Sūrat al-Isrāʾ (Banī Isrāʾīl)

سورۃ الاسراء

وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الزِّنَىٰ ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَاءَ سَبِيلًا

Wa-lā taqrabū al-zinā inna-hū kāna fāḥishatan wa-sāʾa sabīlā

"And do not approach fornication — indeed it is an indecency and an evil way." (al-Isrāʾ 17:32)

Translation: And do not even draw near to fornication; it is a grave immorality and a most evil path.

Commentary: The divine prohibition here is not merely against the act of fornication itself but against approaching any of its preconditions and preliminary acts — the glances, the seclusion, the speech that leads toward it. Everything that constitutes a stepping-stone to this sin is forbidden. It is described as fāḥisha (a manifest indecency) because it is among the gravest of moral violations, and the way it opens (sāʾa sabīlā) is a vile path leading to social and spiritual ruin. The verse singles out fornication among the prohibited acts listed in this passage because of the unique catastrophe it wreaks upon family lineage, social honour, and the moral fabric of the community. The Allāh Almighty has declared it not merely ḥarām but fāḥisha — something so outwardly and obviously vile that no person of sound reason could doubt its evil.

Translation: And do not approach fornication — it is an indecency and the most evil of paths.

وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ ۗ وَمَن قُتِلَ مَظْلُومًا فَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا لِوَلِيِّهِ سُلْطَانًا فَلَا يُسْرِف فِي الْقَتْلِ ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ مَنصُورًا

Wa-lā taqtulū al-nafsa allatī ḥarrama Allāhu illā bi-l-ḥaqq; wa-man qutila maẓlūman fa-qad jaʿalnā li-waliyyihi sulṭānan fa-lā yusrif fī l-qatl; inna-hū kāna manṣūrā

"And do not kill the soul that Allāh has made sacred except by right. And whoever is killed unjustly — We have given authority to his heir; but let him not exceed the limits in taking life, for he has been given support." (al-Isrāʾ 17:33)

Translation: And do not kill the soul that Allāh has sanctified except by right. Whoever is killed unjustly — We have indeed granted to his guardian authority. But let him not exceed bounds in the matter of taking life; he has been given divine support.

Commentary: This verse establishes the sanctity of human life as one of the cardinal principles of Islamic law. The phrase "except by right" (illā bi-l-ḥaqq) encompasses the four cases in which taking life is legally permitted: in just warfare against an enemy combatant; in the application of qiṣāṣ (legal retaliation) for murder; in the execution of the highway robber (qāṭiʿ al-ṭarīq); and in the case of the apostate according to the Ḥanafī position. The verse then addresses the right of the victim's heir (walī): Allāh has granted him sulṭān — authority and power — to demand qiṣāṣ or accept blood-money (diya) or pardon the killer. However, the heir is warned not to exceed limits: he may not kill more than one person for one victim, nor may he torture the killer or mutilate the body. The closing inna-hū kāna manṣūrā — "he has been given support" — refers to the walī of the slain: Allāh and Islamic law stand behind him and his right to justice.

وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُ ۚ وَأَوْفُوا بِالْعَهْدِ ۖ إِنَّ الْعَهْدَ كَانَ مَسْئُولًا

Wa-lā taqrabū māla l-yatīmi illā bi-llatī hiya aḥsanu ḥattā yablugha ashuddah; wa-awfū bi-l-ʿahd; inna l-ʿahda kāna masʾūlā

"And do not approach the property of an orphan except in the best manner until he attains maturity. And fulfil the covenant — indeed the covenant shall be questioned about." (al-Isrāʾ 17:34)

Translation: And do not go near the orphan's property save in the best way, until he reaches his full strength and maturity. And fulfil every covenant — for every covenant shall be held to account.

Commentary: The guardian of an orphan's wealth is permitted to approach that wealth only in the manner that is most beneficial to the orphan — using it for the orphan's necessities, education, and genuine welfare — and not to take anything for himself unless he is genuinely indigent, and even then only in the prescribed measure. This restriction holds "until he attains maturity (ashuddahu)" — meaning until the orphan reaches adulthood and is capable of managing his own affairs. Once that condition is met, the guardian must hand over the property in full. The second injunction in this verse, wa-awfū bi-l-ʿahd (fulfil every covenant), is of broad application: it encompasses covenants with Allāh (one's commitments of faith and obedience), covenants with human beings (contracts, promises, pledges), and the social compact that binds communities together. The warning inna l-ʿahda kāna masʾūlā — "the covenant shall be questioned about" — means that on the Day of Judgement every unfulfilled promise and broken contract will be brought before the divine tribunal.

وَأَوْفُوا الْكَيْلَ إِذَا كِلْتُمْ وَزِنُوا بِالْقِسْطَاسِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلًا

Wa-awfū al-kayla idhā kiltum wa-zinū bi-l-qisṭāsi l-mustaqīm; dhālika khayrun wa-aḥsanu taʾwīlā

"And give full measure when you measure, and weigh with an even balance — that is better and fairer in the final outcome." (al-Isrāʾ 17:35)

Translation: And give full measure when you measure out goods, and weigh with a just and accurate balance. That is better and more excellent in its ultimate end.

Commentary: Commerce and trade are permitted and indeed encouraged in Islam, but they rest on the foundations of honest dealing. The qisṭās al-mustaqīm (the just balance) represents not only a physical scale but the entire principle of equity in commercial transactions: no short-changing, no deceptive measure, neither excess nor deficiency. The phrase aḥsanu taʾwīlā — "better in its ultimate outcome" — means that honest trade yields both worldly benefit (blessings in one's wealth and long-term prosperity) and the reward of the Hereafter. Fraud in weights and measures is among the sins explicitly condemned in the Qurʾān in connection with the people of Madyan and the Prophet Shuʿayb (upon him be peace).

وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ ۚ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَٰئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًا

Wa-lā taqfu mā laysa laka bihi ʿilmun; inna l-samʿa wa-l-baṣara wa-l-fuʾāda kullu ulāʾika kāna ʿanhu masʾūlā

"And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart — each of these shall be questioned about." (al-Isrāʾ 17:36)

Translation: And do not follow what you have no knowledge of. Indeed, the hearing and the sight and the heart — all of these shall be held to account.

Commentary: Qafā (from which taqfu is derived) means to follow, to pursue, to assert without grounding. This verse prohibits acting upon or propagating conjecture, hearsay, suspicion, and matters one has not personally verified. Among the things prohibited here are: bearing false witness, accusing without evidence, making rulings on matters one does not know, and spreading unverified reports. The three faculties singled out — hearing, sight, and the heart (fuʾād) — are the three gateways through which knowledge enters and through which sin most commonly enters when misused. On the Day of Judgement, each faculty will be asked: what did you hear, what did you see, what did you intend? This is a profound admonition to cultivate epistemic responsibility.

وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا ۖ إِنَّكَ لَن تَخْرِقَ الْأَرْضَ وَلَن تَبْلُغَ الْجِبَالَ طُولًا

Wa-lā tamshi fī l-arḍi maraḥan; inna-ka lan takhriqa l-arḍa wa-lan tablugha l-jibāla ṭūlā

"And do not walk upon the earth exultantly — indeed you will never tear through the earth, nor will you reach the mountains in height." (al-Isrāʾ 17:37)

Translation: And do not walk upon the earth with arrogance and conceit. Indeed, you can never split the earth open, nor can you rival the mountains in height.

Commentary: Walking with arrogance (maraḥan) — swaggering, strutting, puffing oneself up — is forbidden. The Qurʾān cuts this vice down with a simple, devastating reminder: your power is nothing. You cannot cleave the earth beneath your feet however hard you stamp upon it. You cannot reach the tops of mountains however high you hold your head. Pride is therefore not only a moral failing but a delusion — a misapprehension of reality. The true believer walks with dignity but without arrogance, knowing that he is a created being of humble origins.

كُلُّ ذَٰلِكَ كَانَ سَيِّئُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ مَكْرُوهًا

Kullu dhālika kāna sayyiʾuhu ʿinda rabbika makrūhā

"All of that — the evil of it is detestable in the sight of your Lord." (al-Isrāʾ 17:38)

Translation: All of this — its sinful aspect is exceedingly hateful in the sight of your Lord.

Commentary: This verse provides the divine summation of the ethical code laid out in the preceding verses — from honouring parents to avoiding shirk, from protecting the orphan's wealth to being honest in commerce, from avoiding fornication to refusing arrogance. All the prohibited acts enumerated are gathered under the verdict makrūh in its strongest sense — not the technical makrūh-i tanzīhī of fiqh, but full hatred and abhorrence in the sight of Allāh. This is among the wisdoms embedded in this passage: the moral code here is not merely legal but reflects the very character Allāh loves and hates.

ذَٰلِكَ مِمَّا أَوْحَىٰ إِلَيْكَ رَبُّكَ مِنَ الْحِكْمَةِ ۗ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ فَتُلْقَىٰ فِي جَهَنَّمَ مَلُومًا مَّدْحُورًا

Dhālika mimmā awḥā ilayka rabbuka min al-ḥikmah; wa-lā tajʿal maʿa Allāhi ilāhan ākhara fa-tulqā fī Jahannama malūman madḥūrā

"That is part of what your Lord has revealed to you of wisdom. And do not set up with Allāh another deity, lest you be cast into Hell, blamed and banished." (al-Isrāʾ 17:39)

Translation: This is part of the wisdom your Lord has revealed to you. And do not set any other deity alongside Allāh, lest you be flung into Hell, blameworthy and rejected.

Commentary: The ethical precepts enumerated from verse 23 onward are gathered here under the heading of ḥikma — divine wisdom — which Allāh has revealed to His Prophetﷺ. These are not arbitrary rules but the distilled wisdom of revelation. The passage then returns to the foundational principle from which all the others flow: tawḥīd, the absolute Oneness of Allāh. Shirk — associating partners with Allāh — is the root sin from which all other moral corruption springs. The one who commits shirk is malūm (blamed, censured) and madḥūr (rejected, cast out, expelled from all mercy): these two words together describe the utter desolation of the one who dies upon polytheism.

أَفَأَصْفَاكُمْ رَبُّكُم بِالْبَنِينَ وَاتَّخَذَ مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنَاثًا ۚ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَقُولُونَ قَوْلًا عَظِيمًا

Afa-aṣfākum rabbukum bi-l-banīna wa-ttakhadha mina l-malāʾikati ināthan; inna-kum la-taqūlūna qawlan ʿaẓīmā

"Has then your Lord distinguished you with sons while taking for Himself daughters from among the angels? Indeed you are uttering a tremendous thing." (al-Isrāʾ 17:40)

Translation: Has then your Lord chosen sons for you whilst taking daughters for Himself from among the angels? Truly you are uttering a most grievous thing.

Commentary: This verse is addressed with devastating irony to the Arabs of Quraysh who, on the one hand, despised daughters and buried them alive, and yet on the other hand attributed daughters to Allāh by calling the angels His daughters (banāt Allāh). The argument is simple and crushing: if having daughters is so contemptible in your own view that you kill your own daughters, then how can you ascribe daughters to Allāh whilst reserving sons for yourselves? The statement qawlan ʿaẓīmā — "a tremendous utterance" — condemns this attribution as among the gravest blasphemies.

وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا فِي هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ لِيَذَّكَّرُوا وَمَا يَزِيدُهُمْ إِلَّا نُفُورًا

Wa-la-qad ṣarrafnā fī hādhā l-Qurʾāni li-yadhdhakkarū wa-mā yazīduhum illā nufūrā

"And indeed We have diversified the arguments in this Qurʾān so that they may take heed — yet it increases them in nothing but aversion." (al-Isrāʾ 17:41)

Translation: And indeed We have repeated and varied the arguments in this Qurʾān that they might take heed — yet it only increases them in repulsion and aversion.

Commentary: Allāh Most High has set forth the proofs of His Oneness, the arguments for resurrection, the warnings of punishment, and the glad tidings of reward in numerous ways throughout the Qurʾān — from narratives to parables, from logical demonstration to direct address. All of this was to enable even the most hardened hearts to find some opening through which guidance might enter. Yet the obstinate disbelievers respond only with greater nufūr — repulsion, flight from truth, intensified hostility. This is the bitter paradox: the very mercy of multiplied explanation becomes, through their perversity, an occasion for deeper entrenchment in unbelief.

قُل لَّوْ كَانَ مَعَهُ آلِهَةٌ كَمَا يَقُولُونَ إِذًا لَّابْتَغَوْا إِلَىٰ ذِي الْعَرْشِ سَبِيلًا

Qul law kāna maʿahū ālihatun kamā yaqūlūna idhan la-btaghaw ilā dhī l-ʿarshi sabīlā

"Say: If there were with Him other deities as they claim, then they would have sought a way to the Master of the Throne." (al-Isrāʾ 17:42)

Translation: Say: If there were other deities alongside Him as they assert, then those deities would themselves be seeking a path toward the Lord of the Throne.

