Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:1

It is also called al-Isra' (The Night Journey) and Subhan (Glory). As recorded by Ibn Marduyah from Ibn Abbas and Ibn al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with them, it is Meccan. That it is entirely Meccan is the opinion of the majority. The author of al-Ghunya stated it is by consensus. It has also been said that all of it is Meccan except for two verses: "And indeed, they were about to tempt you..." and "And indeed, they were about to drive you out...". Others said all except four: these two, and His saying, "And say, 'My Lord, cause me to enter a sound entrance,'" and His saying, "And when We said to you, 'Indeed, your Lord has encompassed the people.'" Muqatil added His saying, "Indeed, those who were given knowledge before it..." [17:107].

According to al-Hasan, all except five verses: "And do not kill the soul..." [17:33], "And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse..." [17:32], "Those whom they call upon..." [17:56], "Establish prayer..." [17:78], and "And give the relative his right..." [17:26]. Qatadah said all except eight verses, which are His saying, "And indeed, they were about to tempt you..." until the end of those. Others have said otherwise. It contains 110 verses according to the majority, and 111 according to the Kufans.

As recorded by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi (who classified it as hasan), al-Nasa'i, and others from Aisha, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to recite this surah and al-Zumar every night. Al-Bukhari, Ibn al-Durays, and Ibn Marduyah recorded from Ibn Mas'ud that he said regarding this surah, al-Kahf, Maryam, Taha, and al-Anbiya': "They are among the earliest, most precious revelations, and they are among my first acquisitions." This is one perspective regarding their arrangement.

As for the connection between this surah and al-Nahl, al-Jalal al-Suyuti said that just as He stated at the end of [al-Nahl]: "The Sabbath was only appointed for those who differed over it," He mentioned in this surah the law of the people of the Sabbath which He ordained for them in the Torah. Ibn Jarir recorded from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that he said: "The entire Torah is [summarized] in fifteen verses of Surat Bani Isra'il." He, the Exalted, mentioned in it their disobedience, their corruption, the destruction of their temple, their provocation of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, their desire to expel him from Medina, and their questioning him about the soul. Then, He concluded it with the nine signs of Moses, peace be upon him, and his discourse with Pharaoh. He informed us that Pharaoh wanted to drive them out of the land, so he was destroyed, and the Children of Israel inherited it after him. In this is a veiled allusion to them—that what befell Pharaoh would befall them, as they intended for the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, what he had intended for Moses, peace be upon him, and his companions. Since this surah begins with the story of the destruction of the al-Aqsa Mosque, it opened with the mention of the Night Journey of the Chosen One, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, honoring him by the arrival of his noble steed to compensate for the destruction that had occurred.

Abu Hayyan said regarding this: When He, the Exalted, commanded His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to be patient and forbade him from grieving over the disbelievers and from distress caused by their plotting—and their plotting included accusing him of falsehood, sorcery, poetry, and other things they falsely attributed to him—He followed that by mentioning his honor, his merit, and his high station with Him, the Exalted.

It is said that the reason for this [arrangement] is its inclusion of mentions of favors, both specific and general. In al-Nahl, the favors were mentioned such that it was named Surat al-Ni'am (The Chapter of Favors), and it includes the mention of the status of the Great Quran, just as [Bani Isra'il] does. He, the Exalted, mentioned there in al-Nahl: "There emerges from their bellies a drink, varying in colors, in which there is healing for people," and He mentioned here regarding the Quran: "And We send down of the Quran that which is healing and mercy for the believers." He, the Exalted, mentioned there His command to give to the relative, and He commanded that here as well, with an addition in His saying: "And give the relative his right, and the poor and the traveler, and do not spend wastefully," and this is after He, the Exalted, commanded kindness to parents, who are the origin of kinship, in addition to other things that cannot be counted. So let one reflect. And Allah, the Exalted, is the Granter of success.

"Glory be to Him who took His servant by night..."

