Surah Al-Israa (17) — Ayah 5

➊ {فَاِذَا جَآءَ وَعْدُ اُوْلٰىهُمَا …:} There is no strong and reliable source for determining these two instances of corruption and their punishment except the Qur’an and Sunnah, because history—especially pre-Christian history—has neither any authentication nor any solid evidence for its verification. As for their corruption, it is countless. Just look at the corruptions mentioned in the Noble Qur’an: demanding to make an idol as soon as they crossed the sea, then Samiri making the calf and their worship of it, then their continuous various demands from Musa (peace be upon him), to the extent that they made seeing Allah with their own eyes a condition for believing in Musa (peace be upon him). Then, upon being invited to go out for jihad, saying «فَاذْهَبْ اَنْتَ وَ رَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلَاۤ اِنَّا هٰهُنَا قٰعِدُوْنَ » [ المائدۃ : ۲۴ ], then their consuming usury, taking bribes, hunting on the Sabbath (Saturday) through trickery instead of honoring it. The prevalence of idolatry and adultery under the influence of neighboring nations, altering the Book of Allah, consuming people’s wealth through false means, elevating their elders and prophets to the status of God, imitating their priests and monks, the priests and monks consuming people’s wealth through false means and turning people away from the true religion, killing Allah’s prophets and the righteous who enjoin good, then not believing in the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) despite recognizing him, rather seeking to kill him. In short, their corruptions are countless. Similarly, the scourge of Allah’s punishment continuously raining down upon them is not limited to just two times, but being repeatedly subjected to the worst punishments until the Day of Resurrection is mentioned in the Noble Qur’an. Allah said: «وَ اِذْ تَاَذَّنَ رَبُّكَ لَيَبْعَثَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ اِلٰى يَوْمِ الْقِيٰمَةِ مَنْ يَّسُوْمُهُمْ سُوْٓءَ الْعَذَابِ » [ الأعراف : ۱۶۷ ] “And when your Lord declared openly that He would surely keep sending against them, until the Day of Resurrection, those who would inflict upon them a terrible punishment.” Therefore, determining these two instances is a difficult task. The disagreement among the commentators regarding this determination is also evidence of this. Some consider the king of Babylon, Sennacherib, and his warrior companions as its referent, some consider the Amalekites, some Nebuchadnezzar, and some modern commentators have quoted lengthy passages from the Bible and considered some events and personalities mentioned therein as its referent, even though it is not permissible to believe in anything from the Bible except what is mentioned in the Qur’an and Hadith. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) clearly said: [ لاَ تُصَدِّقُوْا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ وَلَا تُكَذِّبُوْهُمْ وَ قُوْلُوْا : «اٰمَنَّا بِاللّٰهِ وَ مَاۤ اُنْزِلَ » البقرة : ۱۳۶ ] [ بخاري، الشہادات، باب لا یسأل أہل الشرک…، قبل ح : ۲۶۸۵، تعلیقاً عن أبي ھریرۃ رضی اللہ عنہ ] “Do not say the People of the Book are truthful nor say they are liars, but rather say: We believe in Allah and in whatever He has revealed.” In this same chapter, Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: [ يَا مَعْشَرَ الْمُسْلِمِيْنَ ! كَيْفَ تَسْأَلُوْنَ أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ ؟ وَكِتَابُكُمُ الَّذِيْ أُنْزِلَ عَلٰی نَبِيِّهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَحْدَثُ الْأَخْبَارِ بِاللّٰهِ تَقْرَءُوْنَهُ لَمْ يُشَبْ وَقَدْ حَدَّثَكُمُ اللّٰهُ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ بَدَّلُوْا مَا كَتَبَ اللّٰهُ وَغَيَّرُوْا بِأَيْدِيْهِمُ الْكِتَابَ فَقَالُوْا : «هٰذَا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللّٰهِ لِيَشْتَرُوْا بِهٖ ثَمَنًا قَلِيْلًا » [البقرة : ۷۹] أَفَلاَ يَنْهَاكُمْ مَا جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ عَنْ مُسَاءَلَتِهِمْ؟ وَلَا وَاللّٰهِ ! مَا رَأَيْنَا مِنْهُمْ رَجُلاً قَطُّ يَسْأَلُكُمْ عَنِ الَّذِيْ أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ ] [ بخاری، الشھادات، باب لا یسأل أھل الشرک عن الشھادۃ وغیرھا : ۲۶۸۵ ] “O group of Muslims! How do you ask the People of the Book, while your Book which was revealed to your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the latest of all news from Allah? You read it in such a state that it has not been mixed with anything, and there is no doubt that Allah has informed you that whatever Allah wrote, the People of the Book changed it and altered the Book with their own hands and said: This is from Allah, so that they may purchase with it a small price. Does not the knowledge that has come to you prevent you from asking them? And no, by Allah! We have never seen any man among them asking you about what has been revealed to you.” Now, how can one believe in something that cannot even be called true? However, the lack of this determination makes no difference, because the Noble Qur’an is not merely a book of history, nor are events always mentioned in full sequence and detail everywhere in it; rather, only that part of the events is mentioned which is related to admonition and lesson. However, if its details are known from a reliable source, it increases admonition and lesson.

