Al-Isra 17:8–12

After having mentioned these two events, Allah Ta’ ala declared His Law in such matters by saying: إِنْ عُدتُّمْ عُدْنَا (If you do this again, We shall do that again - 8). This law which means - if you return to disobedience and contumacy, We shall, once again, make a similar penalty and punishment zoom back upon you' - has been declared as valid right through the last day of Qiyamah. That its addressees were the people of Bani Isra'il who were present during the blessed time of the Holy Prophet ﷺ serves as a reminder to them. It is being pointed out to them that they should not forget that they were seized by divine punishment twice when they had first opposed the code of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) ، and then the code of Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہ السلام) . Now this was the period of the Code of laws brought by the Holy Prophet ﷺ . This was a period that will continue up to the Last Day. Let them, therefore, realize that the fate of those who chose to be hostile to it will turn out to be no different. Consequently, this was actually happened. These people became hostile to Islam and the religious code of laws brought by the Holy Prophet ﷺ . When they did that, they were expelled and disgraced at the hands of Muslims, and finally Baytul-Maqdis, their Qiblah, too came under Muslim control. However, the only difference was that their past conquering kings had treated them disgracefully and had desecrated their Qiblah too. Now when Muslims took over Baytul-Maqdis, they reconstructed the great Mosque of al-Quds ash-Sharif which was lying demolished and desolate for centuries and thereby reinstated the honor and reverence of the Qiblah of prophets.

The events of Bani Isra'il are a lesson for Muslims and what has happened to Baytul-Maqdis in our time is a part of the same chain

Obviously, the purpose of narrating these events relating to the Bani Isra'il in the Qur'an and making Muslims listen to them is to let Muslims understand that they are no exceptions to this divine law. Be it this mortal world or the eternal universe of their Faith, their honor and ascendancy, possessions and wealth are inseparably tied with obedience to Allah. Whenever they veer away from their obedience to Allah and the Holy Prophet ﷺ their enemies and disbelieving tyrants of all sorts shall be empowered to prevail over them. When this happens, the desecration of their places of worship will also not remain too far.

The calamity of the Jewish usurpation of Baytul-Maqdis in our time and the added sacrilege of setting fire to it has thrown the world of Islam into acute anxiety. In reality, it is confirming the Qur'an. Muslims forgot Allah and His Rasul ﷺ ، ignored the life waiting for them in the Hereafter and opted to scrounge for their share in the glamour and grandeur of the mortal world. When they became aliens to the dictates of the Qur’ an, and Sunnah, the same divine law stood activated before them. A few hundred thousand Jews overcame them. They also inflicted the loss of life and property on them. Worse still is the fate of one of the three greatest mosques of the world according to the religious law of Islam, a mosque that has the distinction of being the Qiblah of all prophets. It was snatched from them and those who took it over had a track record of being the most disgraced people in this world, that is, the Jews. In addition to that, it is common observation that these people stand nowhere close to Muslims in terms of their numbers, nor do they have some signif-icant superiority over the current collective Muslim holdings of war materials. This also tells us that this event does not really give Jews any niche of honour in the annals of world nations. However, it does provide punishment for Muslims in return for their disobedience. It clearly shows that everything that came to pass came as the punishment of our own misdeeds. And it also shows that there is no remedy for it except that we should feel ashamed of our misdeeds, make a genuine taubah (repentance), start obeying the commandments of Allah, become true Muslims and shun the great sins of imitating and trusting others. If we were to do just that, insha'Allah, true to the Divine promise, Baytul-Maqdis and Palestine shall return to us. But, it is regrettable that the present-day Arab rulers and common Muslims living in Arab lands have yet to be alerted to that reality. They are still relying on foreign assistance while making plans of taking Baytul-Maqdis back, something that does not appear to be probable, at least outwardly. Where else shall we lodge our plaint but Allah!

The only weapon system and military hardware with which Baytul-Maqdis and Palestine can return to Muslim hands are still there waiting to be picked up - Return to Allah, genuinely and passionately. Have certitude of Akhirah. Obey the injunctions of the Shari'ah. Stay away from imitating and trusting others in our social and political goals. Finally, let us place our trust in Allah and wage a purely Islamic Jihad as enjoined by the Shari'ah. May Allah Ta` ala give our Arab rulers and other Muslims the ability to answer the challenge effectively.

A strange coincidence

Allah Ta` ala has made two places on this Earth to serve as the Qiblah or orientation for those who worship Him, the Baytul-Maqdis and the Baytullah. But, the divine law relating to each of them is different. That Baytullah shall be protected and that disbelievers shall never take it over is a security concern that Allah Ta’ ala has taken it upon Himself. The Event of the Elephant mentioned in Surah al-Fil (105) of the Holy Qur'an came as its result. When the Christian king of Yaman (Abrahah al-Ashram) invaded Baytullah, Allah Ta’ ala destroyed him and his army along with the contingent of elephants he had brought, through birds, much before he could reach Baytullah.

But, this law does not apply in the case of Baytul-Maqdis. Instead, as the verses cited above tell us, when Muslims go astray and start indulging in disobedience and sin, this Qiblah will be snatched away from them and it will pass into the control of disbelievers.