Subhana (Glory be to Him) here, according to what some verifiers have held, is the masdar (verbal noun) of sabbaha (he glorified), meaning nazzaha (he declared free of imperfections), not in the sense of saying "Subhan Allah." Indeed, tasbih has often come to mean the latter utterance, so much so that some supposed it was exclusive to that. The author of Al-Qamus leaned toward this in his commentary on the preface of Al-Kashshaf, considering Subhan an abbreviated masdar of sabbaha, but that is not the case.

Sometimes it is used as a proper name (‘alam) for tanzih (declaration of transcendence), in which case it is disconnected from the idafa (genitive construction) because proper names are not constructed in this way by analogy, and it is prevented from sarf (diptotic) due to being a proper name and for the additional letter. This is evidenced by the verse of al-A‘sha: "I said when his pride came to me: 'Glory be to Him, than ‘Alqama the boastful.'" Al-Radi said: There is no proof of its being a proper name because it is mostly used in the idafa construction; therefore, it is not a proper name. When it is disconnected, it has appeared with tanwin in poetry, such as: "His glory, then a glory, we seek refuge in Him; and before us, the glory of al-Judi and al-Jamad." It has also come with the lam, as in: "Glory be to You, O Allah, Possessor of Glory." There is no hindrance to saying, in the verse they used as evidence, that the mudaf ilayh (genitive noun) was omitted while being intended—known by context—and the mudaf remained in its state to observe its most common usage, which is being void of tanwin, like the saying: "He mixed with the nostrils of Salma, and..."

The apparent position of al-Zamakhshari is that it is always a proper name for tasbih, and it is a generic proper name (‘alam jins); for just as a generic proper name is set for entities, it is set for meanings, so he makes no distinction. The author of Al-Kashf championed him, saying: "What the Allama (al-Zamakhshari) went to is the correct view, for if the proper-name status is established by its evidence, the idafa does not contradict it. It is not of the category of Zayd al-Ma‘arik (a construction where the proper name is treated as a descriptor) so as to be anomalous, but rather of the category of Hatim Tayy and ‘Antara ‘Abs." Mentioning the root (s-b-h) indicates the profound declaration of transcendence; this is in terms of the derivation from al-sabh, which is movement and distancing upon the earth, then what its transference to the taf‘il form provides, then the shift from the masdar to the noun specifically assigned to it—especially as it is a proper name pointing to the reality present in the mind. The masdar stands in the place of the verb, as its accusative state is due to a verb that is omitted in expression. For this reason, its use is not permitted except regarding Him, may His names be sanctified and His majesty be magnified. It is as if it were said: "How far removed is He who possesses this power from all deficiencies! Thus, His choosing of His servant who is exclusive to Him cannot be anything but wisdom and correctness."

An objection was raised against what he mentioned first: that he who forbids the idafa of a proper name by analogy did not distinguish between one idafa and another. If he claims that some proper names became famous for a meaning—like Hatim for generosity—the idafa is permissible in such cases to intend specification and repel the emerging generality. What we are discussing is not of this kind, as is not hidden. What he mentioned regarding its indication of transcendence from all deficiencies is what the transmitted tradition testifies to. In Al-‘Aqd al-Farid, it is narrated from Talha that he said: "I asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, about the interpretation of 'Subhan Allah,' and he said: 'Declaring Allah the Exalted free from every evil.'"

Al-Tibi said regarding al-Zamakhshari’s statement—that it indicates profound transcendence from all ugliness attributed to Him by the enemies of Allah—that the station of the Isra rejects this, as a fastidious person rejects water. It is rejected; rather, its meaning is astonishment, as he said in [Surat] al-Nur. The principle of that is that one glorifies Allah when seeing the wondrous of His creations, then it increased until it was used for every object of astonishment. This is not substantial. In Al-Kashf, it is stated that transcendence does not contradict astonishment, as was falsely imagined. Making it the pivot, with astonishment as a consequence here, is the correct approach, unlike the verse of al-Nur. Some mentioned that the apparent from the Kashshaf in several places is that he does not approve of combining transcendence and astonishment due to their mutual contradiction, but rather because each is an independent meaning; thus, combining them is combining the meanings of a homonym. Upon the combination, the face is what was mentioned that it is the face—so understand.