Commentary: This is a logical proof for tawḥīd drawn from the hypothesis of polytheism itself. If there were other gods with any real power, they would necessarily be in competition with the Lord of the Throne — they would seek to either challenge His authority or obtain His favour. Either possibility demonstrates that any "god" who must seek another's aid or approval is not truly divine. The verse invites rational reflection: the very concept of multiple independent deities is self-contradictory. The expression dhī l-ʿarshi — "Lord of the Throne" — emphasises Allāh's absolute sovereignty over all creation, before which no other claim to divinity can stand.

سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ عَمَّا يَقُولُونَ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا

Subḥānahu wa-taʿālā ʿammā yaqūlūna ʿuluwwan kabīrā

"Exalted is He and far above what they say, in great transcendence." (al-Isrāʾ 17:43)

Translation: Glory be to Him! He is exalted far above what they say, with a transcendence both vast and absolute.

Commentary: This verse is a declaration of tanzīh — the absolute transcendence of Allāh beyond all the false attributions of the polytheists. Whatever descriptions they assign to Him of partners, offspring, or rivals — Allāh is infinitely exalted above all of it. The double emphasis (ʿuluwwan kabīrā — "a great transcendence") signals that His elevation above their falsehoods is not merely a matter of degree but of absolute categorical difference.

تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ ۚ وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا

Tusabbiḥu la-hu l-samāwātu l-sabʿu wa-l-arḍu wa-man fīhinn; wa-in min shayʾin illā yusabbiḥu bi-ḥamdihi wa-lākin lā tafqahūna tasbīḥahum; inna-hū kāna ḥalīman ghafūrā

"The seven heavens and the earth and all that is within them glorify Him. And there is not a thing but glorifies His praise — but you do not comprehend their glorification. Indeed He is ever Forbearing, Most Forgiving." (al-Isrāʾ 17:44)

Translation: The seven heavens and the earth and all that they contain proclaim His glory and perfection. There is not a single thing that does not exalt His praise — yet you do not understand the manner of their glorification. Truly He is ever Clement and Forgiving.

Commentary: This magnificent verse declares that tasbīḥ — the continuous proclamation of Allāh's freedom from all defect — is the universal activity of all creation. The seven heavens, the earth, and every creature within them are perpetually engaged in this act of glorification. The Qurʾān does not say that some things or most things glorify Him — it says wa-in min shayʾin illā yusabbiḥu: "there is not a single thing but that it glorifies Him." This is the ontological tasbīḥ of existence itself: every atom, every particle, every leaf and stone and drop of water and living creature, by its very being and its conformity to the laws Allāh has written into it, glorifies its Creator. Whether this glorification is accompanied by consciousness or not in every case is a matter of ʿilm ilāhī — divine knowledge — but the Qurʾān affirms it without qualification. The reason you do not understand it (lā tafqahūna tasbīḥahum) is that your perceptual and conceptual apparatus is too limited. The closing attributes — Ḥalīm (Forbearing) and Ghafūr (Most Forgiving) — are particularly appropriate here: despite the ingratitude of human beings who do not perceive this universal worship around them, Allāh does not hasten their punishment but continues to shower them with mercy.

وَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ جَعَلْنَا بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ حِجَابًا مَّسْتُورًا

Wa-idhā qaraʾta l-Qurʾāna jaʿalnā baynaka wa-bayna lladhīna lā yuʾminūna bi-l-ākhirati ḥijāban mastūrā

"And when you recite the Qurʾān, We place between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter a hidden veil." (al-Isrāʾ 17:45)

Translation: And when you recite the Qurʾān, We place between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter an invisible veil.

Commentary: This verse describes a spiritual reality: when the Prophetﷺrecited the Qurʾān, the disbelievers who denied the Hereafter were separated from its light by a veil placed by Allāh Himself — ḥijāb mastūr, a concealed curtain, invisible yet impenetrable. They could hear the words of the Qurʾān with their ears, but the meaning, the light, and the transformative power did not reach their hearts. This was both a Divine punishment for their obstinacy and a protection of the Qurʾān from their mockery. The mastur (concealed) quality of the veil indicates that it was a spiritual barrier rather than a physical one — something they themselves could not perceive.

وَجَعَلْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا ۚ وَإِذَا ذَكَرْتَ رَبَّكَ فِي الْقُرْآنِ وَحْدَهُ وَلَّوْا عَلَىٰ أَدْبَارِهِمْ نُفُورًا

Wa-jaʿalnā ʿalā qulūbihim akinnatan an yafqahūhu wa-fī ādhānihim waqrā; wa-idhā dhakarta rabbaka fī l-Qurʾāni waḥdahu wallū ʿalā adbārihim nufūrā

"And We have placed coverings over their hearts lest they understand it, and deafness in their ears. And when you mention your Lord alone in the Qurʾān, they turn their backs in aversion." (al-Isrāʾ 17:46)

Translation: And We have cast veils over their hearts so that they cannot understand it, and there is deafness in their ears. And when you mention your Lord alone in the Qurʾān, they turn away on their backs in repulsion.

Commentary: The veils over the hearts (akinna, plural of kinn, a covering or sheath) are the spiritual consequence of their own persistent rejection: Allāh sealed their hearts as a final punishment for their wilful obstinacy. The waqr (heaviness, deafness) in their ears means that even though the words of the Qurʾān physically reached them, they could not be moved by it — the ears of the heart were stopped. Most tellingly, when the pure name of Allāh alone is mentioned — without associates, without partners — they flee in disgust. The mention of pure tawḥīd is the one thing they cannot endure, for it demands the dismantling of everything they have built their worldly lives upon.

Commentary (continued): The commentator notes that certain people in our time also betray a similar aversion — they take the blessed name of the Prophetﷺupon paper and bind it as a talisman, as if the mere physical contact with the letters can bring benefit. But as for the inner meaning of the name, its spiritual reality, its ethical demands — those they neglect entirely. The Qurʾān warns us that the disbelievers' way of "listening" to the Prophetﷺwas nothing but mockery and whispered conspiracy among themselves. Allāh knows perfectly well what they scheme in their secret conclaves.

نَّحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَسْتَمِعُونَ بِهِ إِذْ يَسْتَمِعُونَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِذْ هُمْ نَجْوَىٰ إِذْ يَقُولُ الظَّالِمُونَ إِن تَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا رَجُلًا مَّسْحُورًا

Naḥnu aʿlamu bi-mā yastamiʿūna bihi idh yastamiʿūna ilayka wa-idh hum najwā; idh yaqūlu l-ẓālimūna in tattabiʿūna illā rajulan masḥūrā

"We know best with what intention they listen when they listen to you, and when they hold secret counsel — when the wrongdoers say: You follow none but a man bewitched." (al-Isrāʾ 17:47)

Translation: We know full well the manner in which they listen when they come to hear you, and when they confer in secret — when these wrongdoers say: "You follow none but a man bewitched."

Commentary: Allāh Most High knows perfectly well the quality of their listening: they came not with open hearts but with closed, critical, mocking minds. In their private huddles they dismissed the Prophetﷺas rajul masḥūr — a man under a spell, a man bewitched. The arrogance and injustice of this characterisation is staggering. This is the description the enemies of truth apply to those who bring truth: a man confused, a man not in his right mind. The same charge was levelled at every prophet. Allāh calls those who say this ẓālimūn — wrongdoers — because there is no greater wrong than denying what is self-evidently true. The commentator notes: Allāh called the denial of the Prophet's sound mind itself an act of ẓulm, for the Prophetﷺwas the most complete and balanced of all human minds, the most integrated of all intellects —ﷺ.

انظُرْ كَيْفَ ضَرَبُوا لَكَ الْأَمْثَالَ فَضَلُّوا فَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ سَبِيلًا

Unẓur kayfa ḍarabū laka l-amthāla fa-ḍallū fa-lā yastaṭīʿūna sabīlā

"See how they coin comparisons for you, and are thereby led astray, and cannot find any way." (al-Isrāʾ 17:48)

Translation: See what manner of comparisons they invent about you — they have gone astray, and are now incapable of finding any path.

Commentary: The disbelievers devised various descriptions and comparisons for the Prophetﷺ: sorcerer, madman, poet, soothsayer. Each of these was an attempt to assign him to a familiar category that they could dismiss. But each such label only demonstrated their own confusion. Having abandoned the path of truthful inquiry, they were incapable of reaching any correct conclusion. The word sabīl (path, way) here means the path of right understanding — they had made themselves incapable of seeing straight.

وَقَالُوا أَإِذَا كُنَّا عِظَامًا وَرُفَاتًا أَإِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ خَلْقًا جَدِيدًا

Wa-qālū a-idhā kunnā ʿiẓāman wa-rufātan a-innā la-mabʿūthūna khalqan jadīdā

"And they say: What, when we have become bones and crumbled dust, shall we really be raised up again as a new creation?" (al-Isrāʾ 17:49)

Translation: And they say: "When we have become bones and disintegrated dust, shall we truly be raised up as a new creation?"

Commentary: The mockers of resurrection raise what they consider the decisive objection: the complete disintegration of the body makes reassembly impossible. But this is to misunderstand the nature of divine power. Whether a man dies on dry land or is drowned at sea, whether he is buried and decomposed or burned to ashes — none of this places any limit on Allāh's ability to recreate him. The commentator here makes a profound observation: consider the human being's own origin — a mere drop of seminal fluid (nuṭfa), then a clot of blood, then a morsel of flesh. From this unpromising beginning, Allāh created a being before whom mountains cower and whom wild beasts fear, a being who ascends through the layers of heaven and whose deeds shape the world. Can the One who achieved this initial creation not repeat it? The answer is self-evident. Furthermore, acts of virtue do not perish: "Where there is fanāʾ (annihilation of the self), the deeds of noble souls also do not perish." Everything continues in another form. Those who acted with goodness will appear as goodness incarnate; those who chose evil will manifest their evil openly. Allāh is the Just, the ʿAdīl — and He will recompense every soul exactly as it deserves.

قُل كُونُوا حِجَارَةً أَوْ حَدِيدًا

Qul kūnū ḥijāratan aw ḥadīdā

"Say: Become stone or iron—" (al-Isrāʾ 17:50)

Translation: Say: Become stone or iron —

Commentary: This and the following verse together form the divine response to their denial of resurrection. Even if you were to become stone — the hardest thing they knew — or iron — the most durable material — Allāh would still raise you. The argument is not that such transformation is possible but that no degree of disintegration or durability places anything beyond the reach of the One who originated all creation.

أَوْ خَلْقًا مِّمَّا يَكْبُرُ فِي صُدُورِكُمْ ۚ فَسَيَقُولُونَ مَن يُعِيدُنَا ۖ قُلِ الَّذِي فَطَرَكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ ۚ فَسَيُنْغِضُونَ إِلَيْكَ رُءُوسَهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هُوَ ۖ قُلْ عَسَىٰ أَن يَكُونَ قَرِيبًا

Aw khalqan mimmā yakburu fī ṣudūrikum; fa-sa-yaqūlūna man yuʿīdunā; quliʾ-lladhī faṭarakum awwala marra; fa-sa-yunghiḍūna ilayka ruʾūsahum wa-yaqūlūna matā huwa; qul ʿasā an yakūna qarībā

"Or any creation that seems great to you — they will say: Who will restore us? Say: The One who originated you the first time. They will shake their heads at you and say: When will it be? Say: Perhaps it will be soon." (al-Isrāʾ 17:51)

Translation: Or any substance that seems very great and formidable in your minds. They will say: "Who will restore us?" Say: The One who created you the first time. They will wag their heads at you and say: "When will this be?" Say: Perhaps it will be very soon.

Commentary: Whatever the disbelievers might imagine as the most remote from reconstruction — whether stone, iron, or something even more seemingly permanent in their minds — Allāh's creative power encompasses it. They respond with the mocking question man yuʿīdunā — "Who could bring us back?" — as though the answer were not already obvious. The answer is given: the One who created you from nothing the first time. Their reaction to this answer is yunghiḍūna ruʾūsahum — "they shake their heads" — a gesture of contemptuous disbelief and ridicule. Their final question, matā huwa — "when will it be?" — betrays their belief that its long delay amounts to proof of its impossibility. The response, qul ʿasā an yakūna qarīban — "say, perhaps it is near" — is a solemn reminder: what seems distant to the finite human mind is immediately at hand in the reckoning of Allāh. The Day of Judgement is near from the perspective of divine time.

يَوْمَ يَدْعُوكُمْ فَتَسْتَجِيبُونَ بِحَمْدِهِ وَتَظُنُّونَ إِن لَّبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

Yawma yadʿūkum fa-tastajībūna bi-ḥamdihi wa-taẓunnūna in labithtum illā qalīlā

"On the Day He calls you, and you respond with His praise, and you will think that you lingered but a little." (al-Isrāʾ 17:52)

Translation: On the Day when He calls you, you will respond while praising Him, and you will think you remained in the grave for only a little while.

