Surah Al-Israa (17) — Ayah 1

Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding Surah Bani Isra’il, Surah Kahf, and Surah Maryam: [ إِنَّهُنَّ مِنَ الْعِتَاقِ الْأُوَلِ، وَ هُنَّ مِنْ تِلاَدِيْ ] [ بخاری، التفسیر، سورۃ بني إسرائیل : ۴۷۰۸ ] “These are among the earliest ancient surahs, and they are from my old treasures.” From this, it is known that this surah is Makki. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite Surah Bani Isra’il and Surah Zumar every night. [ مسند أحمد : 68/6، ح : ۲۴۴۴۲، عن عائشۃ رضی اللہ عنہا ۔ ترمذی : ۲۹۲۰، و صححہ الألباني ]

(Ayah 1) ➊ {سُبْحٰنَ الَّذِيْۤ اَسْرٰى بِعَبْدِهٖ: } The surah begins by declaring Allah free from every such thing that does not befit His majesty, as He said: « سُبْحٰنَ الَّذِيْۤ اَسْرٰى بِعَبْدِهٖ» Tantawi said, the best grammatical construction is that {’’ سُبْحٰنَ ‘‘} is a verbal noun and the omitted verb is {’’ سَبَّحْتُ ‘‘} or {’’ اُسَبِّحُ ‘‘ } as the absolute object, and it is annexed to {’’ الَّذِيْۤ ‘‘}, meaning: I declare Him (Allah) free from every defect and deficiency who... (Al-Tafsir Al-Wasit). It is understood that an act is about to be mentioned which is beyond human capability, so the discourse begins here by declaring Allah free from all defects, weaknesses, and shortcomings found in creation, and that He is capable of those acts which none but He can accomplish.

➋ { اَسْرٰى:} Shaykh Sulaiman Al-Jamal said: {’’ اَسْرٰى ‘‘} and {’’سَرٰی‘‘} both mean “he traveled at night,” both verbs are intransitive, the verbal noun of the first is {’’اَلْإِسْرَاءُ‘‘} and of the second is {’’اَلسُّرٰي‘‘} on the pattern of {’’ اَلْهُدٰي‘‘}, so to make it transitive, the preposition باء is brought in {’’ بِعَبْدِهٖ ‘‘ }, thus the meaning changes from “he traveled at night” to “He made (His servant) travel at night.” This also proves the virtue of the night; the standing, supplications, Isra and Mi’raj, and night journeys of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are all evidence of this.

➌ {بِعَبْدِهٖ:} The phrase “His servant” is used to express the love and connection that Allah has with His last Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The scholars say that if there were a word more suitable here to express love, affection, and his greatness and status, Allah would have mentioned it. The word {’’عَبْدٌ‘‘ } was chosen because the highest and greatest attribute among all the attributes of creation is servitude and worship to Allah, and then by attributing it specifically to Himself, the rank was further elevated.

