سُوْرَةُ الإِسۡرَاءِ
Surah Al-Israa (17) — Ayah 4
وَقَضَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا ﴿4﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Scripture: indeed you would do mischief in the land twice and you will become tyrants and extremely arrogant!
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَقَضَيْنَآ
waqaḍaynā
And We decreed
إِلَىٰ
ilā
for
بَنِىٓ
banī
(the) Children
إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ
is'rāīla
(of) Israel
فِى
fī
in
ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ
l-kitābi
the Book
لَتُفْسِدُنَّ
latuf'sidunna
Surely you will cause corruption
فِى
fī
in
ٱلْأَرْضِ
l-arḍi
the earth
مَرَّتَيْنِ
marratayni
twice
وَلَتَعْلُنَّ
walataʿlunna
and surely you will reach
عُلُوًّۭا
ʿuluwwan
haughtiness
كَبِيرًۭا
kabīran
great
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 4){وَ قَضَيْنَاۤ اِلٰى بَنِيْۤ اِسْرَآءِيْلَ فِي الْكِتٰبِ …: ’’ لَتُفْسِدُنَّ ‘‘} and {’’ لَتَعْلُنَّ ‘‘ } were originally { ’’ لَتُفْسِدُوْنَنَّ ‘‘ } and { ’’لَتَعْلُوُوْنَنَّ‘‘}. Allah’s knowledge is not limited like that of His servants, that He would only know past and present matters; rather, He has knowledge of everything that will happen at any time in the future, just as He has complete knowledge of the past and present, and every past or future event is determined according to His perfect knowledge and wisdom. As a result of this, due to Allah’s firm and strong planning and decree in the universe, no disorder or accident occurs. According to this decree, man has been given some choice and is being tested, and how he will use his choice, Allah already knows that as well. According to this knowledge, He informed the Children of Israel already in the Torah that you will cause corruption in the land twice and will commit great rebellion. Here, the question arises: what is the benefit of informing the Children of Israel beforehand and giving this news to our Ummah? The answer is that the purpose of informing them and giving us this news is to show that the result of corruption and rebellion is this, so that everyone strives fully to avoid it. By {’’ الْاَرْضِ ‘‘} is meant the land of Sham (Greater Syria), and the “lam” is for specification. In the previous exegetical verses, that is, in Surah Al-Anbiya (81), the {’’ الْاَرْضِ الَّتِيْ بٰرَكْنَا فِيْهَا ‘‘} mentioned also refers to Sham, or it means the whole earth, and the corruption of the Jews and the punishment they received occurred both in Sham and in other regions.
