| This Surah (Revealed) Meccan, except for verses 26, 33 [or 32], 57, and from 73 to the end of 80,
which are Medinese; it consists of 111 verses and was revealed after [sūrat] al-Qasas.(Al-Isrâ)
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| بِسْم ِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ | |
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Tafseer
Glory be to Him â an affirmation of [Godâs] transcendence â Who carried His
servant, Muhammad (s), by night (laylan is in the accusative as an adverbial qualification; isrāâ means
âto travel by nightâ; what is instructive about this mention [of laylan, âby nightâ] is that, through its
being indefinite, there is an indication of the brevity of its duration) from the Sacred Mosque, that is, Mecca, to the
Farthest Mosque, the Holy House [of Jerusalem], so called because of its distance from the former; the
environs of which We have blessed, with fruits and rivers, that We might show him some of Our signs, the
marvels of Our power. Indeed He is the Hearing, the Seeing, that is to say, the Knower of the
Prophetâs (s) sayings and deeds. Thus He [God] was gracious to him by way of [carrying him on] the night journey,
which comprised his encountering the [other] prophets, his ascension to heaven and the sight of the
marvels of the [Divine] Realm and His communion, exalted be He, with him. For he [the Prophet] (s) said:
âI was brought al-Burāq, a white animal, larger than a donkey but smaller than a mule; it was able to
place its hoof [back] towards its extremity and so I mounted it. It set off carrying me until I reached the Holy
House [of Jerusalem]. [There] I fastened the animal to the ring where the prophets fasten [their animals]. I
then went in and prayed two units inside it. As I came out, Gabriel came to me with a jug of wine and a jug
of milk, and so I chose the milk. Gabriel said [to me], âYou have made the right choice [by choosing] the
primordial nature (fitra)â.â He [the Prophet] continued [the narration], âWe then ascended to the heaven of this
world, whereat Gabriel asked to be let in. Someone asked, âWho are you?â. He replied, âGabrielâ, âAnd
who is with you?â, âMuhammad (s)â, he said. âHas he been sent for?â. âYes, he has been sent forâ.
Then it was opened for us, and lo! Adam stood before me; he greeted me and prayed for well-being for me. We
then ascended to the second heaven and Gabriel asked to be let in. Someone asked, âWho are you?â. He
replied, âGabrielâ, âAnd who is with you?â, âMuhammad (s)â, he said. âHas he been called forth?â. âYes,
he has been called forthâ. And it was opened up for us, and lo! there were the two [maternal] cousins, John
and Jesus. They greeted me and prayed for well-being for me. We then ascended to the third heaven and
Gabriel asked to be let in. Someone asked, âWho are you?â. He replied, âGabrielâ, âAnd who is with you?â,
âMuhammad (s)â, he said. âHas he been sent for?â it was asked. âYes, he has been sent forâ. And it was
opened up for us, and lo! there was Joseph standing before me, and indeed he had been given one half of
all beauty! He greeted me and prayed for well-being for me. We then ascended to the fourth heaven and
Gabriel asked to be let in. Someone asked, âWho are you?â. He replied, âGabrielâ, âAnd who is with you?â,
âMuhammad (s)â, he said. âHas he been called forth?â, it was asked. âYes, he has been called forthâ, he
replied. And it was opened up for us, and lo! there before me was Enoch (Idrīs). He greeted me and prayed for
well-being for me. We then ascended to the fifth heaven and Gabriel asked to be let in. Someone asked, âWho
are you?â. He replied, âGabrielâ. âAnd who is with you?â it was asked, âMuhammad (s)â, he replied. âHas
he been sent for?â, it was said. âYes, he has been sent forâ, he replied. And it was opened up for us, and
lo! there before me was Aaron. He greeted me and prayed for well-being for me. We then ascended to the
sixth heaven and Gabriel asked to be let in. Someone asked, âWho are you?â. He replied, âGabrielâ; âand
who is with you?â, âMuhammad (s)â, he said. âHas he been called forth?â, it was asked. âYes, he has
been called forthâ. And it was opened up for us, and lo! there before me was Moses. He greeted me and
prayed for well-being for me. We then ascended to the seventh heaven and Gabriel asked to be let in. Someone
asked, âWho are you?â. He replied, âGabrielâ, âAnd who is with you?â; âMuhammad (s)â, he said. âHas he
