Surah Al-Isra 17:11-22 - Quran Translation Commentary

(17:12) We appointed the night and the day as two signs. Then We blotted out the sign of the night²⁸ and made the sign of the day shining,²⁹ that you may seek the bounty of your Lord, and that you may know the number of the years and the reckoning. And We have explained everything in detail.³⁰

(17:13) We have fastened every man’s fate to his own neck;³¹ and We shall bring forth for him, on the Day of Resurrection, a record that he will find wide open.

(17:14) Read your record. Sufficient is your own soul this day for reckoning against yourself.

(17:15) Whosoever receives guidance, receives it for his own benefit; and whosoever goes astray, does it to his own loss. No bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another. And We were not such as to punish until We had sent a Messenger.³²

(17:16) When We wish to destroy a town, We command the affluent thereof to work corruption in it.³³ Thus the word³⁴ comes true against it and then We destroy it in utter destruction.³⁵

(17:17) How many generations³⁶ We have destroyed after Nuh!? Sufficient is your Lord as One Aware and Observant of the sins of His slaves.³⁷

(17:18) Whosoever covets the immediate (reward), We hasten whatsoever of it We will, unto whomsoever We will, and then We appoint for him Jahannum wherein he will rest, blamed and rejected.³⁸

(17:19) On the other hand, whosoever coveted the Hereafter, and strove for it in the manner of its striving - and he is a believer - those, their striving is appreciated (by Allah).³⁹

(17:20) (Unto) everyone - these as well as those⁴⁰ - We extend (freely) the bounties of your Lord - and the bounties of your Lord are not such as to be denied (to anyone).

(17:21) See then how We give preference to some over others.⁴¹ But surely, the Hereafter is greater in rank and greater in excellence.⁴²

(17:22) Do not set up along with Allah, another god; or you will sit back (in the end), condemned and forsaken.⁴³

Commentary

26. That is, man curses others, seeking Allah’s punishment on them, saying, (sometimes against his own children), “O Allah, destroy him,” or “send your wrath on him,” etc. But, if Allah were to grant him his prayers of evil, just as He grants prayers of good, man would be destroyed. This is how Dahhak, Qatadah and Mujahid understood this verse (Ibn Jarir).

But the allusion could be to the call of self-destruction that the pagans made when the Prophet warned them of chastisement that would descend on them upon rejection (Zamakhshari).

Accordingly, in a hadith of Muslim the Prophet said,

لاَ تَدْعُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ وَلاَ تَدْعُوا عَلَى أَوْلاَدِكُمْ وَلاَ تَدْعُوا عَلَى أَمْوَالِكُمْ لاَ تُوَافِقُوا مِنَ اللَّهِ سَاعَةً يُسْأَلُ فِيهَا عَطَاءٌ فَيَسْتَجِيبُ لَكُمْ

“Do not supplicate against yourself, nor against your children, nor against you wealth that you be in agreement with an hour in which Allah accepts supplications – and so you are answered” (Ibn Kathir).

27. It is narrated by Salman Farsi and others that when the spirit was gradually entering into Adam (asws), it did not pass down but his body became bones, flesh and muscles. As the spirit entered into his head, he sneezed. Allah said in response, “May your Lord show you mercy.” It was afternoon before the spirit reached his navel. Adam bent down and his body pleased him. He tried to raise himself up but could not because the spirit had not yet reached his legs. He said, “O Allah hasten it to completion before sunset.” That was the first manifestation of the meaning of the words, “Surely, man is given to haste” (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir, with some variations). The report is in Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn `Asakir and Ibn Abi Hatim (Shawkani).

The above is not a hadith (Au.).

28. Apparently, the moon is the sign of the night. According to `Ali ibn Abi Talib, and quite a few others of the Salaf, it is the dark spots on the moon that are alluded to by the words “We blotted out ..” (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

And, in one of the most incredible reports, as in Tabari and Ibn Kathir, Ibn `Abbas is reported to have said that earlier the moon also used to shine just as the sun shines until Allah blotted out its shine. In fact, adds Qurtubi there is a hadith which says that once there were two suns. The report to this effect is in Bayhaqi and Ibn `Asakir (Shawkani). But it is weak of narrators (S. Ibrahim).

