Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:2

(And We gave Moses the Book) meaning the Torah. (And We made it) meaning the Book, which is the apparent interpretation, or [We made] Moses, peace be upon him—(a guidance) a great one—(for the Children of Israel). The phrase "for the Children of Israel" relates to "guidance" or to "made," and the lam is for causal explanation. The waw (and) is a commencement, or it is a conjunction to the sentence {Exalted is He who took His Servant by night}, not to {took by night}, as reported in al-Bahr on the authority of al-'Ukbari. A similar view was related from Ibn 'Atiyyah, though it is distant and forced.

This verse follows the verse of the Night Journey (al-Isra') as a digression, serving as a preamble to the mention of the Quran. The uniting element is that Moses, peace be upon him, was given the Torah upon his journey to Mount Tur, which holds the status of his ascension (Mi'raj), for it was there he was granted the honor of speech (Taklim), was distinguished by the title "the Interlocutor" (al-Kalim), and requested to see [God]. Embedded within this is the difference between the two Books and those upon whom they were revealed. If you wish, compare {He took His Servant by night} and {And We gave Moses} with {a guidance for the Children of Israel} and {it guides to that which is most suitable}.

{(That) you may not take} meaning: "do not take." This is on the basis that an (that) is explanatory, and la (not) is prohibitive; and the explanation—as Abu al-Baqa' stated—is because of what the Book contained of commands and prohibitions. It is also said that it relates to an omitted element, meaning: "We gave Moses the Book, [the content of which] is: 'Do not take...'" Even if the intended meaning of "the Book" is the Torah, it is originally an infinitive (masdar), and it is not hidden that this is contrary to the apparent meaning.

In al-Bahr, it is permitted that an be an infinitive particle, with the preposition before it being omitted, and la being negative, meaning: "so that you do not take." It is also said that it is permissible for an and what follows it to be in the position of a substitute for "the Book." Abu al-Baqa' permitted that an be extra/expletive, and {do not take} is the object of an omitted verb, meaning: "We said: 'Do not take,'" with the la being prohibitive. Abu Hayyan critiqued this, saying this position is not one of the places where an is considered extra. Similarly, he permitted that la be extra, as in His saying: {What prevented you that you did not prostrate?}, with the estimation being "aversion to you taking [others as gods]," and the implications of this are not hidden.

Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, 'Isa, Abu Raja', and Abu 'Amr (of the seven readers) read it with a ya of the third person ("that they may not take"). Many scholars considered an in that reading to be an infinitive particle and did not mention the possibility of it being explanatory. Sheikh Zada said: There is no basis for an being explanatory in the reading with the third-person ya, because that which is within the scope of an explanatory particle is a statement in terms of meaning, and the one to whom the statement is directed must be addressed (in the second person). Likewise, there is no basis for it being an infinitive particle in the second-person reading, because the Children of Israel are absent—so contemplate this. The preposition in the interpretation that it is an infinitive particle is omitted, meaning: "because they should not take."

{Besides Me} meaning: "other than Me." {An agent} meaning: "a Lord to whom you entrust your affairs other than Me." The "agent" (wakil) is a fa'il form in the sense of maf'ul (passive participle), meaning the one to whom affairs are entrusted (delegated), which is the Lord. Ibn al-Jawzi said: The Lord is called "Agent" due to His sufficiency and His undertaking the affairs of His servants, not in the sense of the patron's status being elevated and the agent's status being lowered. The min (from/besides) signifies "other than," and it has been clearly stated that it comes in this sense in more than one place. It is the second object of {take}, and {agent} is the first. It is also permitted that min be partitive, but the first is more manifest. The intended meaning is the prohibition of associating partners with Him, the Exalted.