Al-Isra

Glory be to Him — an affirmation of [God’s] transcendence — Who carried His servant, Muhammad (s), by night (laylan is in the accusative as an adverbial qualification; isrā’ means ‘to travel by night’; what is instructive about this mention [of laylan, ‘by night’] 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 Prophet’s (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: ‘I 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], “You have made the right choice [by choosing] the primordial nature (fitra)”.’ He [the Prophet] continued [the narration], ‘We then ascended to the heaven of this world, whereat Gabriel asked to be let in. Someone asked, “Who are you?”. He replied, “Gabriel”, “And who is with you?”, “Muhammad (s)”, he said. “Has he been sent for?”. “Yes, he has been sent for”. 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, “Who are you?”. He replied, “Gabriel”, “And who is with you?”, “Muhammad (s)”, he said. “Has he been called forth?”. “Yes, he has been called forth”. 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, “Who are you?”. He replied, “Gabriel”, “And who is with you?”, “Muhammad (s)”, he said. “Has he been sent for?” it was asked. “Yes, he has been sent for”. 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, “Who are you?”. He replied, “Gabriel”, “And who is with you?”, “Muhammad (s)”, he said. “Has he been called forth?”, it was asked. “Yes, he has been called forth”, 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, “Who are you?”. He replied, “Gabriel”. “And who is with you?” it was asked, “Muhammad (s)”, he replied. “Has he been sent for?”, it was said. “Yes, he has been sent for”, 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, “Who are you?”. He replied, “Gabriel”; “and who is with you?”, “Muhammad (s)”, he said. “Has he been called forth?”, it was asked. “Yes, he has been called forth”. 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, “Who are you?”. He replied, “Gabriel”, “And who is with you?”; “Muhammad (s)”, he said. “Has he been called forth?”, it was asked. “Yes, he has been called forth”, 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-ma‘mūr), 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-muntahā), and lo! its leaves resemble the ears of elephants, its fruits like pitchers [in size]. When some command of God’s enveloped it, it changed, and lo! none of God’s creation could describe it for all its beauty’. He [the Prophet] continued: ‘God 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, “What has your Lord prescribed for your community?” I said, “Fifty prayers each day and night”. He said, “Go 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].” I then went back to my Lord and said, “My Lord! Lighten that [prescription] for my community”, and so He reduced it for me by five. I went back to Moses who asked me, “What did you do?”. I said to him, ‘He has reduced it for me by five’, to which he said, “Your community will not have the capacity for this; so go back to your Lord and ask Him for an alleviation for your community”. Thus I kept going back and forth between my Lord and Moses, with Him reducing it by five each time until He said, “O 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 deed”. I then descended until I reached Moses. I informed him and he said, “Go back to your Lord and ask Him for an alleviation for your community, because your community will not have the capacity for this”; and I said, “I have gone back to my Lord so many times that I am ashamed [to go again]”. 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 [al-Naysābūrī] reports in the Mustadrak by way of Ibn ‘Abbās that he said, ‘The Prophet (s) said, “I did see my Lord, Mighty and Majestic”.’

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, ‘they should [not] choose’] is tattakhidhū, ‘you should [not] choose’, thus turning away [from the third person address], in which case [the particle] an, ‘that’, is extra and the ‘saying’ is implicit).

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.

And We decreed, We revealed, to the Children of Israel in the Scripture, the Torah: ‘You shall indeed work corruption in the land, the land of Syria, through acts of disobedience, twice and you shall indeed become great tyrants’, you shall perpetrate grave injustice.

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].

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.

And We said: ‘If 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 them’, 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].

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].

Truly this Qur’ān 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.

And, it [this Qur’ān] informs, that those who do not believe in the Hereafter, We have prepared for them a painful chastisement, namely, the Fire.

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.

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 [āyata’layli, ‘the sign of the night’, 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.

And We have attached every person’s omen — his deeds — for him to carry, upon his neck — this [site] is singled out for mention because fastening [something] to it is [much] more severe; Mujāhid [b. Jabr al-Makkī] said, ‘There 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 damned’ — 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, ‘a book’).

And it will be said to him: ‘Read your book! This day your soul suffices as your own reckoner’.

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 soul’s] 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.

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.

How many — in other words, many — 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, ‘your Lord’, is semantically connected to bi-dhunūb, ‘of the sins’).

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, ‘for whom We please’, is a substitute for lahu, ‘for him’, 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 [God’s] mercy.

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 mu’minun is a circumstantial qualifier) — for such their effort will find favour, with God, that is, [their effort will be] accepted and rewarded.

Each, of the two parties, We supply, We give, [to] these and [to] those (hā’ūlā’ wa-hā’ūlā’ is a substitute [for kullan, ‘each’) from (min is semantically connected to numiddu, ‘We supply’) from your Lord’s bounty, in this world. And your Lord’s bounty, therein, is not confined, [it is not] forbidden to anyone.

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 one’s attention to it [the Hereafter], to the exclusion of the other.

Do not set up another god besides God, or you will sit blameworthy, forsaken, with no one to assist you.

