Surah 17. Al-Isra

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Verses [Section]: 1-10[1], 11-22 [2], 23-30 [3], 31-40 [4], 41-52 [5], 53-60 [6], 61-70 [7], 71-77 [8], 78-84 [9], 85-93 [10], 94-100 [11], 101-111 [12]

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Quran Text of Verse 23-30وَ قَضٰیAnd has decreedرَبُّكَyour Lordاَلَّاthat (do) notتَعْبُدُوْۤاworshipاِلَّاۤexceptاِیَّاهُHim Aloneوَ بِالْوَالِدَیْنِand to the parentsاِحْسَانًا ؕ(be) goodاِمَّاWhetherیَبْلُغَنَّreachعِنْدَكَwith youالْكِبَرَthe old ageاَحَدُهُمَاۤone of themاَوْorكِلٰهُمَاboth of themفَلَاthen (do) notتَقُلْsayلَّهُمَاۤto both of themاُفٍّa word of disrespectوَّ لَاand (do) notتَنْهَرْهُمَاrepel themوَ قُلْbut speakلَّهُمَاto themقَوْلًاa wordكَرِیْمًا noble وَ اخْفِضْAnd lowerلَهُمَاto themجَنَاحَ(the) wingالذُّلِّ(of) humilityمِنَ(out) ofالرَّحْمَةِ[the] mercyوَ قُلْand sayرَّبِّMy Lord!ارْحَمْهُمَاHave mercy on both of themكَمَاasرَبَّیٰنِیْthey brought me upصَغِیْرًاؕ(when I was) small رَبُّكُمْYour Lordاَعْلَمُ(is) most knowingبِمَاof whatفِیْ(is) inنُفُوْسِكُمْ ؕyourselvesاِنْIfتَكُوْنُوْاyou areصٰلِحِیْنَrighteousفَاِنَّهٗthen indeed Heكَانَisلِلْاَوَّابِیْنَto those who often turn (to Him)غَفُوْرًا Most Forgiving وَ اٰتِAnd giveذَاthe relativesالْقُرْبٰیthe relativesحَقَّهٗhis rightوَ الْمِسْكِیْنَand the needyوَ ابْنَand the wayfarerالسَّبِیْلِand the wayfarerوَ لَاand (do) notتُبَذِّرْspendتَبْذِیْرًا wastefully اِنَّIndeedالْمُبَذِّرِیْنَthe spendthriftsكَانُوْۤاareاِخْوَانَbrothersالشَّیٰطِیْنِ ؕ(of) the devilsوَ كَانَAnd isالشَّیْطٰنُthe Shaitaanلِرَبِّهٖto his Lordكَفُوْرًا ungrateful 17. Al-Isra Page 285وَ اِمَّاAnd ifتُعْرِضَنَّyou turn awayعَنْهُمُfrom themابْتِغَآءَseekingرَحْمَةٍmercyمِّنْfromرَّبِّكَyour Lordتَرْجُوْهَاwhich you expectفَقُلْthen sayلَّهُمْto themقَوْلًاa wordمَّیْسُوْرًا gentle وَ لَاAnd (do) notتَجْعَلْmakeیَدَكَyour handمَغْلُوْلَةًchainedاِلٰیtoعُنُقِكَyour neckوَ لَاand notتَبْسُطْهَاextend itكُلَّ(to its) utmostالْبَسْطِreachفَتَقْعُدَso that you sitمَلُوْمًاblameworthyمَّحْسُوْرًا insolvent اِنَّIndeedرَبَّكَyour Lordیَبْسُطُextendsالرِّزْقَthe provisionلِمَنْfor whomیَّشَآءُHe willsوَ یَقْدِرُ ؕand straitensاِنَّهٗIndeed Heكَانَisبِعِبَادِهٖof His slavesخَبِیْرًۢاAll-Awareبَصِیْرًا۠All-Seer

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Translation of Verse 23-30

(17:23) Your Lord has decreed:²⁵ (i) Do not worship any but Him;²⁶ (ii) Be good to your parents; and should both or any one of them attain old age with you, do not say to them even "fie" neither chide them, but speak to them with respect,

(17:24) and be humble and tender to them and say: "Lord, show mercy to them as they nurtured me when I was small."

