Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:21

"See how We have favored some of them over others." The word "how" (kayfa) is in the accusative position due to the verb "favored" (faḍḍalnā), functioning as a circumstantial qualifier (ḥāl). It is not annexed to the sentence as some have erroneously imagined; rather, the entire sentence is in the accusative position as the object of "See" (unẓur), which is suspended here.

The meaning, as the Shaykh al-Islam stated, is to clarify what has passed regarding "provision" (al-imdād) and the fact that there is no restriction on giving, by alerting one to contemplate the ranks of one of the two types of giving and using it to infer the ranks of the other. That is: look with the eye of consideration at how We have favored some of them over others in the worldly gifts We have provided them—so there is the low and the high, the weak and the strong, the owner and the owned, the wealthy and the destitute. By that, you will recognize the ranks of the hereafter's gifts and the disparity among their people, according to the method of inferring the state of the higher from the state of the lower, as elucidated by His saying, "And the hereafter is greater in ranks and greater in favor" (12). That is, greater than the ranks and favors of the world, because the disparity therein is according to Paradise and its lofty ranks, the extent of which cannot be measured nor its essence fathomed.

In some traditions, it is said that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Between the highest of the people of Paradise and the lowest of them is a degree like a star seen in the eastern and western horizons." Allah the Almighty has satisfied everyone, such that no one envies another. According to al-Ḍaḥḥāk, the one above sees his superiority over the one below him, while the one below does not see anyone above him. It is established that Allah the Almighty has prepared for His righteous servants that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and has not crossed the heart of any human.

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr narrated in al-Istī‘āb from al-Ḥasan, who said: A group of people came to the door of ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), among whom were Suhayl ibn ‘Amr al-Qurashī, who was one of the nobles in the pre-Islamic era, Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb, and those elders of Quraysh. Permission was given to Ṣuhayb, Bilāl, and the people of Badr—for he loved them and had made provisions for them. Abū Sufyān said: "I have never seen the like of today; permission is given to these slaves while we sit, and no notice is taken of us!" Suhayl, who was the wisest of them, said: "O people, I swear by Allah, I see what is on your faces. If you are angry, be angry with yourselves. The people were called, and you were called; they hastened, and you delayed. By Allah, what they have preceded you in of virtue is a greater gap than this door of yours that you are competing over."

In al-Kashshāf, it is stated that he said: "We have only been brought to this by ourselves; they were called, and we were called, and they hastened while we lingered. This is the door of ‘Umar; how then will the disparity be in the Hereafter? And if you envy them for the door of ‘Umar, then what Allah has prepared for them in Paradise is greater." It was recited as akthar (more) instead of akbar (greater) in terms of favor.

It is possible that the "provision" refers only to worldly gifts, and the aforementioned restriction is to refute the assumption that they are exclusive to the first group. Specifying their desire for it and their arrival at it, without explaining the relationship between them and the second group, creates the illusion of exclusivity to the first. Thus, the meaning is: We provide both groups with worldly gifts, not only those we mentioned as desiring it from the first group, out of the wide giving of your Lord. And the worldly giving of your Lord is not restricted from anyone who desires other than it. "See how We have favored" in that giving some of both groups over others among them, "and the Hereafter..." etc.

Al-Ḥasan and Qatādah leaned toward something similar, as it has been narrated from them that they said regarding the meaning of the verse: Allah the Almighty provides in this world to both the deniers of the Hereafter (the disbelievers) and the seekers of the Hereafter (the believers), and He provides for all with sustenance. Mentioning "sustenance" among the things provided is said to be by way of example, or a specification due to the context. It is also permissible that it be meant in its linguistic sense, thus including influence and the like, as when it is said, "Happiness is a matter of sustenance."

The majority considered the lack of restriction to be in relation to the first group, to affirm the comprehensiveness of the provision for them, saying: He does not withhold it from a sinner due to his sin. This was challenged by saying that it would imply the restriction is to refute the illusion that worldly provision is exclusive to the second group, even though there was nothing preceding in the speech to suggest its validity for them, let alone imply its exclusivity. There is consideration in this.

From Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) it is said that the meaning of "From the giving of your Lord" is acts of obedience; He provides with them to the seeker of the Hereafter, and sins; He provides with them to the seeker of the worldly. Thus, "giving" would be an expression for whatever Allah has allotted to the servant of good or evil. You know that it is extremely far-fetched to intend sins by "giving." Perhaps this attribution to the scholar is incorrect, so do not be heedless.

