Anwar Al-Quran

Verses 70–80

17. Al-Israa · The Night Journey

Makkan111 verses

۞ وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ وَحَمَلْنَٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَٰهُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتِ وَفَضَّلْنَٰهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍۢ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًۭا

17:70Certainly We have honoured the Children of Adam, and carried them over land and sea, and provided them with all the good things, and preferred them with a complete preference over many of those We have created.

يَوْمَ نَدْعُوا۟ كُلَّ أُنَاسٍۭ بِإِمَٰمِهِمْ ۖ فَمَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَٰبَهُۥ بِيَمِينِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ يَقْرَءُونَ كِتَٰبَهُمْ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلًۭا

17:71The day We shall summon every group of people along with their imam, then whoever is given his book in his right hand—they will read it, and they will not be wronged so much as a single date-thread.1

وَمَن كَانَ فِى هَٰذِهِۦٓ أَعْمَىٰ فَهُوَ فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ أَعْمَىٰ وَأَضَلُّ سَبِيلًۭا

17:72But whoever has been blind in this [world], will be blind in the Hereafter, and [even] more astray from the [right] way.

وَإِن كَادُوا۟ لَيَفْتِنُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ لِتَفْتَرِىَ عَلَيْنَا غَيْرَهُۥ ۖ وَإِذًۭا لَّٱتَّخَذُوكَ خَلِيلًۭا

17:73They were about to beguile you from what Allah has revealed to you so that you may fabricate something other than that against Us, whereat they would have befriended you.

وَلَوْلَآ أَن ثَبَّتْنَٰكَ لَقَدْ كِدتَّ تَرْكَنُ إِلَيْهِمْ شَيْـًۭٔا قَلِيلًا

17:74And had We not fortified you, certainly you might have inclined toward them a bit.2

إِذًۭا لَّأَذَقْنَٰكَ ضِعْفَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ وَضِعْفَ ٱلْمَمَاتِ ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُ لَكَ عَلَيْنَا نَصِيرًۭا

17:75Then We would have surely made you taste a double [punishment] in this life and a double [punishment] after death, and then you would have not found for yourself any helper against Us.3

وَإِن كَادُوا۟ لَيَسْتَفِزُّونَكَ مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ لِيُخْرِجُوكَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَإِذًۭا لَّا يَلْبَثُونَ خِلَٰفَكَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا

17:76They were about to hound you out of the land, to expel you from it, but then they would not have stayed after you but a little.

سُنَّةَ مَن قَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ مِن رُّسُلِنَا ۖ وَلَا تَجِدُ لِسُنَّتِنَا تَحْوِيلًا

17:77A precedent concerning those We have sent before you from among Our apostles, and you will not find any change in Our precedent.

أَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِدُلُوكِ ٱلشَّمْسِ إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَقُرْءَانَ ٱلْفَجْرِ ۖ إِنَّ قُرْءَانَ ٱلْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًۭا

17:78Maintain the prayer [during the period] from the sun’s decline till the darkness of the night, and [observe particularly] the dawn recital. Indeed the dawn recital is attended [by angels].4

وَمِنَ ٱلَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِۦ نَافِلَةًۭ لَّكَ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًۭا مَّحْمُودًۭا

17:79And keep vigil for a part of the night, as a supererogatory [devotion] for you. It may be that your Lord will raise you to a praiseworthy station.5

وَقُل رَّبِّ أَدْخِلْنِى مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍۢ وَأَخْرِجْنِى مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍۢ وَٱجْعَل لِّى مِن لَّدُنكَ سُلْطَٰنًۭا نَّصِيرًۭا

17:80And say, ‘My Lord! ‘Admit me with a worthy entrance, and bring me out with a worthy departure, and render me a favourable authority from Yourself.’6

Tafsir

Commentary on this passage

Verse 70

1.Some commentators have taken excess to mean as a whole and said man is superior to the whole world. It is not so according to the apparent Ayat but besides this, anyhow a man is a best creature and a few people of it are most superior than the whole world. But it is not necessary that whole mankind he superior to all creatures. The personal virtuous characters of a man can be mentioned as follows: (i) Allah has given him a beautiful face and figure (ii) Allah has made him an intelligent being (iii) Man is given contrary feelings (iv) He is given him spirit to progress (v) Complete ordinance of mode of life is made for him (vi) He is advised to take lessons from the past, to protest against real and apparent conditions and to prepare for the future. (vii) Complete arrangement is made for reward and punishment for him.

Verse 71

2.The connection of this Ayat is proof that man’s magnanimity and nobi1ity demand that he would appear along with the best Imam with pure records of his virtuous deeds on the Resurrection Day. Otherwise there is no possibility of concession and partiality of any kind.

Verse 78

3.We should know that Quran has mentioned only three times for Prayers. Two prayers are connected with declining of the sun and two prayers with the darkness of night and one prayer is collected with early in the morning. Therefore to raise an objection about prayer of three times is being ignorant of the Holy Quran.

Footnotes

Explanations of words and phrases in these verses

  1. 1

    Kitab. It is the scroll of deeds. Fatee1 is a lowly thing.

  2. 2

    This indicates that man has natural tendency for evil too.

    Benefit: It should be clear that most of the traditions commenting on the 74th ayat are Medinite. while the Surah is Meccan. Also these traditions are disrespectful to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.). hence they cannot be relied upon.

  3. 3

    This is the superiority of Islam that personality or status cannot save one from punishment. It rather causes an increase in it.

  4. 4

    The Laam is causative or it is in the meaning of ‘Ind’ (near), Dulook is the decline of the sun from its zenith and the falling of the night. Darkness denotes night. Quran-e-Fajr is the morning recitation. that is the dawn prayer, Mash-hood are those regarding whom the angels testify, Or it denotes a condition of perfect awareness.

    Benefit: The 78th ayat is the sole ayat that mentions the time of all the daily prayers, Though traditions are required to know the details the actual timings have been fixed by the Quran. Also the word ‘Nafila’ is not a technical term, it denotes ‘additional’ and that is why the Namaz-e-Shab was wajib for the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.).

  5. 5

    Wakefulness with Quran denotes Namaz-e-Shab which was an additional obligation upon the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.). Its result was Maqaame Mahmood (The Praiseworthy Position), that is the right to intercede.

  6. 6

    To enter and leave with truth means that we should have sincere intention in whatever we undertake to do from the beginning of this work till its conclusion.