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 85-93وَ یَسْـَٔلُوْنَكَAnd they ask youعَنِconcerningالرُّوْحِ ؕthe soulقُلِSayالرُّوْحُThe soulمِنْ(is) ofاَمْرِ(the) affairرَبِّیْ(of) my Lordوَ مَاۤAnd notاُوْتِیْتُمْyou have been givenمِّنَofالْعِلْمِthe knowledgeاِلَّاexceptقَلِیْلًا a little وَ لَىِٕنْAnd ifشِئْنَاWe willedلَنَذْهَبَنَّWe (would) have surely taken awayبِالَّذِیْۤthat whichاَوْحَیْنَاۤWe have revealedاِلَیْكَto youثُمَّThenلَاnotتَجِدُyou would findلَكَfor youبِهٖconcerning itعَلَیْنَاagainst Usوَكِیْلًاۙany advocate 17. Al-Isra Page 291اِلَّاExceptرَحْمَةًa mercyمِّنْfromرَّبِّكَ ؕyour LordاِنَّIndeedفَضْلَهٗHis Bountyكَانَisعَلَیْكَupon youكَبِیْرًا great قُلْSayلَّىِٕنِIfاجْتَمَعَتِgatheredالْاِنْسُthe mankindوَ الْجِنُّand the jinnعَلٰۤیtoاَنْ[that]یَّاْتُوْاbringبِمِثْلِthe likeهٰذَا(of) thisالْقُرْاٰنِQuranلَاnotیَاْتُوْنَthey (could) bringبِمِثْلِهٖthe like of itوَ لَوْeven ifكَانَwereبَعْضُهُمْsome of themلِبَعْضٍto some othersظَهِیْرًا assistants وَ لَقَدْAnd verilyصَرَّفْنَاWe have explainedلِلنَّاسِto mankindفِیْinهٰذَاthisالْقُرْاٰنِQuranمِنْfromكُلِّeveryمَثَلٍ ؗexampleفَاَبٰۤیbut refusedاَكْثَرُmostالنَّاسِ(of) the mankindاِلَّاexceptكُفُوْرًا disbelief وَ قَالُوْاAnd they sayلَنْNeverنُّؤْمِنَwe will believeلَكَin youحَتّٰیuntilتَفْجُرَyou cause to gush forthلَنَاfor usمِنَfromالْاَرْضِthe earthیَنْۢبُوْعًاۙa spring اَوْOrتَكُوْنَyou haveلَكَfor youجَنَّةٌa gardenمِّنْofنَّخِیْلٍdate-palmsوَّ عِنَبٍand grapesفَتُفَجِّرَand cause to gush forthالْاَنْهٰرَthe riversخِلٰلَهَاwithin themتَفْجِیْرًاۙabundantly اَوْOrتُسْقِطَyou cause to fallالسَّمَآءَthe skyكَمَاasزَعَمْتَyou have claimedعَلَیْنَاupon usكِسَفًا(in) piecesاَوْorتَاْتِیَyou bringبِاللّٰهِAllahوَ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةِand the Angelsقَبِیْلًاۙbefore (us) اَوْOrیَكُوْنَisلَكَfor youبَیْتٌa houseمِّنْofزُخْرُفٍornamentاَوْorتَرْقٰیyou ascendفِیintoالسَّمَآءِ ؕthe skyوَ لَنْAnd neverنُّؤْمِنَwe will believeلِرُقِیِّكَin your ascensionحَتّٰیuntilتُنَزِّلَyou bring downعَلَیْنَاto usكِتٰبًاa bookنَّقْرَؤُهٗ ؕwe could read itقُلْSayسُبْحَانَGlorified (is)رَبِّیْmy Lord!هَلْWhatكُنْتُam Iاِلَّاbutبَشَرًاa humanرَّسُوْلًا۠a Messenger

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Translation of Verse 85-93

(17:85) They ask you about "the spirit".¹⁰³ Say: "The spirit descends by the command of my Lord, but you have been given only a little knowledge."

(17:86) Had We willed, We could take away what We have revealed to you, then you would find none to help you in recovering it from Us.

(17:87) (Whatever you have received) is nothing but grace from your Lord. Indeed His favour to you is great.¹⁰⁴

(17:88) Say: "Surely, if mankind and jinn were to get together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they will never be able to produce the like of it, howsoever they might help one another."¹⁰⁵

(17:89) We have explained things for people in this Qur'an in diverse ways to make them understand the Message, yet most people obstinately persist in unbelief.