been called forth?â, it was asked. âYes, he has been called forthâ, he replied. And it was opened up for us,
and lo! there before me was Abraham, leaning [seated] against the Frequented House (al-bayt al-maâmūr), into
which 70,000 angels enter every day never to return thereto. I was then taken to the Lote-Tree of
the Boundary (sidrat al- 296 muntahā), and lo! its leaves resemble the ears of elephants, its fruits like
pitchers [in size]. When some command of Godâs enveloped it, it changed, and lo! none of Godâs creation could
describe it for all its beautyâ. He [the Prophet] continued: âGod then revealed to me what He revealed
and prescribed for me fifty prayers each day and night. I then descended until I reached Moses and he said,
âWhat has your Lord prescribed for your community?â I said, âFifty prayers each day and nightâ. He
said, âGo back to your Lord and ask Him for an alleviation, for your community will not have the capacity
for it: I have tried the Children of Israel and have experience of them [not being up to the task].â I then went
back to my Lord and said, âMy Lord! Lighten that [prescription] for my communityâ, and so He reduced it
for me by five. I went back to Moses who asked me, âWhat did you do?â. I said to him, âHe has reduced it for me
by fiveâ, to which he said, âYour community will not have the capacity for this; so go back to your Lord and
ask Him for an alleviation for your communityâ. Thus I kept going back and forth between my Lord and Moses,
with Him reducing it by five each time until He said, âO Muhammad (s)! They shall be five prayers each
day and night, every prayer will be worth [the reward of] ten [prayers]; that then makes fifty prayers. And
whoever intends a good deed but does not perform it, I shall count it for him as one [done]; and if he
performs it, I shall count it for him as ten; and whoever intends an evil deed, but does not perform it, it shall not
be recorded against him; but if he performs it, it shall be recorded [only] as one evil deedâ. I then
descended until I reached Moses. I informed him and he said, âGo back to your Lord and ask Him for an alleviation
for your community, because your community will not have the capacity for thisâ; and I said, âI have
gone back to my Lord so many times that I am ashamed [to go again]â. This [hadīth] is reported by the
two Shaykhs [al-Bukhārī and Muslim]; but the wording [of this version] is that of [the report in the Sahīh
of] Muslim. Al-Hākim [alNaysābūrī] reports in the Mustadrak by way of Ibn âAbbās that he said, âThe Prophet (s)
said, âI did see my Lord, Mighty and Majesticâ.â
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Tafseer
God, exalted be He, says: And We gave Moses the Scripture, the Torah, and made
it a guidance for the Children of Israel [saying] that they should not choose beside Me any guardian,
to whom they delegate their affairs (a variant reading [for yattakhidhū, âthey should [not] chooseâ] is
tattakhidhū, âyou should [not] chooseâ, thus turning away [from the third person address], in which case [the
particle] an, âthatâ, is extra and the âsayingâ is implicit).
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Tafseer
descendants of those whom We carried with Noah, in the Ark. Indeed he was a
grateful servant, giving thanks to Us frequently, and offering praise in whichever state he found
himself.
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Tafseer
And We decreed, We revealed, to the Children of Israel in the Scripture, the
Torah: âYou shall indeed work corruption in the land, the land of Syria, through acts of disobedience, twice
and you shall indeed become great tyrantsâ, you shall perpetrate grave injustice.
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Tafseer
So when the time for the first of the two [prophecies], the first of the two
occasions for corruption, came, We roused against you servants of Ours of great might, men who are strong in war
and assault, who ransacked, who came and went, seeking you out [through], [your] habitations, in
the [very] midst of your homes, in order to slay you and take [others among] you captive, and it was a
promise fulfilled. Their first act of corruption was their slaying of [the prophet] Zachariah. So Goliath and
his army were roused against them, and they slew them and took their children captive and destroyed the Holy
House [of Jerusalem].
