Tafheem ul Quran
Surah 17 Al-Isra, Ayat 66-72
رَبُّكُمُ الَّذِىۡ يُزۡجِىۡ لَـكُمُ الۡفُلۡكَ فِى الۡبَحۡرِ لِتَبۡتَغُوۡا مِنۡ فَضۡلِهٖؕ اِنَّهٗ كَانَ بِكُمۡ رَحِيۡمًا
﴿17:66﴾
وَاِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الضُّرُّ فِى الۡبَحۡرِ ضَلَّ مَنۡ تَدۡعُوۡنَ اِلَّاۤ اِيَّاهُ ۚ فَلَمَّا نَجّٰٮكُمۡ اِلَى الۡبَرِّ اَعۡرَضۡتُمۡ ؕ وَكَانَ الۡاِنۡسَانُ كَفُوۡرًا
﴿17:67﴾
اَفَاَمِنۡتُمۡ اَنۡ يَّخۡسِفَ بِكُمۡ جَانِبَ الۡبَرِّ اَوۡ يُرۡسِلَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ حَاصِبًا ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوۡالَـكُمۡ وَكِيۡلًا ۙ
﴿17:68﴾
اَمۡ اَمِنۡتُمۡ اَنۡ يُّعِيۡدَكُمۡ فِيۡهِ تَارَةً اُخۡرٰى فَيُرۡسِلَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ قَاصِفًا مِّنَ الرِّيۡحِ فَيُغۡرِقَكُمۡ بِمَا كَفَرۡتُمۡۙ ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوۡا لَـكُمۡ عَلَيۡنَا بِهٖ تَبِيۡعًا
﴿17:69﴾
وَلَـقَدۡ كَرَّمۡنَا بَنِىۡۤ اٰدَمَ وَحَمَلۡنٰهُمۡ فِى الۡبَرِّ وَالۡبَحۡرِ وَرَزَقۡنٰهُمۡ مِّنَ الطَّيِّبٰتِ وَفَضَّلۡنٰهُمۡ عَلٰى كَثِيۡرٍ مِّمَّنۡ خَلَقۡنَا تَفۡضِيۡلًا
﴿17:70﴾
يَوۡمَ نَدۡعُوۡا كُلَّ اُنَاسٍۢ بِاِمَامِهِمۡۚ فَمَنۡ اُوۡتِىَ كِتٰبَهٗ بِيَمِيۡنِهٖ فَاُولٰۤـئِكَ يَقۡرَءُوۡنَ كِتٰبَهُمۡ وَلَا يُظۡلَمُوۡنَ فَتِيۡلًا
﴿17:71﴾
وَمَنۡ كَانَ فِىۡ هٰذِهٖۤ اَعۡمٰى فَهُوَ فِى الۡاٰخِرَةِ اَعۡمٰى وَاَضَلُّ سَبِيۡلًا
﴿17:72﴾
(17:66) Your Lord is He Who steers your vessels across the seas82
that you may seek of His Bounty.83 He is ever Merciful towards you.
(17:67) When a calamity befalls you on the sea, all those whom you invoke
forsake you except Him.84 But when He delivers you safely to the
shore you turn away from Him, for man is indeed most thankless. (17:68) Do you, then, feel secure against His causing you to be swallowed
up by a tract of the earth, or letting loose a deadly whirlwind charged with
stones towards you, and there you will find none to protect you? (17:69) Or do you feel secure that He will not cause you to revert to the
sea, and let a tempest loose upon you and then drown you for your ingratitude
whereupon you will find none even to inquire of Us what happened to you? (17:70) Indeed, We honoured the progeny of Adam, and bore them across land
and sea and provided them with good things for their sustenance, and exalted
them above many of Our creatures.85 (17:71) Then think of the Day We shall summon every community with its leader.
Those who are given their Record in their right hand shall read the Record of
their deeds86 and shall not be wronged a whit. (17:72) Whoever lived in this world as blind shall live as blind in the Life
to Come; rather, he will be even farther astray than if he were (just) blind.
Notes
82. This passage (Ayats 66-72) is closely connected with the previous one.
It tells man that if he wants to protect himself from the allurements, temptations
and false promises of Satan who has been his avowed enemy from the day of his
creation, he should recognize his real Lord and be steadfast in His obedience.
Satan intends to prove that man is not worthy of the honor with which Allah
has blessed him. Therefore if he follows any other way he cannot escape the
snares of Satan.
In this passage, arguments of Tauhid have been put forward in order to make
man steadfast in his faith and refrain from shirk.
83. That is, try to avail of the economic, social, educational and intellectual
benefits which are provided by the sea voyages.
84. That is, this is a proof of the fact that your real nature knows no other
Lord than Allah, and you feel in the depths of your hearts that He alone possesses
the real power of every gain or loss. Had it not been so, man would never have
invoked Allah at the time when he realized that no other helper could remove
his misfortune.
85. That is, it is an obvious fact that the superiority man enjoys over all
other beings on the earth and all that is in it, has not been bestowed upon
him by a jinn or an angel or a prophet. Most surely that is Allah’s blessing
and favor. Is it not then the height of folly and ignorance that after having
achieved such a high rank, man should bow down before any creature of Allah
instead of Him?
86. We learn from the Quran that on the Day of Resurrection, the righteous
people will be given their records in their right hands and they will be overjoyed
to have a look at it and will show it to others. As regards to the wicked people,
they will get their records in their left hands and in their shame will try
to hide it behind their backs. Please refer to
(Surah Al-Haaqqa, Ayats 19-28),
(Surah Al-Inshiqaq, Ayats 7-13).