Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:95

"Say: If there were..."

(Say — to them, as a prelude, by way of explaining the wisdom and establishing the truth that dispels doubt — if there were — meaning, if there existed — on the earth — instead of human beings — angels walking — as human beings walk, and not flying to the heaven so as to hear from its inhabitants and learn what is necessary to be known — tranquil — settled and residing therein. Al-Juba'i said: meaning tranquil in the world and its pleasures, devoid of fear and not bound by the worship of a religious law, for the "tranquil" person is one from whom fear has departed — We would have sent down to them from the heaven an angel as a messenger.

[The reason for this is] that he might teach them what their capacities are insufficient to learn on their own, making it easy for them to listen to him and receive from him. As for the generality of mankind, this is not easy for them due to the vast distance between the angel and them; thus, he is not sent to them. He is only sent to their elite, for Allah the Exalted has bestowed upon them pure souls and supported them with sacred powers. He has granted them two aspects: an angelic aspect through which they overflow from the angel, and a human aspect through which they overflow onto mankind. To make all of humanity such would be to neglect wisdom. Sending an angel to them in a way that facilitates reception—by appearing to them in the form of a human, just as Gabriel (peace be upon him) appeared repeatedly in the likeness of Dihyah al-Kalbi—is established. It has been authentically reported that a Bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) bearing the marks of travel; he asked him about Islam, faith, and excellence (Ihsan) and other matters, and he (peace be upon him) answered him. Then he departed, and none of the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) recognized him. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) then said: "This is Gabriel; he came to you to teach you the affairs of your religion."

[This is a matter] that would be of no benefit to those disbelievers, as the Exalted says: "And if We had made him an angel, We would have made him a man, and We would have covered them with that with which they cover themselves." It is also said that the reason for sending an angel to them is that like is more inclined toward like and feels more comfortable with it. Perhaps the first [explanation] is more appropriate, even if someone claims the contrary.

Al-Tabarsi narrated from some of them that he said regarding the verse: "The Arabs said, 'We were settled and tranquil, then Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) came and disturbed us and confused our affairs.' Thus, the Exalted explained that if there were tranquil angels, wisdom would have dictated sending messengers to them, and their tranquility would not have prevented the sending. Likewise, the fact that people are 'tranquil' does not prevent the sending of messengers to them." You know that this is stages away from the context, and there is no authentic tradition for it, as is not hidden from the researcher.

The accusative case of "an angel" (malakan) potentially functions as a state (hal) from "a messenger" (rasulan), which serves as the object of "We would have sent down." The precedence [of the noun] permits this. It also potentially functions as the object of "We would have sent down," with "a messenger" being an adjective for it. The same discussion applies to the words of the Exalted: "Would Allah send a human as a messenger?" More than one authority preferred the former, as it is more in agreement with the context and more appropriate. Al-Qutb and the author of al-Taqrib explained this by noting that, as a state, it conveys the intended meaning through its explicit statement (mantuq), whereas as an adjective, it conveys the opposite of the intended meaning through its implication (mafhum). As for the former: the explicit statement is "Would Allah send a messenger while he is a human, not an angel?" and "We would have sent down a messenger while he is an angel, not a human," which is the intention. As for the latter: the approach via the adjective would imply, "Would Allah send a human [who is] a messenger, not a human [who is] not a messenger?" and "We would have sent down an angel [who is] a messenger, not an angel [who is] not a messenger," which is contrary to the intent—in fact, it is not sound. The author of al-Kashf, following his teacher the scholar al-Tibi, said regarding this: "Because the fronting [of the word] is a removal from its original place as a sign that it is the target of the objection in the first instance—meaning, 'Would Allah send a human as a messenger?'—it indicates that humanity is incompatible with this constant, which is the message. Just as you say, 'Did you hit Zayd while he was standing?' If you said, 'Did you hit Zayd while he was standing?' or 'the standing one,' it would not yield that benefit, because the first implies that the objection is to hitting him while standing, not the hitting in absolute terms. The second implies that the objection is to hitting Zayd for being characterized by this prohibitive quality, but it does not imply that the act of hitting itself is sound and accepted while the aspect is what is objected to." This is if the fronting is for restriction. If it is for emphasis, it indicates that it is the target of the objection even if it does not indicate the proof of its opposite. By both accounts, the benefit of the fronting is apparent. This is more thoroughly investigated.

