Surah Al-Isra 17:41-52 - Quran Translation Commentary

(17:44) The seven heavens, the earth, and whatever is within them, celebrate His glory. And, there is not a thing but celebrates His glory in praises. But you do not understand their glorification.⁷⁵ Verily, He is ever Clement,⁷⁶ ever Forgiving.⁷⁷

(17:45) And when you recite the Qur’an, We place between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter, a veil obstructing.⁷⁸

(17:46) And We have placed a covering over their hearts - lest they understand it - and in their ears deafness;⁷⁹ so that when you speak of your Lord alone - as in the Qur’an - they turn back in aversion.⁸⁰

(17:47) We know very well how they listen, when they listen to you (O Muhammad),⁸¹ and when they conspire, when the evil-doers say, ‘Surely, you are following not but a bewitched man.’⁸²

(17:48) Behold, how they strike examples for you.⁸³ Thus they go astray and can never find the way.⁸⁴

(17:49) And they said, ‘When we shall be bones and crumbled pieces, shall we be raised a new creation?’

(17:50) Say, ‘Let you be stones or iron.

(17:51) Or a creation bigger in your minds.’⁸⁵ They will then ask, ‘Who will restore us?’ Say, ‘He who originated you in the first instance.’ They will nod⁸⁶ their heads at you and say, ‘When will that be?’ Say, ‘Maybe it will happen soon.

(17:52) The day when We shall call you and you will answer with praise to Him⁸⁷ and think that you had not stayed but for a little while.’⁸⁸

Commentary

72. The textual word “sarrafa” has the double sense of revealing little by little, as well as varying the revelation, i.e., presenting the reminder in a variety of ways (to gain hearing and acceptance) - Qurtubi.

Yusuf Ali adds: “Things are explained in the Qur’an from all points of view, individual and national, by means of stories, parables, and figures of speech, and by way of categorical commands. But those who are evil, instead of profiting by such instruction, often go farther and farther away from the Truth.”

73. The textual “Nufur” has “nafara” in its root which means to bolt away in aversion.

74. The meaning, as given by Qatadah is, if it is supposed, (although a far-fetched supposition, that there were deities besides Allah), then, surely, Allah, the True Deity’s powers are such that they would have unconditionally surrendered to Him (Ibn Jarir).

A second meaning is, says Razi, the pagans justified their worship of deities other than Allah on grounds that (39: 3),

لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى [الزمر : 3]

“in order that they will take us nearer to Allah.” They are told that, if they could possibly take you nearer, then surely, they would seek nearness to Him for themselves.

A third possible meaning, as in Shawkani, and worded by Majid is: “these minor gods, if endowed with power and will at all, would surely have endeavored to contend with God, and would have asserted their independence or executed their own will.”

75. Qatadah has stated that every biological organism including the trees enjoy some form of life, and glorify Allah (Ibn Jarir).

This is how the verse was generally understood by the Companions. (In fact, they believed that inanimate objects also glorified Allah). Ibn Mas`ud said,

كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ تَسْبِيحَ الطَّعَامِ وَهُوَ يُؤْكَلُ

“We used to hear the food glorifying Allah as we ate it.” The report is in Bukhari.

Another well-known report is narrated by Abu Dharr that he, Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman, all heard a handful of pebbles that the Prophet had picked up, sing Allah’s glory. According to a hadith in Ahmad, the Prophet once saw people chatting with each other while on their camels. He said,

ارْكَبُوهَا سَالِمَةً، وانْزِلُوا عَنْهَا سَالِمَةً، وَلا تَتَّخِذُوهَا كَرَاسِيَّ لأَحَادِيثِكُمْ ومَجَالِسِكُمْ، فَلَرُبَّ مَرْكُوبَةٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْ رَاكِبِهَا وَأَكْثَرُ ذِكْرًا لِلَّهِ مِنْه

“Ride them safely and come down safely. Do not make chairs of them to chat in the streets or (chat) sessions. Sometimes the one rode is better than its rider and remembers Allah more than he does.”

Then, Nasa’i has a hadith which reports the Prophet as having said,

لاَ تَقْتُلُوا الضَّفَادِعَ فَإِنَّ نَقِيقَهَا تَسْبِيحٌ

“Do not kill frogs. Their croaking is their glorification (of Allah).” (The hadith is Sahih of status: S. Ibrahim).