Disbelievers too are the servants of Allah, but not among the accepted ones

About the first event (5), the Holy Qur’ an said: When the people of Faith start letting them be seduced to discord, sin, disobedience and disorder, Allah Ta’ ala shall set upon them such servants of His as would break into their homes killing and plundering. At this place, the Qur’ an has used the expression: عِباداً لَّنَا (` ibadal-lana: Some servants belonging to Us) and not: عِبَادَنَا (` ibadana: Our servants) - even though it was brief. There is wisdom behind it. Is it not that the attribution of a servant to Allah is, for him, the greatest conceivable honor? This is similar to what we have explained at the beginning of this very Surah under our comments on the first verse: أَسْرَ‌ىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ (asra' bi` abdihi: made His servant travel at night). There it was said that certainly great was the honour and nearness the Holy Prophet ﷺ was blessed with during the night of the Mi` raj. But, when the Qur'an describes this event, it does not mention either his blessed name or some attribute. It simply said: عَبْدِهِ (abdihi: His servant). This tells us that the ultimate perfection a human person can have, and the highest station he can occupy, is that Allah Ta’ ala chooses to cherish a servant by calling him 'His' servant. In the verse under reference, the people who meted out the punishment to the Bani Isra'il were kafirs, or disbelievers after all. Therefore, instead of calling them: عِبَادِنَا (Our servants), Allah Ta’ ala has broken the element of attribution and connection and said: عِبَاداًلَّنا (some servants belonging to Us). Thus, a hint has been given here that all human beings are nothing but servants of Allah as created, but because of the absence of 'Iman or faith, they are not the kind of accepted servants who could be attributed directly to Allah Ta` ala.

Sequence

At the beginning of the Sarah, the majesty of the prophet-hood of the Messenger of Allah was described through the miracle of al-Mi` raj. The present verses cite the miracle of Qur'an as its confirmation.

Commentary

The most upright way

The way to which the Qur'an guides has been called 'aqwam,' the most upright. 'Aqwam' can be explained by saying that it is a way that is closer to the destination, is easy and free of dangers at the same time. (Qurtubi) This tells us that the rules set for human life by the Holy Qur'an are a combination of all three features mentioned above. However, it is a different matter that man may start taking this way to be difficult or dangerous on occasions because of his own lack of comprehension. But, the Lord of all the worlds has the most comprehensive knowledge of every single particle in the entire universe. Before Him, the past and the future are the same. It is He who can have the knowledge of the reality as to the function and form most beneficial for human beings. And since man is unaware of things as they are in a comprehensive setting, he can-not identify even his own good or bad fully and decisively.

Perhaps, it is based on this congruity that it was said in verse 11 that man would, on occasions, pray for something in a haste, something that spells out destruction for him. If Allah Ta` ala were to answer such a prayer, he would be ruined. But, Allah Ta’ ala does not answer such prayers instantly until man himself comes to realize that his prayer was made in error and that it was fatal for him. Then, in the last sentence of this very verse, a natural weakness of man has been mentioned in the form of a standing rule - that man is, by nature, haste-prone. He keeps his sight trained on passing profit and loss and falls short on foresight and hindsight. He loves to go for the immediate gain and comfort, even if it happens to be only a little. He would not bat an eye to prefer it to the greater and more lasting gain and comfort. In short, this verse points out to a natural weakness of human beings in general.

And some authorities in Tafsir have taken this verse to be related to a particular event. The event they refer to concerns Nadr ibn Harith who had made a prayer in the heat of his hostility to Islam saying:

اللھُمَّ اِن کَانَ ھٰذَا ھوُالحَقَّ مِن عندِکَ فَاَمطِر عَلَینَا حِجارَۃً مَّنَ السَّمَآِء اَوأتنا بِعَذَاب اَلِیم

O Allah, if this [ Islam ] is the truth from You, then, rain down on us rocks from the skies or send upon us some other painful punishment.

In that case, 'al-insan' of the text would be referring to those mentioned above, or those like them.

Commentary

In the verses cited above, first it was declared that the alternation of night and day was a sign of the most perfect power of Allah Ta` ala. Then it was said that there was great wisdom in the making of the night dark and the day, bright. As for the wise consideration behind the making of the night dark, it was not mentioned at this place. It has, however, been mentioned in other verses that the darkness of the night is appropriate and conducive to sleep and rest. The divine arrangement is such that humans and animals go to sleep in the darkness of that very night. In fact, the whole world sleeps simultaneously in harmony with its night. Had different people been scheduled to sleep at different timings, the noises made by those awake and those working at jobs would have turned the sleep of the sleeping into a nightmare.

As for the day being bright, it has two elements of wisdom. Firstly, one can earn his living in the light of the day and natural light is needed for jobs, businesses and industries. Secondly, the alternation of night and day helps one know the number of years, for instance, the completion of three hundred and sixty days tells us that a full year has gone by.

Similarly, other calculations are also related to the alternation of night and day. If this variation of night and day were not there, it would have been difficult to fix the wages of the wage earner, the employment of the employee and the time duration of transactions.