask him, “Who is your lord?” If he answered, “You,” he would sell him food. Abraham came to him among those who came, and Nimrod asked him, “Who is your Lord?” He replied, “My Lord is He who gives life and causes death.” Nimrod became occupied with disputing and gave him nothing. So Abraham departed. He passed by a pale sandhill and took some of its sand, so as to comfort his family when he returned to them. When he came home, he set down his baggage and went to sleep. His wife went to his baggage and opened it, and there was the finest food that anyone had ever seen. She took some of it, prepared food for him from it, and served it to him. He asked, “Where did this come from?” She replied, “From the food that you brought.” He then knew that Allah had provided for him, so he praised Allah.
Allah Most High says: “When Abraham said, ‘My Lord is He who gives life and causes death.’” [This answers an unstated question, understood as: Nimrod asked him, “Who is your Lord?” Abraham replied, “My Lord is He who gives life and causes death.” (1)] Hamzah recited “My Lord is He who gives life and causes death” with the final yā’ unvocalized. He did likewise in: “My Lord has forbidden indecencies” (33—al-Araf); “from My signs those who are arrogant” (146—al-Araf); “Say to My servants who believe” (31—Ibrahim); “He has given me the Book” (30—Maryam); “harm has touched me” (83—al-Anbiya); “My righteous servants” (105—al-Anbiya); “My grateful servants” (13—Saba); “Satan has touched me” (41—Sad); “If Allah intends [harm] for me” (38—al-Zumar); and “If Allah causes me to perish” (28—al-Mulk). Hamzah recited the final yā’ without a vowel in all these cases. Ibn Amir and al-Kisai agreed with him in “My servants who believe,” while Ibn Amir also did so in “My signs those who are arrogant.” The remaining reciters pronounced it with fatḥah.
Nimrod said, “I give life and cause death.” The reciters of Medina read “I” with the alif retained and lengthened in connected recitation when the following word begins with an alif bearing fatḥah or dammah; the others omitted the alif. All of them, however, retained the alif when stopping.
Most exegetes said: Nimrod summoned two men, killed one of them, and spared the other, making his refraining from killing him into giving him life. Abraham then moved to another proof, not out of inability, for his proof was binding: by giving life, he meant restoring the dead to life, so he could have said, “Then bring to life the one whom you have put to death, if you are truthful.” Rather, he moved to another proof, clearer than the first.
“Abraham said, ‘Indeed, Allah brings the sun from the east, so bring it from the west.’ Thus the one who disbelieved was dumbfounded”—that is, he was bewildered.