Commentary: This verse describes the moment of resurrection: Allāh summons the dead with a single call and they respond — every soul will answer with biḥamdihi, "with His praise," meaning the impulse to glorify Allāh will arise even involuntarily in the resurrected. The expression taẓunnūna in labithtum illā qalīlā — "you will think you remained only a little while" — indicates that the experience of the grave will seem very brief, like a dream. The long ages of the world, the centuries and millennia of history — all of it will feel to the resurrected as if it were merely a brief afternoon nap. This is the nature of time from the perspective of the Hereafter.

وَقُل لِّعِبَادِي يَقُولُوا الَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ۚ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَنزَغُ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ كَانَ لِلْإِنسَانِ عَدُوًّا مُّبِينًا

Wa-qul li-ʿibādī yaqūlū llatī hiya aḥsanu; inna l-Shayṭāna yanzaghu baynahum; inna l-Shayṭāna kāna li-l-insāni ʿaduwwan mubīnā

"And say to My servants that they should say what is best. Indeed, Shayṭān instigates discord between them — indeed Shayṭān is a clear enemy to humankind." (al-Isrāʾ 17:53)

Translation: And say to My servants that they should speak only what is most excellent. For Shayṭān sows discord between them — Shayṭān is indeed a manifest enemy to humankind.

Commentary: This verse was revealed in the context of the early Muslims being provoked and insulted by the idolaters of Mecca, and some Muslims responding with harsh words that could have escalated into violence. Allāh commands them to maintain the highest standard of speech even when provoked, for Shayṭān's primary tactic is to inflame verbal confrontations into physical conflict. The expression llatī hiya aḥsan — "what is most excellent" — sets a very high bar: not merely permissible speech, not merely good speech, but the best possible speech. The characterisation of Shayṭān as ʿaduww mubīn — "a manifest enemy" — is a reminder that his enmity is not subtle or hidden; it is open and declared from the beginning of creation. The wise believer takes account of this declared enemy.

رَّبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِكُمْ ۖ إِن يَشَأْ يَرْحَمْكُمْ أَوْ إِن يَشَأْ يُعَذِّبْكُمْ ۚ وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَكِيلًا

Rabbukum aʿlamu bikum; in yashāʾ yarḥamkum aw in yashāʾ yuʿadhdhibkum; wa-mā arsalnāka ʿalayhim wakīlā

"Your Lord knows you best. If He wills, He will have mercy on you, or if He wills, He will punish you. And We have not sent you as a guardian over them." (al-Isrāʾ 17:54)

Translation: Your Lord knows you best. If He wills He will show you mercy, and if He wills He will punish you. We have not sent you as a guardian responsible over them.

Commentary: This verse addresses both the believers and the disbelievers: Allāh's knowledge of all souls is complete and perfect. His mercy and His punishment are both ultimately His prerogative — no human being, not even the Prophetﷺhimself, is wakīl over them, meaning no one is empowered to compel their faith or guarantee their salvation. The Prophet'sﷺrole is tablīgh — conveyance — not ḥifāẓ — guardianship over their ultimate fate. This is also a mercy to the Prophetﷺ: he is not burdened with responsibility for the choices of those who refuse to hear.

أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ ۚ إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ كَانَ مَحْذُورًا

Ulāʾika lladhīna yadʿūna yabtaghūna ilā rabbihimu l-wasīlata ayyuhum aqrabu wa-yarjūna raḥmatahu wa-yakhāfūna ʿadhābah; inna ʿadhāba rabbika kāna maḥdhūrā

"Those they invoke are themselves seeking the means of approach to their Lord — whichever of them is nearest — hoping for His mercy and fearing His punishment. Indeed the punishment of your Lord is something to be feared." (al-Isrāʾ 17:57)

Translation: Those very beings they call upon are themselves seeking the means of drawing near to their Lord — each competing to be closest to Him — hoping for His mercy and dreading His punishment. Truly your Lord's punishment is something to be greatly feared.

Commentary: This verse contains one of the Qurʾān's most important teachings on tawassul — the seeking of nearness to Allāh through wasīla (a means of approach). It establishes first that even those exalted beings — angels, prophets, saints — whom some misguided people worshipped or invoked as independent intermediaries are themselves engaged in seeking the wasīla to Allāh, not possessing it as their own. They pray, they hope for mercy, they fear punishment — which demonstrates their own creaturely status. The verse is addressing idolaters who called upon angels or jinns or the spirits of the deceased as if these had independent power. The clear refutation is: those very beings are themselves worshippers, seeking Allāh's favour, not possessed of any power independent of Him. However, the Islamic tradition — and the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī position in particular — affirms that supplicating Allāh through (bi-tawassul) a righteous person, alive or dead, is not idolatry but rather an act of drawing near to Allāh through His beloved. The commentator affirms: salvation and punishment come from Allāh alone; seeking wasīla through His friends is legitimate in the Sunnī tradition. Fear Allāh and take refuge in His mercy through the means of those near to Him. (The reader is referred to Q. al-Māʾidah 5:35 for the explicit Qurʾānic injunction wa-btaghū ilayhi al-wasīlah.)

وَإِن مِّن قَرْيَةٍ إِلَّا نَحْنُ مُهْلِكُوهَا قَبْلَ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُوهَا عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا ۚ كَانَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي الْكِتَابِ مَسْطُورًا

Wa-in min qaryatin illā naḥnu muhlikūhā qabla yawmi l-qiyāmati aw muʿadhdhibūhā ʿadhāban shadīdā; kāna dhālika fī l-kitābi masṭūrā

"And there is no town but that We will destroy it before the Day of Resurrection or punish it with a severe punishment — that has been written in the Book." (al-Isrāʾ 17:58)

Translation: There is no city or settlement but that We shall bring it to ruin before the Day of Resurrection, or afflict it with a severe chastisement. That is inscribed in the Book.

Commentary: This verse announces one of the great laws of divine history: every human settlement, every civilisation and city, without exception, is destined either for destruction or for severe trial before the world ends. Some are destroyed through natural disaster, famine, war, or other means; others are punished through oppression, degradation, or internal collapse. The phrase kāna dhālika fī l-kitābi masṭūrā — "that is written in the Book" — refers to the Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ, the Preserved Tablet, where all of history's outcomes are eternally recorded. This is a reminder against the arrogance of civilisations that assume their own permanence.

وَمَا مَنَعَنَا أَن نُّرْسِلَ بِالْآيَاتِ إِلَّا أَن كَذَّبَ بِهَا الْأَوَّلُونَ ۚ وَآتَيْنَا ثَمُودَ النَّاقَةَ مُبْصِرَةً فَظَلَمُوا بِهَا ۚ وَمَا نُرْسِلُ بِالْآيَاتِ إِلَّا تَخْوِيفًا

Wa-mā manaʿanā an nursila bi-l-āyāti illā an kadhdhaba bihā l-awwalūn; wa-ātaynā Thamūda l-nāqata mubṣiratan fa-ẓalamū bihā; wa-mā nursilu bi-l-āyāti illā takhwīfā

"And nothing prevented Us from sending signs except that the earlier peoples denied them. And We gave Thamūd the she-camel as a visible sign, but they wronged her. And We do not send signs except to instil fear." (al-Isrāʾ 17:59)

Translation: Nothing prevents Us from sending miraculous signs except that the earlier peoples denied them. And We gave Thamūd the she-camel as a clear manifest miracle, yet they wronged her. And We send signs only to inspire fear.

Commentary: The people of Mecca were demanding miracles from the Prophetﷺ— physical signs like those brought by previous prophets. This verse explains why Allāh withheld such signs: because when earlier peoples received definitive miracles and still denied them, the result was immediate total annihilation. The fate of Thamūd is the paradigm case: they were given the miraculous she-camel (nāqa) of the Prophet Ṣāliḥ (upon him be peace) as a mubṣira — a self-evidently clear miracle visible to all — and then they slaughtered her, whereupon they were destroyed utterly. Had the Quraysh been given similarly definitive miracles and then rejected them, the same fate awaited. Allāh's mercy withheld the signs that would have sealed their doom. The purpose of signs is takhwīfā — to inspire fear, to awaken the conscience — not to satisfy curiosity.

وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لَكَ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ أَحَاطَ بِالنَّاسِ ۚ وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الرُّؤْيَا الَّتِي أَرَيْنَاكَ إِلَّا فِتْنَةً لِّلنَّاسِ وَالشَّجَرَةَ الْمَلْعُونَةَ فِي الْقُرْآنِ ۚ وَنُخَوِّفُهُمْ فَمَا يَزِيدُهُمْ إِلَّا طُغْيَانًا كَبِيرًا

Wa-idh qulnā laka inna rabbaka aḥāṭa bi-l-nāsi; wa-mā jaʿalnā l-ruʾyā llatī araynāka illā fitnatan li-l-nāsi wa-l-shajarata l-malʿūnata fī l-Qurʾān; wa-nukhawwifuhum fa-mā yazīduhum illā ṭughyānan kabīrā

"And when We told you: indeed your Lord has encompassed the people. And We made the vision We showed you only a trial for the people — and the tree cursed in the Qurʾān. We frighten them, but it only increases them in great insolence." (al-Isrāʾ 17:60)

Translation: And recall when We told you: Your Lord has encompassed all people — none can escape His power. And the vision We showed you was only a trial and test for the people, as was the tree cursed in the Qurʾān. We frighten them, yet it only increases them in vast insolence.

Commentary: The ruʾyā (vision) mentioned here is understood by many scholars to refer to the Prophet'sﷺvision on the Night Journey (Isrāʾ wa-Miʿrāj) — specifically the sights he saw — which served as a trial for the people: those of firm faith accepted it without hesitation, while the weak and the disbelievers denied it and mocked. The shajara al-malʿūna (the cursed tree) refers to the tree of Zaqqūm mentioned in the Qurʾān as a food of the denizens of Hell — a reference that the disbelievers mocked. Despite Allāh's repeated warnings and signs, the reaction of the obstinate is only increased ṭughyān — transgression, insolence, rebellion beyond all bounds. This is the tragic pattern of rejection.

وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ قَالَ أَأَسْجُدُ لِمَنْ خَلَقْتَ طِينًا

Wa-idh qulnā li-l-malāʾikati sjudū li-Ādama fa-sajadū illā Iblīsa qāla a-asjudu li-man khalaqta ṭīnā

"And when We said to the angels: Prostrate before Ādam — so they prostrated except Iblīs. He said: Shall I prostrate before one You created from clay?" (al-Isrāʾ 17:61)

Translation: And recall when We commanded the angels to prostrate before Ādam — they all prostrated, except Iblīs, who said: "Shall I bow down before one whom You created from clay?"

Commentary: Iblīs — who was among the most devoted worshippers before this moment — made the catastrophic error of evaluating Ādam (upon him be peace) through the lens of his own rational assessment: clay versus fire. He saw only the material and missed the divine breath (nafakha fīhi min rūḥihi — Q. al-Sajdah 32:9), the Name-encompassing knowledge, and the trust of divine vicegerency (khilāfa) that Allāh had placed in Ādam (upon him be peace). Iblīs had a complete, worshipful exterior — his ʿibāda was unparalleled — but he lacked the most essential quality: taslīm, surrender to the divine will when it ran counter to his own reasoning. This is the eternal lesson in the story: ʿaql (reason) is a gift, but when it sets itself as judge over the divine command, it becomes the instrument of destruction. The commentator notes that Ādam (upon him be peace) was a comprehensive being (jāmiʿiyyat) in whom the totality of divine names was reflected — Iblīs could not perceive this, and his inability to perceive it sealed his doom.

قَالَ أَرَأَيْتَكَ هَٰذَا الَّذِي كَرَّمْتَ عَلَيَّ لَئِنْ أَخَّرْتَنِ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لَأَحْتَنِكَنَّ ذُرِّيَّتَهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

Qāla a-ra-aytaka hādhā lladhī karramta ʿalayya la-in akhkhartanī ilā yawmi l-qiyāmati la-aḥtanikanna dhurriyyatahū illā qalīlā

"He said: Do you see this one whom You have honoured above me? If You defer me until the Day of Resurrection, I will surely seize his progeny — all but a few." (al-Isrāʾ 17:62)

Translation: He said: "Do you see this one whom You have preferred above me? If You grant me respite until the Day of Resurrection, I will surely destroy his offspring — all except a small number."

Commentary: Iblīs's declaration of war upon the human race is explicit and total. The verb iḥtanaka (from ḥanak) means to seize by the jaw, to control and manipulate completely — it is the image of putting a bridle on an animal. Iblīs boasts that he will put the bridle of his seduction on nearly all of Ādam's children. The exception — illā qalīlā (all but a few) — refers to those sincerely devoted servants whom Allāh protects through His own grace, those whose tawba and tawakkul and tawḥīd create a shield that Iblīs cannot penetrate. His respite was granted — until the Day of Resurrection — which itself is an expression of divine wisdom: the trial of human beings requires the presence of a seducer, so that the choice for goodness is real and its reward meaningful.

قَالَ اذْهَبْ فَمَن تَبِعَكَ مِنْهُمْ فَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ جَزَاؤُكُمْ جَزَاءً مَّوْفُورًا

Qāla dhab fa-man tabiʿaka minhum fa-inna Jahannama jazāʾukum jazāʾan mawfūrā

"He said: Go — and whoever follows you among them, Hellfire shall be your recompense — an ample recompense." (al-Isrāʾ 17:63)

Translation: He (Allāh) said: Go — and whoever of them follows you, then Hell is your joint recompense, a full and complete recompense.

