Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:39

(That)—which preceded in the detailed duties—(is from what your Lord has revealed to you)—meaning some of it, or from its genus—(of wisdom)—which is the knowledge of the religious laws, or the knowledge of the Truth, Glory be to Him, for His essence, and of good for the sake of acting upon it, or the decisive rulings that are not subject to abrogation or corruption. In al-Kashshaf, citing Ibn Abbas, it is stated: "These eighteen verses—meaning from 'Do not set up' in the preceding [text] to 'blamed and driven away'—were in the tablets of Moses, peace be upon him; they are ten verses in the Torah." In al-Durr al-Manthur, Ibn Jarir extracted from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that the entire Torah is fifteen verses from [the chapter of] Bani Isra'il, then he recited: "Do not set up with Allah another god." This is the greatest praise for the Noble Quran found in al-Kashshaf.

"From" (min) is either connected to "revealed" (awha) in the sense of being partitive or as indicating the origin, or it is connected to an omitted [prepositional phrase] serving as a state (hal) for the relative pronoun or its omitted referent—meaning: from that which your Lord has revealed to you, being of wisdom. It is also permissible for the prepositional phrase to be a substitute for "that which" (ma).

(Do not set up with Allah another god): The address is similar to the previous address; it was repeated to alert that Monotheism is the beginning and end of the matter, and that it is the head of all wisdom and its mainstay. He attached to it earlier that which relates to idolatry in this world, where He said: (Lest you sit down blamed, forsaken). And He attached to it here its result in the Hereafter, so it was said: (Lest you be cast into Hell, blamed)—by yourself and by others—(driven away)—expelled from the mercy of Allah the Exalted.

In al-Tafsir al-Kabir, the difference between "blamed" (madhmum) and "reproached" (malum) is that "blamed" is one who is reminded that the action he embarked upon is ugly and despicable, whereas "reproached" is one to whom it is said: "Why did you do such an action, what drove you to it, and what did you gain from it other than causing harm to yourself?" From this, it is known that blame comes first, and reproach comes last. The difference between "forsaken" (makhdhul) and "driven away" (madhur) is that "forsaken" is a term for the weak—it is said: "His limbs became weak (takhadhallat)," meaning they became feeble—and the intended meaning is the one whose support has been abandoned and who has been left to his own devices. "Driven away" is the expelled one, meaning the degraded and the despised.

The phrasing "being cast" (al-ilqa')—in the passive—follows the custom of majesty and disdain for the polytheist, treating him like a piece of wood that one who possesses it picks up and casts into the furnace.

Furthermore, the address in some of these commands and prohibitions is singular, and in others, it is plural. The secret behind the choice of singular versus plural in each instance, in a way that is safe from criticism and pleasing to the perfect among men, did not appear to me. I mentioned this to one of my beloved friends, among the elite researchers and heads of instructors, and requested him to edit what appears to him, as I am a researcher of his perfection and merit. He wrote what follows, verbatim:

I say, acknowledging shortcomings, guarding against vanity, and apologizing with the transmitted saying: "The one commanded is excused." Nine aspects regarding the variation of the style of address occur to the mind of the poor [servant of Allah], which are not to be dismissed:

First: Signifying that these duties are divided into three categories. A category that everyone is responsible for—the nation was addressed twice: once explicitly addressing them, and once implicitly by addressing their Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This [category] is the most important: Monotheism. A second category—very important, but below the first—about which they were addressed once explicitly, consisting of seven matters: (1) Absolute kindness to parents; for if one removes it by not being kind to them at all, it is one of the most severe degrees of disobedience. (2) The prohibition of killing children. (3) Adultery. (4) The prohibition of killing a soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. (5) The prohibition of dealing with the orphan's wealth, except in a way that is best. (6) Fulfilling the covenant. (7) Weighing with the straight balance. A third category—below the first two in importance—about which they were addressed once implicitly, consisting of eleven matters:

(1) Refraining from saying "uff" to parents. (2) Refraining from harsh speech, for "uffing" and harsh speech are the lightest degrees of disobedience, unlike refraining from kindness entirely. (3) Speaking noble words to them. (4) Lowering the wing of humility out of mercy. (5) Supplicating for the mercy of Allah the Exalted. These three—the abandonment of them is not like the abandonment of absolute kindness, for instance. (6) Refraining from giving the relative, the poor, and the traveler their right. It is evident that failing to fulfill the total of these three rights is lighter than abandoning the matters mentioned in the second category. (7) Avoiding extravagance. (8) Speaking a gentle word. (9) Justice in withholding and giving. (10) Refraining from following that of which one has no knowledge, which applies to acting upon mere conjecture, for example. (11) Refraining from walking boastfully. The abandonment of one of these five—whichever it may be—does not reach the level of abandoning one of the duties mentioned in the second category, as is not hidden.

