Al-Isra 17:73–78

Commentary

Out of the verses appearing above, the first three relate to a particular event. To determine it precisely, Tafsir Mazhari carries some relevant reports. The event which is closer and more supportive in terms of the indicators set in the Qur'an is what has been reported by Ibn Abi Hatim as based on a narrative of Sayyidna Jubayr ibn Nufayr. According to this report, some chiefs of the Quraysh of Makkah came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and said: 'If you have been really sent to us, you should remove these poor and broken down people from around you, for sitting with such people is a matter of insult for us. If you do that, we too will become your companions and friends.' When they said this, the Holy Prophet ﷺ somewhat leaned towards the idea that he might do someth-ing like that as suggested by them in the hope that they may, perhaps, become Muslims. Thereupon, this verse was revealed.

Through this verse, the Holy Prophet ﷺ was sounded that their suggestion was a fitnah and the friendship they were talking about was also a fitnah (a trial or test or a ruse to tempt him into creating discord in his ranks). Therefore, he should not accept it. After that, the text says: Had your Lord not been particular about your grooming and fortitude, it was not too far out that you could have come somewhat closer to tilting towards their proposal.

From this verse, says Tafsir Mazhari, it is clearly understood that there was just no probability of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ever tilting towards such absurd demands from the Quraysh disbelievers. Yes, coming close to tilting, and that too within a very insignificant limit, was probable. But, by making him ma` sum (protected, infallible), Allah Ta’ ala saved him from drifting even to that limit. If we were to think about it, this verse provides a great proof of the highest moral disposition with which all prophets (علیہم السلام) were blessed. So, had there been even no shield of prophetic infallibility, still such was the natural disposition of the Prophet of Islam that tilting towards the absurd proposal of disbelievers would have never been possible for him. However, there did exist the probability of his coming somewhat closer, in an insignificant measure, towards the act of tilting - something terminated by the prophetic infallibility.

After that, it was said: إِذًا لَّأَذَقْنَاكَ ضِعْفَ الْحَيَاةِ وَضِعْفَ الْمَمَاتِ. It means: Supposing the impossible, if you would have come closer to tilting towards their wrong move, your punishment would have been double in life and double after death (in the grave or the Hereafter, because even an insignificant error made by those close to Allah is considered to be very grave). What has been said here is almost the same as was said about the blessed wives of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in Surah al-Ahzab: يَا نِسَاءَ النَّبِيِّ مَن يَأْتِ مِنكُنَّ بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُّبَيِّنَةٍ يُضَاعَفْ لَهَا الْعَذَابُ ضِعْفَيْنِ (0 wives of the Prophet, whoever of you should commit a clear act of immodesty, the punishment for her will be multiplied doubly - 33:30).

Istifzaz in: وَإِن كَادُوا لَيَسْتَفِزُّونَكَ (And they were likely to harass you - 76) literally means to cut off, or tear away from, or to provoke into moving from a place. At this place, the sense is to expel the Holy Prophet ﷺ from his station at Makkah or Madinah. The verse means: Had they done that, their punishment would have been that they themselves would have not been able to live there much longer after you. This is the description of another event. There are two reports about it. One event relates to Madinah al-Tayyibah. The Jews of the city came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . They told him: 'O Abu a1-Qasim, if you are true in your claim to be a prophet, you should go and live in Syria because the land of Syria is the land of al-Mahshar (the Resurrection) and the land of prophets too.' The Holy Prophet ﷺ was somewhat impressed by what they said and when he traveled to Syria at the time of the battle of Tabuk, the idea of taking up residence in Syria was still on his mind. But, the revelation of the verse: وَإِن كَادُوا لَيَسْتَفِزُّونَكَ (And they were likely to harass you - 76) at that time stopped him from doing so. After presenting this report, Ibn Kathir has, however, declared it to be unsatisfactory.

As an alternate, he points out to another event which transpired in Makkah al-Mukarramah and which, according to him, is the point of reference in this verse for the fact that this Surah was Makki provided a strong coherence for it. As the event goes, once the Quraysh disbelievers intended to expel the Holy Prophet ﷺ from Makkah al-Mukarramah.

Thereupon, Allah Ta’ ala revealed the verse: كَادُوا لَيَسْتَفِزُّونَكَ where the Quraysh disbelievers were warned that in the event they expelled the Holy Prophet ﷺ from Makkah, they too would not be sitting in Makkah in peace any longer. This is the event Ibn Kathir considers to be the weightier choice as the point of reference in the verse. Then, he goes on to explain that this warning of the Holy Qur’ an was seen come true by the disbelievers of Makkah with their own eyes. When the Holy Prophet ﷺ migrated from Makkah al-Mukarramah, they were unable to sit there in peace even for a day. It was within a period of a year and six months that Allah Ta` ala made them assemble on the plains of Badr where seventy of their chiefs were killed and their initial aggressive power was broken. Then came the final outcome of the battle of 'Uhud which made them more awe-stricken, and the last confrontation of the battle of al-Ahzab virtually broke their back. It was in the eighth year of Hijrah that the Holy Prophet ﷺ conquered the whole of Makkah al-Mukarramah.

The last verse (77): سُنَّةَ مَن قَدْ أَرْ‌سَلْنَا (Such has been Our way with the messengers We sent ...) tells us that, according to the customary way and law of Allah Ta` ala, when a people expel their prophet from his home-land, or compel him to leave by scaring and harassing, then, those people too are not left to continue living there. They are visited by the punishment of Allah Ta’ ala.