It is said that Subhan is not a proper name at all, without distinction, so there are three schools of thought. Some mentioned that in the verse it carries the imperative meaning, i.e., "Declare Allah the Exalted free and absolve Him of all deficiencies," and this includes inability regarding what follows, or [absolution] from inability regarding that. The most immediate understanding is to consider the imperfect verb. Al-Isra is specifically traveling by night, like al-sura (al-Isra and sara are of the same meaning). The hamza of asra is not for transitiveness, as Abu ‘Ubaydah said. Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: "The hamza is for transitiveness, and the object is omitted, meaning: 'He made His angels travel with His servant.'" It is stated in Al-Bahr: "He only needed this claim due to the belief that if asra were in the sense of sara, it would necessitate, because the ba (in bi-‘abdihi) is for transitiveness, the participation of the agent with the object." This is a view held by al-Mubarrad; thus, if you say "I stood with Zayd," it necessitates your standing and Zayd’s standing according to him. If you make the ba like the hamza, that is not necessitated, as is not hidden. He also said: "It is possible that asra is in the sense of sara upon the omission of a mudaf and the replacement of the mudaf ilayh in its place; the origin is 'He made his angels travel,' and it is built upon that same belief." Al-Layth said: "It is said asra for the beginning of the night, and sara for its end." As for sara (without the alif), the majority hold that it is general and has no specification to night or day. It is said it is specific to the day and is not an inversion of sara.

The preference for the word al-‘abd (the servant) is to signal his, may peace and blessings be upon him, absolute purity in his worship of Him, the Glorified, and his reaching in that the extreme limit and the final end, as indicated by the beginning and end of the Isra. Servitude (‘ubudiyyah), according to what the Gnostics have affirmed, is the most noble of attributes and the highest of ranks, and the lovers boast of it, as it is said: "Do not call me except by 'Her servant,' for it is the most noble of my names." Another said: "By Allah, if they ask you about me, tell them: 'My servant and [the one] in my possession, whom I have not set free.'" From Abu al-Qasim Sulayman al-Ansari, it is reported that he said: "When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, reached the high degrees and lofty ranks, Allah the Exalted inspired him: 'O Muhammad, with what shall We ennoble you?' He said: 'With my attribution to You through servitude.' So Allah the Exalted revealed: 'Glory be to Him who took His servant by night.'" Hence the saying: "Say 'The servant of Allah and His messenger.'" It is said that in expressing it here instead of, for instance, "His beloved," is a barrier to the path of exaggeration regarding him, peace and blessings be upon him, as happened to the Christians regarding their prophet, peace be upon him. They mentioned that Allah the Exalted did not express "servant" added to the third-person pronoun indicating the Essence regarding anyone except the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. There is an indication in that, and whoever ponders even the slightest bit upon the difference between His saying: "Glory be to Him who took His servant by night," and His saying: "And when Musa arrived at Our appointed time," the complete difference between the station of the Beloved and the station of the Interlocutor, peace and blessings be upon them both, becomes clear to him. What implies the difference in this Surah will come soon, if Allah the Exalted wills, so do not be heedless.

The idafa of Subhan to the mentioned Mawsul (relative pronoun, "Him who...") is to signal that what is in the position of the Sila (conjunctive clause) is the cause for the mudaf (glorification), for that is among the evidences of the perfection of His power, the profundity of His wisdom, and the ultimate transcendence of the Exalted from attributes of deficiency. His saying, "by night (laylan)," is a circumstantial qualifier for asra. Its benefit, through it being indefinite, is to indicate the minimization of the duration of the Isra and that it was [only] in some of the parts of the night. For this reason, ‘Abdullah and Hudhayfah read "[from] the night," i.e., some of it, like His saying, "And from the night, perform tahajjud."