Second: Implying, by coupling the nation’s address in the prohibition of serious major sins, for example, with his address, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, regarding matters not of that gravity, that sins increase in greatness according to the greatness of the one who commits them, as indicated by the verse: "If We had not strengthened you, you would have almost inclined toward them a little. Then [if you had], We would have made you taste double the punishment of life and double the punishment of death," and the noble verse: "O wives of the Prophet, whoever of you commits a clear immorality, the punishment for her will be doubled," and as it is famously said that the good deeds of the righteous are the sins of those brought near, and that those brought near are in great danger. However, this subtlety was not observed in the prohibition of Shirk, indicating that it is of such extreme gravity that it should not be imagined that there could be an increase or variation in its greatness among individuals. Or, we say: when this subtlety contradicted another, the other was preferred for being more worthy of consideration, which is the indication that Shirk was, in the sight of Allah, the Exalted, [so] great that the address prohibiting it was repeated specifically and generally. We say the same regarding the absence of the following aspects in the duty of Monotheism; we shall not repeat.

Third: Alerting, by generalizing the address in the prohibition of some sins and the command to some acts of obedience, that the corruption of committing those sins and abandoning those acts of obedience does not strike only those who have committed oppression.

Fourth: Pointing out, by generalizing the address in the prohibitions and commands, that just as it is incumbent upon every accountable person to desist from those prohibitions, it is incumbent upon him to stop others, such that if he were to leave it, he would be like the one committing it in that he has perpetrated a major sin that was prohibited with the prohibition of those things. And [pointing out] that just as it is incumbent upon all to perform those commands, it is incumbent to compel the one who abandons them to perform them, such that if he were not compelled, he would be like the one who abandoned them in that he abandoned a duty that was commanded with the command of those things. By specializing the address where it was specialized, it points out that it is not of that status; for although it may be incumbent to compel others regarding some of its duties, it might not be that its abandonment is a major sin.

Fifth: Signaling, by singularizing the address where it was singularized, that those acts of obedience are not produced except by individuals, for their rights are not fulfilled except by the pious, righteous ones, and they are few; unlike others, for that is regulated.

Sixth: Signifying that the duties the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was addressed with—the intended being his nation—cannot be fulfilled in their right except by him or by one who follows his lights, traces his footsteps, strives to follow his upright Sunnah, and exerts effort to embody his noble character, unlike others of which they were addressed explicitly, as they are not performed by the majority of them.

Seventh: Turning the address away from him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, regarding the prohibition of killing children, adultery, killing the prohibited soul except by right, and dealing with the orphan's wealth except in a way that is best, is an indication that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, does not commit these atrocities even if he were not prohibited from them; for his innate nature, his intelligence, the soundness of his refined character, and the uprightness of his noble temperament were sufficient to keep him from them. Likewise, turning the address away from him in the command of kindness to parents, fulfilling the covenant, and weighing with the straight balance is an indication that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, performs these things even if he were not commanded to do so. For the abandonment of absolute kindness to parents—if they reached old age, for example—would entail a harshness, hardness of heart, and coarseness of nature that his nature, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would reject. Similarly, betrayal and fraud were things his noble character would reject. However, he was addressed with the prohibition of Shirk because nature and character have no role in Monotheism and Shirk.

Eighth: Allah, the Exalted, out of veneration for His beloved, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not address him with the prohibition of the abominations of killing children, adultery, and killing a soul without right, so as not to imply—and he is far above that—that he used to commit them before the prohibition. Likewise, He did not address him with the command to fulfill the covenant and weigh with the straight balance so as not to imply—and he is far above that—that he used to abandon them before this. This implication is more deserving of care in its removal than the implication where he was addressed alone. He was addressed with the prohibition of Shirk because the known nature of his call, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to the elite and the common, throughout the nights and days, was sufficient to ward off this implication.

Ninth: Perhaps the duties with which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was addressed, such as refraining from following that of which one has no knowledge and refraining from walking boastfully on the earth, were not present in other than his religion among all religions, or were not explicitly stated and textualized in the heavenly books other than the Quran. Thus, the address was directed to him alone, hinting that they are among the characteristics of his religion, or that explicitly stating and textualizing them is among the characteristics of his Book. This aspect is supported by the saying of the Almighty after the prohibition of following without knowledge and walking boastfully: "That is from what your Lord has revealed to you of wisdom."

Furthermore, I do not claim certainty or decisiveness in this, nor in the rest of the aspects, nor do I follow that of which I have no knowledge; rather, I say this is what occurred to my broken mind, and the knowledge is with the Subtle, the All-Knowing. End quote.

[Al-Alusi's critique of the friend's points follows, questioning the internal consistency and logical accuracy of the categories and exclusions provided.]