(17:25) Your Lord is best aware of what is in your hearts. If you are righteous, He will indeed forgive those who relent and revert²⁷ (to serving Allah).

(17:26) (iii) Give to the near of kin his due, and also to the needy and the wayfarer. (iv) Do not squander your wealth wastefully,

(17:27) for those who squander wastefully are Satan's brothers, and Satan is ever ungrateful to his Lord.

(17:28) (v) And when you must turn away from them - (that is, from the destitute, the near of kin, the needy, and the wayfarer) - in pursuit of God's Mercy which you expect to receive, then speak to them kindly.²⁸

(17:29) (vi) Do not keep your hand fastened to your neck nor outspread it, altogether outspread, for you will be left sitting rebuked, destitute.²⁹

(17:30) Certainly Your Lord makes plentiful the provision of whomsoever He wills and straitens it for whomsoever He wills. He is well-aware and is fully observant of all that relates to His servants.³⁰

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Commentary

25. From here on, the basic principles which according to Islam ought to serve as the foundations of ‘man’s life are expounded. Put differently, these principles constitute the manifesto of the Prophet’s mission. It is noteworthy that this manifesto was proclaimed at a highly appropriate moment ~ at a time when the Makkan period of the Prophet’s life was coming to an end, and when the Madinan period was about to begin. This meant making the intellectual, moral, cultural, economic and legal bases of the Islamic society and state of the future known to the world. (For a fuller appreciation of this see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. Il, al-An‘am 6, nn. 127-35, pp. 284-94.)

26. The verse does not merely have a negative message — that we may not worship aught other than the One True God. It also has a positive message — that we should serve, worship and obey Him, and Him alone, and do so unreservedly. We should consider only His command as the command and only His law as the law that ought to be obeyed. We should recognize and submit to His sovereignty to the exclusion of any other sovereignty. This is at once a religious belief, a guidance for individual conduct, as well as the cornerstone of man’s entire life system encompassing moral conduct, political behavior and social relationships, a system that was to be established by the Prophet (peace be on him) in Madina. The foundational concept of the new body-politic was nothing other than the principle that God alone is the Sovereign and Lord of the world, and that His law is the true law that ought to prevail.

27. This verse enjoins duty to one’s parents, and significantly enough, it is mentioned immediately after duty to God. Children are required to be obedient and respectful to their parents and to do all they can to be of assistance to them.

Rather than encourage an attitude of indifference and unconcern, society should nurture feelings of gratitude and an attitude of respect for parents.

Children should be taught to be mindful of their parents especially when the latter are age-stricken, to take good care of them and to provide them with every comfort, and while so doing they ought to remember the love and compassion which their parents lavished upon them when they were small.

The present verse is not simply a moral exhortation. Rather, it lays down a fundamental principle on the basis of which the legal rights of parents have been elaborated in Hadith and Fiqh. Not only that, to obey, to respect and to serve one’s parents is an essential element ‘in the intellectual and moral upbringing of people in an Islamic society, and is also an inalienable aspect of Islamic behavior. This attitude towards parents also demands that the legal enactments, administrative fiats, and educational policies of the Islamic state should be geared towards strengthening and safeguarding the family institution, and to discouraging those trends which are likely to weaken it.

28. The contents of (iii), (iv) and (v) above require that man should not consider his wealth to be ‘exclusively meant for himself. Instead, after moderately meeting his own needs he should spend it on his relatives, neighbors, and other human beings who are in need of it. Man’s social life should also be permeated with a spirit of sympathy and recognition of the rights of others and a spirit of mutual co-operation. Relatives should be especially helpful towards each other. The ‘haves’ should extend to the ‘have-nots’ whatever aid they may be in a position to provide. If a traveler arrives in a city, town or village, he should find himself in the midst of hospitable people who are ready to act as his host and entertain him. The concept of the rights of others should be so pervasive that a person should consider those among whom he lives to have claims against him and his resources.

If a person helps others, he should do so with a feeling that he is merely discharging the obligations he owes them rather than burdening them with a debt of gratitude. And whenever a person is unable to be of any service to someone who is in need of it, he should seek the latter’s indulgence at his inability to do so, and should pray to God to bless him with the means that will enable him to serve others.