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Tafseer
Then We gave you back the turn, the [rule of the] state and victory, [to
prevail] over them, one hundred years later, by having Goliath slain, and We aided you with children and wealth,
and made you greater in number, in clan. 297
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Tafseer
And We said: âIf you are virtuous, through [acts of] obedience, you are being
virtuous to your own souls, since the reward thereof is for them [your souls]; and if you do evil, by way of
[working] corruption, it is for themâ, your evildoing. So when the time, the occasion, for the other [prophecy]
comes, We will raise them forth, that they might ravage you, make you grieve through [their] slaying and
taking captive [of you], a grief that will be manifest on your faces, and that they might enter the Temple,
the Holy House [of Jerusalem], and destroy it, just as they entered it, and destroyed it, the first
time, and that they might destroy, lay waste, all that they conquered, [all that] they gained ascendancy
over, utterly, with an utter wasting. They indeed wrought corruption a second time when they slew [the
prophet] John. Thus Nebuchadnezzar was roused against them, and so he slew thousands of them and
took their children captive and destroyed the Holy House [of Jerusalem].
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Tafseer
And We said in the Scripture: It may be that your Lord will have mercy upon you,
after the second time, if you were to repent; but if you revert, to [working] corruption, We [too] will
revert, to punishment. And assuredly they did revert by denying the Prophet (s), and so he was given power
over them, through the slaying of the [Banū] Qurayza, the expulsion of the [Banū] Nadīr and the
exacting of the jizya-tax from them; and We have made Hell a dungeon for the disbelievers, a place of detention
and a prison [for them].
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Tafseer
Truly this Qurâān guides to that, to that way, which is straightest, most
upright and correct, and gives tidings to the believers who perform righteous deeds that there is a great reward for
them.
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Tafseer
And, it [this Qurâān] informs, that those who do not believe in the Hereafter,
We have prepared for them a painful chastisement, namely, the Fire.
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Tafseer
And man prays for ill, against himself and his family when he is frustrated, as
[avidly as] he prays for good. And mankind is ever hasty, to pray against himself, without contemplating the
consequence thereof.
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Tafseer
And We made the night and the day two signs, [both] indicators of Our power.
Then We effaced the sign of the night, extinguishing its light with darkness, so that you might repose
therein (the annexation [āyataâlayli, âthe sign of the nightâ, is explicative), and made the sign of the day
sight-giving, in other words, one in which it is possible to see because of the light; that you may seek, therein,
bounty from your Lord, by earning [your livelihood], and that you may know, by both [day and night], the
number of years and the reckoning, of the times [of the day], and everything, that might be needed, We
have detailed very distinctly, We have explained clearly.
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Tafseer
And We have attached every personâs omen â his deeds â for him to carry, upon
his neck â this [site] is singled out for mention because fastening [something] to it is [much] more
severe; Mujāhid [b. Jabr alMakkī] said, âThere is not a child born but it has a leaf around its neck in which it
is decreed [that the child will be either] fortunate or damnedâ â and We shall bring forth for him, on the
Day of Resurrection, a book, in which his deeds are recorded [and], which he will find wide open (yalqāhu
manshūran: both are adjectival qualifications of kitāban, âa bookâ). 298
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Tafseer
And it will be said to him: âRead your book! This day your soul suffices as your
own reckonerâ.
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Tafseer
Whoever is guided, is guided only to [the good of] his own soul, because the
reward of his guidance will be for him; and whoever goes astray, goes astray only to its [his soulâs]
detriment, because the sin thereof will be held against it. No burdened, [no] sinful, soul shall bear the burden of
another, soul. And We never chastise, anyone, until We have sent a messenger, to make clear to him that
which is his obligation.