Commentary: The divine response to Iblīs's declaration of war is neither fear nor alarm — it is a majestic dismissal: idhab (go). Allāh grants him his wish of respite and simultaneously announces the consequence: those who follow Iblīs will join him in Hell. The word mawfūr — ample, full, overflowing — indicates that the punishment will be complete and in no way diminished, in keeping with the full measure of their choice.

وَاسْتَفْزِزْ مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ مِنْهُم بِصَوْتِكَ وَأَجْلِبْ عَلَيْهِم بِخَيْلِكَ وَرَجِلِكَ وَشَارِكْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَوْلَادِ وَعِدْهُمْ ۚ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا

Wa-stafziz mani staṭaʿta minhum bi-ṣawtika wa-ajlib ʿalayhim bi-khayli-ka wa-rajili-ka wa-shārik-hum fī l-amwāli wa-l-awlādi wa-ʿid-hum; wa-mā yaʿidu-humu l-Shayṭānu illā ghurūrā

"And beguile with your voice whomever you can among them, and gather against them your cavalry and infantry, and be their partner in wealth and children, and make them promises — and Shayṭān promises them nothing but delusion." (al-Isrāʾ 17:64)

Translation: Lure away with your voice whoever you can among them. Deploy against them your cavalry and your foot-soldiers. Share with them in their wealth and in their children, and make them promises — for Shayṭān promises nothing but illusion.

Commentary: Allāh here exposes Iblīs's arsenal and grants him permission to deploy it — but simultaneously neutralises it by revealing its nature. The "voice" of Iblīs comprises every form of entertainment, distraction, music, and false speech that calls people away from remembrance of Allāh. His "cavalry and infantry" represent his full host of demonic agents working through human vessels — those who spread immorality, oppression, and disbelief. His partnership in "wealth" means wealth that is earned through forbidden means — ribā (usury), fraud, exploitation — and his partnership in "children" refers to the practice of associating partners with Allāh in the naming and upbringing of children. His "promises" (mawaʿīd) are the ultimate deception: he promises that sin brings pleasure, that rebellion brings freedom, that this world is all there is. But mā yaʿiduhumu l-Shayṭānu illā ghurūrā — every promise of Shayṭān is pure illusion, a mirage that dissolves at the moment it matters most.

إِنَّ عِبَادِي لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانٌ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِرَبِّكَ وَكِيلًا

Inna ʿibādī laysa laka ʿalayhim sulṭānun wa-kafā bi-rabbika wakīlā

"Indeed My servants — over them you have no authority. And sufficient is your Lord as a Guardian." (al-Isrāʾ 17:65)

Translation: Verily, My sincere servants — you have no power whatsoever over them. Your Lord alone is sufficient as Guardian and Trustee.

Commentary: This is the great reassurance of the Qurʾān to the believers: Iblīs's entire arsenal — voice, army, partnerships, and promises — has no authority (sulṭān) over those who are truly Allāh's servants. Iblīs can only suggest, whisper, and allure; he cannot compel. The one who takes Allāh as his wakīl — his guardian, his trustee, his sufficient protector — is beyond the reach of Iblīs's ultimate harm. The commentator reflects: the real danger is not Iblīs but our own tendency to place trust in ourselves and our own intellects above the divine command. Iblīs declared war on Adam (upon him be peace) precisely out of self-admiration and the over-reliance on his own reasoning. Those believers who fall into the same trap of following their own ʿaql in defiance of Sharīʿa are in a sense following Iblīs's example. But the one who places his full trust in Allāh (tawakkul ʿalā Allāh) and His Messengerﷺis protected. How great is the blessing that Allāh is wakīl!

رَّبُّكُمُ الَّذِي يُزْجِي لَكُمُ الْفُلْكَ فِي الْبَحْرِ لِتَبْتَغُوا مِن فَضْلِهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا

Rabbukumu lladhī yuzjī lakumu l-fulka fī l-baḥri li-tabtaghū min faḍlihi; inna-hū kāna bikum raḥīmā

"Your Lord is the One who drives ships through the sea for you, that you may seek of His bounty. He is ever Merciful towards you." (al-Isrāʾ 17:66)

Translation: Your Lord is He who drives ships through the sea for you, so that you may seek His bounty. He is truly Most Merciful towards you.

Commentary: Among Allāh's favours upon humankind is the subjugation of the seas to human travel and commerce. The ship (fulk) crossing the ocean is not a matter of human ingenuity alone but of divine taskhīr — subjugation — by which Allāh made the sea navigable and the principles of buoyancy operative. The purpose given is li-tabtaghū min faḍlihi — "that you may seek of His bounty" — meaning that trade and seafaring in pursuit of a livelihood are not only permitted but are acts that participate in the fulfilment of Allāh's design for human flourishing. The verse closes with the reminder of Allāh's raḥma: all these facilitations are expressions of His mercy.

وَإِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الضُّرُّ فِي الْبَحْرِ ضَلَّ مَن تَدْعُونَ إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ ۖ فَلَمَّا نَجَّاكُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ أَعْرَضْتُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ الْإِنسَانُ كَفُورًا

Wa-idhā massa-kumu l-ḍurru fī l-baḥri ḍalla man tadʿūna illā iyyāhu; fa-lammā najjākum ilā l-barri aʿraḍtum; wa-kāna l-insānu kafūrā

"And when misfortune touches you at sea, those you call upon vanish — except for Him. But when He brings you safe to land, you turn away. Man is most ungrateful." (al-Isrāʾ 17:67)

Translation: And when hardship assails you on the sea, all those you call upon disappear — except Him alone. But when He delivers you safely to shore, you turn away. Man is indeed deeply ungrateful.

Commentary: The universal human experience of crisis strips away all pretence. At sea in a storm, when the waves tower and the ship groans, no idol, no patron, no powerful friend — no one and nothing remains except the cry to Allāh. At that moment of pure terror, the heart achieves the tawḥīd it denies in comfort. But the bitter irony follows: fa-lammā najjākum ilā l-barri aʿraḍtum — the moment the shore is reached and safety restored, the turning away resumes. This is the great human failing: kufr al-niʿma, ingratitude for blessings. The word kafūr — intensely ungrateful — is placed at the end as a blunt assessment of the default human condition without faith.

أَفَأَمِنتُمْ أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمْ جَانِبَ الْبَرِّ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا لَكُمْ وَكِيلًا

Afa-amintum an yakhsifa bikum jāniba l-barri aw yursila ʿalaykum ḥāṣiban thumma lā tajidū lakum wakīlā

"Do you then feel secure that He will not cause the land to swallow you, or send against you a storm of stones, so that you find no guardian?" (al-Isrāʾ 17:68)

Translation: Do you feel secure from His causing the earth to swallow you on dry land, or from His sending a storm of pebbles against you — leaving you with no one to protect you?

Commentary: The rhetorical question is devastating: having been rescued from the sea, the ingrates feel safe on land — but land offers no independent safety either. Allāh can cause it to swallow them (as He caused the earth to swallow Qārūn) or can rain stones upon them (as He rained stones upon the people of Lūṭ, upon him be peace). Safety is only with Allāh; there is no wakīl (protector) against His decree. This verse is a rebuke of false security and a call to perpetual consciousness of one's dependence on Allāh.

أَمْ أَمِنتُمْ أَن يُعِيدَكُمْ فِيهِ تَارَةً أُخْرَىٰ فَيُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ قَاصِفًا مِّنَ الرِّيحِ فَيُغْرِقَكُم بِمَا كَفَرْتُمْ ۙ ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا بِهِ تَبِيعًا

Am amintum an yuʿīdakum fīhi tāratan ukhrā fa-yursila ʿalaykum qāṣifan mina l-rīḥi fa-yughriqakum bi-mā kafartum thumma lā tajidū lakum ʿalaynā bihi tabīʿā

"Or do you feel secure that He will not take you back out to sea again and send a devastating wind against you, drowning you for your ingratitude — and you will find no helper against Us?" (al-Isrāʾ 17:69)

Translation: Or do you feel secure that He will not return you to the sea another time and send a tearing wind against you, drowning you on account of your ingratitude — with no one to call to account against Us?

Commentary: The threat here is made explicit: the very ingratitude that follows rescue from the sea could itself bring about a return to the sea and a worse fate. The word qāṣif — a violently tearing, shattering wind — conveys the idea of a wind that snaps the mast and tears the ship to pieces. The phrase bi-mā kafartum — "on account of your ingratitude" — makes the causal connection clear: it is the ungratefulness itself, the turning away after deliverance, that invites renewed chastisement. The closing lā tajidū lakum ʿalaynā bihi tabīʿā — "you will find no one to pursue Us for redress" — means there is no higher power to whom one can appeal against divine judgement.

وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا

Wa-la-qad karramnā Banī Ādama wa-ḥamalnāhum fī l-barri wa-l-baḥri wa-razaqnāhum mina l-ṭayyibāti wa-faḍḍalnāhum ʿalā kathīrin mimmān khalaqnā tafḍīlā

"And indeed We have honoured the children of Ādam, and carried them on land and sea, and provided them with good things, and preferred them greatly over many of those We have created." (al-Isrāʾ 17:70)

Translation: And truly We have honoured the children of Ādam and borne them across land and sea, and bestowed upon them good and wholesome provisions, and We have preferred them with clear preference over much of what We have created.

Commentary: This verse is one of the great proclamations of human dignity in the Qurʾān. The honour (ikrām) bestowed on Banī Ādam is intrinsic — every human being carries this dignity by virtue of creation and the divine breath. This karāma manifests in five ways as listed in the verse: (1) the honour of being specially dignified by Allāh; (2) the capacity to travel across land and sea — a unique dominion over the physical world; (3) the provision of ṭayyibāt — good, wholesome, delightful things — distinguishing human nourishment from that of mere animals; (4) the preferment above most of creation. The commentator invites us to reflect on the human journey: beginning as a mere drop of fluid, passing through stages of embryonic development, born helpless and utterly dependent — and yet look at where this creature arrives: before whom mountains are obstacles to be crossed and seas highways to be navigated, before whose gaze the stars are objects of study. This extraordinary arc from nothingness to vicegerency (khilāfa) is itself the proof that Allāh has invested unique dignity in the human form. Yet this dignity is a trust (amāna) that calls for gratitude, not arrogance.

يَوْمَ نَدْعُو كُلَّ أُنَاسٍ بِإِمَامِهِمْ

Yawma nadʿū kulla unāsin bi-imāmihim

"On the Day We call every group of people by their leader—" (al-Isrāʾ 17:71)

Translation: On the Day when We summon every community together with their leader—

Commentary (continued): The verse continues: those who are given their record in their right hand will read their book with joy, and not the slightest injustice — not a thread's breadth of wrong — shall be done to them. Fatīl (a tiny thread in the groove of a date-stone) represents the smallest imaginable quantity. The divine justice on that Day will be perfect and complete. The word imām here encompasses not only the religious or political leaders whom communities followed but also the books by which they lived — for the most fundamental leader is the moral and spiritual authority one chooses to follow in this life.

وَمَن كَانَ فِي هَٰذِهِ أَعْمَىٰ فَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ أَعْمَىٰ وَأَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا

Wa-man kāna fī hādhihi aʿmā fa-huwa fī l-ākhirati aʿmā wa-aḍallu sabīlā

"And whoever is blind in this life will be blind in the Hereafter, and even more astray from the path." (al-Isrāʾ 17:72)

Translation: And whoever was blind in this world — blind of heart, blind of the inner eye — shall be blind in the Hereafter, and further astray.

Commentary: The blindness here is not physical but spiritual: the blindness of the heart to truth, to divine signs, to the call of conscience. This verse establishes a profound principle of continuity between the inner state cultivated in this world and the condition one inhabits in the next. The one who chose not to see Allāh's signs and refused to allow the light of guidance into his heart in this life has — through his own repeated choices — made that blindness his permanent state. The Hereafter does not impose a new condition but rather reveals, fully and finally, what the soul made of itself.

وَإِن كَادُوا لَيَفْتِنُونَكَ عَنِ الَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ لِتَفْتَرِيَ عَلَيْنَا غَيْرَهُ ۖ وَإِذًا لَّاتَّخَذُوكَ خَلِيلًا

Wa-in kādū la-yaftinūnaka ʿani lladhī awḥaynā ilayka li-taftariya ʿalaynā ghayrahū wa-idhan la-ttakhadhūka khalīlā

"And indeed they almost tempted you away from what We revealed to you, so that you might fabricate something else in Our name — and then they would have taken you as a close friend." (al-Isrāʾ 17:73)

Translation: They nearly succeeded in turning you away from what We revealed to you, in the hope that you might fabricate something different against Us — and had you done so, they would have made you their intimate friend.

