[2:260] And when Abraham said, 'My Lord show me how You give life to the dead'. He said, 'Why, do you not believe?' '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 he was looking for increased certainty and wanted to compare the reality of certainty (ḥaqq al-yaqīn) with what he had already obtained in the essence of certainty (ʿayn al-yaqīn).
It is said what [Abraham] said here sought to elicit His words (s), 'Why, do you not believe?' [Abraham] said, 'Yes, I believe but I longed to have You say to me, “Why, do you not believe?” 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 he can.
It is said he was seeking a vision of the Real (s), but by hint or allusion, for he was kept from [the vision] by the allusion in His words, 'And know that God is Mighty, Wise'. When Moses (ʿa) 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 he only sought the life of his heart and it was shown to him that that was by the sacrifice of these birds. Among the four birds there was a peacock and the allusion in its sacrifice pertained to the ornament and beauty of the present world. There was also the crow because of his greed, and the rooster because of his [strutting] walk, and the duck because of his seeking provision.
When Abraham (ʿa) said, 'show me how You give life to the dead' it was said to him, 'Will you show Me how you sacrifice life?' meaning Ishmael, one demand for another. When [Abraham] fulfilled what had been asked of him, the Real fulfilled what he had requested.
It is said it was under a promise from the Real (s) that he took [Abraham] as a friend (khalīl), and the sign of that was reviving the dead at his hand, and what came to pass came to pass.
He made a connection between the story of al-Khalīl (ṣ) in what He showed him and made manifest at his hand in reviving the dead, and Ezra when He showed him [what He showed him] in himself, because al-Khalīl was given preference over Ezra in what he asked and in his state. Abraham (ʿa) did not talk back to [God] in any way but rather was polite in his request. Ezra spoke to Him with words resembling those of one who deems something farfetched. The Real wanted to reveal the most powerful miracle and most perfect proof to [Abraham] inasmuch as He made the reviving of the dead appear by his hand. When Abraham's (ʿa) words, 'My Lord is He who gives life and makes to die' [2:258] confounded Nimrod, [Nimrod] said, 'I give to live and make to die' [2:258]. Abraham wanted God (s) to show him the revival of the dead so that he would know he should not make undue claims.
In these two verses there is permission for one who seeks increased certainty from God (swt) in the state of rational consideration (naẓar).
It is said Abraham wanted to bring life to the heart by the light of communion for the sake of perfection. It was said to him, 'Why, do you not believe?' which means, 'Don't you remember the state of your seeking Us when you were saying to everything you saw, “This is my lord?” [6:76-78]. You were not yet aware of how We would cause you to reach the utmost point [in understanding Our Lordship]. In this case as well, We will bring you to that to which you aspire'.
The allusion in this is that the life of the heart can only be by the sacrifice of these things, meaning the lower self. The heart of one who does not sacrifice his lower self through struggles will not be given life by God.
There is also an allusion in His saying, 'Cut these birds with your hands and separate their parts'. Then summon them and they will come to you in haste. What was sacrificed by the hand of the possessor of friendship, and cut and dismembered by his hand - every separate part answered him when he called it. Similarly, when the Real calls the one whom He has separated and scattered, he answers:
Even if I was covered with dirt
and You called me,
the bones decayed,
I would answer your voice.