Some have raised a problem with this verse, as it is apparent that a messenger is only sent to a species that is not its counterpart or of its kind—like humans for humans and angels for angels—and that he is not sent to a species that is not his counterpart or of his kind. This contradicts the fact that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was sent to the Jinn just as he was sent to humans, by consensus known to be of the religion by necessity; whoever denies this is a disbeliever, and whoever disputes it has erred. The response is to deny that it is apparent in that way. Rather, the furthest it indicates is that the people denied that Allah should send a human to humans, claiming that the one sent to them must be an angel. Their goal was to deny that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was sent to them. They were answered with the gist that wisdom dictates sending an angel to the angels due to the existence of the similarity that allows for reception, not to the generality of mankind, due to the absence of that similarity. The "necessity" they claim is the opposite. There is nothing in this [verse] more than an indication that the matter of sending is dependent upon the existence of similarity; whenever it is found, the sending is valid, and whenever it is not found, the sending is not valid. And it is found between an angel and an angel, not between him and the generality of mankind like the aforementioned deniers. This does not contradict his (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) being sent to the Jinn, for whenever the similarity that permits meeting with the angel and receiving from him is valid in him (peace be upon him), the similarity that permits meeting with the Jinn and delivering to them is also valid in him. How could it not be, when he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the comprehensive copy of Allah the Exalted and His greatest, glaring sign? And if we say that his (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) meeting with the Jinn and delivering to them occurs after they take a form for him, then the matter of similarity is even more apparent. The transformation of the angel, if he were sent to humans, would be of no avail as you have heard a moment ago. Similar things are said regarding his (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) being sent to the angels due to the power of delivery to them that he possesses, just as he has the power of reception from them. Among the Shafi'is, Taqi al-Din al-Subki, al-Barizi, and al-Jalal al-Mahalli in Khasa'is favored his being sent to them. Among the Hanbalis, Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Muflih in al-Furu' [held this], as did Abd al-Haqq among the Malikis. He said, like Ibn Taymiyyah: "There is no dispute among the scholars regarding the genus of their being charged with commands and prohibitions." Ibrahim al-Laqani said: "There is no doubt in the establishment of the basis of charging them with practical acts of obedience; as for faith, it is necessary for them, so charging them with it is impossible." Al-Subki said in his Fatawa: "The Jinn are charged with everything in this Sharia." [This is based on] the fact that if it is established that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is sent to them just as he is sent to humans, and that the call is general and the Sharia is likewise, then all the obligations whose causes are found in them become binding upon them, unless there exists proof for specifying some of them. We say: Prayer and Zakat are obligatory upon them if they possess a nisab under the stipulated conditions, as well as Hajj, fasting Ramadan, and other obligations; and every unlawful act in the Sharia is forbidden to them. Unlike the angels, we do not insist that all these obligations are fixed for them if we affirm the generality of the message to them; rather, it is possible, and it is possible [the message] is regarding a specific matter. There is no hindrance to his charging them all with what came from his Lord—glory be to His Majesty—through some of it; furthermore, not everything he brought came through the mediation of an angel, so it is possible that what they were charged with was not through any of them.

Some have denied his (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) being sent to them. al-Halimi and al-Bayhaqi among the Shafi'is and Mahmud ibn Hamza al-Kirmani among the Hanafis in his book al-Aja'ib wa al-Ghara'ib settled on the absence of his being sent to them; indeed, al-Burhan al-Nasafi and Fakhr al-Razi in their commentaries transmitted a consensus on this. Among the later scholars, Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi in his Nukat on Ibn al-Salah and al-Jalal al-Mahalli in the commentary on Jam' al-Jawami' settled on it. The explicit text of the verse, "That he may be a warner to the worlds," where "the worlds" means everything other than Allah and His attributes, and the report of Muslim, "I was sent to all creation," support the first school of thought. Yes, the adherents of this school used what they used as evidence, and in it is what is in it. Some people have claimed that the verse supports their school because the Exalted specified the angel in the verse for sending to the angels; therefore, he must be the messenger to them, not a human, whether there is a similarity between him and them or not. You have heard what was narrated from the scholar al-Qutb and the author of al-Taqrib that the meaning is, "We would have sent down a messenger while he is an angel, not a human."

The response is that, after giving latitude, the verse only indicates the necessity of sending an angel to the angels if they were on earth walking in tranquility instead of humans. It does not necessitate that sending a human to them would be invalid if they were not as such, because it is possible that the wisdom of the determination in the first scenario—other than the similarity upon which the ease of meeting and reception is based—is something else that is not found in the second scenario. That is, if the inhabitants of the earth were angels and a human was sent to them—who possesses the power of delivery to them and the influence over them—the act of sending would be difficult by nature for that messenger, to remain with them for a period worth counting, just as the human messengers (peace be upon them) remain with humans. This is unless he is made a participant in what they were created with and joins them, and that is the closest thing to removing him from human nature entirely. Thus, the deviation from sending an angel to sending him is the closest thing to the frivolous [action] that contradicts wisdom. So, ponder this.

Perhaps Allah—glory be to Him—will bestow upon you something that quenches the thirst; reflect on all that has preceded, for perhaps you will be granted success, by the help of Allah the Exalted, in critiquing and verifying.