Al-Isra 17:97–109

Guidance and Misguidance are in the Hands of Allah

Allah tells us how He deals with His creation and how His rulings are carried out. He tells us that there is none who can put back His judgement, for whomever He guides cannot be led astray,

(and whomever He leaves astray can never find helpers other than Him)to guide him. As Allah says:

(He whom Allah guides, he is the rightly-guided; but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find no Wali (guiding friend) to lead him) 18:17

The Punishment of the People of Misguidance

(and We shall gather them together on the Day of Resurrection on their faces,) Imam Ahmad recorded from Anas bin Malik that the Prophet was asked, "O Messenger of Allah, how will the people be gathered on their faces" He said,

(The One Who made them walk on their feet is able to make them walk on their faces.) It was also reported (by Al-Bukhari and Muslim) in the Two Sahihs.

(blind) means, unable to see.

(dumb) means, unable to speak.

(deaf) means, unable to hear. They will be in this state as a punishment for the way they were in this world, blind, dumb and deaf to the truth. This will be their recompense when they are gathered on the Day of Resurrection, at the time when they need these faculties most of all.

(their abode) means, their destination.

(will be Hell; whenever it abates,) Ibn `Abbas said, "(This means) calms down," Mujahid said, (It means) is extinguished,"

(We shall increase for them the fierceness of the Fire.) meaning, increasing its flames and heat and coals, as Allah says:

(So taste you (the results of your evil actions). No increase shall We give you, except in torment.) (78:30)

Allah says: ` This punishment, being resurrected blind, dumb and deaf, is what they deserve, because they disbelieved

(Our Ayat), i.e., Our proof and evidence, and did not think that the resurrection could ever happen.'

(and said: "When we are bones and fragments...") meaning, when we have disintegrated and our bodies have rotted away,

(shall we really be raised up as a new creation) meaning, after we have disintegrated and disappeared and been absorbed into the earth, will we come back a second time Allah established proof against them and told them that He is able to do that, for He created the heavens and the earth, so raising them up again is easier for Him than that, as He says:

(The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind;) 40:57

(Do they not see that Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and was not wearied by their creation, is able to give life to the dead) 46: 33

(Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth, able to create the like of them Yes, indeed! He is the All-Knowing Supreme Creator. Verily, His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, "Be!" and it is!) (36:81-82) And Allah says here:

(See they not that Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, is able to create the like of them.) meaning, on the Day of Resurrection, He will recreate and restore their bodies, as He created them in the first place.

(And He has decreed for them an appointed term, whereof there is no doubt.) means, He has set a time for them to be re-created and brought forth from their graves, an appointed time which must surely come to pass. As Allah says:

(And We delay it only for a term (already) fixed.) (11:104)

(But the wrongdoers refuse) -- after the proof has been established against them,

((and accept nothing) but disbelief.) means, they persist in their falsehood and misguidance.

Holding back is Part of Man's Nature

Allah says to His Messenger : "Tell them, O Muhammad, even if you had authority over the treasures of Allah, you would refrain from spending for fear of exhausting it." Ibn `Abbas and Qatadah said, "This means for fear of poverty," lest it run out, despite the fact that it can never be exhausted or come to an end. This is because it is part of your nature. So Allah says:

(and man is ever miserly.) Ibn `Abbas and Qatadah said: "(This means) stingy and holding back." Allah says:

(Or have they a share in the dominion Then in that case they would not give mankind even a Naqira.) (4:53), meaning that even if they had a share in the authority of Allah, they would not have given anything to anyone, not even the amount of a Naqira (speck on the back of a date stone). Allah describes man as he really is, except for those whom Allah helps and guides. Miserliness, discontent and impatience are human characteristics, as Allah says:

(Verily, man was created very impatient; irritable when evil touches him; and stingy when good touches him. Except those who are devoted to Salah (prayers). ) (70:19-22). And there are many other such references in the Qur'an. This is an indication of the generosity and kindness of Allah. In the Two Sahihs it says:

(Allah's Hand is full and never decreases because of His giving night and day. Do you not see how much He has given since He created the heavens and the earth, yet that which is in His right hand never decreases.)