➋ According to the Noble Qur’an, after leaving Egypt, Musa (peace be upon him) commanded the Children of Israel to wage jihad to enter the Holy Land and informed them that Allah had decreed that this land would become their possession. But this generation, accustomed to slavery, refused to go out for jihad in extremely insolent words. For details, see Surah al-Ma’idah (20 to 26). As a result, they wandered in the desert for forty years. Musa (peace be upon him) passed away during this period. This great prophet of Allah longed so much to enter the Holy Land that at the time of his death he prayed: O Allah! Bring me so close to the Holy Land that I may reach it by throwing a stone. So Allah accepted his prayer. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If I were there, I would show you his grave on the side of the road beneath the red dune.” [ بخاري، أحادیث الأنبیاء، باب وفاۃ موسٰی و ذکرہ بعد : ۳۴۰۷ ] When that generation perished and a new generation was born in the era of freedom, they conquered the land of Sham and Bayt al-Maqdis, and Allah granted them the blessing of rule with freedom. How long this period lasted, Allah knows best, but with the passage of time, due to distancing from religion and love of the world, they began to fight among themselves, cast aside the commands of Allah, and committed such corruption in the land that Allah sent upon them His severe warrior servants, as mentioned in this verse. They entered their homes, took possession of their houses, lands, women, and children, and expelled them from Bayt al-Maqdis and the land of Sham. Entering Bayt al-Maqdis, they desecrated it as much as they could. This was the punishment for the first corruption. Allah did not specify who the king of these invaders was at that time. After some time, some chiefs of the Children of Israel requested the prophet of the time to appoint a king for the return to the Holy Land and for their captives, and by Allah’s command, Talut was appointed. This detailed incident has already passed in Surah al-Baqarah (246 to 251) and its commentary. At that time, the king of the disbelievers was Jalut; it is possible that the scourge of punishment upon the Children of Israel was also at his hands. In any case, the disbelievers were defeated and Dawud (peace be upon him) killed Jalut. The Children of Israel again took possession of the Holy Land and Allah’s religion again prevailed. After Talut, Dawud (peace be upon him) further expanded this kingdom through jihad, and after him, Sulayman (peace be upon him) was granted such a kingdom that, according to his supplication, was not suitable for anyone after him. For details, see Surah al-Naml (15 to 44), Surah Sad (17 to 40), Surah al-Anbiya (77 to 82), and Surah Saba (10 to 14). All these are explanations of the verse under commentary: «ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَا لَكُمُ الْكَرَّةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَ اَمْدَدْنٰكُمْ بِاَمْوَالٍ وَّ بَنِيْنَ وَ جَعَلْنٰكُمْ اَكْثَرَ نَفِيْرًا ». After their deaths, a period of moral decline and worldliness began, to the extent that many prophets and righteous people who forbade sin were martyred. Acting upon Allah’s commands ceased, and as a result of neighboring and befriending polytheist nations, polytheism, magic, unjust killing, adultery, robbery, etc. spread, and Allah’s limits were suspended, to the extent that they even, in their belief, crucified Masih (peace be upon him). Many other evils have also been mentioned in the previous footnote. They fought among themselves and split into many sects and kingdoms. After killing the prophets and, in their belief, crucifying Masih (peace be upon him), again the most severe scourge of Allah’s punishment struck them. This was the second occasion when Allah’s severe warrior people attacked them and treated them as mentioned in the next verse {’’فَاِذَا جَآءَ وَعْدُ الْاٰخِرَةِ لِيَسُوْٓءٗا وُجُوْهَكُمْ ‘‘}.

