Surah Al-Isra 17:101-111 - Quran Translation Commentary

(17:101) Indeed, We gave Musa nine clear signs:¹⁵⁴ ask the children of Israel, when he went to them and Fir`awn said to him, ‘Indeed I believe, O Musa, you are bewitched.’

(17:102) He replied, ‘You know very well that none has brought them down but the Lord of the heavens and the earth - eye openers. And indeed I consider you, O Fir`awn, doomed to destruction.’¹⁵⁵

(17:103) He tried to unsettle them in the land,¹⁵⁶ so we drowned him and those with him, all together.¹⁵⁷

(17:104) We said after him to the Children of Israel, ‘Settle down in the land. When the promise of the Hereafter comes to pass, We shall bring you back as mixed crowds.’¹⁵⁸

(17:105) And, with truth We have sent it down,¹⁵⁹ and with truth it has come.¹⁶⁰ And We have sent you not (O Muhammad) but a bearer of good tidings and a warner.

(17:106) A recitation that We have gradually unfolded so that you may recite to the people with deliberation;¹⁶¹ and We have sent it down progressively.

(17:107) Say, ‘Believe in it or do not believe. Those who were given knowledge before it, when (it is) recited upon them, fall down on their faces¹⁶² in prostration.

(17:108) They say, “Glory to our Lord. The promise of our Lord had to come true.¹⁶³

(17:109) They fall down on their faces in tears,¹⁶⁴ and it increases them in humble submission.’

(17:110) Say, ‘Call upon Allah or call upon al-Rahman; by whichsoever (name) you call upon, to Him belong the beautiful Names.’¹⁶⁵ And, be not loud in your supplication, nor do it in low tones, but rather, seek a way in between.¹⁶⁶

(17:111) And say, ‘Praise to Allah who has not taken a son, has no partner in His kingdom, and who has none as His friend out of weakness.¹⁶⁷ And magnify Him with magnification.’¹⁶⁸

Commentary

154. There has been difference in opinion over the nature of these signs. Some of the Salaf believed that the allusion is to the signs of the Book, i.e., its verses. Hence Tirmidhi and Nasa’i have a report by Safwan b. `Assal that a Jew said to another,

عَنْ صَفْوَانَ بن عَسَّالٍ، أَنْ يَهُودِيَّيْنِ، قَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا لِصَاحِبِهِ: انْطَلِقْ بنا إِلَى هَذَا النَّبِيِّ، فَقَالَ: لا تَقُلْ لَهُ نَبِيٌّ، فَإِنَّهُ إِنْ سَمِعَكَ صَارَتْ لَهُ أَرْبَعَةُ أَعْيُنٍ، فَانْطَلَقَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمْ، فَسَأَلاهُ عَنْ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: "وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى تِسْعَ آيَاتٍ بَيِّنَاتٍ" [الإسراء 101]، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمْ:"لا تُشْرِكُوا بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا، وَلا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلا بِالْحَقِّ، وَلا تَزْنُوا وَلا تَسْرِقُوا، وَلا تَمْشُوا بِبَرِيءٍ إِلَى سُلْطَانٍ لِيَقْتُلَهُ، وَلا تَأْكُلُوا الرِّبَا، وَلا تَقْذِفُوا الْمُحْصَنَةَ، وَلا تَفِرُّوا مِنَ الزَّحْفِ، وَعَلَيْكُمْ خَاصَّةً يَهُودُ أَنْ لا تَعْدُوا فِي السَّبْتِ"، فَقَبَّلُوا يَدَهُ، وَقَالُوا: نَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، قَالَ:"فَمَا يَمْنَعُكُمْ أَنْ تَتَّبِعُونِي؟"قَالُوا: إِنَّ دَاوُدَ دَعَا أَنْ لا يَزَالَ فِي ذُرِّيَّتِهِ نَبِيٌّ، وَإِنَّا نَخَافُ إِنِ اتَّبَعْنَاكَ أَنْ تَقْتُلَنَا يَهُودُ.

“Let us go to this Prophet and ask him.” The other said, “Don’t utter the word Prophet. If he heard us he will develop four eyes.” They went to the Prophet and asked him about Allah’s words, “We gave Musa nine clear signs.” The Prophet replied, “That you do not associate aught with Allah, do not take away a life that Allah has forbidden except by right, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not get an innocent killed by the ruler, do not devour interest, do not slander a chaste woman, do not run away from the battle-field - and for you especially, O Jews - do not desecrate the Sabbath.” They kissed his hands a and said, “You are a Prophet - for sure.” He asked, “What prevents you from becoming Muslims?” They replied, “David had supplicated to the Lord that Prophethood should remain among his offspring. In addition, we are afraid that if we declared faith in you, the Jews will kill us.” Tirmidhi rated this as Hasan Sahih.

Nevertheless, there have been others who thought that the allusion by the nine signs is to physical signs that appeared at the hands of Musa (asws). But there are differences over what they were. From Ibn `Abbas we have several opinions. However, he, along with Matr al-Warraq, `Ata’, Mujahid, Sha`bi and others believed that they were: His hand (which shone), the staff, the torrent, locusts, lice, frogs, blood, the years of drought, and destruction of crops (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi).

155. “Doomed to destruction” is one understanding of the Salaf. Another is “accursed” and a third, “overcome” (Ibn Jarir). To be sure, Musa’s courage has not gone unnoticed by the earliest commentators. As if he was saying (Zamakhshari) that, “if you think I am mad, then, let me tell you what I think of you: you are accursed and doomed to destruction.” To say that to an emperor, before a full court, was possible only for a Prophet.