(17:90) They said: "We shall not accept your Message until you cause a spring to gush forth for us from the earth;

(17:91) or that there be a garden of palms and vines for you and then you cause rivers to abundantly flow forth through them;

(17:92) or cause the sky to fall on us in pieces as you claimed, or bring Allah and the angels before us, face to face;

(17:93) or that there come to be for you a house of gold, or that you ascend to the sky - though we shall not believe in your ascension (to the sky) - until you bring down a book for us that we can read." Say to them, (O Muhammad): "Holy is my Lord! Am I anything else than a human being, who bears a Message¹⁰⁶ (from Allah)?"

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Commentary

103. It is generally assumed that the word ruh here signifies ‘life’. Some people had asked the Prophet (peace be on him) about the essence of life. In response, they are told that it comes by the command of God. We have, however, serious reservations about this view since the context of the verse does not support such an interpretation. Such an interpretation would only be apt if the verse was taken out of its context and studied in isolation, i.e, as if it was an independent statement. In fact, if we here consider ruh to mean life, the passage becomes incoherent to the point of sounding peculiar. Let us recall that just a little before this verse two categories of people are mentioned — one, - those for whom the Qur’an is both a ‘healing’ and a ‘mercy’, and two, those who, because of their rejection of the Qur’an, are denounced for their iniquity and ingratitude — and that soon after the present verse, the Qur’an puts forth evidence to establish that it was a revelation from God. In this context it appears incomprehensible for a statement to be made to the effect that living beings are endowed with life by God’s command.

The context of the verse in fact makes it quite clear that the word ruh here signifies either revelation or the angel who communicates revelation. The polytheists had in fact posed the question: What is the source of the Qur’an? In reply, God directs the Prophet (peace be on him) to inform the inquirers about the origin or source of the Qur’an — that it comes by the command of God. The knowledge and understanding of the polytheists was so poor that they were unable to see the difference between two discourses, one whose source is God and the other whose source is man.

This interpretation of the statement is preferable, first of all, because it makes sense in the context in which it occurs. Additionally, at different points in the Qur’an when such a statement is made, recourse is made to more or less the same words. For example, in al-Mu’ min it is stated: ‘He sends revelation to any of His servants whom He pleases that He may warn of the day when they will be brought together (al-Mu’ min 40: 15). Similarly, in al-Shura (42: 52) the same point is made: ‘And thus have We, by Our command, sent a revelation to you. You did not know prior to that what was revelation and what was faith.’ Among early scholars Ibn ‘Abbas, Qatadah and Hasan al-Basri interpret the verse along similar lines. Ibn Jarir al-Tabari ascribes this view to Ibn ‘Abbas on the authority of Qatadah. Strangely enough, however, he adds that Ibn ‘Abbas only expressed this view secretly. In Ruh al-Ma‘ani the opinion of Hasan al-Basri and Qatadah has been quoted in the following words: “The rah [here] stands for Gabriel, and the question in fact was how he [i.e. Gabriel] came down and how he conveyed revelation to the heart of the Prophet (peace be on him).’ (See al-Alusi, Ruh al-Ma ‘ani, vol. 15, p. 152, comments on Bani ‘Israil 17, verse 85 — Ed.)

104. Although this statement is addressed to the Prophet (peace be on him), it is aimed at the unbelievers who had expressed the opinion that the Qur’an had. been authored either by the Prophet (peace be on him), or someone else who after authoring it had secretly passed it on to him. They are told here in no uncertain terms that the Qur’4n was not-authored by the Prophet (peace be on him) but was instead bestowed upon him by none other than God Himself.

Were God to deprive him of the Qur’an, neither the Prophet (peace be on him) nor anyone else would be able to produce such a miraculous Book.

105. The same challenge occurs in the Qur’4n on three previous occasions (see al-Baqarah 2: 23-4; Yunus 10: 38, and Hid 11: 13) and later also in al-Tur 52: 33-4). The content of all the verses referred to above is in response to the ‘allegation of the unbelievers that the Qur’an had been composed by the Prophet (peace be on him) and then falsely ascribed to God. All this was refuted. Additionally, one may recall in this context what had been said on an earlier occasion: *Tell them, had Allah so willed, I would not have recited the Qur’an to you, nor would Allah have informed you of it. I have spent a lifetime among you before this. Do you, then, not use your reason?’ (Yunus 10: 16).