The Nine Signs of Musa

Allah tells us that He sent Musa with nine clear signs, which provided definitive proof that his prophethood was real and that what he was conveying from the One Who had sent him to Fira`wn was true. These clear signs were: his staff, his hand, the years of famine, the sea, the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs and the blood. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas. Muhammad bin Ka`b said, "They were his hand and his staff, the five signs mentioned in Al-A`raf, and destruction of wealth and the rock." Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Ash-Sha`bi and Qatadah said: "They are his hand, his staff, the years of famine, the failure of the crops, the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs and the blood."

(Yet they remained arrogant, and they were of those people who were criminals,) 7:133 meaning, despite all these signs and their witnessing of them, they disbelieved them and belied them wrongfully and arrogantly, although they were themselves were convinced of them, so they did not have any effect on them. By the same token, (Allah tells His Messenger here,) `if We were to respond to what these people are asking you for, who have said that they will not believe in you until you cause springs to gush forth throughout the land for them, they would not respond or believe except if Allah willed.' As Fira`wn said to Musa, even though he had witnessed the signs which he brought,

("O Musa! I think you are indeed bewitched.") It was said that this meant he thought he was a sorcerer, but Allah knows best. These nine signs which were mentioned by the Imams (scholars) quoted above are what is referred to here, and in the Ayah :

("And throw down your stick!" But when he saw it moving as if it were a snake, he turned in flight, and did not look back. (It was said:) "O Musa ! Fear not.") until His saying,

(among the nine signs (you will take) to Fir`awn and his people. Verily, they are a people who are rebellious.) 27:10-12 These Ayat include mention of the stick and the hand, and the rest of the nine signs are mentioned in detail in Surat Al-A`raf. Musa was also given many other signs, such as striking the rock with his staff and water flowing from it, their being shaded with clouds, manna and quails, and other signs which were bestowed upon the Children of Israel after they had left the land of Egypt. But here Allah mentions the nine signs which were witnessed by his people in Egypt. These became evidence against them, because they stubbornly rejected them out of disbelief. So Musa said to Fira`wn:

("Verily, you know that these signs have been sent down by none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth.) meaning, as proof and evidence of the truth of what I have brought to you.

(And I think you are indeed, O Fir`awn, doomed to destruction!) i.e., bound to be destroyed. This was the view of Mujahid and Qatadah. Ibn `Abbas said: "It means cursed." Ibn `Abbas and Ad-Dahhak said:

(doomed to destruction.) means defeated. As Mujahid said, "doomed" includes all of these meanings.

The Destruction of Fir`awn and His People

(So he resolved to turn them out of the land.) means, he wanted to expel them and drive them out.

(But We drowned him and all who were with him. And We said to the Children of Israel after him: "Dwell in the land...") This is good news for Muhammad , a foretelling of the conquest of Makkah, even though this Surah was revealed in Makkah before the Hijrah. Similarly, the people of Makkah wanted to expel the Prophet from the city, as Allah says in two Ayat:

(And verily, they were about to frighten you so much as to drive you out from the land...) 17:76-77 Hence Allah caused His Messenger to inherit Makkah, so he entered it by force, according to the better-known of the two opinions, and he defeated its people then out of kindness and generosity, he let them go, just as Allah caused the Children of Israel, who had been oppressed, to inherit the land, east and west, and to inherit the land of Fir`awn's people, with its farmland, crops and treasures. As Allah said,

(thus We caused the Children of Israel to inherit them.) (26:59). Here Allah says:

(And We said to the Children of Israel after him: "Dwell in the land, then, when the final and the last promise comes near, We shall bring you altogether as mixed crowd.") meaning, all of you, you and your enemies. Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak said, "It means all together."