Know that the division contained in the verse is not exhaustive, and that is not harmful. An exhaustive division is that every actor either intends only the worldly life, or intends only the Hereafter, or intends both together, or intends nothing. The first two categories have had their rulings known from the verse. The third category divides into three types: either the intention for the Hereafter is stronger, or it is weaker, or both intentions are equal. Regarding the acceptance of the deed in the first case, there is discussion by the Imām. He said: It is possible it is not accepted, due to what is narrated from the Lord of Might, Exalted is He: "I am the most self-sufficient of partners from shirk; whoever performs a deed in which he associates another with Me, I leave him and his shirk."

It is possible to say: If the intention for the Hereafter is stronger than the intention for the world, the equal cancels the equal, and the excess portion remains purely for the Hereafter; thus, it must be accepted. Abū al-Ḥasan ‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salām leaned toward non-acceptance, while the proof of Islam al-Ghazālī leaned toward the claim of original reward, where he said: If people's notice was a factor in strengthening his motivation—even if it were absent, the worship would not be abandoned—and the intention of showing off was separate, he is rewarded according to the amount of the intention for the reward. This is apparent in that showing off, even if prohibited, does not prevent the origin of the reward in his view, provided the motive for the worship was dominant.

Ibn Ḥajar mentioned that the correct approach is that whenever showing off accompanies the intention for worship, if it is permissible, it does not necessitate the cancellation of its reward from the origin, but rather he is rewarded according to the amount of the intention for worship, even if it is weak. If it is prohibited, it necessitates its cancellation from the origin due to the traditions and His saying, "So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it." This may not contradict that, because his shortcoming by intending the prohibited necessitated the cancellation of the intention for the reward, so not an atom's weight of good remained for him; thus, the verse does not include him. They agreed on the non-acceptance of that in which the worldly motive prevails or both motives are equal. Al-Ghazālī restricted the traditions that appear to indicate absolute non-acceptance to these two categories. The full discussion of this is in al-Zawājir ‘an Iqtirāf al-Kabā’ir. As for the fourth category, according to those who say that the action of the capable agent depends on the attainment of the motive, it is impossible to occur. Those who said it does not depend on it said that such an action has no effect in the inner self and is prohibited in the outer, for it is futile. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

From the perspective of allusion in the verses: "Exalted is He who took His servant by night..." there are four allusions in this. The allusion of sanctification in "Exalted" (subḥān) is His transcendence, Exalted is He, above material accretions, anthropomorphic deficiencies, and everything that is depicted in the minds. The allusion of jealousy is in not mentioning the explicit name from His beautiful names, and likewise in not mentioning his name (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). The allusion of the Unseen is in mentioning the third-person pronoun. The allusion of the Secret is in mentioning the night, for it is the place of secrets and whispering. One of the greats said: "Were it not for the night, I would not have loved remaining in the world." Many have mentioned that in choosing the title of "servitude" (‘ubūdiyyah) is an allusion that it is the highest of stations, as has been indicated previously. Its foundation is humility and submission. Since humility toward something cannot exist except after knowing it, servitude to Allah the Almighty points to knowledge of Him, and its perfection points to His perfection. Hence, Ibn ‘Abbās interpreted His saying, "And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me," as "except to know Me." It is ninety-nine parts, equal to the number of Divine Names; whoever enumerates them enters Paradise. For every Divine Name, there is a specific servitude by which the creatures who worship Him do so.

No one realized this station in its perfection like the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), so he was purely a servant, ascetic in all circumstances that would take him out of the rank of servitude. Allah the Almighty testified for him that he was a servant, attributed to Him in terms of his identity here, and his comprehensive name in His saying, Exalted is He, "And when the servant of Allah stood up." And when he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was commanded to define his station on the Day of Resurrection, he restricted it, saying, "I am the master of the children of Adam, and there is no boasting." And it [servitude]—as you have known its meaning—cannot be a divine attribute at all; rather, it is a special quality in which there is no participation. Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī said: "I found nothing by which to draw near to Him, Exalted is He, since I saw that every quality used to draw near to Lordship has an entry point. So I said: 'O Lord, with what shall I draw near to You?' He said: 'Draw near to Me with what I do not have.' I said: 'O Lord, and what is it that You do not have?' He said: 'Humility and poverty.'"

It is mentioned that the servant with the Truth in his state of servitude is like the shadow with the person in front of a lamp; the closer it is to the lamp, the larger the shadow becomes—and there is no closeness to Allah the Almighty except by that which is your description, not His, Exalted is He—and the farther from the lamp, the smaller the shadow. For nothing distances you from the Truth except your exiting from your quality which you deserve and your coveting His quality, Exalted is He. Likewise, "Allah seals every heart of the arrogant tyrant," and they are two qualities of Allah the Almighty. "Taste, for you are the mighty, the noble"—and they are the same. To this, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) alluded by his saying, "I seek refuge in You from You."