5. 1. This is a reference to the humiliation and destruction that befell the Jews in Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar, approximately six hundred years before Jesus ؑ. He mercilessly killed the Jews and took a large number of them as slaves, and this happened when they killed Allah’s prophet Shu’ayb ؑ or imprisoned Jeremiah ؑ, and by violating the commandments of the Torah and committing sins, they became guilty of spreading corruption in the land. Some say that instead of Nebuchadnezzar, it was Jalut whom Allah imposed upon them as a punishment, who inflicted severe oppression upon them. Until, under the leadership of Talut, Dawud ؑ killed Jalut.

5. Then, when the first of the two promises came to pass, We sent against you servants of Ours, mighty in warfare, who penetrated your cities and spread throughout them. This was a promise [6] bound to be fulfilled.

The First Mischief of the Jews and Its Punishment:

When the Children of Israel, who had come from Egypt with Sayyiduna Musa ؑ, entered Palestine, they were commanded to conquer the entire region of Palestine and to avoid falling into the moral and doctrinal corruptions of its inhabitants. However, firstly, they did not conquer the whole area and were content with what they had already taken. Secondly, they became entangled in tribal partisanship and, by dividing the conquered land into twelve parts, each tribe established its own separate government. As a result, their rule never achieved stability. Moreover, the moral and doctrinal diseases of previous nations—such as polytheism, indecency, and immorality—began to spread among them as well. They completely forgot the guidance of Allah Almighty. Sayyiduna Dawud ؑ and Sayyiduna Sulaiman ؑ reformed their affairs to a great extent and once again stabilized the government of the Children of Israel. But soon, the Children of Israel fell back into those same diseases and corruptions. Idolatry and indecency became widespread, and the government was again destabilized. Seeing this situation, the king of Babylon, Bukht Nassar (Nebuchadnezzar), subdued the kingdom of Judah and imprisoned its king. During this period, Sayyiduna Irmiyah (Jeremiah) was sent to them. Despite his admonitions, instead of correcting their actions, they began to conspire and rebel against Babylon in an attempt to change their fate. Finally, in 587 BCE, Bukht Nassar launched a powerful attack and razed all the small and large cities of the kingdom of Judah to the ground. He unleashed a massacre, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon, took many captives with him, and those who remained were humiliated at the hands of neighboring nations. This was the first corruption about which the Children of Israel had been warned. Among the captives he took with him was ‘Uzair ؑ. After seven years, Bukht Nassar released these captives. When he was returning to his homeland, he saw a ruined and desolate settlement and said, "O Lord! How will You bring this settlement back to life or restore it?" This settlement, too, had been destroyed in the attack of Bukht Nassar. So Allah Almighty caused Sayyiduna ‘Uzair ؑ to die at that very place. This incident has already been discussed in detail under Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 259. As for the question of which book it was in which the Children of Israel were informed of their two rebellions and punishments: some commentators have taken this to mean the Torah itself, but the book currently in the hands of the People of the Book under the name of the Torah, which they call the Old Testament, does not mention this subject as explicitly as it is mentioned in the Quran. However, some of its passages do contain such indications, from which it is understood that this subject must have been present in the original Torah. Some commentators say that the "book" here refers to the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz), which is the book of the decrees and destinies of the entire universe. Both interpretations are plausible.