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Tafseer
And when We desire to destroy a town We command its affluent ones, those
[inhabitants] of its who enjoy the graces [of God], meaning its leaders, [We command them] to obedience, by the
tongue of Our messengers; but they fall into immorality therein, rebelling against Our
command, and so the Word is justified concerning it, that it should be chastised, and We destroy it utterly,
We annihilate it by annihilating its inhabitants and leaving it in ruins.
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Tafseer
How many â in other words, many â generations, communities, We have destroyed
since Noah! And your Lord suffices as One Informed and Beholder of the sins of His servants, Knower
of the hidden and manifest aspects of these [sins] (bi-rabbika, âyour Lordâ, is semantically connected to
bi-dhunūb, âof the sinsâ).
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Tafseer
Whoever desires, through his deeds, the hasty world, that is, [the life of] this
world, We hasten for him therein whatever We will, for whom We please, [such] a hastening, (li-man nurīd,
âfor whom We pleaseâ, is a substitute for lahu, âfor himâ, with the repetition of the genitive particle
[li-]). Then We appoint for him, in the Hereafter, Hell, to which he will be exposed, [to which] he will be
admitted, condemned, blameful, and rejected, banished from [Godâs] mercy.
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Tafseer
And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it with the necessary effort,
[that is] he performs the deeds worthy of it, being a believer (wa-huwa muâminun is a circumstantial
qualifier) â for such their effort will find favour, with God, that is, [their effort will be] accepted and
rewarded.
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Tafseer
Each, of the two parties, We supply, We give, [to] these and [to] those (hāâūlāâ
wa-hāâūlāâ is a substitute [for kullan, âeachâ) from (min is semantically connected to numiddu, âWe supplyâ)
from your Lordâs bounty, in this world. And your Lordâs bounty, therein, is not confined, [it is not] forbidden
to anyone.
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Tafseer
See how We have given preference to some of them over others, in provision and
renown. And truly the Hereafter is greater, grander, in degrees and greater in preferment, to this
world, and so one ought to devote oneâs attention to it [the Hereafter], to the exclusion of the other.
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Tafseer
Do not set up another god besides God, or you will sit blameworthy, forsaken,
with no one to assist you.
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Tafseer
299 And your Lord has decreed, He has commanded, that you worship none save Him,
and, that you show, kindness to parents, by being dutiful to them. If they should reach old age with
you, one of them (ahaduhumā is the subject [of the verb]) or both (a variant reading [for
yablughanna] has yablughān, âboth [should] reachâ, in which case ahaduhumā would be substituting for the [dual
indicator] alif [of yablughān]) then do not say to them âFieâ (read uffan or uffin, uffa or uffi, a verbal noun
meaning tabban, âperish!â or qubhan, âevil!â) nor repulse them, but speak to them gracious words, fair and
gentle [words].
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Tafseer
And lower to them the wing of humility, show them your submissive side, out of
mercy, that is, on account of your affection for them, and say, âMy Lord, have mercy on them, just as they,
had mercy on me when [they], reared me when I was littleâ.
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Tafseer
Your Lord knows best what is in your hearts, [in the way] of what may be
concealed of dutifulness or disobedience [to parents]. If you are righteous, obedient to God, then truly, to
those who are penitent, those who return to obedience of Him, He is Forgiving, of any slip that might
have issued on their part regarding their duty to the parents, so long as they do not conceal [within
themselves] any disrespect [towards them].
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Tafseer
And give the kinsman his due, of dutifulness and kindness, and the needy and the
traveller [as well]; and do not squander, by expending for [any purpose] other than in obedience to God.
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Tafseer
Indeed squanderers are brothers of devils, that is, they follow their way, and
the Devil was ever ungrateful to his Lord, extremely rejective of His graces: likewise his brother the
squanderer.
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Tafseer
But if you [have to] overlook them, that is, the kinsmen and the others
mentioned, and do not give to them, seeking mercy from your Lord, [a mercy] which you expect [in the future], that
is, [you do not give to them] because of a request for provision which you are waiting to come to you [from
your Lord], before you give to them, then speak to them gentle words, pleasant and reasonable [words],
promising them that you will give to them when the provision [from God] arrives.
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