Some interpreted the night as the darkness of bodily coverings and natural attachments and said: "Ascension (‘urūj) can only be through the body." They have explicitly stated that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was taken on a night journey and also ascended in wakefulness; his body did not depart from him. However, the Gnostic Jāmī said: "That was up to the limit (al-muḥaddad), then the body was cast there." This has preceded. In the secrets of the Quran, it is stated that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was taken on a journey from seeing his actions to seeing His attributes, and from seeing His attributes to seeing His Essence. He saw the Truth by the Truth, and his form was his spirit, his spirit his intellect, his intellect his heart, and his heart his secret. It is as if he meant that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) attained this journey; otherwise, the intention that the journey in the verse is this is not appropriate.

It is not hidden that the night journey (isrā’) is different from the ascension (mi‘rāj). Yes, they may use isrā’ for mi‘rāj; indeed, it is said that when they are joined, they differ, and when they are separated, they join. They have mentioned that for all the inheritors, there is an ascension, but it is an ascension of spirits, not bodies; a journey of secrets, not walls; a vision of gardens, not eyes; and a way of tasting and verification, not a way of distance; and a path to heavens of meaning, not place. This ascension varies according to the variation of the ranks of men. The Great Shaykh (may Allah sanctify his secret) mentioned in his ascension what baffles the minds and from which comes the most wondrous of wonders. This was not considered far-fetched from him, based on his being the Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood according to them.

Among the wonders that occurred in our time is that a man called ‘Abd al-Salām, a deputy judge in Baghdad who was bold in judging with falsehood, began translating the Mi‘rāj of the Shaykh (may Allah sanctify his secret) into Turkish, with an explanation of some of its obscurities, while he was not of the secrets of those corners. Before he completed his intention, he was afflicted—and we seek refuge in Allah the Almighty—with a gangrene in his mouth, which ate away to his ears, and he died. His spirit ascended to where Allah willed. We ask Allah the Almighty for pardon and wellness in religion, the world, and the Hereafter. It is reported from the Shaykh (may Allah sanctify his secret) that the night journey happened to him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) thirty times. In the words of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Wahhāb al-Sha‘rānī, his night journeys (peace and blessings be upon him) were thirty-four, one of which was with his body, and the rest with his spirit. They have explicitly stated that the first is among his characteristics (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). In al-Khaṣā’iṣ al-Ṣughrā, it says he was favored with the night journey and what it contained of piercing the seven heavens and rising to "the distance of two bows or nearer," and treading a place no sent prophet or brought-near angel had trodden.

The fact that the long distance is covered in a short time is one of the miracles of the saint; the famous term for this is "folding distance" (ṭayy al-masāfah). It is one of the greatest breaches of custom. The Ḥanafīs denied its occurrence for the saints. Among them is Ibn Wahbān, who said: "And whoever attributes 'folding distance' to a saint, the ignorant one permits it, then some declare the one who says it a disbeliever." This is strange coming from them, along with their saying that if a child is born to his wife in the East, for example, it is attributed to him even if they did not physically meet. The books are full of stories of reliable people regarding this miracle for many righteous people. It is as if the one who declares the one who says it ignorant based his ignorance on the fact that this is a statement of the "interpenetration of substances" (tadākhul al-jawāhir). The theologians considered this impossible—contrary to al-Naẓẓām—and proved its impossibility with nothing more to be said. Some claimed it was a necessity. You know that covering long distance in a short time does not depend on the interpenetration of substances, because it is possible that it is by speed, as they said regarding the night journey. So let it be established for the saints in this manner. Moreover, miracles, like wonders, are of unknown modality; so we believe in what is authentically established of them and delegate the modality to the One whom nothing incapacitates, He is the Almighty, the All-Exalted. Like "folding distance" is what they recount of the "spreading of time." I believe, and praise be to Allah, in what is authentically reported of both matters; the one who declares it disbelief is ignorant, and the ignorant is not a messenger. And Allah is the Guide to what is correct, and to Him is the return and the destination.

The "Sacred Mosque" is interpreted as the station of the heart, respected from being circumambulated by the idolaters of physical powers, and the committing of their indecencies and sins within it. The "Farthest Mosque" is interpreted as the station of the spirit, which is farther from the physical world, "that We might show him of Our signs," meaning: of the signs of Our attributes, from the aspect that they are attributed to Us, and We are the witnesses through them. The pinnacle is the witnessing of the attributes in the station of the heart.

"Your Lord may have mercy on you, but if you return, We will return." Sahl said: That is, if you return to sin, We return to forgiveness; if you return to turning away from Us, We return to turning toward you; and if you return to fleeing from Us, We return to blocking the way before you so that you may return to Us. Al-Warrāq said: If you return to obedience, We return to easing and acceptance. Others said otherwise.