Commentary: This verse addresses the enormous pressure brought to bear upon the Prophetﷺby the leaders of Quraysh to make concessions in the message — to soften the condemnation of idolatry, to acknowledge their gods in some form, to modify the divine word. The verse reveals how close they came — not through any weakness in the Prophetﷺ(who was absolutely protected from this) but through the relentless nature of their efforts. The condition of their friendship was betrayal: only if he invented something different and attributed it to Allāh would they have accepted him. This is the eternal insight into the nature of worldly compromise: the price of the disbelievers' approval is always the abandonment of divine truth.

Commentary (continued): Had the Prophetﷺinclined toward them even slightly — and the hypothetical is emphatic (wa-idhā) — they would have taken him as their khalīl (intimate friend). The word khalīl is here used with a negative valence: to become the intimate companion of those who reject truth is to become spiritually ruined. The Prophet'sﷺabsolute steadfastness in the face of this pressure is one of the greatest proofs of his prophethood — no human ambition for worldly friendship or acceptance could have withstood it.

وَلَوْلَا أَن ثَبَّتْنَاكَ لَقَدْ كِدتَّ تَرْكَنُ إِلَيْهِمْ شَيْئًا قَلِيلًا

Wa-lawlā an thabbatnāka la-qad kidta tarkanu ilayhim shayʾan qalīlā

"And had We not made you firm, you might have inclined toward them a little." (al-Isrāʾ 17:74)

Translation: And had We not kept you firm, you might almost have inclined toward them even slightly.

Commentary: This verse makes explicit what the preceding verse implied: the steadfastness of the Prophetﷺwas itself a divine gift — thabbatnāka, "We made you firm." The hypothetical (law-lā) indicates what would have been possible without this divine support, not what actually occurred. This is a statement of divine grace, not of prophetic weakness. The Ahl al-Sunna affirm that the prophets are protected from major sin (maʿṣūm), but this verse indicates that the divine protection was continuous and active rather than passive.

إِذًا لَّأَذَقْنَاكَ ضِعْفَ الْحَيَاةِ وَضِعْفَ الْمَمَاتِ ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُ لَكَ عَلَيْنَا نَصِيرًا

Idhan la-adhaqnāka ḍiʿfa l-ḥayāti wa-ḍiʿfa l-mamāti thumma lā tajidu laka ʿalaynā naṣīrā

"Then We would have made you taste double in life and double after death — then you would have found no helper against Us." (al-Isrāʾ 17:75)

Translation: We would then have made you taste a doubled punishment in this life and a doubled punishment after death — and you would have found no one to aid you against Us.

Commentary: This verse contains the hypothetical consequence of any concession. The "doubled punishment" (ḍiʿf) refers to the principle that those whom Allāh has honoured with knowledge and prophethood bear a greater responsibility, and their sins — if committed — would be proportionately greater in their consequences. This is not a reflection on the Prophet'sﷺactual state (since he was perfectly steadfast) but a general principle of Qurʾānic ethics: the greater the trust placed upon a servant, the greater the consequence of its betrayal. The verse also serves to reassure the believers: the divine law does not play favourites. Even the most honoured of prophets is accountable under the same divine law.

وَإِن كَادُوا لَيَسْتَفِزُّونَكَ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ لِيُخْرِجُوكَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَإِذًا لَّا يَلْبَثُونَ خِلَافَكَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

Wa-in kādū la-yastafizzūnaka mina l-arḍi li-yukhrjūka minhā wa-idhan lā yalbathūna khilāfaka illā qalīlā

"And indeed they almost drove you from the land to expel you from it — but then they would not have remained after you except for a little while." (al-Isrāʾ 17:76)

Translation: And they nearly destabilised you in the land to drive you out of it. But had they done so, they would not have remained after your departure for more than a little while.

Commentary: This verse refers to the plotting of the Quraysh to banish the Prophetﷺfrom Mecca — a scheme that was discussed in their councils. Allāh reveals the hidden law: had they succeeded in expelling the Prophetﷺ, they themselves would have been swiftly destroyed. The divine sunna (law) is that a community which expels its prophet seals its own fate. This occurred later in a different form: after the Hijra, it was only a few years before Mecca itself fell, and those who had plotted against the Prophetﷺmet their ends. The commentator reflects: had the Muslims simply been expelled and nothing more, the choice would have been either their mass conversion or their swift annihilation — either way, the cause of truth would have triumphed. Allāh's wisdom managed the sequence to maximise the opportunity for guidance.

سُنَّةَ مَن قَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ مِن رُّسُلِنَا ۖ وَلَا تَجِدُ لِسُنَّتِنَا تَحْوِيلًا

Sunnata man qad arsalnā qablaka min rusulinā wa-lā tajidu li-sunnatinā taḥwīlā

"This is the way it was with those of Our messengers We sent before you — and you will find no change in Our way." (al-Isrāʾ 17:77)

Translation: Such was the established way with Our messengers We sent before you — and you will find no alteration in Allāh's pattern.

Commentary: The sunnat Allāh — the divine law governing history — does not change. Every prophet who was persecuted, derided, or driven out was ultimately vindicated, and the communities that rejected them were either destroyed or overturned. The absolute invariability of this law is expressed in wa-lā tajidu li-sunnatinā taḥwīlā — "no change, no substitution, no alteration." This is simultaneously a comfort to the Prophetﷺand a warning to his adversaries: the pattern of history is entirely on the side of the prophets.

أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ وَقُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ ۖ إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا

Aqimi l-ṣalāta li-dulūki l-shamsi ilā ghasaqi l-layli wa-Qurʾāna l-fajr; inna Qurʾāna l-fajri kāna mashhūdā

"Establish the prayer from the declining of the sun to the darkness of the night, and the Qurʾān of dawn — indeed the recitation of dawn is witnessed." (al-Isrāʾ 17:78)

Translation: Establish the prayer from the declining of the sun until the darkness of night, and maintain the recitation of the dawn. Indeed, the dawn recitation is witnessed.

Commentary: After the exposition of the principles of tawḥīd and the refutation of idolatry, Allāh turns to the practical obligations of worship — for it is the characteristic of the Qurʾān that the discussion of belief (ʿaqāʾid) is always followed by the commands of practice (aʿmāl). The phrase dulūk al-shams (declining of the sun) refers to the moment of zawāl — when the sun passes its zenith and begins its descent — which is the time of Ẓuhr prayer. From this time until ghasaq al-layl (the deep darkness of the night) are contained four prayers: Ẓuhr, ʿAṣr, Maghrib, and ʿIshāʾ. The dawn prayer (Fajr) is separately designated as Qurʾān al-fajr because of the special emphasis on recitation in it, and it is mashhūd — "witnessed" — because the night angels and the day angels both attend it as the former depart and the latter arrive. The commentator notes that rising from one's bed in the pre-dawn darkness, performing wuḍūʾ, and presenting oneself in prayer is among the greatest spiritual disciplines, and this is why the Fajr prayer has been given special honour in this verse.

وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِ نَافِلَةً لَّكَ عَسَىٰ أَن يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَّحْمُودًا

Wa-mina l-layli fa-tahajjad bihi nāfilatan laka ʿasā an yabʿathaka rabbuka maqāman maḥmūdā

"And during part of the night, rise and pray it as an additional prayer for you — your Lord may raise you to a praised station." (al-Isrāʾ 17:79)

Translation: And in part of the night rise for prayer — this is an additional virtue for you. It is to be hoped that your Lord will raise you to a station of praise.

Commentary: The Tahajjud prayer — the night vigil prayer — is here designated a nāfila specifically for the Prophetﷺ: commentators differ on whether it was obligatory specifically upon him or merely supererogatory, but the majority Ḥanafī position is that it was wājib upon him and nafl muʾakkad (strongly recommended supererogatory) upon the community. The promise given is maqām maḥmūd — the "praised station" — which the tradition unanimously identifies as the Station of Shafāʿa (intercession): on the Day of Judgement, when all creation is in distress and every prophet turns away with nafsī nafsī ("myself, myself"), the Prophet Muḥammadﷺwill be raised to the station from which he intercedes for all humanity before Allāh's throne. The kings of this world grant audiences and the courtiers seek closeness to them; but the glory of this proximity is of an entirely different order — it is the proximity of the divine throne itself, the seat of absolute sovereignty.

وَقُل رَّبِّ أَدْخِلْنِي مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍ وَأَخْرِجْنِي مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍ وَاجْعَل لِّي مِن لَّدُنكَ سُلْطَانًا نَّصِيرًا

Wa-qul rabbi adkhilnī mudkhala ṣidqin wa-akhrijnī mukhraja ṣidqin wa-jʿal lī min ladunka sulṭānan naṣīrā

"And say: My Lord, cause me to enter a sound entry and to exit a sound exit, and grant me from Your presence a supporting authority." (al-Isrāʾ 17:80)

Translation: And say: My Lord, admit me with truthfulness and integrity, and cause me to depart with truthfulness and integrity, and grant me from Your presence an authoritative support.

Commentary: This is one of the great supplicatory prayers (duʿāʾ) of the Qurʾān. The "entry with truthfulness" (mudkhal ṣidq) refers to every undertaking — entering a city, beginning an affair, embarking on a mission — carried out with sincerity, divine support, and the blessing of the truth. The "exit with truthfulness" similarly refers to departing from every situation having fulfilled one's trust, without betrayal, compromise, or corruption. The sulṭān naṣīr — "a supporting authority" — is divine backing: the power that does not rely on human approval or earthly resources but flows directly from Allāh's assistance. This prayer, taught by Allāh Himself to His Prophetﷺ, is a model for every believer embarking on any significant undertaking.

وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ ۚ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا

Wa-qul jāʾa l-ḥaqqu wa-zahaqa l-bāṭil; inna l-bāṭila kāna zahūqā

"And say: Truth has come and falsehood has vanished — indeed falsehood is ever bound to vanish." (al-Isrāʾ 17:81)

Translation: And proclaim: Truth has arrived and falsehood has perished. Falsehood was ever bound to perish.

Commentary: This verse was famously recited by the Prophetﷺupon the conquest of Mecca (Fatḥ Makkah), when he entered the Kaʿba and overturned the idols. The ḥaqq (truth) is at once the Qurʾān, the message of tawḥīd, and the physical dominance of Islam. Zahaqa l-bāṭil: falsehood has zahaqa — it has departed, been expelled, been annihilated. The phrase kāna zahūqā — "it was ever a vanisher" — is the Qurʾānic verdict on all falsehood throughout history: its nature is to vanish. Truth has permanence; falsehood is inherently fugitive and self-destructive. This is not merely a historical statement but an ontological one: untruth has no real being, no self-subsistence; it parasites on truth and eventually dissolves.

وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۙ وَلَا يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا خَسَارًا

Wa-nunazzilu mina l-Qurʾāni mā huwa shifāʾun wa-raḥmatun li-l-muʾminīn; wa-lā yazīdu l-ẓālimīna illā khasārā

"And We send down of the Qurʾān that which is a healing and a mercy for the believers — but it increases the wrongdoers in nothing but loss." (al-Isrāʾ 17:82)

Translation: And We send down in the Qurʾān that which is a healing and a mercy for the believers — but for the wrongdoers it only increases their ruin.

Commentary: The Qurʾān is shifāʾ (healing) on multiple levels: spiritual healing, healing of the diseases of the heart such as arrogance, envy, and miserliness; healing of doctrinal confusion; and — as many scholars and practising Muslims affirm — healing of physical ailments when recited and applied with genuine faith. It is simultaneously raḥma — mercy — bringing the reader into the embrace of divine compassion. However, the same text that heals the believer increases the ẓālim (the oppressor, the wilfully unjust) in loss (khasāra): every opportunity to receive guidance that is rejected is a spiritual diminishment, a further withdrawal from divine mercy. The commentator observes a profound paradox: the person who does not know and is teachable is better placed than the person who does not know and thinks himself knowledgeable. The greatest veil is that of arrogance dressed as scholarship.

وَإِذَا أَنْعَمْنَا عَلَى الْإِنسَانِ أَعْرَضَ وَنَأَىٰ بِجَانِبِهِ ۖ وَإِذَا مَسَّهُ الشَّرُّ كَانَ يَئُوسًا

Wa-idhā anʿamnā ʿalā l-insāni aʿraḍa wa-naʾā bi-jānibih; wa-idhā massa-hu l-sharru kāna yaʾūsā

"And when We favour man, he turns away and draws aside — but when evil touches him, he falls into despair." (al-Isrāʾ 17:83)

Translation: When We bestow favour upon man, he turns away and moves aside in heedlessness — yet when misfortune strikes him, he falls into complete despair.

Commentary: This verse captures the two poles of the unreformed human character: in prosperity, heedlessness and ingratitude (iʿrāḍ, naʾā bi-jānib — turning away, drawing aside arrogantly); in adversity, absolute despair (yaʾūs). The believer, by contrast, occupies the blessed middle: in prosperity, gratitude (shukr); in adversity, patience (ṣabr). These two virtues — shukr and ṣabr — are the two wings of the believing soul. The person who masters both has achieved the highest station of character that the material conditions of this world can occasion. The commentator notes the small but pointed observation: difficulty is sent precisely to cure the person of the arrogance of prosperity. The one who receives a small hardship and responds to it quickly is spared a greater one.

