Al-Isra 17:87
The Night Journey · Juz 15 · Page 291
إِلَّا رَحۡمَةٗ مِّن رَّبِّكَۚ إِنَّ فَضۡلَهُۥ كَانَ عَلَيۡكَ كَبِيرٗا ٨٧
Except [We have left it with you] as a mercy from your Lord. Indeed, His favor upon you has ever been great.
Tafsir · in English
Ma'arif al-Qur'an
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Commentary on 17:86–87
We can now move to verse 86: وَلَئِن شِئْنَا لَنَذْهَبَنَّ (And if We so will, We will surely take away...). It will be recollected that, in the previous verse (85), by giving an answer to the question about Ruh as true to the measure of its necessity, the underlying effort to find out the reality of the Ruh was blocked and it was declared that man's knowledge, no matter how much, still remains relatively insignificant in terms of the great span of the ultimate reality of things. Therefore, getting entangled with unnecessary debates and investigations is a waste of precious time. The present verse: وَلَئِن شِئْنَا (And if We so will) indicates that the sum total of whatever knowledge human beings have been given, even that is no private property of theirs. Allah Ta` ala can, if He so wills, take away that too. Therefore, they should be grateful to Allah for whatever of knowledge they have and stay away from wasting time in redundant and unnecessary investigations - specially when pure investigation is just not the objective, instead, testing others or belittling them is. If one did that, it is not out of the realm of possibility that this crookedness may result in all that one has in the name of knowledge taken away in toto. The address in this verse is, though, to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، but the purpose is to really make his followers listen and get the message - when even the knowledge of the Rasul of Allah ﷺ is not within his exclusive power and control, not much can be said about others!
Page 291
17:87
إِلَّا رَحۡمَةٗ مِّن رَّبِّكَۚ إِنَّ فَضۡلَهُۥ كَانَ عَلَيۡكَ كَبِيرٗا ٨٧
Except [We have left it with you] as a mercy from your Lord. Indeed, His favor upon you has ever been great.
17:88
قُل لَّئِنِ ٱجۡتَمَعَتِ ٱلۡإِنسُ وَٱلۡجِنُّ عَلَىٰٓ أَن يَأۡتُواْ بِمِثۡلِ هَٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانِ لَا يَأۡتُونَ بِمِثۡلِهِۦ وَلَوۡ كَانَ بَعۡضُهُمۡ لِبَعۡضٖ ظَهِيرٗا ٨٨
Say, "If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur’ān, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants."
17:89
وَلَقَدۡ صَرَّفۡنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِي هَٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٖ فَأَبَىٰٓ أَكۡثَرُ ٱلنَّاسِ إِلَّا كُفُورٗا ٨٩
And We have certainly diversified for the people in this Qur’ān from every [kind of] example, but most of the people refused except disbelief.
17:90
وَقَالُواْ لَن نُّؤۡمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ تَفۡجُرَ لَنَا مِنَ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ يَنۢبُوعًا ٩٠
And they say, "We will not believe you until you break open for us from the ground a spring
17:91
أَوۡ تَكُونَ لَكَ جَنَّةٞ مِّن نَّخِيلٖ وَعِنَبٖ فَتُفَجِّرَ ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرَ خِلَٰلَهَا تَفۡجِيرًا ٩١
Or [until] you have a garden of palm trees and grapes and make rivers gush forth within them in force [and abundance]
17:92
أَوۡ تُسۡقِطَ ٱلسَّمَآءَ كَمَا زَعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡنَا كِسَفًا أَوۡ تَأۡتِيَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ قَبِيلًا ٩٢
Or you make the heaven fall upon us in fragments as you have claimed or you bring Allāh and the angels before [us]
17:93
أَوۡ يَكُونَ لَكَ بَيۡتٞ مِّن زُخۡرُفٍ أَوۡ تَرۡقَىٰ فِي ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَلَن نُّؤۡمِنَ لِرُقِيِّكَ حَتَّىٰ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيۡنَا كِتَٰبٗا نَّقۡرَؤُهُۥۗ قُلۡ سُبۡحَانَ رَبِّي هَلۡ كُنتُ إِلَّا بَشَرٗا رَّسُولٗا ٩٣
Or you have a house of ornament [i.e., gold] or you ascend into the sky. And [even then], we will not believe in your ascension until you bring down to us a book we may read." Say, "Exalted is my Lord! Was I ever but a human messenger?"
17:94
وَمَا مَنَعَ ٱلنَّاسَ أَن يُؤۡمِنُوٓاْ إِذۡ جَآءَهُمُ ٱلۡهُدَىٰٓ إِلَّآ أَن قَالُوٓاْ أَبَعَثَ ٱللَّهُ بَشَرٗا رَّسُولٗا ٩٤
And what prevented the people from believing when guidance came to them except that they said, "Has Allāh sent a human messenger?"
17:95
قُل لَّوۡ كَانَ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مَلَٰٓئِكَةٞ يَمۡشُونَ مُطۡمَئِنِّينَ لَنَزَّلۡنَا عَلَيۡهِم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَلَكٗا رَّسُولٗا ٩٥
Say, "If there were upon the earth angels walking securely,1 We would have sent down to them from the heaven an angel [as a] messenger."
1 translator’s note
- i.e., who were settled and established there, as is man. ↩
17:96
قُلۡ كَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ شَهِيدَۢا بَيۡنِي وَبَيۡنَكُمۡۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِۦ خَبِيرَۢا بَصِيرٗا ٩٦
Say, "Sufficient is Allāh as Witness between me and you. Indeed He is ever, concerning His servants, Aware and Seeing."