It was objected that the partiality derived from the min (partitive min) is partiality in parts, while the partiality derived from indefiniteness is partiality in individuals and particulars; so how can it be derived from the indefiniteness that the Isra was in some of the parts of the night? The correct view is that its indefiniteness is to repel the suspicion that the Isra was over [many] nights, or to indicate its glorification, as is appropriate for the context and the sequence—meaning laylan (a night), a night in which the lover drew near to the Beloved and won the desired in the station of witnessing. Some of the perfect ones answered this with what is not hidden in its deficiency. Some verifiers said: "What was mentioned has been stated by Sheikh ‘Abd al-Qahir in Dala’il al-I‘jaz, and the objection does not apply to it initially." Its verification, according to what the learned Yemeni explicitly stated in transmission from Sibawayh and Ibn Malik, is that al-layl (the night) and al-nahar (the day), when definite, are standards for generalization and limited vessels; so you do not say "I accompanied him the night" intending an hour of it, unless you intend exaggeration, as you say "The people of the world came to me," [meaning] some of them, unlike the indefinite, which does not provide that. Since he shifted from making it definite here, it is known that he did not intend the encompassment of the Isra for it. This is what is meant by the aforementioned partiality, and there is no need to make "the night" a metaphor for a part of it, just as if you say "I sat in the market" and your sitting is in some of its places, the market is not a metaphor in it, as is not hidden. The scrutinizer in Al-Kashf pointed to this. It is said the meaning of its indefiniteness is that it occurred in its middle and most of it, as one says, "So-and-so came to me bi-laylin," i.e., in most of its darkness; thus it also benefits partiality. This is contradicted by what will come, if Allah wills, in the hadith. The claim that laylan was mentioned for emphasis or the stripping of the Isra and intending absolute travel from it arises from a lack of merchandise (knowledge), as is not hidden. The wisdom of the Isra being at night will come, if Allah wills.

"...from the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram)..." The apparent is that the intended is the mosque known between the elite and the common, by its very self. He, peace and blessings be upon him, was at that time in the Hijr of it. The two Sheikhs, al-Tirmidhi, and al-Nasa’i narrated from the hadith of Anas bin Malik from Malik bin Sa‘sa‘a: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "While I was in the Hijr—and in another narration: 'in the Hatim'—between asleep and awake, there came to me one who split between this and this [points from throat to stomach]... then I was brought a beast smaller than a mule and larger than a donkey, white, called al-Buraq..." The report continues. From it, the synthesis between what was mentioned—that he, peace be upon him, was at that time in the Hijr—and what was said—that he was between Zamzam and the Maqam—is known. It is said the intended is the Haram (Sanctuary), and it was applied to it because of its encompassing it; it is a metaphor based on the relation of physical proximity and encirclement, or because the whole Haram is a place of prostration and a sanctuary that is not lawful [to violate], so it is a linguistic reality. The point in this expression is the correspondence of the beginning and the end.

He, peace and blessings be upon him, was at that time in the house of Fakhita, Umm Hani bint Abi Talib. Al-Nasa’i narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas, and Abu Ya‘la in his Musnad, and al-Tabarani in al-Kabir from her hadith, that he, peace and blessings be upon him, was sleeping in her house after the night prayer, then he was taken by night. He returned that same night, recounted the story to her, and said: "The prophets were represented to me, and I prayed with them." Then he went out to the mosque and informed the Quraish. Some were clapping, some placing their hands on their heads in astonishment and denial. Some who had believed in him, peace and blessings be upon him, apostatized. Men rushed to Abu Bakr and said: "If he said that, he is truthful." They said: "Do you believe him regarding that?" He said: "I believe him in more than that; I believe him regarding the news of the heavens, morning or evening." Thus he was named al-Siddiq (the Truthful). There were among the people those who knew Jerusalem, so they asked him to describe it. It became clear to him, and he began to look at it and describe it to them. They said: "As for the description, he got it right." They said: "Tell us about our caravan, for it is more important to us; did you meet anything of it?" He said: "Yes, I passed by the caravan of Bani so-and-so, and it is in al-Rawha’. They had lost a camel of theirs and were searching for it. In their baggage, there was a cup of water, so I became thirsty and took it, drank it, and put it back as it was. Ask them whether they found the water in the cup when they returned." They said: "This is a sign." He said: "And I passed by the caravan of Bani so-and-so, and so-and-so and so-and-so were riding on a young camel; their camel shied away from me and broke. Ask them about that." They said: "This is another sign." Then they asked him about the number, the loads, and the conditions, and the caravan was represented to him, so he informed them of all that...