قُلْ كُلٌّ يَعْمَلُ عَلَىٰ شَاكِلَتِهِ فَرَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ هُوَ أَهْدَىٰ سَبِيلًا

Qul kullun yaʿmalu ʿalā shākilatihi fa-rabbukum aʿlamu bi-man huwa ahdā sabīlā

"Say: Each person acts according to his own disposition — and your Lord knows best who is better guided in the way." (al-Isrāʾ 17:84)

Translation: Say: Each one acts in accordance with his own character and nature — your Lord knows best who is most rightly guided on the path.

Commentary: Shākila (disposition, character, innate nature) encompasses a person's character as shaped by the interplay of natural temperament and acquired habits. Everyone acts from their own shākila — their moral psychology, their orientation of will, their habituated choices. This is not determinism: the shākila is shaped by one's choices over time. The Prophetﷺis instructed not to be distressed by the variety of human responses to his message — each responds according to what they have made of themselves. Allāh alone is the perfect judge of who is ahdā sabīlā — better guided. The commentator cites the tradition that ʿĀʾisha (may Allāh be pleased with her) asked the Prophetﷺthis question, and the exchange illuminated the relationship between khuluq (character) and ʿamal (deed): the most beloved of people to the Prophetﷺwere those of the best character (aḥsanuhum khuluqan).

وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ ۖ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

Wa-yasʾalūnaka ʿani l-rūḥ; quli l-rūḥu min amri rabbī wa-mā ūtītum mina l-ʿilmi illā qalīlā

"And they ask you about the spirit. Say: The spirit is of the affair of my Lord — and you have been given of knowledge only a little." (al-Isrāʾ 17:85)

Translation: And they ask you concerning the spirit. Say: The spirit is from the command of my Lord — and of knowledge you have been given but little.

Commentary: This verse is among the most debated in all of tafsīr. The rūḥ asked about is understood in two main ways: (a) the rūḥ al-insānī — the human soul, its nature and origin; and (b) Jibrīl (upon him be peace) — the Spirit through which the Qurʾān was transmitted. The present commentary takes the comprehensive position: the rūḥ encompasses the divine mystery of life and consciousness, including the spirit of revelation. Whatever interpretation one adopts, the answer is the same: min amr rabbī — it belongs to the realm of the divine command (amr = command, affair, realm of being), which is beyond the reach of human investigation. The closing wa-mā ūtītum mina l-ʿilmi illā qalīlā — "you have been given of knowledge only a little" — is a profound epistemological statement: all of humanity's accumulated learning and science, all of its philosophy and investigation, represents but a tiny fraction of reality as Allāh knows it. The scholars of the tradition speak of aʿyān thābita (the permanent immutable essences in divine knowledge) as distinct from wujūd khārijī (external existence): Allāh knows all things as they permanently subsist in His knowledge even before they come into external being. Among those things known eternally to Allāh are all the spirits and their essences. When we say we do not understand the spirit, we acknowledge precisely this: the gulf between Allāh's ʿilm qadīm (eternal knowledge) and our ʿilm ḥādith (contingent, acquired knowledge). A sophisticated account follows in the commentator's discussion.

Commentary (continued): The view maintained by those who hold to pre-eternal essences (qāʾilīn bi-l-aʿyān al-thābita) is that these essences are neither purely existent nor purely non-existent — they subsist in the divine knowledge before receiving external existence through the divine command kun fa-yakūnu. The souls possess seven principal attributes: life, knowledge, will, hearing, sight, power, and speech. The nature of the soul's manifestation in the world follows its habitual formation: when the soul acquires a particular orientation through repeated choices, it manifests that orientation visibly in the world of forms (ʿālam al-shahāda). Only Allāh knows all the nuances of this process. What is clear is this much: the knowledge of Allāh is eternal and infinite; the knowledge given to human beings is a tiny portion. This calls for intellectual humility: wa-mā ūtītum mina l-ʿilmi illā qalīlā should be written on the wall of every study.

وَلَئِن شِئْنَا لَنَذْهَبَنَّ بِالَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُ لَكَ بِهِ عَلَيْنَا وَكِيلًا

Wa-la-in shiʾnā la-nadhhab anna bi-lladhī awḥaynā ilayka thumma lā tajidu laka bihi ʿalaynā wakīlā

"And if We willed, We could take away what We have revealed to you — then you would find no guardian against Us for it." (al-Isrāʾ 17:86)

Translation: And if We willed, We could certainly withdraw what We have revealed to you — and then you would find no advocate against Us for it.

Commentary: This verse emphasises that the Qurʾān, in its preservation and continued presence in the hearts and books of humanity, is entirely dependent on Allāh's will. Allāh is not constrained by the Prophetﷺor by any human agent to preserve it. This makes its preservation — which is guaranteed in Q. al-Ḥijr 15:9 — all the more miraculous and its preservation a mark of extraordinary divine mercy. Allāh could take it away; that He does not is itself an act of grace without parallel.

إِلَّا رَحْمَةً مِّن رَّبِّكَ ۚ إِنَّ فَضْلَهُ كَانَ عَلَيْكَ كَبِيرًا

Illā raḥmatan min rabbika; inna faḍlahu kāna ʿalayka kabīrā

"Except as a mercy from your Lord — indeed His favour upon you has been great." (al-Isrāʾ 17:87)

Translation: — save through the mercy of your Lord. Indeed, His favour upon you has been immense.

Commentary: The only reason the Qurʾān continues to be preserved and transmitted is divine mercy and divine favour upon the Prophetﷺand upon the believing community. The expression faḍlahu kāna ʿalayka kabīrā — "His favour upon you has been great" — is a direct acknowledgement to the Prophetﷺof the extraordinary nature of the gift bestowed upon him and through him upon humanity. No prophet before him was given a muʿjiza (miracle) that remained perpetually present and perpetually operative; all others' miracles were time-bound and witness-bound. The Qurʾān is alive, present, and miraculous in every age and for every generation.

قُل لَّئِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الْإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَىٰ أَن يَأْتُوا بِمِثْلِ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ لَا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا

Qul la-ini jatamaʿati l-insu wa-l-jinnu ʿalā an yaʾtū bi-mithli hādhā l-Qurʾāni lā yaʾtūna bi-mithlihi wa-law kāna baʿḍuhum li-baʿḍin ẓahīrā

"Say: If humankind and the jinn were to gather together to produce something like this Qurʾān, they could not produce anything like it — even if they backed one another up." (al-Isrāʾ 17:88)

Translation: Say: Even if all of humankind and all the jinn were to assemble to produce something comparable to this Qurʾān, they would fail to produce its like — even if they aided one another in every way.

Commentary: This is the taḥaddī — the divine challenge — at the heart of the Qurʾānic claim to divine authorship. The challenge is absolute: not merely that no one has met it, but that no one can meet it — the impossibility is metaphysical, not merely practical. Even if every intelligent being in existence pooled all their resources and backed one another (ẓahīr — mutually supporting, back to back) they still could not produce the equivalent of the Qurʾān. The commentator notes: this is not a boast about linguistic style alone, though the Arabic of the Qurʾān is itself miraculous. The iʿjāz al-Qurʾān (inimitability of the Qurʾān) encompasses its meaning, its legislation, its prophecies, its internal harmony, its transformative power on hearts, and the inextinguishable blessing that flows through its recitation across fourteen centuries.

وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِي هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ فَأَبَىٰ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ إِلَّا كُفُورًا

Wa-la-qad ṣarrafnā li-l-nāsi fī hādhā l-Qurʾāni min kulli mathalin fa-abā aktharu l-nāsi illā kufūrā

"And indeed We have varied for the people in this Qurʾān all manner of parables — yet most people refuse anything but ingratitude." (al-Isrāʾ 17:89)

Translation: And indeed We have diversified for people in this Qurʾān every kind of argument and parable — yet most of humanity refuses everything except ingratitude.

Commentary: The repetition of ṣarrafnā (We have diversified, varied) from earlier in the sūra emphasises the comprehensive pedagogical effort embedded in the Qurʾān: parables from nature, from history, from the cosmos, from the inner life of the soul — all modes of explanation and appeal have been deployed. Yet the response of akthar al-nās (most people) is kufūr — ingratitude, rejection, covering over of the truth. This is not a counsel of despair but a statement of reality: the believer must not be discouraged by the majority's rejection, for this too is part of the divine pattern. The minority who receive is always sufficient to carry the light forward.

وَقَالُوا لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ تَفْجُرَ لَنَا مِنَ الْأَرْضِ يَنبُوعًا

Wa-qālū lan nuʾmina laka ḥattā tafjura lanā mina l-arḍi yanbūʿā

"And they say: We will never believe in you until you cause a spring to gush from the earth for us—" (al-Isrāʾ 17:90)

Translation: And they say: We will never believe in you until you cause a spring to burst forth from the earth for us—

Commentary: The demands that follow in this passage (verses 90–93) represent the escalating catalogue of impossible signs that the Quraysh claimed would satisfy them. The commentator observes: these demands were not genuine — they were rhetorical weapons. The history of the prophets demonstrates that when communities receive the very signs they demanded, they still do not believe. This pattern was established with the People of Thamūd and the she-camel, with the Israelites and their numerous miracles. The demand for signs from the hardened heart is an infinity machine: it generates new conditions endlessly. The sincere seeker, by contrast, needs only the Qurʾān itself.

أَوْ تَكُونَ لَكَ جَنَّةٌ مِّن نَّخِيلٍ وَعِنَبٍ فَتُفَجِّرَ الْأَنْهَارَ خِلَالَهَا تَفْجِيرًا

Aw takūna laka jannatun min nakhīlin wa-ʿinabin fa-tufajjira l-anhāra khilālahā tafjīrā

"Or you have a garden of palms and grapes and cause rivers to gush through it abundantly—" (al-Isrāʾ 17:91)

Translation: Or unless you have a garden of date-palms and grapevines, and cause rivers to flow through it abundantly—

Commentary: Among the demands was material prosperity as proof of divine favour: if you are truly the messenger of Allāh, why do you not possess a paradise-garden on earth, flowing with rivers? This conflates divine favour with worldly wealth — a confusion the Qurʾān rejects systematically. Divine favour (niʿmat Allāh) is not measured in material abundance. The prophets were often tested precisely through material deprivation, as the greatest of them, Muḥammadﷺ, lived simply and died without leaving worldly wealth.

أَوْ تُسْقِطَ السَّمَاءَ كَمَا زَعَمْتَ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفًا أَوْ تَأْتِيَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ قَبِيلًا

Aw tusqiṭa l-samāʾa kamā zaʿamta ʿalaynā kisafan aw taʾtiya biAllāhi wa-l-malāʾikati qabīlā

"Or you cause the sky to fall upon us in fragments, as you claimed would happen, or you bring Allāh and the angels before us face to face—" (al-Isrāʾ 17:92)

Translation: Or you cause the sky to fall upon us in pieces as you warned — or bring Allāh and the angels before us face to face—

Commentary: The demands escalate to the cosmically preposterous: let the sky fall in pieces (a reference to the Qurʾānic warning of punishment), or present Allāh Himself and His angels as visible face-to-face interlocutors. This is the ultimate demand of those whose hearts are sealed: not merely a sign but the abolition of the entire framework of faith (ghayb, the unseen realm) itself. They want certainty on their own terms — external, coercive, beyond any possibility of doubt or choice. But such a world would eliminate the very possibility of faith, which is the free act of the heart's recognition.

أَوْ يَكُونَ لَكَ بَيْتٌ مِّن زُخْرُفٍ أَوْ تَرْقَىٰ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَلَن نُّؤْمِنَ لِرُقِيِّكَ حَتَّىٰ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَا كِتَابًا نَّقْرَؤُهُ ۗ قُلْ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّي هَلْ كُنتُ إِلَّا بَشَرًا رَّسُولًا

Aw yakūna laka baytun min zukhrufin aw tarqā fī l-samāʾi wa-lan nuʾmina li-ruqiyyika ḥattā tunazzila ʿalaynā kitāban naqraʾuh; qul subḥāna rabbī hal kuntu illā basharan rasūlā

"Or you have a house of gold, or you ascend into the sky — and even then we will not believe in your ascent until you bring down to us a book we can read. Say: Glory be to my Lord! Am I anything but a human messenger?" (al-Isrāʾ 17:93)

Translation: Or unless you possess a house of gold, or you ascend into the sky — even then we will not believe your ascension until you bring down a written book for us to read ourselves. Say: Glory be to my Lord! Am I anything other than a human messenger?

Commentary: The final demand — a house of pure gold — exposes the materialism at the heart of their resistance. And even the Miʿrāj (Night Ascension) would not satisfy them without a written document from the sky they could physically read. The divine response through the Prophetﷺis the elegant disavowal: subḥāna rabbī (Glory be to my Lord, exalted is He above what you demand of me), and then the humble clarification: hal kuntu illā basharan rasūlā — I am nothing but a human being who has been sent as a messenger. The Prophet'sﷺhumanity is emphasised throughout the Qurʾān not as a limitation but as the foundation of his accessibility and universal applicability as a model.