Some of the Salaf used to say that when water boils, it glorifies Allah, when the door creaks, it glorifies Allah.” However, when Hasan (al-Busri) was asked, “Does this dinner table glorify Allah?” He replied, “Once it used to.” What he meant perhaps is that when it was a green tree it used to glorify Allah. This is how many scholars have understood the famous hadith according to which once the Prophet (saws) planted two branches on two graves and said, “Maybe they will be relieved of punishment so long as the branches do not dry up.” That is, the branches, so long as green, will glorify Allah and will prevent punishment of those in the grave (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir). Nonetheless, the important point is, it was the Prophet who planted them. He has not recommended that his followers should plant anything near the graves, or place flowers thereon (Au.).

Qurtubi writes further: Some people have thought that the glorification here is in the allegorical sense. (In the words of Yusuf Ali: “[The praises of the inanimate is manifested] in the evidence which it furnishes of the unity and glory of Allah).” But several reports give us to believe, writes Qurtubi, that the glorification is in the real sense. That is, the inanimate objects sing glory vocally. The Qur’an tells us about a few inanimate objects that glorify Allah. It said (38: 17-18),

وَاذْكُرْ عَبْدَنَا دَاوُودَ ذَا الْأَيْدِ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ (17) إِنَّا سَخَّرْنَا الْجِبَالَ مَعَهُ يُسَبِّحْنَ بِالْعَشِيِّ وَالْإِشْرَاقِ [ص : 17 ، 18]

“And remember Our slave Da’ud, a man of strength. Surely, he was oft-turning (to his Lord). We subjected the mountains that sang Allah’s glory along with him in the evening and morning.”

The Prophet has said,

لاَ يَسْمَعُ مَدَى صَوْتِ الْمُؤَذِّنِ جِنٌّ وَلاَ إِنْسٌ وَلاَ شَىْءٌ إِلاَّ شَهِدَ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

“Neither the Jinn, mankind, trees nor stones nor anything else hear the voice of the caller to Prayer but will bear witness for him on the Day of Judgment.”

He also said, according to a hadith in Muslim,

إِنِّي لأَعْرِفُ حَجَرًا كَانَ يُسَلِّمُ عَلَيَّ قَبْلَ أَنْ أُبْعَثَ

“I know the stone in Makkah that used to greet me before I was commissioned.”

Further, had the glorification been in the allegorical sense, Allah would not have added the words, “But you do not understand their glorification.”

Again there is, adds Shawkani, the hadith of Bukhari which speaks of the date palm stem breaking down into sobs (when the Prophet abandoned it for the newly made mimber). There is another hadith in the Sahihayn involving ants and a Prophet of the past. It reports that the Prophet said,

أَنَّ نَمْلَةً قَرَصَتْ نَبِيًّا مِنَ الأَنْبِيَاءِ فَأَمَرَ بِقَرْيَةِ النَّمْلِ فَأُحْرِقَتْ فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ أَفِى أَنْ قَرَصَتْكَ نَمْلَةٌ أَهْلَكْتَ أُمَّةً مِنَ الأُمَمِ تُسَبِّحُ

“An ant stung one of the Prophets of the past. He ordered that the ant-hill be burnt down. Allah revealed to him, ‘Did you, for the reasons of a single ant, burn down a whole colony of ants, that, after all, is one of the Umam that sing Allah’s glory?’”

Finally, Alusi points out, with Thanwi seconding him, such glorification on the part of the inanimate objects does not imply that they have souls, or intellect, or are capable of senses as other animate and living objects are. But rather, they might possess some sort of a low order consciousness.

76. Majid comments: “.. so that He does not seize you with His vengeance immediately” (despite your rejection).

77. Majid again: “.. so that He shall forgive you, if even now you repent and mend your ways.”

78. In Qatadah’s opinion, Allah (swt) creates a barrier between unbelievers and the meaning of the Qur’an so that they are unable to understand it. They may hear, but will understand nothing. It is the direct result of their obedience of Satan (Ibn Jarir).