[Regarding the timing]: Just as there is disagreement over the beginning of the Isra, there is disagreement over the year. Al-Nawawi mentioned in al-Rawda that it was ten years and three months after the Prophethood. In al-Fatawa, it was in the fifth or sixth year of Prophethood. The learned Mulla Amin al-‘Umari reported from him in the commentary of Dhat al-Shifa’ the firm conviction that it was in the twelfth year of the Mission. From Ibn Hazm, the claim of consensus on that is reported, and he weakened what is in al-Fatawa because Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her, did not pray the five prayers, and she died three years before the Hijra. It is said it was one year and five months before the Hijra, and it is said three months. In the hadith of Sharik bin Abi Nimr from Anas, it occurred before he received revelation, but more than one have corrected him on that. Al-Hafiz ‘Abd al-Haqq reported in his book al-Jam‘ bayn al-Sahihayn the hadith of Sharik in which that occurred at length, then said: "This hadith with this wording, from the narration of Sharik from Anas, has an unknown addition and has brought words that are not known." The hadith of Isra was narrated from Anas by a group of precise preservers and famous Imams, such as Ibn Shihab, Thabit al-Bunani, and Qatada, and none of them brought what Sharik brought, and Sharik is not considered a preserver by the people of hadith.

[Regarding the nature]: It is also debated whether it was while awake or in a dream. From al-Hasan, it is that it was in a dream. This was also narrated from ‘Aisha and Mu‘awiya, may Allah be pleased with them both. Perhaps it is not authentic from her, as is in al-Bahr, and she was at that time young and was not his wife, and Mu‘awiya was a disbeliever on that day. They argued for this with His saying: "And We did not make the vision which We showed you except as a trial for the people," because "vision" (ru’ya) is linguistically specific to sleep. What supports it occurred in the hadith of Sharik. The majority held that it was while awake, with his body and soul, peace and blessings be upon him. Ru’ya (vision) can be in the sense of ru’ya (seeing) while awake, as in the saying of al-Ra‘i describing a hunter: "And he magnified at the sight (ru’ya), and his heart delighted, and he brought glad tidings to a heart that was full of sorrow." Al-Wahidi said: "It is the sight while awake at night only, and the report of Sharik is not to be relied upon." Al-Nawawi said: "As for what occurred in the narration of Sharik that 'he was asleep,' and in another from him 'while I was at the House between asleep and awake,' those who make it a dream-vision may use it as evidence, but there is no proof in it, as it may be the first arrival of the Angel to him. There is nothing in the hadith that indicates he, peace and blessings be upon him, was sleeping during the whole story." The majority argued for this by saying that if it were a dream, the Quraish would not have been astonished by it, nor would they have deemed it impossible, because a sleeper may see himself in the sky and travel from the East to the West, and no one would consider it far-fetched. Also, "servant" implies the soul and the body.

A group, including Qadi Abu Bakr and al-Baghawi, went to believing both the proponents of the dream view and the proponents of the wakefulness view, correcting both hadiths by saying the Isra happened twice: one in his sleep before Prophethood, where he was taken by his soul to pave the way and facilitate what human strength would be weakened by—and to this refers His saying: "And We did not make the vision which We showed you except as a trial for the people"—then he was taken by his soul and body after Prophethood. Al-Kashf says: "This is the truth, and with it, the synthesis between the reports is achieved."

