17al-Isrā’The Nightly Elevationسُورَةُ الإسراء

Exceptionally exalted is He who advanced His subject [Muhammad] on a night journey from al-Masjid al-Ḥarām [the Inviolate Masjid in Makkah] to al-Masjid al-Aqṣā [the Distant Masjid in al-Quds, also called Jerusalem] — an area blessed by Us so that We may show him [Muhammad] demonstrations of Our [extraordinary] power. Certainly, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.

And We presented Mūsā [Moses] the scripture and rendered it [the scripture] a [book of] guidance for Banū Isrā’īl [the Children of Israel] — [a guidance that says], “You [the Children of Israel] shall not settle on a trustee lesser than Me.”

[These Children of Israel were the] descendants of those whom We delivered [to safety] in the company of Nūḥ [Noah in his rescue ship]: indeed he [Nūḥ] was a thankful subject [of Ours].

And We decreed upon the Children of Israel in the Registrar of Time, “You shall cause worldwide corruption on earth twice and you will reach unprecedented heights [of status and influence].

“As soon as the first instance [of that worldwide chaos that you caused] came to pass We sent against you stern and warlike subjects [specifically and honorably] belonging to Us; consequently they trekked and tracked throughout [your] domain: and so that was a [divine] promise fulfilled [due to your iniquity].

“Then We [in due time] will cause you [the Children of Israel] to prevail over them and We will allocate you finances and manpower and render you more vigilant [than they].”

[And We said], “If you do well you do it for yourselves; and if you do ill you do it to [the detriment of] yourselves. So when the last time [of Israeli induced worldwide turmoil] comes to pass, they [honorable subjects belonging to Us] will ruin your reputation and they will enter the Masjid [Temple in Jerusalem] as they did the first time around, and they will obliterate all that they [the Children of Israel] had constructed.

“It may be that your Sustainer will pity you. And if you return to your ways [of defying Us] We will return to Our ways [of punishing you]. And We have arranged Hell to be a detention center for those who deny Our power and authority.”

Certainly, this Qur’an guides to whatever is upstanding and it delivers good news to committed muslims who do what is right that they shall have a tremendous recompense;

And [it announces, too], that as for those who are not bound by faith to a life to come, We have readied a dire affliction for them.

[Such as it is], man has a tendency [in his ignorance] to ask [Allah] for what is unfavorable as much as to ask [Allah] for what is favorable: for man [by his very nature] is prone to be hasty.

And We have rendered night and day as two manifestations [of Allah’s power and authority]; [and so] We have made unapparent [to a human’s perception] such divine power demonstration during the night and We have made apparent this divine power demonstration during the day. [This We did] so that you may seek bounties from your Sustainer and so that you may find out how to calculate years and [other space science] computations: for We have distinctly specified everything.

In point of fact, We have bound every person’s destiny to his [self-determined] orientation; and We will produce for him on Resurrection Day an inventory [of his deeds], which he will find to be in the public domain.

[And he will be told], “Read out your directory [of deeds]; sufficient today is the fact that your own self is your own evaluator!”

Whoever guides himself does so for his own good; and whoever misguides himself does so to his own harm; and there is no one [on the Day of Accountability] who will carry the burden of another. Moreover, We shall never punish [anyone] unless We have sent a messenger [who explains what is divine and what is diabolic].

And when We want to destroy a civil society, then We put its wealthy elite on notice, after which they cause civic degeneracy; at that time [Our] decree matures and We obliterate it exhaustively.

And how many eras [generations] have We put out of action subsequent to Nūḥ? For there is no one like your Sustainer who is thoroughly aware of His subjects’ iniquities and crimes.

Whoever desires life’s quick gratification, We will expedite whatever We decree [of the world, giving] to whomever it is Our will [to give]; but in the end We make available for him a perdition that he will suffer in degradation and dejection.

And as for one who is determined to obtain [the salvaltion of] the afterlife and works for it while committed [to Allah’s power and authority], such as those shall have their works appreciated [by the Almighty].

For all these [the former and the latter] We provide from your Sustainer’s bounty — and never has your Sustainer’s bounty been held back [from either of them].

Look and see how We have ranked them [in their material world]; but as for the final world it is more significant and more preferable.

Do not set up any deity/authority side by side with Allah, lest you end up being condemned and frustrated.

And your Sustainer has decreed that you conform to no one except Him and [that you] be kind and helpful to [your] parents. Should they reach old age while you are alive — one or both of them — do not say a word that will irritate them and do not raise your voice [in their presence], but speak to them in an honorable manner,

And be courteous in a humble way toward them, saying, “O my Sustainer! Have mercy on them as they nurtured me during my babyhood and childhood.”

Your Sustainer knows what you harbor inside yourselves: if you are virtuous, [know that] He, indeed, is forgiving of everyone repentant and remorseful.