In declaring the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as His servant (slave, bondsman), there is also an indication that the Owner and Deity is only Allah, and all others are His servants, slaves, humble and obedient before Him, because {’’ عَبْدٌ ‘‘} means this, as He said: «اِنْ كُلُّ مَنْ فِي السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ اِلَّاۤ اٰتِي الرَّحْمٰنِ عَبْدًا» [ مریم : ۹۳ ] “Whoever is in the heavens and the earth will come to the Most Merciful as a servant.” The purpose is that the distinction between servitude and divinity, i.e., the status of worship and godhood, should be absolutely clear, and they should not be considered one and the same, as happened in Christianity, where they considered Allah, ‘Isa (peace be upon him), and his mother as one deity, not understanding the difference between servitude and divinity. Some false Muslims also equated Ahad and Ahmad. This verse clearly refutes them. Allamah Qasimi quoted from Imam Ibn Qayyim’s book {’’طَرِيْقُ الْهِجْرَتَيْنِ‘‘} that among all creation, the most perfect is the one who is most perfect in servitude to Allah, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the closest and highest in rank to Allah among all creation. He (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: [ وَاللّٰهِ! مَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ تَرْفَعُوْنِيْ فَوْقَ مَنْزِلَتِيَ الَّتِيْ أَنْزَلَنِيَ اللّٰهُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ ] [ مسند أحمد : 153/3: ۱۲۵۵۸، سلسلۃ الأحادیث الصحیحۃ : ۱۰۹۷، عن أنس رضی اللہ عنہ ] “By Allah! O people! I do not like that you raise me above the rank which Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has granted me.” And he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: [ لَا تُطْرُوْنِيْ كَمَا أَطْرَتِ النَّصَارَي ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا عَبْدُهُ فَقُوْلُوْا عَبْدُ اللّٰهِ وَ رَسُوْلُهُ ] [ بخاری، أحادیث الأنبیاء، باب قول اللّٰہ تعالٰی : « واذکر فی الکتاب مریم…» : ۳۴۴۵ ] “Do not exaggerate about me as the Christians exaggerated about the son of Mary. I am only His servant, so say: Allah’s servant and His Messenger.” Allah mentioned him by the name of servitude at his highest station of Isra and Mi’raj, as He said: « سُبْحٰنَ الَّذِيْۤ اَسْرٰى بِعَبْدِهٖ» and at the station of invitation He said: «وَ اَنَّهٗ لَمَّا قَامَ عَبْدُ اللّٰهِ يَدْعُوْهُ » [ الجن : ۱۹ ] and at the station of challenge He said: «وَ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِيْ رَيْبٍ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلٰى عَبْدِنَا » [ البقرۃ : ۲۳ ]

➍ { لَيْلًا:} Zamakhshari said: If you say that {’’ إِسْرَاءٌ‘‘} itself means to travel at night, then what is the purpose of saying {’’ لَيْلًا ‘‘}? I say that by bringing the word {’’ لَيْلًا ‘‘} in the indefinite form, the intention is to indicate that the duration of the night in which the journey took place was short, that Allah made you cover the forty-night distance from Makkah to Shaam in a small part of the night, because the indefiniteness here gives the meaning of “some” (and according to some, of “fewness and insignificance”) (this has also been considered in the translation). Note: The journey of forty nights or more than a month is one way; for a round trip, consider it double.

➎ { مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ اِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْاَقْصَا:} Masjid al-Haram is the mosque around the Ka’bah, because it has several kinds of sanctity. Some scholars call the entire Haram “Masjid al-Haram.” On the night this journey took place, you (peace and blessings be upon him) were sleeping in the house of Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her). From there, you were brought to Hatim of the Ka’bah, and then from Hatim you mounted Buraq and reached Masjid al-Aqsa (the farthest mosque), i.e., Bayt al-Maqdis, which at that time was the farthest mosque from Makkah. Since the journey began from Hatim, many scholars consider only that part of the mosque to be Masjid al-Haram. From Bayt al-Maqdis, you ascended through the Mi’raj (ladder) above the seven heavens to Sidrat al-Muntaha, met many great prophets (peace be upon them) on the way, witnessed Paradise and Hell, saw Jibril (peace be upon him) in his true form near Sidrah, and there you were first commanded fifty prayers and finally five daily prayers. Then you returned to Bayt al-Maqdis and led all the prophets (peace be upon them) in prayer as Imam. Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) preferred this, but Qadi ‘Iyad and others believe that the leadership of the prophets was done on the way to Mi’raj, not on the return. In any case, after that, you returned to Masjid al-Haram. For details of the Isra and Mi’raj incident, study Tafsir Ibn Kathir and the books of hadith. Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) has collected the narrations in great detail, order, and elegance.

➏ The journey from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa is called “Isra,” which is mentioned here, and the journey from there to Sidrat al-Muntaha is called “Mi’raj.” Its mention is in Surah Najm and the books of hadith. Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) has mentioned many hadiths with chains in the commentary of this verse, and in some of these narrations, he said at the end that Imam Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The wording of this hadith is evidence that the Mi’raj took place on the same night when you went from Makkah to Bayt al-Maqdis, and this is the truth in which there is no doubt.”