وَمَا مَنَعَ النَّاسَ أَن يُؤْمِنُوا إِذْ جَاءَهُمُ الْهُدَىٰ إِلَّا أَن قَالُوا أَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ بَشَرًا رَّسُولًا

Wa-mā manaʿa l-nāsa an yuʾminū idh jāʾahumu l-hudā illā an qālū a-baʿatha Allāhu basharan rasūlā

"And nothing prevented people from believing when guidance came to them except their saying: Has Allāh sent a human being as a messenger?" (al-Isrāʾ 17:94)

Translation: And nothing stood in the way of people accepting faith when guidance came to them except this: they said, "Has Allāh really sent a human being as a messenger?"

Commentary: The pride and arrogance of the disbelievers is here reduced to its simplest element: they could not accept that a human being — someone like themselves — could be the bearer of divine revelation. They expected either an angel or a deity. But Allāh's wisdom in sending human prophets to human beings is precisely what makes prophethood meaningful: the Prophetﷺshares the human condition, knows its limitations and temptations from the inside, and demonstrates that the highest spiritual station is achievable within the human form. An angel sent to human beings could not be a model; a human being elevated by divine grace is the only genuine model for human life.

قُل لَّوْ كَانَ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَلَائِكَةٌ يَمْشُونَ مُطْمَئِنِّينَ لَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ مَلَكًا رَّسُولًا

Qul law kāna fī l-arḍi malāʾikatun yamshūna muṭmaʾinnīna la-nazzalnā ʿalayhim mina l-samāʾi malakan rasūlā

"Say: If there were in the earth angels walking in contentment, We would have sent down to them from the sky an angel as a messenger." (al-Isrāʾ 17:95)

Translation: Say: If the earth were inhabited by angels living at ease, We would indeed have sent down to them an angel from the sky as messenger.

Commentary: The argument is impeccably logical: messengers must be of the same nature as the communities to whom they are sent, because the messenger's role includes being a living example. Angels are sent to angel-inhabited worlds; human beings are sent to human-inhabited worlds. The angels who walk the earth among us do so as bearers of revelation and as spiritual presences, not as models of the human moral struggle. The Prophetﷺis the model precisely because he is one of us — basharan mithla-kum (a human being like you, Q. al-Kahf 18:110) — yet he achieved the summit of what humanity can be. The commentator then engages in a famous theological question: are human beings or angels superior? The answer, from the Māturīdī-Ḥanafī tradition, is that the confirmed prophets and the awliyāʾ Allāh (friends of Allāh) are superior to the angels, while ordinary human beings are not. The Qurʾān itself teaches this by indicating that the angels were commanded to prostrate before Ādam (upon him be peace).

قُلْ كَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِ خَبِيرًا بَصِيرًا

Qul kafā biAllāhi shahīdan baynī wa-baynakum; inna-hū kāna bi-ʿibādihi khabīran baṣīrā

"Say: Allāh is sufficient as a witness between me and you — He is ever All-Aware, All-Seeing of His servants." (al-Isrāʾ 17:96)

Translation: Say: Allāh suffices as witness between me and you — He is ever All-Aware and All-Seeing of His servants.

Commentary: When all demands for signs have been exhausted and all debates have run their course, the final appeal is to the only Witness whose testimony is perfect and whose knowledge encompasses all hidden realities: Allāh Himself. The Prophetﷺneeds no further argument and no human endorsement. Allāh knows — khabīr (fully informed of all inner realities) and baṣīr (perceiving all outer realities) — what is in the hearts of both the Prophetﷺand his opponents. This is both a confidence and a consolation: truth needs no human vindication because divine witnessing is perfectly sufficient.

وَمَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ ۖ وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِن دُونِهِ ۖ وَنَحْشُرُهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عَلَىٰ وُجُوهِهِمْ عُمْيًا وَبُكْمًا وَصُمًّا ۖ مَّأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ ۖ كُلَّمَا خَبَتْ زِدْنَاهُمْ سَعِيرًا

Wa-man yahdi Allāhu fa-huwa l-muhtad; wa-man yuḍlil fa-lan tajida lahum awliyāʾa min dūnih; wa-naḥshuruhum yawma l-qiyāmati ʿalā wujūhihim ʿumyan wa-bukman wa-ṣumman; maʾwāhum Jahannam; kullamā khabat zidnāhum saʿīrā

"Whoever Allāh guides is the rightly guided, and whoever He leaves astray — you will find for them no guardians besides Him. And We shall gather them on the Day of Resurrection upon their faces, blind, mute, and deaf. Their abode is Hell; whenever it subsides, We increase them in blazing fire." (al-Isrāʾ 17:97)

Translation: Whoever Allāh guides — that person is rightly guided. And whoever He leaves in misguidance, you will find for them no guardian apart from Him. We shall gather them on the Day of Resurrection on their faces — blind, mute, and deaf. Their dwelling shall be Hell, and whenever it dies down, We shall increase them in its blaze.

Commentary: This verse encapsulates the Māturīdī doctrine of guidance and misguidance: hidāyat Allāh (divine guidance) is the ultimate cause of guidance, yet it is given in response to the sincere turn of the human heart. Allāh's leaving someone in misguidance (iḍlāl) is never arbitrary but is the divine response to a heart that has repeatedly and freely chosen to turn away. The gathering of the wrongdoers "on their faces" on the Day of Resurrection is understood by commentators as either literal — the divine power that can cause beings to move upon their faces — or metaphorical — representing the complete inversion of their earthly condition of pride. Their three-fold deprivation — blind, mute, deaf — mirrors the three faculties they misused in this life (sight, speech, hearing). The description of Hell as kullamā khabat zidnāhum saʿīrā — "whenever it dies down, We add to its blazing" — indicates that their punishment is not merely maintained but is renewed and intensified, corresponding to the depth of their chosen rejection.

Commentary (continued): The commentator pauses to address the denial of resurrection directly, responding to those who mocked the idea. He notes the Qurʾānic response to the claim that decayed bones cannot be reassembled:

ذَٰلِكَ جَزَاؤُهُم بِأَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَقَالُوا أَإِذَا كُنَّا عِظَامًا وَرُفَاتًا أَإِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ خَلْقًا جَدِيدًا

Dhālika jazāʾuhum bi-annahum kafarū bi-āyātinā wa-qālū a-idhā kunnā ʿiẓāman wa-rufātan a-innā la-mabʿūthūna khalqan jadīdā

"That is their recompense because they disbelieved in Our signs and said: When we have become bones and crumbled dust, shall we really be raised up as a new creation?" (al-Isrāʾ 17:98)

Translation: That is their recompense because they denied Our signs and said: "When we have become bones and dust, shall we truly be raised as a new creation?"

Commentary: The verse states plainly: dhālika jazāʾuhum — this is their just recompense. The punishment of Hell follows directly from two acts: (1) denying the āyāt (signs and verses of the Qurʾān), and (2) denying resurrection with contemptuous mockery. The question about bones is answered definitively in the next verse.

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّهَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ قَادِرٌ عَلَىٰ أَن يَخْلُقَ مِثْلَهُمْ وَجَعَلَ لَهُمْ أَجَلًا لَّا رَيْبَ فِيهِ ۙ فَأَبَى الظَّالِمُونَ إِلَّا كُفُورًا

Awa-lam yaraw anna Allāha lladhī khalaqa l-samāwāti wa-l-arḍa qādirun ʿalā an yakhluqa mithlahum wa-jaʿala lahum ajallan lā rayba fīhi fa-abā l-ẓālimūna illā kufūrā

"Do they not see that Allāh who created the heavens and the earth is able to create the like of them? And He has appointed for them a term — there is no doubt in it. But the wrongdoers refuse anything but ingratitude." (al-Isrāʾ 17:99)

Translation: Do they not see that Allāh, who created the heavens and the earth, is entirely capable of creating the like of them? He has appointed for them a term — beyond all doubt. Yet the wrongdoers persist in nothing but ingratitude.

Commentary: The argument is straightforward and irrefutable: the One who created the vast heavens and the immense earth from nothing is surely capable of recreating a few human bodies. The initial creation (ibdāʾ) is the greater achievement; the repetition (iʿāda) is comparatively easy. In fact, it is not even merely "easy" in Allāh's case — the distinction of easy and difficult does not apply to the Almighty. The ajal (appointed term) for each soul and each community is fixed in the Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ (Preserved Tablet) without any possibility of doubt. Yet the obstinate wrongdoers — al-ẓālimūn — respond to this evidence with nothing but kufūr (ingratitude and denial). The word ẓālimūn here carries its full weight: they wrong themselves by rejecting what is self-evidently true.

قُل لَّوْ أَنتُمْ تَمْلِكُونَ خَزَائِنَ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّي إِذًا لَّأَمْسَكْتُمْ خَشْيَةَ الْإِنفَاقِ ۚ وَكَانَ الْإِنسَانُ قَتُورًا

Qul law antum tamlukūna khazāʾina raḥmati rabbī idhan la-amsaktum khashyata l-infāq; wa-kāna l-insānu qatūrā

"Say: Even if you possessed the treasuries of my Lord's mercy, you would hold them back for fear of spending — for man is ever miserly." (al-Isrāʾ 17:100)

Translation: Say: Even if you possessed the treasuries of your Lord's mercy, you would still hold back out of fear of exhausting them — for man is by nature extremely miserly.

Commentary: This verse delivers a devastating critique of the human tendency toward miserliness and hoarding. Even hypothetically — if the vast treasuries of divine mercy and provision were placed in human hands — human nature would contract around them in fear of depletion. The word qatūr (intensively miserly, withholding) describes not merely the miser but the psychological constriction that grips human beings before abundance. This verse should be read against the background of Allāh's infinite generosity (jūd): His treasuries are never diminished, His giving never reduces His possessions. Allāh gives without fear of lack; human beings withhold even when there is no lack. The commentary draws a deep connection here to the Sufi virtue of sakhāwat (generosity) as a divine attribute one is called to emulate — the takhalluq bi-akhlāq Allāh (assuming the character traits of Allāh within the limits of creaturely capacity).

وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَىٰ تِسْعَ آيَاتٍ بَيِّنَاتٍ ۖ فَاسْأَلْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِذْ جَاءَهُمْ فَقَالَ لَهُ فِرْعَوْنُ إِنِّي لَأَظُنُّكَ يَا مُوسَىٰ مَسْحُورًا

Wa-la-qad ātaynā Mūsā tisʿa āyātin bayyinātin fa-sʾal Banī Isrāʾīla idh jāʾahum fa-qāla lahū Firʿawnu innī la-aẓunnuka yā Mūsā masḥūrā

"And We gave Mūsā nine clear signs — so ask the Children of Isrāʾīl. When he came to them, Pharaoh said to him: O Mūsā, I think you are bewitched." (al-Isrāʾ 17:101)

Translation: And indeed We gave Mūsā (upon him be peace) nine clear signs. Ask the Children of Isrāʾīl — when he came to them, Pharaoh said to him: "O Mūsā, I think you are bewitched."

Commentary: The nine signs (āyāt bayyināt) given to Mūsā (upon him be peace) are identified in the tradition as: the staff, the luminous hand (al-yad al-bayḍāʾ), the locusts, the lice, the frogs, the blood, the famine, the parting of the sea, and the drowning of Pharaoh's army. When Mūsā (upon him be peace) appeared before Pharaoh with these overwhelming signs, Pharaoh's response was identical to the Quraysh's response to the Prophetﷺ: "You are masḥūr — bewitched, under a spell." The parallel is deliberate: the pattern of prophethood repeats through history, and the pattern of denial repeats equally. No amount of evidence satisfies the heart that has made rejection its choice. Pharaoh accepted the truth only at the moment of drowning — too late, as Allāh confirmed: al-ān wa-qad ʿaṣayta qablu (Q. Yūnus 10:91, "Now? When you had disobeyed before?").

قَالَ لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا أَنزَلَ هَٰؤُلَاءِ إِلَّا رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ بَصَائِرَ وَإِنِّي لَأَظُنُّكَ يَا فِرْعَوْنُ مَثْبُورًا

Qāla la-qad ʿalimta mā anzala hāʾulāʾi illā rabbu l-samāwāti wa-l-arḍi baṣāʾira wa-innī la-aẓunnuka yā Firʿawnu mathbūrā

"He said: You know well that none has sent these down except the Lord of the heavens and the earth as illuminating proofs — and I think you, O Pharaoh, are truly doomed." (al-Isrāʾ 17:102)

Translation: He (Mūsā) said: "You know — you know full well — that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth sent these as proofs of sight. And I believe, O Pharaoh, that you are truly ruined."