Ibn Abbas’ notion is incredible because scientists have no explanation for the origin of the moon. Despite moon rock samples, they cannot determine how it came into orbit around the earth, or since when. One theory however, of our interest, is that the moon could have once been a burning body, like the sun, which cooled down (as the sun is also cooling down) and somehow wandered across the space for millions of years to get caught by the earth’s gravitational pull and remained in its orbit.

29. “Shining” for mubsiratan is the understanding of Qatadah as in Ibn Abi Hatim (Shawkani).

30. That is, everything pertaining to Allah’s oneness, evidences of the Prophet’s mission, of the need of the accountability, etc., have all been explained in detail (Razi).

31. The textual word “ta’ir” has been explained by Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Ibn Jurayj and others as man’s deeds and destiny. And some have believed that this is the Book that will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection (Ibn Jarir).

Razi adds: Scholars have said that the neck is the most suitable place for anything to be hung around, whether it is something that honors a man or humiliates him. It is to the neck that a thing of shame is hung around as punishment, and it is around the neck that necklaces (as also medals, garlands: Au.) are hung around by way of decoration.

Yusuf Ali offers further explanation: “Ta’ir, literally a bird, hence and omen, and evil omen... The Arabs, like the ancient Romans, sought to read the mysteries of human fate from the flight of birds... Our real fate does not depend upon birds or omens or stars. It depends on our deeds; good or evil, and they hang round our necks.”

32. The question that arises in view of this verse is, if Allah does not punish a people before a Messenger has been sent to them, which of course is a most reasonable thing, then, what about those who did not receive the Message? Abu Hurayrah’s opinion in this regard was that Allah will assemble together the souls of those who died between the advent of two Prophets, (and did not hear of the former), the insane, the dumb, deaf, the senile, and people of this class, and raise a messenger among them. He will command them to enter the Fire. They will retort, “How can we possibly do that when a Messenger never came to us?” By Allah, Abu Hurayrah added, if they entered they would find it pleasant and peaceful. Thus, those who would have obeyed him in this world, would obey him there also (Ibn Jarir).

Ibn Kathir discusses the issue more in detail. First he deals with the hadith in Bukhari which ends with the following words,

وَإِنَّهُ يُنْشِئُ لِلنَّارِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ فَيُلْقَوْنَ فِيهَا فَ {تَقُولُ هَلْ مِنْ مَزِيدٍ} ثَلَاثًا حَتَّى يَضَعَ فِيهَا قَدَمَهُ فَتَمْتَلِئُ وَيُرَدُّ بَعْضُهَا إِلَى بَعْضٍ وَتَقُولُ قَطْ قَطْ قَطْ

“... Allah will create for the Fire a creation of the kind He will, that will be thrown therein. She will say, ‘Is there any more?’, three times until He will place His foot into it and it will get filled, some parts crushed against others and it will cry out, ‘Enough, enough, enough.’” This hadith seems to contradict, also in Bukhari, as well as in Muslim which says,

لاَ تَزَالُ جَهَنَّمُ يُلْقَى فِيهَا وَتَقُولُ هَلْ مِنْ مَزِيدٍ حَتَّى يَضَعَ رَبُّ الْعِزَّةِ فِيهَا قَدَمَهُ فَيَنْزَوِى بَعْضُهَا إِلَى بَعْضٍ وَتَقُولُ قَطْ قَطْ بِعِزَّتِكَ وَكَرَمِكَ. وَلاَ يَزَالُ فِى الْجَنَّةِ فَضْلٌ حَتَّى يُنْشِئَ اللَّهُ لَهَا خَلْقًا فَيُسْكِنَهُمْ فَضْلَ الْجَنَّةِ

“Hell will keep on receiving (dwellers of Hell) and keep asking, ‘Is there more,’ until the Lord places His foot into it and some of its part will get crushed against other and it will cry out, ‘Enough, enough by Your Power and Honor.’ And there will always remain space vacant in Paradise, until Allah will create a creation for it, placing them in the vacant spaces of Paradise.”

Some scholars have thought therefore, says Ibn Kathir, that the narrator of the earlier of the two above ahadith mistakenly replaced the word “jannah” with “nar,” as in the latter hadith. (That is, Allah will not create a creation specifically to fill the Fire, rather, He will do that to fill Paradise: Au.).