➐ Qurtubi said that the incident of Isra is established in all the books of hadith and is narrated from the Companions in all the lands under Islam, so in this respect, it is mutawatir. Naqqash mentioned twenty Companions who narrated it. Although there is disagreement in some details, the main event is undoubtedly established. (Qurtubi)

➑ The belief of the scholars of the Salaf and Khalaf (may Allah have mercy on them) is that this incident occurred while awake, with both soul and body, and the word {’’بِعَبْدِهٖ ‘‘} in the Qur’an also testifies to this, because “servant” does not refer to the soul alone, but to the soul with the body. If this had been a dream, the disbelievers of Quraysh would not have denied it, because everyone sees strange things in dreams, nor would the Qur’an have mentioned it with the preamble {’’ سُبْحٰنَ الَّذِيْۤ ‘‘}, because these introductory words indicate that something important and extraordinary is being mentioned. Then in {’’ لِنُرِيَهٗ مِنْ اٰيٰتِنَا ‘‘} and {’’ مَا زَاغَ الْبَصَرُ وَ مَا طَغٰى ‘‘} (Najm: 17), seeing with the physical eyes is also mentioned, and riding Buraq is also evidence of a physical Mi’raj. Some scholars have argued from the verse: «وَ مَا جَعَلْنَا الرُّءْيَا الَّتِيْۤ اَرَيْنٰكَ اِلَّا فِتْنَةً لِّلنَّاسِ » [ بنی إسرائیل : ۶۰ ] with the word {’’ الرُّءْيَا ‘‘} that this was a dream, but the scholarly researchers of language have stated that the word {’’ الرُّءْيَا ‘‘ } (which is the verbal noun of {’’رَأَي يَرَي‘‘}) is also used for seeing with the eyes while awake, and here this is what is meant. Abdullah bin ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) explicitly said: [ هِيَ رُؤْيَا عَيْنٍ أُرِيَهَا رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ لَيْلَةَ أُسْرِيَ بِهِ إِلٰی بَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ ] [ بخاری، مناقب الأنصار، باب المعراج : ۳۸۸۸ ] “This was the seeing of the eyes which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was shown on the night he was taken to Bayt al-Maqdis.” It is clear that the argument of those scholars from this verse is not correct; all the Companions, both in narration and understanding, agree that the Mi’raj happened while awake and with the body. Only ‘A’ishah and Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with them both) are reported to have said that the Mi’raj was in a dream, but this narration is disconnected in chain, and it is their own opinion and argument from the verse «وَ مَا جَعَلْنَا الرُّءْيَا الَّتِيْۤ اَرَيْنٰكَ » [ بنی إسرائیل : ۶۰ ], which is not worthy of attention compared to the consensus of the Companions. (Shawkani, Ibn Kathir)

➒ The summary of Allamah Jamaluddin Qasimi’s statement is that most scholars say that Isra happened after the Prophethood and that it was one year before the Hijrah. This is the view of Zuhri, Ibn Sa’d, and others; Imam Nawawi also stated this with certainty. Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) even exaggerated and reported consensus on this, and said that this (Isra and Mi’raj) happened in Rajab, 12 Nabawi. The mind is satisfied that the events of Isra and Mi’raj occurred after the deaths of Abu Talib and Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her), because during that period the persecution of the polytheists greatly increased, so Allah granted you this favor to console you for the harm from them and to honor and elevate you. In Ashraf al-Hawashi it is stated that according to most narrations, this incident was one year before the Hijrah. Imam Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) reported consensus on this, and Mulla Amin ‘Umari declared it definitive. In some narrations, three years before is also mentioned.

Allamah Shanqiti (may Allah have mercy on him) said that what is mentioned in the Sahihayn from the chain “Sharik from Anas” that the Isra occurred in a dream, is not contrary to the clear texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah and the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah (that Isra and Mi’raj happened physically while awake), because it is quite possible that all this was first shown to you in a dream and then confirmed in wakefulness, just as you (peace and blessings be upon him) saw in a dream: «لَتَدْخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ اِنْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ اٰمِنِيْنَ مُحَلِّقِيْنَ رُءُوْسَكُمْ وَ مُقَصِّرِيْنَ » [ الفتح : ۲۷ ] “You will surely enter Masjid al-Haram, if Allah wills, in security, with your heads shaved and hair cut short.” Then this was actually fulfilled in wakefulness. This is also confirmed by the hadith of ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that whatever you saw in a dream would appear before you in the day as clearly as the rising of the morning. Moreover, many huffaz besides Sharik have narrated this hadith from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), but none of them mentioned the words about seeing in a dream. A group of scholars said that Sharik bin ‘Abdullah bin Abi Numayr did not remember this narration from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) correctly. Imam Muslim said that Sharik narrated this hadith like Thabit Banani (student of Anas), but he mixed up some things and added or omitted some. The narration of all the other huffaz is correct and does not contain Sharik’s words.