Al-Maziri recounted in the commentary on Muslim a fourth view that synthesized the two sayings: "The Isra was with his body, peace and blessings be upon him, while awake to Jerusalem—so it was an eye-witnessing—then he was taken by his noble soul, peace and blessings be upon him, from there to what is above it—so it was a heart-witnessing. And for this reason, the disbelievers denounced him, peace and blessings be upon him, saying: 'I arrived at Jerusalem this night of mine,' and they did not denounce him for what was other than that and did not marvel at it, because a dream-vision is not a place for astonishment."...

"...to the Farthest Mosque (al-Masjid al-Aqsa)," which is Jerusalem. He described it as al-Aqsa, i.e., the farthest for those in the Hijaz. More than one said: "It is named as such because it is the farthest of the mosques visited from the Sacred Mosque, and between them is about forty nights." It is said: "Because there is no place of worship beyond it, so it is the farthest of its places." Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: "It is possible that al-Aqsa means the remote, without preference between it and what is other than it, and it is remote in itself for the visitors." It is said the intended is its remoteness from impurities and filth.

There is disagreement regarding the riding of Gabriel, peace be upon him, with him. It is said he rode behind him, peace and blessings be upon him, but the correct view is that he did not ride; rather, he took hold of the stirrup, and Michael led the Buraq. There is also disagreement regarding his continuing, peace be upon him, in his ascension to the sky. It is said he ascended upon it, but the correct view is that a ladder (mi‘raj) was set up for him, and he ascended upon it...

"...so that We might show him of Our signs," i.e., so that We might raise him to the sky until he sees what he sees of the great wonders. It is authentic that he, peace and blessings be upon him, ascended from the rock of Jerusalem as mentioned. He met in every heaven a prophet from the prophets, peace be upon them, as in Sahih al-Bukhari and others. He witnessed, peace and blessings be upon him, the states of Paradise and Hell, and saw of the angels what no one knows the number of except Allah the Exalted. It is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that he, peace and blessings be upon him, saw on the night of the Ascension in the kingdom of Allah the Exalted beings in the likeness of men on dappled horses, armed, each one of them being a thousand years in height, and the horse likewise, following one another; their beginning is not seen nor their end. He said: "O Gabriel, who are these?" He said: "Did you not hear the saying of Allah the Exalted: 'And none knows the soldiers of your Lord except Him'? I descend and ascend, and I see them passing like this; I do not know from where they come nor where they go."

He, peace and blessings be upon him, prayed with the prophets, peace be upon them, in Jerusalem...

He expressed with min (partitive), which denotes partiality, because showing all the signs of Allah the Exalted—due to their infinitude—is something that hardly occurs. Had it been said "Our signs," the totality would have been immediately understood. This is bolstered by the context...

The turning of the speech from the third person, which is in His saying: "Glory be to Him who took His servant by night," to the form of the Magnified Speaker in "We blessed around it" and "We show him of Our signs" is to magnify the blessings and the signs, for just as they indicate the magnification of the one referred to by the pronoun, they indicate the greatness of what is added to Him and what proceeded from Him. They have mentioned a special point for this chromatic shift: that His saying "Who took His servant by night" indicates his, peace and blessings be upon him, travel from the world of witness to the world of the unseen, so the third person is more appropriate. His saying "We blessed around it" indicates the descent of blessings, so the magnification of the Descender is appropriate, and the expression with the pronoun of majesty provides for that. His saying "We show him" is in the sense of after connection and presence, so the first-person speech is appropriate for him. As for the third person, it is because he, peace and blessings be upon him, was at that time not of the world of witness...

"...Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing." On the condition that the pronoun is for Allah the Exalted, as is the most apparent and the position of the majority, then it corresponds to His saying "His servant." This is supported by the specification that places this turn in its best position and applies the justification most perfectly, for the meaning is: He brought him near and specified him with this honor because He, the Exalted, is aware of his states, knowing of his worthiness for this station. Al-Tibi said: "He is the Hearing of the words of that servant, the Seeing of his actions in being refined, pure from the impurities of desire, accompanied by truthfulness and purity, worthy of nearness and proximity."