The evidence put forward in these verses to establish that the Qur’an is the word of God consists of three arguments: First, it is emphasized that the Qur’an is miraculous in respect of ‘its language, style, manner of argument, content, and the information it provides '. relating to the realm that lies beyond the ken of sense-perception; in sum, that human beings are totally incapable of producing anything like it. The - unbelievers had claimed that the Qur’an had been authored by an individual, but the fact is that even if all human beings were to combine their efforts, they would still not be able to produce a Book of the Qur’an’s magnitude. In fact, _ those who disbelieve in the Qur’an would fail to produce a Book like the Qur’an even if they were to enlist the support of all men and even the jinn whom they regard as their deities and whose godhead the Qur’an emphatically repudiates.

Second, it is pointed out that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) did not emerge on the public scene from nowhere. He had lived for a full forty years amidst his people. Did the unbelievers ever hear from him anything that - would bear the least resemblance to the Qur’مn in style, approach and content? Now, since that was definitely not the case, how could they explain how such a phenomenal change had suddenly come about in the Prophet’s discourse, in his language, diction, ideas, information, mode of thinking and style of expression? How was he able to present something as excellent and exalted as the Qur’an? Third, people were also reminded that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) had lived in their midst, and expressed himself on a great many subjects as well as recited to them many verses from the Qur’an. Now, his discourse was divided into two categories: (a) the Qur’an, and (b) the Prophet’s ordinary discourse. The fact that the discourse which the Prophet (peace be on him) referred to as God’s own speech — the Qur’an — was so very different in language and style, from his own discourse, even though both were verbalized by him, was evident even at the time when the Prophet (peace be on him) lived in the midst of his compatriots, and is still evident today. Furthermore, given that a great many of the Prophet’s statements and his addresses to his people are extant in the works of Hadith, one cannot, therefore, fail to notice that the language and style of these utterances are very different from that of the Qur’an. The difference is.so pronounced that anyone who has the least sense of language and literature cannot dare to say that both the Qur’an and the material preserved in the collections of Hadith are the work of the same author. (For further elaboration, see Towards Understanding the Qur’ an, vol. IV, Yunus 10, n. 21, pp. 19-21, and al-Tér 52, nn. 22-7).

106. A rejoinder to the unbelievers’ demands for miracles was made above in verse 59. The present verse responds, once again, to the same demand but in a somewhat different manner. The eloquence and effectiveness of this succinct rejoinder beggars’ description. The Prophet’s enemies were wont to argue that if he was a true Messenger of God, he should make this apparent by some sign, for example, by causing a stream to gush forth or a flourishing orchard to appear with streams of water flowing through it. Or he should signal to the sky and command it to fall upon his opponents, instantly crushing them; or bring into being a palace of gold by a mere blow of his breath; or he should merely raise a cry and both God and His angels should appear before them testifying that Muhammad had indeed been designated as His Messenger, or that he should climb up to the heavens before their very eyes and then bring forth a letter from God which they might be able to touch and read. In response to all this a comprehensive reply is being given: (verse 93) ‘Say: “Holy is my Lord! Am [anything else than a human being, who bears a message (from Allah)?’’’ This statement suggests that the Prophet (peace be on him) claimed to be no ‘more than a human being who had been entrusted with a message from God. Never did he claim that he himself was God. Had he claimed godhead, or omnipotence, people would have been justified in asking him to do those things that they had requested as a sign. From the very beginning, the Prophet (peace be on him) claimed only that he had. brought a message from God, and that those who wanted to test him, should do so by evaluating his message. As for those who wished to accept Islam, they should do so after carefully examining his message and satisfying themselves that it was indeed true and stood to reason. Conversely, if they decided to reject Islam, they should do. so only after having carefully considered it and found it to be deficient or faulty. Likewise, if they had to decide whether the Prophet (peace be on him) was truthful or not, they should look closely at his life, his conduct, and his work. But rather than focus their attention on such relevant matters, they chose instead to demand that the Prophet (peace be on him) tear the earth asunder and make the sky crumble and fall in pieces about them. How preposterous they all are, for what have such - things got to do with the message and mission of a Prophet?