The Revelation of the Qur'an in Stages

Allah tells us that His Book, the Glorious Qur'an, has been sent with truth, i.e., it contains the truth, as Allah says:

لَّكِنِ اللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ إِلَيْكَ أَنزَلَهُ بِعِلْمِهِ وَالْمَلَئِكَةُ يَشْهَدُونَ

(But Allah bears witness to that which He has sent down unto you; He has sent it down with His knowledge, and the angels bear witness) 4:166 meaning, it contains the knowledge which Allah wanted to teach to you, with His rulings, commands and prohibitions.

وَبِالْحَقِّ نَزَلَ

(and with truth it has descended.) means, "It has been sent down to you, O Muhammad, preserved and protected, not contaminated or mixed with anything else, with nothing added or taken away. It has come to you with the truth, brought down by one mighty in power, trustworthy and strong, one who is obeyed by the higher group (angels).'

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَاكَ

(And We have sent you) O Muhammad

إِلاَّ مُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا

(as nothing but a bearer of glad tidings and a warner). a bearer of glad tidings for the believers who obey you and a warner to the disbelievers who disobey you.

وَقُرْءانًا فَرَقْنَاهُ

(And (it is) a Qur'an which We have divided), The word translated here as "We have divided" may be read in two ways. If it is read as "Faraqnahu", with no Shaddah, the meaning is: `We have made it depart from Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz to Bayt Al-`Izzah in the lowest heaven, then it was revealed in stages to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, according to events, over a period of twenty-three years.' This was narrated by `Ikrimah from Ibn `Abbas. It was also narrated that Ibn `Abbas read it as "Farraqnahu", with a Shaddah, meaning, `We revealed it Ayah by Ayah , and have explained it and made it clear.' Hence Allah says:

لِتَقْرَأَهُ عَلَى النَّاسِ

(in order that you might recite it to men), meaning, convey it to the people and recite it to them,

عَلَى مُكْثٍ

(at intervals.) meaning slowly.

وَنَزَّلْنَهُ تَنْزِيلاً

(And We have revealed it by stages.) means, little by little.

Those Who were given Knowledge before truly admit the Qur'an

Allah says to His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:

قُلْ

(Say) O Muhammad to these disbelievers concerning what you have brought to them of this Glorious Qur'an:

ءَامِنُواْ بِهِ أَوْ لاَ تُؤْمِنُواْ

("Believe in it (the Qur'an) or do not believe (in it).) meaning, it is all the same whether you believe in it or not, for it is true in and of itself. It was revealed by Allah, Who mentioned it previously in the Books that He revealed to other Messengers. Hence He says:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهِ

(Verily, those who were given knowledge before it,) meaning righteous people among the People of the Book, who adhered to their Books and appreciated them without distorting them.

إِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ

(when it is recited to them,) means, when this Qur'an is recited to them,

يَخِرُّونَ لِلاٌّذْقَانِ سُجَّدًا

(fall down on their chins (faces) in humble prostration. ) means, to Allah, in gratitude for the blessing He has bestowed on them by considering them fit to live until they met this Messenger to whom this Book was revealed. Hence they say:

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَآ

(Glory be to our Lord!), meaning, they extol and glorify their Lord for His perfect power and for not delaying the fulfillment of the promise which He made through His earlier Prophets, that He would send Muhammad ﷺ. Hence they said:

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَآ إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولاً

(Glory be to our Lord! Truly, the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled.)

وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلاٌّذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ

(And they fall down on their chins (faces) weeping) means, in submission to Allah, may He be glorified, and in expression of their belief and faith in His Book and His Messenger .

وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا

(and it increases their humility.) means, it increases them in faith and submission. As Allah says:

وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْاْ زَادَهُمْ هُدًى وَءَاتَهُمْ تَقُوَاهُمْ

(While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance and bestows on them their Taqwa. ) (47:17).

وَيَخِرُّونَ

(And they fall down) is a description rather than an action (i.e., this is a further description of their humility as referred to in Ayah 107; it does not imply that they prostrate twice).