And give whoever is related to you his fair share [his right] as well as the toiling ones [who are in need], and the migrant — but do not waste your wealth irresponsibly.

Behold, those who foolishly waste their holdings are the kinsfolk of demons — inasmuch as Satan has always been ever-ungrateful to his Sustainer.

And if you decide to sidestep them [those who are in need] because you yourself are in need of your Sustainer’s grace [and provisions], then [at the very least] speak to them tenderly.

And do not hold on to [the material wealth] you have in a manner that will eventually prove strangling to you and [likewise] do not have a squandering hand for you will end up being blamed [for your wastefulness] and you will regret it.

Of course, your Sustainer lays out His sustenance to whomever He decides and He also gives it out in scant measure: indeed, He is and always has been very familiar with His subjects and very watchful over them.

And do not terminate [abort] the lives of your children because you fear scarcity and poverty — [it is] We who provide sustenance for them and for you. Most abidingly, killing [aborting] them is a major culpability.

And stay away from zinā [adultery and fornication] — for it is undeniably a moral offense and a wayward trajectory.

And do not take any human being’s life — a life that is sanctified by Allah — unless [God-defined] justice demands it. And whoever has been killed wrongly, We have assigned his heir [conditional] worldly retribution power, which he shall not exceed [by unwarranted revenge or disproportionate retribution]: indeed, he has been sanctioned [by Allah; provided he does not “overkill”].

And do not partake of an orphan’s [inheritance] fortune except to serve the best interest [of the orphan] until he reaches the age of maturity. And honor your pledge [to Allah and to your fellow beings] as that pledge will be held to account [on Judgement Day].

And be evenhanded when you measure [your commercial transactions], and apply principles of straightforward parity; that is better for you and a more reliable a priori outcome.

And do not speculate [about issues] when you have no knowledge of them: verily, hearing, seeing, and emotion(s) — all these — will be called to account [on the Day of Judgement].

And do not walk on earth in a pompous way: for verily, you neither have the capacity to pierce the earth, nor will you ever stand as tall as mountains.

All these [social and individual deviations] with all their follies are loathed by your Sustainer.

That is some of what your Sustainer has revealed to you as wisdom; and [therefore] do not place alongside Allah another deity/authority, lest you be tossed into the abyss, blameworthy and dejected.

Did your Sustainer privilege you [the people of Makkah and Arabia] by causing you to breed boys and by Him procreating female angels? What you say is outrageous!

And We deliberated in this Qur’an [many issues] so that they are aware [of matters beyond them] — but it [this Qur’an] only intensifies their aversion.

Say [O Muhammad], “If He had deities and authorities alongside Him” — as they claim — “then they [these deities and authorities] would have [no choice but to have] sought a course unto the Throne’s Proprietor [Almighty Allah].”

Exalted and extolled is He above all that they [the mushriks] say by a measure of ever-rising heavenly glory.

The seven heavens extol Him as well as the earth and all therein, and there is nothing except that it extols Him in His gracefulness but you cannot comprehend their exaltation; verily, He is forbearing, constantly forgiving.

And [accordingly] when you read the Qur’an We evolve an invisible screen between you [O Muhammad] and those who are not bound by [divine] faith to the afterlife:

For We have placed coverings over their hearts, blocking them from grasping its relevance, and [We placed] in their ears an inability to listen. And so, when you point out your Sustainer Himself in the Qur’an, they back away in aversion.

We are fully aware of their pattern of thinking as they listen in on what you [say]: for when they are in their secret assembly the injustice-doers say privately, “You [people of Makkah] are following a bewitched man.”

See how they draw their metaphors about you, [O Prophet] resulting in them misguiding themselves and being unable to find a way out.

And they [the mushriks] said, “[You mean to tell us that] if we were to become bones and remnants we will surely come to life again!?”

Say [O Muhammad, to them], “You can [even] be stones or metal [yet, He is still able to resuscitate you].

“Or [you can be] any [other form of] creation [substance] that you yourselves think impossible [to resuscitate].” Then they will ask, “Who will bring us back [to life]?” Say [O Muhammad], “The One who detached you [from mortality/insubstantiality] the first time around.” [Upon hearing this] they will turn their heads [in disbelief] and say, “When is this [resurrection to happen]?” Say [to them], “It may be soon [-er than you think].

“On a Day when He will summon you and you will respond with gratitude, reckoning all the while that you remained for a short duration [in your worldly life].”

And instruct My subjects to express themselves in a nobler manner by speaking superlatively as Satan inclines to spoil [the conversation] among them: verily, Satan is man’s manifest enemy.

Your Sustainer is more aware of you [than you are aware of yourselves]: if He decides to comfort you, He will; and if He decides to dispirit you, He will. And We have not sent you [O Muhammad] to be their surrogate [proxy].