The above provisions of the Islamic manifesto are not merely meant to teach people the norms of good conduct for their individual lives; they are also intended to serve as the basis on which the rules of obligatory and supererogatory alms are laid down for the Islamic society and especially for the state of Madina. It is on the same basis that detailed rules of will, inheritance and waqf (trust) were promulgated, that prescriptions for protecting the rights of orphans were laid down, and that a minimum of three days’ hospitality for the traveler was made obligatory on the inhabitants of any hamlet he may happen to visit. Above all, the moral values propounded by Islam created an atmosphere in which the spirit of magnanimity, sympathy and cooperation came to prevail in society. The result was that people did not merely render to others what they owed them by way of legal obligations, but rather that they went beyond that and treated them with benevolence and generosity — a mode of behavior to which men can never be prompted merely by the force of law.

29. ‘To keep one’s hand fastened to one’s neck’ is an Arabic idiom that denotes miserliness, and ‘to outspread it, altogether’ widespread’, denotes extravagance. When the content of the present provision, i.e. (vi), is read in conjunction with (iv), the purpose becomes very obvious. Human beings are required to act with moderation in financial matters. They should neither prevent the flow of wealth out of miserliness, nor should they waste financial resources by irresponsible extravagance. Instead, they should have such an instinctive sense of balance and moderation that they should not shrink from spending when that is genuinely needed, and should abstain from spending when it is not truly needed or is not justified. Expenses incurred for show, or - out of vanity or on sheer luxury, and for sinful purposes. In fact, every misdirected expense which is made at the expense of genuine needs and beneficial purposes amounts to ingratitude to God for His bounty. It is for such reasons that those who indulge in extravagance have been dubbed ‘brothers of Satan’. (See Bani Isra’il 17: 27 - Ed.) — Again, the provisions that have been laid down here are not simply moral exhortations or merely guidelines for individual conduct. They rather suggest that through moral instruction, social pressure and legal measures people should be prevented from indulging in unjustified expenditure. Hence, when the state of Madina came into existence, it adopted various practical measures to implement the purposes underlying these provisions. On the one hand, several forms of extravagance and luxurious modes of living were legally prohibited. Indirect legal measures were also employed to. prevent wasteful expenditure. Moreover, several customs involving extravagance were ended.

Furthermore, the state was empowered to adopt administrative measures to prevent blatant forms of extravagance. Likewise, through zakah and sadaqat, a blow was struck at miserliness and steps were taken to prevent the kind of acquisitiveness which prevents the free flow of wealth. In addition, a carefully engineered public awareness enabled people to distinguish between generosity and wasteful expenditure on the one hand, and between miserliness and judicious moderation in expenditure on the other.

Thanks to such healthy public awareness, misers have always been looked down upon in Islamic society and those who are moderate in their expenditure are always respected. In like manner, the extravagant are censured and the generous admired. Owing to the guidance provided by the Qur’an, Muslim society continues to look down upon the miserly and the overly acquisitive and holds the generous in high esteem.

30. Man fails to grasp the wisdom and benevolent consideration underlying the disparity in God’s scheme of distributing financial resources among human beings. This being the case, man should not interfere, by introducing artificial measures, in this natural scheme of distribution of worldly provisions. Neither should natural inequality be replaced by artificial equality; nor should natural inequality be carried to the extent of perpetrating injustice. Both are equally wrong. An economic system that is sound and healthy ought to remain close to the scheme of wealth distribution devised by God.

In view of the natural law enshrined in the present verse, the scheme of reform implemented in the state of Madina was not at all premised on the principle that economic disparity is an intrinsic evil; or that the creation of a totally classless society is a desirable objective. On the contrary, the Madinan endeavor to establish a healthy society was guided by the idea that differences among human beings ought to be maintained, but only to the extent that this was natural. At the same time, both the moral conduct and legal enactments of society should be so restructured that economic disparity is prevented from promoting injustice; instead, it should become instrumental in fostering the innumerable moral, spiritual and social benefits for the sake of which God had presumably allowed such economic disparity among human beings.