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, ‘both [should] reach’, in which case ahaduhumā would be substituting for the [dual indicator] alif [of yablughān]) then do not say to them ‘Fie’ (read uffan or uffin, uffa or uffi, a verbal noun meaning tabban, ‘perish!’ or qubhan, ‘evil!’) nor repulse them, but speak to them gracious words, fair and gentle [words].

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, ‘My Lord, have mercy on them, just as they, had mercy on me when [they], reared me when I was little’.

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].

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.

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.

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.

And do not keep your hand chained to your neck, in other words, do not withhold it completely from expending, nor open it, in order to expend, completely, or you will sit blameworthy — this refers to the first case — and denuded, cut off, having nothing — this refers to the latter case.

Truly your Lord expands provision, He makes it abundant, for whomever He will and He straitens, He restricts it for whomever He will. Indeed He is ever Aware and Seer of His servants, Knower of what they hide and what they manifest, giving them provision in accordance with their welfare.

And do not slay your children, by burying them alive, fearing penury, poverty. We shall provide for them and for you. Slaying them is truly a great sin.

And do not come [anywhere] near fornication — this [form of expressing it] is more effective than [saying] ‘Do not commit it’. It is indeed an indecency, an abomination, and, it is, an evil way.

And do not slay the soul [whose life] God has made inviolable, except with due cause. Whoever is slain wrongfully, We have certainly given his heir, the one inheriting from him, a warrant, a sanction [to retaliate] against the slayer; but let him not commit excess, [let him not] overstep the bounds, in slaying, by slaying other than the killer [of the one slain], or by other than that [instrument] with which he [the slain] was killed; for he is supported [by the Law].

And do not come [anywhere] near an orphan’s property, except in the fairest manner until he comes of age. And fulfil the covenant, should you make a covenant with God or with people [in general]. Indeed the covenant will be enquired into.

And give full measure, complete it, when you measure, and weigh with a right balance, [with] an even balance: that is better and fairer in return.

And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed the hearing and the sight and the heart — of each of these it will be asked, of that person what he did with them.

And do not walk in the earth exultantly, that is, exultant with pride and conceit. Indeed you will not rend the earth, [you will not] pierce it and reach its depths with your pride, nor attain the mountains in height: the meaning is that you shall never attain such ends, so how can you be so arrogant?

All of that, [which has been] mentioned — the evil of it is hateful in the sight of your Lord.

This is [part] of the wisdom, the admonition, which your Lord has revealed to you, O Muhammad (s). And do not set up with God any other god, or you will be cast into Hell, blameworthy, abandoned, banished from God’s mercy.

Has your Lord then preferred you, has He distinguished you [exclusively], O Meccans, with sons and chosen for Himself females from among the angels?, as daughters for Himself, in the way that you [are wont to] claim. Truly, by [saying] this, you are speaking a monstrous word!

And verily We have dispensed, We have elucidated, in this Qur’ān, similitudes, promises [of reward] and threats [of retribution], so that they may remember, [that they may] be admonished, but it, that [elucidation], only increases them in aversion, to the Truth.

Say, to them: ‘If there were with Him, that is, with God, [other] gods, as they say, they would, in that case, have sought against the Lord of the Throne, that is, [against] God, some path, some way, in order to fight Him [off].

Glory be to Him — an affirmation of His transcendence — and exalted be He above what they say, in the way of [His having] associates, greatly!

The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein proclaim His praise, [they] affirm His transcendence. And there is not a thing, among things created, but proclaims, enwrapped [in], His praise, in other words, [everything] says subhāna’Llāh wa-bi-hamdihi, ‘Glory and praise be to God’; but you do not understand their glorification, because it is not [proclaimed] in your language. Lo! He is Forbearing, Forgiving, for He does not hasten [to bring about] your punishment.

And when you recite the Qur’ān, We place between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter a hidden barrier, that is, one that hides you from them, so that they cannot see you — this was revealed regarding those who wanted to assassinate him (s) [the Prophet].

And We place upon their hearts veils, covers, lest they should understand it, lest they should understand the Qur’ān, in other words, and so [in this way] they do not understand it, and in their ears a deafness, a heaviness, thus they cannot hear it. And when you mention your Lord alone in the Qur’ān, they turn their backs in aversion, to it.

We know best what they listen to, the reason for [which they listen to] it, in order to mock [it], when they listen to you, [to] your recital, and when they are in secret counsel, holding secret talks among themselves, in other words, when they talk, when (idh substitutes for the preceding idh, ‘when’) the evildoers say, in their secret conversation: ‘You are only following a man bewitched, one duped, his mind overcome’.

God, exalted be He, says: Look how they strike similitudes for you, such as [your being] bewitched, a soothsayer or a poet, and they go astray, thereby from [the path of] guidance, and cannot find a way, a path to it!

And they say, in denial of the Resurrection: ‘What, when we are bones and fragments, shall we really be raised up in a new creation?’