➓ Some people make special arrangements for standing in prayer, recitation, and remembrance on the night of Mi’raj like Laylat al-Qadr. If there were any reality to this, then at least the month and day in which this incident occurred would have been known with an authentic chain, and the Companions would have observed it on that night. Whereas there is no authentic narration about the 27th of Rajab, nor is there any mention of special worship on this night from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or the Companions. As for fireworks and illuminations, they are an imitation of fire-worshippers and must be avoided.

⓫ Whether the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Allah on this occasion or not, this discussion will come in Surah Najm (9) «فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ اَوْ اَدْنٰى », and the incident of Mi’raj will also be mentioned there as needed. (InshaAllah)

⓬ { الَّذِيْ بٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهٗ:} That is, there are apparent and material blessings there, such as abundance of springs, rivers, all kinds of grains and fruits, and in terms of spiritual and inner blessings, that region is blessed because all four sacred books were recited in Bayt al-Maqdis, many prophets and messengers were sent there, and it is the second mosque built in the world after the Ka’bah, which is among the three mosques besides which it is forbidden to undertake a journey to any other place with the intention of reward. In several places in the Qur’an, this term refers to Bayt al-Maqdis and Shaam, as He said: «وَ نَجَّيْنٰهُ وَ لُوْطًا اِلَى الْاَرْضِ الَّتِيْ بٰرَكْنَا فِيْهَا لِلْعٰلَمِيْنَ» [ الأنبیاء : ۷۱] “And We delivered him and Lot to the land which We had blessed for the worlds.” And He said: «وَ لِسُلَيْمٰنَ الرِّيْحَ عَاصِفَةً تَجْرِيْ بِاَمْرِهٖۤ اِلَى الْاَرْضِ الَّتِيْ بٰرَكْنَا فِيْهَا» [ الأنبیاء : ۸۱ ] “And for Solomon, the wind (was subjected), blowing forcefully, proceeding by his command toward the land which We had blessed.” All these verses refer to the land of Shaam.

⓭ { لِنُرِيَهٗ مِنْ اٰيٰتِنَا:} The signs that appeared during Isra, such as the roof of your house being opened, Jibril (peace be upon him) opening your blessed chest, washing your heart with Zamzam, filling it with faith and wisdom, then sealing it again, riding Buraq whose step reached the horizon, covering months of journey in moments, being presented with milk and wine in Bayt al-Maqdis and your preference for milk, meeting and leading the prophets (peace be upon them), and many other signs of the journey of Mi’raj, about which He said: «لَقَدْ رَاٰى مِنْ اٰيٰتِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرٰى » [ النجم : ۱۸ ] “Indeed, he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord.”

⓮ {اِنَّهٗ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِيْرُ:} In this verse, Allah first mentioned Himself in the third person in {’’ سُبْحٰنَ الَّذِيْۤ اَسْرٰى ‘‘}, then in {’’ بٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهٗ ‘‘} and {’’ لِنُرِيَهٗ مِنْ اٰيٰتِنَا ‘‘} three times in the first person plural for majesty, then at the end of this verse again in the third person {’’اِنَّهٗ هُوَ ‘‘}, and in the next verse again in the first person plural. Yet, there is no confusion in understanding, rather it adds to the beauty. This style of speech is the height of eloquence, called “iltifat” in Arabic. The purpose is that after hearing the incident of Isra, the acceptance of it by the believers and the denial by the disbelievers, and whatever both said and did regarding it, surely He (Allah) is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing, and deals with everyone accordingly and gives reward and punishment.