Apart from the above, there are a few ahadith that shed light on the issue of those who did not receive the message. One is in Ahmad. It reports the Prophet (saws) as having said,

أربعة يحتجون يوم القيامة: رجل أصم لا يسمع شيئاً, ورجل أحمق, ورجل هرم, ورجل مات في فترة, فأما الأصم فيقول: رب قد جاء الإسلام وما أسمع شيئاً, وأما الأحمق فيقول: رب قد جاء الإسلام والصبيان يحذفوني بالبعر, وأما الهرم فيقول: رب لقد جاء الإسلام وما أعقل شيئاً, وأما الذي مات في الفترة فيقول: رب ما أتاني لك رسول. فيأخذ مواثيقهم ليطيعنه, فيرسل إليهم أن ادخلوا النار, فو الذي نفس محمد بيده, لو دخلوها لكانت عليهم برداً وسلاماً

“Four classes of people will dispute on the Day of Judgment: a deaf who could not hear anything, an insane, a senile person and a man who died during the time off the absence of a Prophet (fatrah). The deaf will plead, “My Lord, Islam came while I could not hear anything.” The insane will plead, “My Lord, Islam came while children were stoning me with dung.” The senile person will plead, “My Lord, Islam came at a time of my life when I could not use my mind.” And the man during whose life no Prophet appeared will plead, “No Messenger of Yours ever came to me.” So He will take their pledge that they will obey Him. Then He will send word to them through a Messenger (raised among them) that they should enter the Fire.” Then the Prophet added, “By Him in whose hands is Muhammad’s life, if they obey, it would turn pleasant and peaceful.” According to another version, Abu Hurayrah said, “If they enter they would find it pleasant and peaceful. In contrast, he who refused will be dragged into it.”

The report is in Ahmad, Ibn Is-haq, Rahwayh, and Bayhaqi, and has been evaluated as trustworthy.

As for children, the Prophet said various things about them at different times. Once he said about pagan children who died before manhood that Allah knows what they were going to do when they grew up. The hadith to this effect is in the Sahihayn. (The report that they will be in the Fire is weak: Alusi). On another occasion, he said that pagan children will be servants of the people of Paradise. At another time he said they will be along with their parents. On yet another occasion he said, “The children of the pagans as well as of the Muslims are in Ibrahim’s care” (Ibn Kathir).

The above last statement happens to be the opinion of the experts about those who died in childhood (Alusi).

33. Two opinions have come down from Ibn `Abbas in this regard. One, the affluent ones were commanded to obey Allah, but they refused. So they became deserving of punishment. A second opinion is that the wicked affluent ones were allowed to prevail over others. They continued in their wickedness until Allah’s word was realized. Hasan al-Busri was of this opinion. Both the opinions (along with a few others) are in Ibn Jarir who himself prefers the first as correct. A third opinion also attributed to the Salaf is that “amara” is in the sense of “ak-thara”, as in pre-Islamic usage, meaning, “We multiplied the affluent (i.e., increased their numbers), but they (only) spread corruption..” (Ibn Jarir and ohers). Zamakhshari narrates an incident to corroborate this meaning. A pagan told the Prophet,

إني أرى أمرك هذا حقيراً فقال ( صلى الله عليه وسلم ) : إنه سيأمر

“I see this affair of yours as insignificant.” The Prophet replied, “It will grow.”

In the above example, the Prophet used the word “amara” in the sense of “ak-thara”( أكثر ).

The above report could not be traced in standard Hadith books (Au.).

Thanwi notes from Alusi that just as nations, when Allah (swt) decides to destroy a man (for his past sins), he lets him run after his carnal desires. Ultimately he is destroyed by them.

34. “Qawl (of the original) has the sense of word, order, law, charge framed against one under a definite law” (Yusuf Ali).

35. There have been several explanations for the whole verse. One of them, that offered by Qaffal, as in Razi, is as follows: When Allah decides to destroy a town because of its sins, He does not hasten the punishment immediate to the appearance of corruptions. But rather, He commands the affluent class to give up their evil ways. When they fail, (and following them the others also persist), they are punished. They have been specifically mentioned because it is these people, more than any other class, that need to be grateful to their Lord for His blessings. In any case, after the initial warning, He allows them several reprieves. But, when they persist in sins, the word of punishment comes true and they are destroyed.