Commentary: Mūsā's (upon him be peace) response to Pharaoh's accusation of witchcraft is magnificent in its directness: la-qad ʿalimta — "you know." Not "I think" or "I believe" but "you know." Pharaoh's denial was wilful, not ignorant. The nine signs had dismantled every possible pretext for disbelief; what remained was pure arrogance and political self-preservation. The word baṣāʾir — plural of baṣīra, meaning things that make one see, illuminating demonstrations — emphasises that the signs were not merely impressive but were self-evident proofs designed to produce certainty. The closing mathbūr — destroyed, cut off, doomed — is not a curse but a prophetic assessment of the inevitable consequence of Pharaoh's choice. The one who knowingly denies truth has chosen his own destruction.

فَأَرَادَ أَن يَسْتَفِزَّهُم مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ فَأَغْرَقْنَاهُ وَمَن مَّعَهُ جَمِيعًا

Fa-arāda an yastafizzahum mina l-arḍi fa-aghraqnāhu wa-man maʿahu jamīʿā

"So he intended to unsettle them from the land — and We drowned him and all who were with him." (al-Isrāʾ 17:103)

Translation: Then he resolved to drive them from the land — and We drowned him and all those who were with him together.

Commentary: Pharaoh's response to Mūsā's signs and prophetic challenge was not repentance but escalation: he planned to drive the Children of Isrāʾīl (them) from the land of Egypt and destroy them. The divine response was immediate and absolute: fa-aghraqnāhu — We drowned him. The entire power of Egypt — its army, its chariots, its arrogant king — was swallowed by the sea in a single moment. This is the pattern of divine justice: the one who resolves to harm the servants of Allāh ends by destroying himself.

وَقُلْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِ لِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اسْكُنُوا الْأَرْضَ فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الْآخِرَةِ جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًا

Wa-qulnā min baʿdihi li-Banī Isrāʾīla skunu l-arḍa fa-idhā jāʾa waʿdu l-ākhirati jiʾnā bikum lafīfā

"And after him We told the Children of Isrāʾīl: Dwell in the land — and when the promise of the Hereafter comes, We shall bring you all together." (al-Isrāʾ 17:104)

Translation: And after him We told the Children of Isrāʾīl: Dwell in the land. And when the promise of the Hereafter arrives, We shall bring you all together in one gathering.

Commentary: After the drowning of Pharaoh, the Children of Isrāʾīl inherited the land — specifically the blessed land of Palestine (al-arḍ al-muqaddasa) — as their rightful habitation. The phrase fa-idhā jāʾa waʿdu l-ākhirati (when the promise of the Hereafter comes) refers to the Day of Judgement, when all peoples and all generations — lafīfan, mingled together — will be gathered before Allāh for the final reckoning. The word lafīf (a mixed, composite gathering) emphasises that the gathering will include all of humanity without distinction — every person from every age, every nation, every civilisation.

وَبِالْحَقِّ أَنزَلْنَاهُ وَبِالْحَقِّ نَزَلَ ۗ وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا

Wa-bi-l-ḥaqqi anzalnāhu wa-bi-l-ḥaqqi nazal; wa-mā arsalnāka illā mubashiran wa-nadhīrā

"And with truth We sent it down, and with truth it descended — and We have not sent you except as a bringer of good news and a warner." (al-Isrāʾ 17:105)

Translation: And with truth We sent it down, and with truth it descended — and We have not sent you except as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner.

Commentary: The Qurʾān is described here with a double testimony of truth: bi-l-ḥaqqi anzalnāhu (it was sent down in truth — meaning with truth as its content and through the true channel of revelation) and bi-l-ḥaqqi nazal (it descended with truth — it arrived unaltered and complete). This double formulation establishes both the integrity of the source and the integrity of the transmission. The Prophet'sﷺrole is then defined precisely: mubashiran (a bearer of glad tidings of Paradise for the believers) and nadhīran (a warner of the consequences of disbelief). He is not a wakīl (guardian), not a muḥāsib (accountant), not a mujabbir (compeller) — only a conveyor of divine news. The responsibility for acceptance rests entirely with the recipients.

وَقُرْآنًا فَرَقْنَاهُ لِتَقْرَأَهُ عَلَى النَّاسِ عَلَىٰ مُكْثٍ وَنَزَّلْنَاهُ تَنزِيلًا

Wa-Qurʾānan faraqnāhu li-taqraʾahu ʿalā l-nāsi ʿalā mukthin wa-nazzalnāhu tanzīlā

"And a Qurʾān We have divided into portions, that you may recite it to the people at intervals — and We have sent it down in a gradual revelation." (al-Isrāʾ 17:106)

Translation: And a Qurʾān We have divided into sections, so that you may recite it to the people at intervals, and We have sent it down in a measured, gradual descent.

Commentary: The piecemeal revelation of the Qurʾān over twenty-three years (tanzīl mutadarrij) is here affirmed as deliberate divine pedagogy. Faraqnāhu — "We divided it, parcelled it" — indicates that the Qurʾān was not sent all at once (as the Torah was given to Mūsā, upon him be peace, on the tablets) but in portions suited to the occasions and needs of the developing Muslim community. ʿAlā mukthin — "at intervals, with pause, with deliberation" — means that the recitation is to be measured, thoughtful, unhurried: not racing through the words but dwelling upon them with understanding. This is the foundation of the doctrine of tajwīd (the science of correct Qurʾānic recitation) and tartīl (reciting distinctly and unhurriedly, as commanded in Q. al-Muzzammil 73:4). The commentator notes that the rules of correct pronunciation (makharij al-ḥuruf) and the laws of stopping and starting must be learned from a qualified teacher (qāriʾ), for the Qurʾān is transmitted as a living oral tradition, not merely as a text on the page.

قُلْ آمِنُوا بِهِ أَوْ لَا تُؤْمِنُوا ۚ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهِ إِذَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ يَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ سُجَّدًا

Qul āminū bihi aw lā tuʾminū; inna lladhīna ūtū l-ʿilma min qablihi idhā yutlā ʿalayhim yakhirrūna li-l-adhqāni sujjadā

"Say: Believe in it or do not believe — indeed those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in prostration." (al-Isrāʾ 17:107)

Translation: Say: Believe in it or do not believe — indeed those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall prostrate on their chins.

Commentary: The verse is addressed to the obstinate disbelievers with a declaration of divine indifference to their response: āminū aw lā tuʾminū — "believe or do not believe" — because the Qurʾān's truth is not contingent on their acceptance. The evidence for its divine origin comes from the people of prior scripture — Jewish and Christian scholars who recognised in the Qurʾān the fulfilment of what their own books had foretold — and their response was khurrūna li-l-adhqāni sujjadā: they fell down on their chins (the most extreme form of prostration, where the chin itself touches the ground, indicating deep khushūʿ, humility) in prostration. The scholars who came to the Prophetﷺand found in his description and teaching the very prophecy they had known from their books fell into prostration with tears in their eyes. This is a sajdah tilāwah (prostration of recitation) verse — upon recitation, the worshipper performs a prostration.

وَيَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولًا

Wa-yaqūlūna subḥāna rabbinā in kāna waʿdu rabbinā la-mafʿūlā

"And they say: Glory be to our Lord — the promise of our Lord shall indeed be fulfilled." (al-Isrāʾ 17:108)

Translation: And they say: "Glory be to our Lord — the promise of our Lord shall most certainly be fulfilled!"

Commentary: In their prostration, the scholars of former books cry out subḥāna rabbinā — glorifying Allāh and affirming that His promise of sending the final prophet has indeed been fulfilled in the person of Muḥammadﷺ. The phrase in kāna waʿdu rabbinā la-mafʿūlā — "the promise of our Lord is indeed fulfilled" — carries an emotion of relief and wonder: what was promised in the Torah and the Gospel has now come to pass. Their years of scholarship, their lifetimes of study, have culminated in this recognition. They fall and they glorify.

وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا

Wa-yakhirrūna li-l-adhqāni yabkūna wa-yazīduhum khushūʿā

"And they fall upon their chins, weeping — and it increases them in humility." (al-Isrāʾ 17:109)

Translation: And they fall upon their chins weeping — and it only increases them in reverent humility.

Commentary: The double mention of falling on the chin frames this as one of the most moving images of genuine faith in the Qurʾān. They fall in prostration, they weep (yabkūna), and the recitation of the Qurʾān only increases their khushūʿ — the quality of reverent awe, inward stillness before the greatness of Allāh, the complete alignment of heart and body in submission. The commentator notes that there are two types of people among us: those who fall into this quality and those who are distant from it. Let the believer aspire to this — for weeping in the remembrance of Allāh is among the most beloved of acts to Allāh, and the tear shed in the presence of the Qurʾān is a mercy descending.

قُلِ ادْعُوا اللَّهَ أَوِ ادْعُوا الرَّحْمَٰنَ ۖ أَيًّا مَّا تَدْعُوا فَلَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ وَلَا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلَاتِكَ وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِهَا وَابْتَغِ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ سَبِيلًا

Quli dʿu Allāha awi dʿu l-Raḥmān; ayyan mā tadʿū fa-lahu l-asmāʾu l-ḥusnā; wa-lā tajhar bi-ṣalātika wa-lā tukhāfit bihā wa-btaghi bayna dhālika sabīlā

"Say: Call upon Allāh or call upon al-Raḥmān — by whichever name you call, to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. And do not raise your voice in your prayer, nor speak too quietly — seek a way in between." (al-Isrāʾ 17:110)

Translation: Say: Call upon Allāh or call upon al-Raḥmān — whichever you invoke, to Him belong all the Most Beautiful Names. And neither raise your voice in your prayer nor whisper it too softly — seek a middle path between the two.

Commentary: This verse was revealed when the idolaters heard the Prophetﷺcalling upon Allāh and upon al-Raḥmān, and asked mockingly: "Are you calling upon two gods?" The response makes clear that Allāh and al-Raḥmān are both names of the One God, and that He possesses all the Asmāʾ al-Ḥusnā (the Most Beautiful Names). Each name points to a different attribute of the One Divine Essence. When one calls upon Allāh, one invokes the Name of the Essence; when one calls upon al-Raḥmān, one invokes the Name of the All-Compassionate One whose mercy encompasses all creation. The commentator elaborates on the practice of the Asmāʾ al-Ḥusnā in supplication: one should choose the divine name most appropriate to one's need — Yā Razzāq (O Provider) when seeking sustenance, Yā Shāfī (O Healer) when seeking recovery from illness, Yā Wahhāb (O Bestower) when seeking generosity, Yā Qahhār (O Subduer) or Yā Dhā l-baṭsh al-shadīd (O Lord of mighty power) when confronting an oppressor. The instruction regarding prayer volume — neither too loud nor too quiet — gives guidance about the tartīl of prayer: the voice should be heard by oneself and those immediately near, without disturbing others.

The commentary continues: begin supplication with a moderate degree of jabr (effort, exertion in raising the voice) so that spiritual engagement is activated and the mind is focused; once the heart is turned, the voice may soften. Those who are deeply engaged in dhikr often find that the heart itself becomes the place of invocation, beyond the need of the outer voice. Recitation in the Ẓuhr prayer is to be kept quiet because people are occupied with their work; the loud recitation of Maghrib, ʿIshāʾ, and Fajr is appropriate because those are times of leisure and of the gathering of community. One final point the commentator makes: the dhikr that silences others can harm; the dhikr done quietly with a present heart is most beloved to Allāh — and yet there are states of spiritual intensity where the dhikr rises of its own accord, like water boiling over. May Allāh grant us the tawfīq of true remembrance. Āmīn.

وَقُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي لَمْ يَتَّخِذْ وَلَدًا وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ شَرِيكٌ فِي الْمُلْكِ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ وَلِيٌّ مِّنَ الذُّلِّ ۖ وَكَبِّرْهُ تَكْبِيرًا

Wa-quli l-ḥamdu li-Llāhi lladhī lam yattakhidh waladan wa-lam yakun lahū sharīkun fī l-mulki wa-lam yakun lahū waliyyun mina l-dhulli wa-kabbirhu takbīrā

"And say: All praise is for Allāh who has not taken a son, and who has no partner in sovereignty, and who has no protector out of weakness — and magnify Him with great magnification." (al-Isrāʾ 17:111)

Translation: And say: All praise be to Allāh, who has taken no son, who has no partner in His dominion, and who has no protector out of any weakness. And magnify Him with all due magnificence.

Commentary: The sūra closes with a supreme declaration of the divine attributes that constitute tawḥīd: Allāh has (1) no son — refuting the Christian claim; (2) no partner in sovereignty — refuting the polytheist claim; and (3) no walī needed from weakness — refuting the notion that Allāh requires any ally or protector, as human kings require alliances when they are weak. He is absolutely self-sufficient (Ṣamad). The command wa-kabbirhu takbīrā — "and magnify Him with a great magnification" — is the climax of the entire sūra's exposition of divine majesty. After all the arguments, all the demonstrations, all the calls to reflection — the final act is takbīr: the declaration Allāhu Akbar, Allāh is Greater — greater than everything the mind can conceive, greater than every objection, greater than every denial, greater than the sum of all creation. This is where all theology ends: in glorification.

Page range covered: pp. 341–373 (all of Sūrat al-Isrāʾ / Banī Isrāʾīl, Sūra 17).

Approximate word count: ~9,800 words.

Sūrat al-Kahf (The Cave) — Sūra 18