In fact, the Makkan pagans were a people who were proud of the barriers between them and the call to truth. They used to proudly say, in the words of the Qur’an (41: 5),

وَقَالُوا قُلُوبُنَا فِي أَكِنَّةٍ مِمَّا تَدْعُونَا إِلَيْهِ وَفِي آذَانِنَا وَقْرٌ وَمِنْ بَيْنِنَا وَبَيْنِكَ حِجَابٌ فَاعْمَلْ إِنَّنَا عَامِلُونَ [فصلت : 5]

“They said, ‘Our hearts are within coverings from that to which you invite us, and in our ears is deafness, and between you and us is a screen; so work, indeed we are also working’” (Zamakhshari, Shabbir).

Sa`id b. Jubayr has reported that once, after the revelation of the chapter on Abu Lahab, the Prophet was sitting with Abu Bakar when Abu Lahab’s wife started walking down towards them,

يا رسول الله إنها امرأة بذية وأخاف أن تؤذيك فلو قمت فقال : إنها لن تراني فقالت : يا أبا بكر صاحبك هجاني قال : وما يقول الشعر قالت : أنت عندي مصدق وانصرفت فقلت : يا رسول الله لم ترك قال : لم يزل ملك يسترني منها بجناحه

Abu Bakr said, “Messenger of Allah, this is a vile woman. I am afraid she will annoy you, so if you could move off.” the Prophet said, “She will not be able to see me.” (When she got close she demanded to know), “Abu Bakr! Is it true that your companion has slandered me?” Abu Bakr assured her that the Prophet had done no such thing and that he never said any poetry. She said, “I believe in you.” After she was gone Abu Bakr said to the Prophet, “It seems she did not see you.” The Prophet replied, “Yes, an angel placed a wing between me and her” (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

The report is in Abu Ya`la, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Hakim who declared it Sahih (Shawkani).

According to other versions the Prophet began to recite this verse (17: 45) because of which she could not see him:

وَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرآنَ جَعَلْنَا بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ الّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بالآخرة حِجَاباً مّسْتُوراً

Qurtubi has a few other instances to report of the inability of the unbelievers to sight a Muslim they were looking for because of his recitation of the Qur’an. He reports Ka`b as saying, “I taught a man in Syria the verses the Prophet used to recite for concealing himself from the unbelievers. He happened to travel to the Roman territories where he tarried for a while. But then he had to flee. They were after him in hot pursuit. When they got close, he began to recite the verses (I had taught). He reports that although they even walked by to him, they did not see him.”

And, Tha`labi reported that having learnt the verses from Ka`b, he too taught them someone in Rayy. It should so happen that the man was taken prisoner in Daylam, and remained in custody for a long time. Finally he escaped. They went after him. He began to recite the verses. At one point they came so close that his clothes touched theirs. But they did not see him at all.”

As regards the verses in question, Ka`b reports: “The Prophet used to conceal himself from the pagans through the recitation of three verses. First, the second part of the 57th verse of Surah al-Kahf which says:

إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَنْ يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا [الكهف : 57]

“Indeed We have placed a covering on their hearts that they should understand it, and in their ears a plug.”

Second, verse 108 of Surah al-Nahl. It says:

أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ طَبَعَ اللَّهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ وَسَمْعِهِمْ وَأَبْصَارِهِمْ [النحل : 108]

“They are the ones that Allah has a set a seal on their hearts, ears and eyes.”

And third, verse 23 of Surah al-Jathiyyah which says,

أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ وَخَتَمَ عَلَى سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَى بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً [الجاثية : 23]

“Have you considered him who took as his god, his own desires. Allah led him astray on knowledge, and set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and placed a veil over his vision?”

“To the above, Qurtubi continues, we might add the first nine verses of Surah Yasin. They say,

يس (1) وَالْقُرْآنِ الْحَكِيمِ (2) إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ (3) عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ (4) تَنْزِيلَ الْعَزِيزِ الرَّحِيمِ (5) لِتُنْذِرَ قَوْمًا مَا أُنْذِرَ آبَاؤُهُمْ فَهُمْ غَافِلُونَ (6) لَقَدْ حَقَّ الْقَوْلُ عَلَى أَكْثَرِهِمْ فَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ (7) إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا فِي أَعْنَاقِهِمْ أَغْلَالًا فَهِيَ إِلَى الْأَذْقَانِ فَهُمْ مُقْمَحُونَ (8) وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ سَدًّا وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ سَدًّا فَأَغْشَيْنَاهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ [يس : 1 - 9]

“Ya Sin. By the wise Qur’an. Indeed, you are (O Muhammad) from among the messengers - on a straight path. A revelation of the Mighty, the Merciful, that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they are unaware. Surely, the Word has become true on most of them, so they do not believe. Indeed, We have put shackles on their necks, which are to their chins, so that they are with their heads held aloft. And We have placed before them a barrier and covered them, so they do not see.”