Yusuf Ali’s plain words help us understand it better: “Allah’s Mercy gives every chance to the wicked to repent. When wickedness gets so rampant that punishment becomes inevitable, even then Allah’s Mercy and Justice act together. Those who are highly gifted from Allah - it may be with wealth or position, or it may be with talents and opportunities - are expected to understand and obey. They are given a definite order and warning. If they still transgress there is no further room for argument. They cannot plead that they are ignorant. The command of the Lord is proved against them, and its application is called for beyond doubt. Then it is that their punishment is completed.”

36. (The translation of “qarn” here as generations is for ease of understanding. Otherwise, in terms of a period, it is synonymous with a century) as in a hadith according to which the Prophet (saws) placed his hand over Bishr al-Mazini and said, “This boy will live up to a qarn.” And he lived for a hundred years (Ibn Jarir).

37. That is, the criterion is sins, and Allah knows best when the sins reach the limits after which chastisement becomes necessary (based on Kashshaf).

38. In view of the words, “We hasten whatsoever of it We will, unto whomsoever We will,” (which do not promise a sure reward unto him who desires this world), it is more reasonable not to “desire” this world at all. For, if denied, then, one lives hankering after something not in his fate. The man’s life turns Hellish, before the Hell of the Hereafter (Zamakhshari).

Thus, one might strive without allowing the desired things to become dear to the heart. If one achieves what he strove for, good. But if he did not, then, he might remove them from the mind to allow the inner self to rest in peace (Au.).

39. Thus we have three conditions for acceptance of a deed: firm faith, correct intention, and right manner of doing it (Kashshaf).

The Ahl al-Bid`ah, remarks Shafi`, may take note.

As regards the exact measure of rewards, there is no limit to it. Abu Hurayrah was asked, “Have you heard the Prophet say that Allah could reward a man a million times for a good deed?” He replied, “Rather, Allah rewards a man two million times for a good deed” (Qurtubi).

40. That is, the obedient and the disobedient, the good and the evil, the believer and the unbeliever.

41. That is, in this world. The Prophet has said,

الدُّنْيَا دَارُ مَنْ لَا دَارَ لَهُ وَمَالُ مَنْ لَا مَالَ لَهُ وَلَهَا يَجْمَعُ مَنْ لَا عَقْلَ لَهُ

“This world is the abode of him who has not abode (in the Hereafter), wealth who has no wealth, and he saves for it who has no sense.”

The above hadith of Ahmad and others has Haythami’s approval.

42. It said that once a group of former Quraysh chiefs such as Abu Sufyan, Suhayl and others sought permission to enter into `Umar’s presence during his caliphate. Suhayb, Bilal and a few others of the earliest Muslims were also there. `Umar allowed Suhayb, Bilal and others to enter but left the former Quraysh chiefs waiting. Abu Sufyan remarked, “I have never seen a day like this in my life. The chiefs are left hanging around while the slaves have been allowed in.” Suhayl, who was the most intelligent of them said, “I see frown on your faces. But, if you are angry, then be angry with yourselves. When everyone was invited, they responded immediately while you delayed...” (Alusi).

The version offered by Zamakhshari ends with the following words, “.. they were invited, and so were we. But they responded immediately while we delayed. Now, this is what is happening at `Umar’s door. What about when we are in the Hereafter? If you envy them today, then, you should know that what Allah has prepared for them in the Hereafter is greater.”

43. According to a Hasan Sahih Gharib report in Tirmidhi, which is also in Abu Da’ud, the Prophet said,

مَنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فَاقَةٌ فَأَنْزَلَهَا بِالنَّاسِ لَمْ تُسَدَّ فَاقَتُهُ ، وَمَنْ أَنْزَلَهَا بِاللَّهِ أَوْشَكَ اللَّهُ لَهُ بِالْغِنَى إِمَّا بِمَوْتٍ عَاجِلٍ أَوْ غِنًى عَاجِلٍ

“Whoever is reduced to hunger and takes the matter to the people, will never have his hunger removed from him. But whoever takes it to Allah, will have it removed either because of an early death, or wealth hastened” (Ibn Kathir).