"Indeed, this Quran guides to that which is most upright," i.e., this Quran acquaints its people, by its light, with the most upright of paths to Allah the Almighty, which is the path of obedience and following the one upon whom it was revealed (peace and blessings be upon him), for there is no path that leads to that. How excellent is he who said: "You are the door of Allah; any person who comes to Him through other than You shall not enter." They mentioned that the Quran guides by its literal meaning to the meanings of its inner self, and by the meanings of its inner self to the light of its reality, and by the light of its reality to the origin of the attribute, and by the attribute to the Essence. So blessed is he who is guided by the Quran, for it points him to Allah the Almighty. How excellent is he who said: "If we travel by night and You are before us, it is enough for our mounts that Your light is the guide." And it brings glad tidings to its people who follow it that they shall have the reward of witnessing and unveiling it without a veil.

"And man prays for evil, as he prays for good; and man is ever, hasty." In this is an allusion to one of the etiquettes of supplication, which is not being hasty. A traveler should be patient until he knows what befits his state, then he should supplicate for it. Sahl said: The most sound of supplications is remembrance (dhikr) and leaving choice, for in remembrance there is sufficiency. Sometimes a person asks for what is his destruction without realizing it. In the tradition: Allah the Almighty says, "Whoever is occupied by My remembrance from asking of Me, I give him the best of what I give the seekers."

"And We have made the night," i.e., the night of stillness and the darkness of the body, "and the day," i.e., the day of creation and the spirit, "as two signs," by which one reaches knowledge of the Essence and the Attributes. "Then We effaced the sign of the night," with corruption and annihilation, "and made the sign of the day illuminating," shining, remaining in its perfection, revealing truths by its light, "that you may seek bounty from your Lord," which is your perfection for which you prepare yourselves, "and that you may know the number of years and the account," i.e., to count the number of ranks and stations from your beginning to your end by ascending through them, and to account for your deeds, morals, and states, so you may replace the bad of that with the good.

"And everything," of knowledge and wisdom, "We have detailed," with the light of your discriminating intellects attained by you upon perfection, in detail, not in summary, as is in the rank of Quranic intellect attained at the beginning. "And [for] every person, We have fastened his fate to his neck," the verse; what is suitable to be from the perspective of allusion has preceded.

"And never would We punish until We have sent a messenger." The Sufis have two opinions regarding this messenger, like others: some say it is the messenger of the intellect, and some say it is the messenger of the law.

"And when We intend to destroy a city, We command its affluent to obey, but they defiantly disobey therein," the verse is an allusion that when He, Exalted is He, intends to ruin the heart of the seeker, He empowers over it the armies of his soul's desire, its soldiers, and its devils. It is then ruined by the hooves of the horses of lusts and the ailments of natural dispositions. We seek refuge in Allah the Almighty from that.

"Whoever desires the immediate—" due to the turbidity of his preparation and the dominance of his desire and nature, "We hasten for him therein what We will to whom We intend. Then We have made for him Hell, which he will [enter to] burn," from the people of intellect, "blamed" in the wrath and coercion of Allah, "banished" [from His mercy]. "But whoever desires the Hereafter" due to the purity of his preparation and the soundness of his innate disposition, "and exerts the effort due to it"—which is suitable for it, which is the effort on the path of uprightness and what the law approves. Some said: The effort for the world is with the bodies, the effort for the Hereafter is with the hearts, and the effort for Allah the Almighty is with the aspirations. "While he is a believer"—firm in faith, not shaken by the storms of doubts, "it is those whose effort is appreciated," accepted and rewarded. From Abū Ḥafṣ, it is said that the appreciated effort is that which is not tainted by showing off, nor by desire for fame, nor by seeing the self, nor by seeking compensation; rather, it is purely for His face, Exalted is He, with nothing sharing in that. So do not be heedless.

"To each [category] We extend—these and those—from the gift of your Lord." Their intention and effort have no effect in that; rather, they are identifiers and signs of what We have decreed for them of giving. I saw in al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyyah that this verse is like His saying, "And inspired it [with] its wickedness and its righteousness," and it is similar to what has preceded from Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with them both), and you have heard what is in it. "And the gift of your Lord has never been restricted" from anyone, whether obedient or disobedient, because His affair, Exalted is He, is outpouring according to what wisdom dictates. "See how We have favored some of them over others" in the world according to what the Will and Wisdom dictate, "and the Hereafter is greater in degrees and greater in favor." There is that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and has not crossed the heart of any human. May Allah the Almighty provide us and you with that, for He, Exalted is He, is the Generous, the Owner.