156. In view of the fact that Fir`awn and his subjects needed the Israeli labor, we might understand that either he tried to expel Musa and perhaps a few others along with him, or, unsettle the Israelites through harsh measures of persecution. The original “istifzaz” lends all these connotations.

157. Mawdudi shows the connection, “It will be recalled that the unbelievers contended that their believing in the Prophet (peace be on him) was contingent upon the latter’s performance of certain miracles. In response, they are told that in the past Pharaoh witnessed no less than nine miracles in succession. But since he was bent upon not believing, he was unable to change his views even after witnessing all those miracles.”

Further down he writes, “(Moreover) this brings out the true moral of the narrative. The Makkan polytheists were intent upon uprooting the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) and the Muslims from Arabia. They are told that Pharaoh intended to do the same with the Prophet Moses (peace be on him) and the Israelites. However, what really happened was that while Pharaoh and his people were annihilated, Moses (peace on him) and his followers became firmly established in the land which was earlier under Pharaoh’s sway.”

158. “According to Razi, the expression lafif denotes a human crowd composed of innumerable heterogeneous elements, good and bad, strong and weak, fortunate and unfortunate: in short it characterizes mankind in all respects” (Asad).

159. That is, the Qur’an has been sent down containing the truth (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

160. That is, the message has been delivered without any addition or deletion (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

161. Ibn `Abbas said that Allah sent down the Qur’an to the heaven closest to the earth, the whole of it, at once, in the night of Qadr and then gradually revealed to the Prophet over two decades. Ibn Zayd and Qatadah have also said something similar (Ibn Jarir).

162. Some commentators have pointed out that the textual word “yakhirruna” gives the sense of involuntary, uncontrolled prostration.

Further, the textual word “adhqan” literally means chin, and hence Hasan said that the meaning is they fell on their beards. Nevertheless, Ibn `Abbas and Qatadah understood the word as “face.”

Razi adds: The word chin has been used perhaps to allude that when a man involuntarily falls - literally - into prostration, unable to control his emotions, then he rubs his whole face against the ground including the beard.

On the topic, Alsusi adds a few lines on crying. He reports a hadith of Tirmidhi. The Prophet said,

عَيْنَانِ لَا تَمَسُّهُمَا النَّارُ عَيْنٌ بَكَتْ مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَعَيْنٌ بَاتَتْ تَحْرُسُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

“Two eyes will not be touched by the Fire. An eye that cried in fear of Allah, and an eye that spent the night in guard (against the enemy).”

Although Tirmidhi himself evaluated it Hasan, Albani thought it was Sahih.

Nasa’i and Muslim have a narration which says,

لَا يَلِجُ النَّارَ أَحَدٌ بَكَى مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ حَتَّى يَعُودَ اللَّبَنُ فِي الضَّرْعِ وَلَا يَجْتَمِعُ غُبَارٌ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَدُخَانُ جَهَنَّمَ فِي مَنْخِرَيْ امْرِئٍ أَبَدًا

“Fire will not touch a man who cried in fear of Allah until milk goes back to the udders, and dust that fell on the way of Allah and the smoke of Hellfire will not come together in the nostrils of a man.” (According to another version, “in the nostrils of a Muslim”).

163. What promise is it? The answer is that those who had received the previous revelations find in the Qur’an and in the Messenger who brought it, the promise of Allah fulfilled, viz., He will send His Final Messenger when its time arrives.

164. Accordingly, `Abdullah al-Taymiy has said that he who did not cry at the knowledge given him, perhaps never received it (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

165. Ibn `Abbas, Mak-hul and Qatadah have said that the Prophet used to call on Allah in words, “Ya Rahman.” The pagans said he was addressing his prayers to a man in Yamamah who was called Rahman (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

166. `A’isha, Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Mak-hul and others have understood the textual word “salat” as meaning supplication. [‘A’isha’s opinion is in the Sahihayn and others: Alusi]. However, in a second opinion of ‘Ibn `Abbas, Sa’id b. Jubayr and Dahhak, the allusion is to the Prophet’s loud recital of the Qur’an when he led in Prayers in the Haram area, which led the pagans to rebuke the revelation. He was told: “Be not loud in your Prayers” (so that the pagans do not hear), “nor do it in low tones” (so that the Muslims behind you do not miss to hear), “rather, take a way in between” (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

167. Yusuf Ali has an appropriate comment: “A first step towards the understanding of Allah’s attributes is to clear our minds from superstition, such as that Allah begot a son, or that He has partners,” .. (or that He took friends because He needed protection: au.).

Shabbir’s remark is worth reproducing: “Help can come from three quarters: “From the lower to the higher, like a son helping his father; from someone equal; or from a stronger to a weaker, which entails humiliation. The verse refutes absence of all three reasons. First by saying, “He did not take a son,” second by saying, “there is no partner in His kingdom,” and third by saying, “who has none as His friend out of weakness.” Incidentally, the verse also holds refutation of Christian, pagan and Jewish ideas. Of the Christians in words, “He did not take a son,” of the pagans in words, “there is no partner in His kingdom,” and of the Jews in words, “who has none as His friend out of weakness” because the Jews claim that God could not beat Jacob in a wrestling match.”

Israel’s God is, in fact, in the words of Karen Armstrong “wedded” to Israel who laments when the Israelites pay homage to other deities (Au.).

168. It might be observed that the chapter began with Allah’s glory and ends on the note to magnify Him for His greatness and glory.