Commentary

Salah is the best defense against enemy hostility

Previous verses have mentioned the hostility of the enemies of Islam, the plans they made to hurt and harass the Holy Prophet ﷺ and what was to be done in response. By giving the Holy Prophet ﷺ the command to establish Salah in the verses cited above, it is being suggested that it is the best remedy against the mischief made and pain caused by enemies. This is similar to what has been said more clearly in a verse of Surah al-Hijr: وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ يَضِيقُ صَدْرُ‌كَ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَ‌بِّكَ وَكُن مِّنَ السَّاجِدِينَ. It means: "And indeed We know that your heart feels distressed for what they say. So, proclaim the purity and glory of your Lord, and be among those who prostrate." (Qurtubi)

This verse declares devotion to the remembrance of Allah (dhikr) through His praises (hamd) and His glorification (tasbih) and Salah (prayer) as the panacea of pains inflicted by enemies. Dhikr and Salah are special safety shields against their aggressive designs. Then, it is also not far out to believe that staying safe against the pain inflicted by enemies depends on the help and support of Allah Ta` ala. So, the best medium of acquiring this help is Salah as stated in the Holy Qur'an: اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ‌ وَالصَّلَاةِ (Seek help through patience and prayer - 2:153).

The injunction of five prayers

The majority of leading Tafsir authorities has declared this verse to be a comprehensive injunction for all five daily prayers. The reason is that the word: دُلُوک (duluk) is essentially used in the sense of 'decline' and the decline of the Sun begins at the time of meridian - though, it could also be applied to the sunset. But, at this place, the majority of Sahabah and Tabi'in have taken the word: دُلُوک (duluk) to mean the post-meridian decline of the Sun. (as explained in details by al-Qurtubi, al-Mazhari and Ibn Kathir).

The word: غَسَقِ (ghasaq) in the next phrase: إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ means the darkness of the night when it is complete. Imam Malik has reported this very Tafsir of 'ghasaq' from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ .

Thus, within the statement: لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ (between the decline of the Sun and the darkness of the night), four prayers stand covered. These are Zuhr, ` Asr, Maghrib and ` Isha'. And also identified there is the time when two of these prayers begin, that is, the time of Zuhr begins from the decline (zawal) of the Sun and the time of ` Isha' from: غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ (ghasaq al-layl) that is, at the time when the darkness of night is complete. Therefore, the great Imam, Abu Hanifah (رح) has ruled that the time of ` Isha' begins from the time when, after the red glow, the white glow of the evening also disappears. Everyone knows that, close to the sunset, a red glow appears on the western horizon and, soon after this redness, there spreads a sort of whiteness on it. Then, this whiteness too disappears. It is obvious that the darkness of the night will be complete only when the whiteness of the horizon also goes away. Therefore, these words support the view of Imam Abu Hanifah (رح) . Other Imams have ruled that the time of ` Isha' begins after the disappearance of the red glow on the evening horizon and that this is the Tafsir of 'ghasaq al-layl' (the darkness of night).

In the next phrase: وَقُرْ‌آنَ الْفَجْرِ‌ (wa Qur’ an al-fajr: translated as 'and the recital at dawn' ), the word: 'Qur’ an' denotes Salah at this place be-cause the Qur'an is an integral part of Salah. Most Tafsir authorities - Ibn Kathir, al-Qurtubi, Mazhari and others - have adopted this very meaning. Therefore, the sense of the verse is that the words: لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ (between the decline of the Sun and the darkness of the night) carried a description of four prayers. Identified now is the fifth prayer, that of Fajr. It has been described separately which is an indicator of the particular importance and merit of this Salah.

The word 'mashhud' in the expression: كَانَ مَشْهُودًا (kana mashhuda) has been derived from shahadah that means to be present.' This is a time when, according to clear statements in authentic Ahadith, both groups of angels, those of the night and those of the day, present themselves for Salah. Therefore, it has been called 'mashhud' (hence, translated as 'well-attended' ). The injunction of five prayers has appeared in this verse briefly. It has been explained fully by the Holy Prophet ﷺ through his word and deed - and unless one acts in accordance with this explanation, no one can perform Salah. I just do not know how those who claim to understand the Qur'an without Hadith and the statements of the Rasul of Allah go about making their Salah? Similarly, in this verse, the recital of the Qur’ an within the Salah has also been mentioned briefly. As for its details, it stands proved from the word and deed of the Holy Prophet ﷺ that the recitation in the Fajr prayer should be long - to the measure of strength and ability, less than that in Zuhr and Jumu'ah, average in ` Asr and ` Isha' and very brief in Maghrib. As for the mention of a long recitation in Maghrib and very brief in Fajr in some reports, it stands practically abandoned. Imam al-Qurtubi carries the riwayah of Sahih Muslim in which the recitation of long Surahs like Surah al-A` raf and Mursalat in the Salah of Maghrib, or the recitation of only the Mu'awwadhatain (the last two Surahs) as sufficient in the Salah of Fajr have been reported. He, then, comments: فمتروک بالعمل ولانکارہ علی معاذ التطویل و بامرہ الایٔمۃ بالتخفیف . It means that these incidentals of long recitation in Maghrib and brief in Fajr stand abandoned in the light of the constant practice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ as well as his verbal sayings. (Qurtubi)