Say, to them: ‘Be stones or iron,

or some creation yet greater in your breasts, [something yet] far less able to accept life, aside from bones and fragments, a spirit will undoubtedly be made to exist in you [to bring you back to life]. They will then say, ‘Who shall bring us back?’, to life. Say: ‘He Who originated you, created you, the first time, when you had not been anything [in existence], because the One Who is able to initiate [creation] is also able to repeat [it], indeed, this [repetition] is easier [than the initiation]. Then they will shake their heads at you, stupefied, and they will say, mockingly: ‘When will it be?’, that is, the Resurrection. Say: ‘Maybe it is near!’

The day He calls you, [the day] He calls out to you from your graves by the tongue of [the archangel] Isrāfīl, you will respond, you will answer His call from your graves, with His praise, by His command — it is also said to mean [that you will respond] ‘and praise be to Him’ — and you will think that you have remained, in this world, only a little, because of the terror of what you will see [on that day].

And tell My servants, the believers, to speak, to disbelievers, that, word, which is finer. For Satan indeed incites ill feeling, he makes trouble, between them, and Satan is indeed man’s manifest enemy, his enmity is evident. The ‘finer word’ is [to say] this:

Your Lord knows you best. If He will, He will have mercy on you, by way of [granting you] repentance and faith, or, if He will, for you to be chastised, He will chastise you, by having you die in disbelief. And We did not send you to be a guardian over them, and so compel them to [embrace] faith — this was [revealed] before the command to fight [them].

And your Lord knows best all who are in the heavens and the earth, thus endowing them [each one] with what He will, according to the measure of their states. And verily We have preferred some of the prophets above others, endowing each of them with a particular merit: Moses, with being spoken to; Abraham, with Friendship; and Muhammad (s), with the Night Journey; and We gave David the Psalms.

Say, to them: ‘Call on those whom you assumed, to be gods, besides Him, such as the angels, Jesus and Ezra (‘Uzayr); yet they have no power to rid you of misfortune nor to transfer, it to [persons] other than you.

Those whom they call, gods, [they themselves] seek a means to their Lord, [they seek] nearness, by way of obedience, which of them (ayyuhum substitutes for the [third person indicator] wāw of [the verb] yabtaghūna, ‘they seek’) in other words, [even] he seeks it [this nearness] the one who, is nearer, to Him, so how [much more] is it [sought] in the case of others?; and they hope for His mercy and fear His chastisement, just like others, so how can you call them gods? Truly your Lord’s chastisement is a thing to beware of.

There is not a town — its inhabitants are the ones meant — but We shall destroy it before the Day of Resurrection, through death, or chastise it with terrible chastisement, by killing [its inhabitants] or otherwise. That has been inscribed in the Book, the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfūz).

Nothing prevented Us from sending the signs, requested by the people of Mecca, except that the ancients denied them, when We sent such [signs] and so We destroyed them: if We were to send them to these [people of Mecca], they would deny them and would thus deserve destruction. However, We have judged that they be given respite so that the mission of Muhammad (s) be completed. And We gave Thamūd the she-camel as, a sign [that was], apparent, [one that was] clear and evident, but they wronged, they disbelieved, it, and were therefore destroyed. And We do not send signs, miracles, except for deterrence, to servants, so that they might believe.

And, remember, when We said to you, ‘Truly your Lord encompasses mankind’, in knowledge and power [over them], such that they are within His grasp: so deliver the Message to them and do not fear anyone, because God will protect you from them. And We did not appoint the vision that We showed you, before your very eyes, during the Night Journey, except as a test for people, [for] the people of Mecca — since they denied it and some of them [even] apostatised when he [the Prophet] informed them of it — and [likewise] the tree cursed in the Qur’ān, namely, the [tree called] Zaqqūm [Q.37:62ff] that issues from the very root of the Blazing Fire [of Hell]; We made it a test for them, because they said, ‘Fire consumes trees, so how can it cause it [the Zaqqūm tree] to issue forth?’. And We [seek to] deter them, with it, but it, Our deterrence, only increases them in gross insolence.

And, mention, when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam’, a prostration of salutation, by inclining oneself, and so they [all] prostrated themselves, except Iblīs: he said, ‘Shall I prostrate myself before one whom You have created from clay?’ (tīnan, is in the accusative because the operator of the oblique [min, ‘of’] has been omitted, in other words [it would normally be] min tīnin).

Said he, ‘Do You see — in other words, inform me: this one whom You have honoured, [whom] You have preferred, above me?, by commanding that prostration should be made before him, when ‘I am better than him. You created me from fire, while him You created from clay’ [Q. 7:12]. If (la-in: the lām is for oaths) You defer me to the Day of Resurrection I shall verily eradicate his seed, by leading them astray, [all] save a few’, of them, of those whom You have given [divine] protection.

Said He, exalted be He, to him [Iblīs]: ‘Begone, deferred to the time of the First Blast [of the Trumpet]. Whoever of them follows you — indeed Hell shall be your requital, [both] yours and theirs, a requital [that is indeed] ample, sufficient and complete.