And your Sustainer has better knowledge of who is in the heavens and earth. But indeed, We had some prophets outpace others by virtue, just as We provided Dāwūd [David] with Zabūr [the Book of Wisdom].

Say [O Muhammad], “[O mushriks], invoke those you claim [to be gods] besides Him. [You will see that] they are neither able to relieve you of trouble nor to divert it.”

Those [human idols that] they invoke [to the exlusion of Allah] will themselves [eventually] seek a channel to their Sustainer — competing to be closer to Him — and they are pursuing His grace and fearing His ordeal: certainly the ordeal of your Sustainer is to be avoided.

And [bear in mind]: there will be no empire except that We will dissipate it before the Day of Resurrection or that We will severely afflict it [even earlier] — this [social law] is inscribed in Our record keeping.

What bars Us from delivering [more] miracles [to more societies] is the fact that earlier generations wound up disapproving [and ultimately negating the effects of Our] miracles: for We offered [the tribal nation of] Thamūd a she-camel as an obvious miracle but they did injustice [to themselves] by means of harming it [knowing that it is a divine miracle to them]. Therefore, We do not allow for miracles [any longer] unless they be for ominous purposes.

And bear in mind what We said to you, “Your Sustainer has all the information pertaining to all people [at all times]: [and so] We but rendered the vision2 We have shown you as a sedition to people — as also the tree [or pedigree] that is condemned in the Qur’an. And [in this manner] We alarm them but that only causes them to intensify their massive excesses [in their personal and social affairs].”

And bear in mind the time when We said to the angels, “Bow down to Adam.” Consequently they all paid their respects except Iblīs. Said [Iblīs], “Am I to bow down to whatever You have created out of mud?”

He [Iblīs] said, “Tell me, is this [human creature] really the one You have honored above me? Surely, if You give me time until Resurrection Day I will most certainly hamper and impede his offspring — except for a small number [of them].”

Answered [Allah], “Away with you. As for those who follow you from among them, Hell will be your recompense — a payback in full.

“Instigate whomever you [Iblīs] are able to from among them with your vocalization [spin and propaganda] and bear upon them with your instruments of [false, state-of-the-art] pride and infantry and have your share of their wealth and manpower. [And] make [all manner of] promises to them” — Satan promises them nothing but vanity —

“Definitely, as for [those of] My subjects [who conform to Me alone], you [Satan] will have no worldly authority over them: suffice it that your Sustainer is the only one worthy of trust.”

It is your Sustainer who propels vessels through the seas so that you may seek His copious abundance: surely He has been [and will always be] benevolent to you.

And if you are affected by trouble on the high seas those whom you implore [as your gods] besides Allah are nowhere to be found, [and nothing remains for you to call upon] except Him; so when He rescues you and you reach terra firma you then evade Him — for man has a strong [latent] tendency to be mindless [of Allah’s help].

Can you be secure in your own selves that He may not cause fissures in the earth that would destroy you or that He may not send against you violent atmospheric bursts of air, whereupon you will find none to be your protector?

Or can you be secure in your own selves if [and when] He has you return [to a dangerous sea or ocean] again and then sends against you hurricanes that cause you to drown due to your denial [of His power and authority], whereupon you will find no one for yourselves to deter against Us?

And, indeed, We have honored the descendants of Adam and carried them over land and sea and provided them with sustenance of all things wholesome; and We have privileged them highly over many of Our created beings.

There will be a Day when We call forth every people as they relate to their leader [who was their reference in life]: as for those who receive their register of worldly deeds in their right hand, they will recount [the deeds in their] book and they will not be wronged by as much as a sliver.

And whoever was blind [of heart] during this [worldly] life shall be blind in the final life [as well] and more directionless.

And had they [the mushriks] been able to deceive you away from what We have revealed to you, causing you to superimpose upon Us something other than what We revealed, they would have made you an intimate friend.

And had We not fortified you [with this Qur’an and your immaculate character], you would have leaned toward them little by little,

In which case, We would have made you endure double chastisement of this life and double chastisement in death, whereupon you would not be able to find anyone to support you against Us.

And though they [the mushriks] were on the verge of impelling you to forsake your land [Makkah] so that they may succeed [in their plans] by expelling you, [had they succeeded], they would have not lasted in it [Makkah] without you except for a short time.

This social law [when power structures move to expel Our messengers] is one that accompanied those who We sent as apostles before you [O Muhammad] — and you will find no rerouting of Our social law.

Make your ṣalāh the standard of social life — let that [standard of ṣalāh] be constant just as the Sun goes beyond midday, until night sets in3 and the Qur’an of Fajr4: for, indeed, the Qur’an of Fajr is attended [by people, angels, and what man may never know].

And of the night dedicate yourself to a voluntary close association with Allah; for that there is hope that your Sustainer will raise you to a status of utmost gratitude.

