Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:6

"Then We returned to you the turn" (i.e., the dominion and the victory; the origin of the meaning of al-karr is turning and returning, and the application of al-karrah to what was mentioned is a common metaphor, as when one says "the matter has returned"). The lam in lakum (to you) is for transitivity; it is also said to be for causality. His saying, the Exalted, "over them" (i.e., those who did to you what they did) is connected to "the turn" due to the meaning of victory contained therein, or it is a state from it; it is also permissible that it be connected to "We returned."

This—according to what is in al-Bahr—is an informing by Him, the Exalted, in the Torah to the Children of Israel, except that He placed "We returned" in the place of "We shall return" to signify the certainty of the occurrence. Between the sending (of punishment) and the return, it is said, there were one hundred years, and that was after they repented and returned from what they had been upon.

There is a difference of opinion regarding the cause of that. It is narrated that when Ardashir Bahman ibn Isfandiyar ibn Gushtasp ibn Luhrasp inherited the kingdom from his grandfather Gushtasp, Allah, the Exalted, cast compassion into his heart for the Children of Israel. He returned their captives, whom Nebuchadnezzar had brought to Babylon, and sent them to the land of the Levant, and he appointed Daniel to rule over them. They overpowered those who were there among the followers of Nebuchadnezzar. It is said by some that one of the effects of this turn was the killing of Nebuchadnezzar, but this is not established.

In al-Bahr, it is stated that a king raided the people of Babylon—and Nebuchadnezzar had previously killed forty thousand of the Children of Israel who read the Torah, while keeping a remainder of them with him in Babylon. When that king raided them and overcame them, he married a woman from the Children of Israel. She requested of him that he return the Children of Israel to their homes, and he did so. After a period, prophets arose among them, and they returned to the best state they had been in.

It is also said that the return of the turn was by Allah, the Exalted, granting power to David, peace be upon him, so he killed Goliath. This is countered by the saying of the Exalted, "And that they may enter the mosque..." for the intended meaning is the Temple (Bayt al-Maqdis), and David, peace be upon him, began its construction after the killing of Goliath and his being granted prophethood, and he did not complete it; rather, Solomon, peace be upon him, completed it. Therefore, there was no mosque before David, peace be upon him, for them to enter the first time. This is rebutted by the fact that the reality of the "mosque" is the land, not the building, or that His saying, the Exalted, "they entered it" is interpreted as figurative usage, which you can see. The truth is that the mosque existed before David, peace be upon him, as we have previously mentioned.

"And We reinforced you with wealth" (abundant, after your wealth had been plundered) "and children" (after your children had been taken captive) "and We made you more numerous in manpower" (than you were before, or than your enemies). Al-nafir, according to what Abu Muslim said, is like the nafir—those who go forth with a man from his clan and his household. Al-Zajjaj said: It is permissible for it to be the plural of nafar, like kalb and kulayb, or abd and abeed; they are those who gather to go out against the enemy. It is also said that it is a verbal noun, meaning "more numerous in going out to battle," as in the saying of the poet: "So honor Qahtan as a father, and Himyar, honor the people in manpower." It is also narrated with "the Himyarites" as "honor in manpower." Al-Suhayli verified that it is a collective noun due to its dominance in the vocabulary and the lack of consistency in its singular form.