According to this exegete, Allah showed the protagonist of the story mentioned in the verse a concrete example by making him witness the resurrection of his own soul and his mount after lying dead for one hundred years. Previously, when he saw a city in ruins, he had wondered 'How will Allah resurrect this after its death?' Allah demonstrated this to him through his own body and provisions. In other words, the lesson he witnessed in the resurrection of his own body and provisions became both proof and argument for him regarding how the city would be resurrected. Taberî presents this view as identical to the view transmitted from Mujahid and as the most accurate interpretation of the verse.

فحمل تعالى ذكره ما أراه من إحيائه نفسه وحماره مثلا لما استنكر من إحيائه أهل القرية التي مر بها خاوية على عروشها، وجعل ما أراه من العبرة في طعامه وشرابه عبرة له وحجة عليه في كيفية إحيائه منازل القرية وجنانها، وذلك هو معنى قول مجاهد الذي ذكرناه قبل.

Zamakhshari explains the meaning of the letter 'alâ' in the expression 'hâwiyaten alâ urûsihâ' with different possibilities: either the roofs/canopies fell to the ground and walls collapsed upon them, or the roofs collapsed while the walls remained standing and rose above them. Additionally, he notes that the expressions 'hâwiyaten' and 'alâ urûsihâ' can also be read as two separate predications. Finally, he transmits a report regarding the connection of this well to the people of the Prophet Salih.

أو أنها ساقطة أو خالية مع بقاء عروشها وسلامتها . وإما أن يكون خبرا بعد خبر ، كأنه قيل : هي خالية ، وهي على عروشها أي قائمة مطلة على عروشها

This section addresses the debate in the verse about whether the person (Ezra or similar) was a believing prophet or a disbeliever; al-Razi conveys the arguments of those who claim he was believing and a prophet (that Allah spoke with him, that the resurrection occurred as a favor, that doubt arose not from questioning divine power but from the continuity of habit), and finds contrary views (that he was a disbeliever, that he was mentioned in the same context as Nimrod) to be weak. Furthermore, the difference is emphasized between Abraham's request for resurrection concerning the birds while observing proper etiquette and this person's request concerning his own soul.

وحجة من قال : إنه كان مؤمنا وكان نبيا وجوه الأول : أن قوله يدل على أنه كان عالما بالله ، وعلى أنه كان عالما بأنه تعالى يصح منه الإحياء في الجملة

Al-Qurtubi addresses multiple issues in this verse: how the scene of bones being resurrected actually occurred (piece by piece or only the person's own body), who asked the question 'How long did you remain?', the manner of expressing the period of one hundred years (the difference between 'âm/sana), and whether the answer given by the person according to his own knowledge should be considered false. According to him, the apparent meaning is that Allah Himself was the one asking, and since the person gave his answer according to his own supposition, it should not be considered false, just as in the story of the People of the Cave. He also transmits that the sign-aspect (having the character of a miracle) in the verse lies in the fact that the person was resurrected in his youthful form while he was dead and found his children and grandchildren aged.

وعلى هذا لا يكون كاذبا فيما أخبر به ومثله قول أصحاب الكهف قالوا لبثنا يوما أو بعض يوم وإنما لبثوا ثلاثمائة سنة وتسع سنين على ما يأتي ولم يكونوا كاذبين لأنهم أخبروا عما عندهم

Ibn Kathir transmits different reports regarding the identity of the 'passing person' mentioned in this verse: according to the famous view transmitted from Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ibn Abbas, al-Hasan, Qatada, al-Suddi, and Sulayman ibn Buraydah, this person is Ezra; according to Wahb ibn Munabbih and Abdullah ibn Ubayd ibn Umayr, he is Jeremiah son of Hilkiah; according to some, he is Khidr; and according to others, he is Hezekiel son of Buzi. Additionally, details of the story are transmitted: the person died at the beginning of the day and was resurrected at the end, and because the sun was still there, he thought he had only been dead for one day; he saw with his own eyes his donkey's bones scattered and then gathered and revived. Regarding the city, it is reported that it was famously Jerusalem, which Nebuchadnezzar destroyed and killed its inhabitants before this person passed through it.

وهذا القول هو المشهور وقال وهب بن منبه وعبد الله بن عبيد بن عمير هو إرميا بن حلقيا قال محمد بن إسحاق عمن لا يهتم عن وهب بن منبه أنه قال هو اسم الخضر عليه السلام

According to Baydawi, the story mentioned in this verse contains different views that the person resurrected one hundred years after death could be Ezra, Khidr, or a disbeliever who denied resurrection; it is noted that the ruined village was Jerusalem and was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. The person's question 'How will this be resurrected?' carries the meaning of wonder at Allah's power if the asker is a believer, or the meaning of considering resurrection impossible if he is a disbeliever. The food and drink of the person who waited one hundred years remained undecayed, while his mount's bones were found scattered; this situation was presented to him and those around him as a lesson and a sign.

قال أنى يحيي هذه الله بعد موتها اعترافا بالقصور عن معرفة طريق الإحياء، واستعظاما لقدرة المحيي إن كان القائل مؤمنا، واستبعادا إن كان كافرا.