“These are the verses that the Prophet had recited while leaving his house in Makkah on the day the pagans stood by the door to assassinate him. He asked `Ali to take his place on the bed and came out reciting these nine verses. He went by them, throwing dust onto everyone’s head, but none of them was able to see him.

“I might, Qurtubi continues, narrate my own story. It happened during the siege of the Manthur Fort in Qurtuba (Cordova, Spain). I escaped from the enemy, and ran (into the open field). But in a short while two of their horsemen came after me. Now, I was in the open and nothing to conceal me. So I began to recite these verses of Surah Yasin along with a few from other parts of the Qur’an. They passed by me. Then, as they returned, one of them remarked, ‘This is a Daybalah,’ which meant a Devil in their language. Allah blinded their eyes and so they failed to see me.”

Hussain Ahmad Madani has reported a similar incident involving Imdadullah Muhajir Makki. The British were after him for his part in the insurrection against them during their rule in India. He had gone underground and they got wind that he was in a certain town. One of Makki’s followers - a Nawab - concealed him in his stable. When the British soldiers came he of course denied that Makki was around. The British insisted on searching the place. After they had done the main house, they noticed the stable. “That’s only a stable,” the Nawab said in apprehension. The officer began to stroll toward the stable with a jerky Nawab in his company. They found a prayer mat spread on the floor and a pitcher of water, but no human being.” The Englishman asked, “What about this prayer-mat?” The Nawab answered, “You see, in our religion, we are required to conceal our non-obligatory prayers from others. So, I do them here.” The man was not very satisfied, but there was nothing he could say since there wasn’t any soul around. After the soldiers had left, the Nawab went back to the stable, and, for sure Muhajir Makki was there. He asked him where was he a while ago. “Right here; never left the place for a moment,” he replied (from Aseer-e-Malta).

Strange are Allah’s ways however. A common, but committed Muslim, confided to this writer that he escaped notice by non-Muslim officials at an Indian airport, simply by reciting the above mentioned Qur’anic verses. Although it was a minor issue, but that the official failed to see someone right before him was, according to him, simply amazing. Similar stories have emerged from Mujahidin in Iraq. Every Muslim ought to memorize these verses (Au.).

79. The covering and deafness were because of their own asking. A verse of a previously revealed chapter says (41: 5),

وَقَالُوا قُلُوبُنَا فِي أَكِنَّةٍ مِمَّا تَدْعُونَا إِلَيْهِ وَفِي آذَانِنَا وَقْرٌ وَمِنْ بَيْنِنَا وَبَيْنِكَ حِجَابٌ [فصلت : 5]

“And they said, ‘Our hearts are in a covering against what you invite us to, and in our ears a deafness; and between us and you is a veil” (Au.).

Yusuf Ali comments: “The invisible veil being put against the ungodly on account of their deliberate rejection of Truth, the result is that their minds are fogged so that they cannot understand and their ears are clogged so that they cannot hear. In other words the effects of Evil become cumulative in shutting out Allah’s grace.”

The Bible is not without similar rebuke and punishment. Majid quotes: “Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see indeed, but perceive not. Make the hearts of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and convert, and be healed (Is. 6: 9,10).”

80. That is, they hate to hear of Allah if He alone is mentioned. But, if their deities are mentioned along with Him, then they are happy to hear them mentioned. The Qur’an said at another place (39: 45),

وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ اشْمَأَزَّتْ قُلُوبُ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ دُونِهِ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ [الزمر : 45]

“When Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with aversion, but when those other than Him are mentioned, immediately they rejoice” (Shabbir).

81. Ibn Is-haq has the following story as the context of revelation. It is said that one night Abu Sufyan, Abu Jahl and Akhnas b. Shurayq concealed themselves around the Prophet’s house to listen to his recitation of the Qur’an in his night-prayer. Each of them took up his position unaware of others. By dawn when the Prophet had terminated his Prayer, and they began to disperse, they came across each other in the street. They reproached each other. But by the next night they were all back to their positions. Once again they met in the street, to reproach each other. When it was the third time, they promised each other that they would never do it again. Next day Akhnas went to Abu Sufyan and asked him what his opinion was about what Muhammad was reciting. He said, “Frankly, I heard things that I understood and things that I did not.” Akhnas agreed with him. Next he went to Abu Jahl and asked him what he thought of the Prophet’s recitation. Abu Jahl said, “Look. We and the Banu `Abd Manaf competed with each other. They fed the people, we fed. They provided, and we provided. They gave, and we gave. We were neck to neck, like race horses. Now they say, ‘We have a Prophet who receives revelations from the heaven.’ When shall we be able to say this? By God, we shall never believe in him.”

82. Mawdudi comments: “This is an allusion to conversations between the Makkan unbelievers. They were wont, surreptitiously, to listen to the Qur’an and then consult with one another as to how they could effectively refute it. At times they suspected that some among their ranks were gradually succumbing to the spell of the Qur’an. Whenever they became aware of this they approached the persons concerned and tried to dissuade them from taking the Prophet (peace be on him) seriously, arguing that he was under a magical spell and thus was given to saying crazy things.”

83. Mawdudi writes again, “It is pointed out here that the Makkan opponents were not of one opinion. From time to time they made statements that were not only different but even mutually contradictory. At times they alleged that the Prophet (peace be on him) was himself a magician. On other occasions, they claimed that he was under the spell of someone else’s magic. They also variously labeled him a poet and a lunatic.”

84. Yusuf Ali points out that the word used is “sabilan” meaning “a way” and not “the way.” That is, “In going astray, they have lost the way; but never can they find any means of getting back to that way..”

85. The earliest scholars such as Ibn `Abbas, Ibn `Umar, Hasan, Sa`id b. Jubayr, Dahhak and many others were of opinion that by the words “or a creation bigger in your minds” the allusion is to death. That is, if the pagans had some other creation, such as death itself in their minds, as what they could become to avoid being resurrected, they would still be resurrected since even death will also be resurrected and meet with its own death on the Day of Resurrection. On that day, it would be brought forth in the form of a fat ram and slaughtered. But Qatadah and Mujahid were of the opinion that the allusion is to some other creation that cannot be resurrected such as the heavens or the earth (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

86. The textual yunghiduna implies an upward and downward shaking of the head (Ibn Jarir). One must appreciate the accuracy of the Qur’an. In English they would say in such a situation, “he shook his head.” But that implies a sideward shaking of the head, usually in refusal or denial. Whereas, an upward and downward movement is done to express, as Zamakhshari has said, wonder, disbelief, or mockery, which is the perfect image portrayed here with the help of a simple accurate word (Au.).

87. A report of Ibn abi Hatim narrates the Prophet having said,

وليس على أهل لا إله إلا الله وحشة في قبورهم ولا منشرهم وكأني أنظر إلى أهل لا إله إلا الله وهم ينفضون التراب عن رؤوسهم ويقولون الحمد لله الذي أذهب عنا الحزن

“People of the testimony: ‘there is no deity except Allah,’ will not feel any desolation: neither in their graves nor in the Field of Resurrection. Indeed, I can as if see the people of the testimony: ‘there is no deity except Allah,’ shaking off dirt from their heads saying, ‘Praise be to the One who removed from us all worry’” (Ibn Kathir, Alusi).

The report is also in Tabarani, which has, according to Haythami, some problems in the chain of narrators.

Asad writes: “.. the reference to the erstwhile deniers of the possibility of resurrection as ‘answering God’s call by praising Him’ implies that as soon as they are resurrected they will become fully aware of His existence and almightiness.”

88. It is said that there will be an interval of forty years between the two blows of the Trumpet. Those punished in the grave will have the punishment removed from them and will fall asleep. When the second blow is sounded, they will rise up saying (36: 52),

قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا هَذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ [يس : 52]

“Who resurrected us from our places of rest?” It is then that they will think that they tarried (in the grave) but for a few moments” (Qurtubi).

Asad adds: “Man’s life on earth will appear to him ‘but as a little while’ in comparison with the unlimited duration of life in the hereafter (Tabari, Zamakhshari). A further implication is that man’s concept of ‘time’ is earthbound and, hence, has no meaning in the context of the ultimate reality.”