And say, “My Sustainer! Grant me access [in all that I do] to all that is true and sincere and disengage me [in all that I do] in a manner of truth and sincerity and render to me from Your presence a reassuring worldly power.

And say, “Truth and justice have come and lies and injustice have been eliminated: by its nature lies and injustice are bound to be eliminated.”

And We present in this Qur’an that which is a cure and a grace to the committed muslims, the while it [the Qur’an] does not add anything to the oppressors except losses.

And [as a case in point] when We bestow Our blessings [and favors] upon a social being, he turns away and keeps his [emotional and mental] distance from Us; and when trouble befalls him he [thus] becomes hopeless [of Allah].

Say, “Everyone acts in his own particular way; it is your Sustainer who is well aware of he who is on a guided course.”

And they ask you [O Muhammad] about the soul. Say [to them], “The soul is an issue peculiar to my Sustainer and [you do not have the capacity to comprehend the answer, since] the amount of knowledge [science] you [humans] have is very finite.”

And had We wanted, We could definitely do away with whatever We revealed to you [O Muhammad], and should that happen, you [O Muhammad] would not find anyone to petition for you —

But this will not happen because of your Sustainer’s grace: behold, His exceeding favor toward you [O Muhammad] is immense!

Say, “If all humanity and [all] invisible beings would team up for the purpose of producing the likes of this Qur’an, they could not produce the likes of it even if they [meticulously] reinforced each other!”

For We, indeed, have dispensed in this Qur’an, from every angle, every kind of parable [intended] for [the benefit of] mankind! However [despite this], most people are [still] unwilling to accept anything but obstinacy [to accept truth and justice] —

And [in this vein] they say, “[O Muhammad], we shall not commit [to Allah] for your sake until you cause springs of water to stream out of the earth;

“Or you [O Muhammad] retain an agricultural estate of palm trees and vines, and cause spouting rivers to gush forth therein;

“Or you [O Muhammad, as another proof of your prophetic qualifications] cause the sky to fall down upon us in pieces as you claim may happen [if we refute you], or you bring Allah and the angels face to face before us;

“Or [what if] you possess a house [made] of gold, or [another option for you to convince us is that] you ascend into heaven — but [even then] we will not consider your ascension of any consequence until you bring down to us a scripture that we are capable of reading!” Say [O Muhammad], “Uniquely exalted is my Sustainer! Am I not but a mortal messenger?”

Nothing makes people resistant to divine commitment when guidance has come to them except that they say, “[Are you delusional] would Allah really assign a human as a messenger?!”

Say [in answering them], “If there were angels walking ordinarily on earth, We would have sent to them, from heaven, a messenger who is an angel.”

Say [further], “Suffice it, that Allah is the [ultimate] observer between me and you; He certainly is [and always has been] most experienced with His subjects and very watchful of them.”

Whoever Allah guides is [definitely] guided, and whoever He misdirects [as a result of wrong decisions made by man’s free will] you will find no one to safeguard them [from Allah]: and [eventually] We shall crowd them together on the Day of Resurrection in a condition of blindness, dumbness, and deafness; Hell is their lodge — every time the fire abates, We rekindle its raging flame.

That is their payback for having denied Our manifestations [of power and authority] and for having [mockingly] inquired, “[Should we believe that] if we were bones and ashes, we will be brought back to a new [form of] life?”

Can they not see that Allah, who created the heavens and the earth, is capable of creating their likes, having concluded a future timeline for them [followed by resurrection]? But doers of injustice refuse to accept anything but obstinacy [to reconciling with truth and justice].

Say [O Muhammad], “If you [the mushriks] were in possession of my Sustainer’s treasure-houses of godsend you would still clutch onto them fearful of spending [of what originally and ultimately belongs to Allah]: for man has always been stingy [and insecure].”

And, truly, We have offered Mūsā nine evident demonstrations [of Our power and authority]. Ask the Children of Israel [about these illustrations of Our power] when he [Moses] came to them, whereupon Pharaoh said, “I really think that you, O Mūsā, are under a spell.”

Answered [Moses], “You know very well that the one who brought forth [these demonstrations of paranormal events] as exemplifications [of His power and authority] is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth. And I, truly, think that you, O Pharaoh, are stubbornly impossible!”

And then Pharaoh was determined to agitate them [Mūsā and the Children of Israel] to flee the land [leaving everything behind] — whereupon We caused him [Pharaoh] and all who were with him to drown.

And after that We said to the Children of Israel, “Inhabit the world — [that will become your diaspora] — but [remember that] when the second time [of settling and dwelling in that Holy Land will come to pass] We shall cause you to spiral into it [from all directions of the world]!”

In conjunction with truth and justice have We made it [the Qur’an] accessible, and with this [very] truth was it made accessible [to you, O Prophet]: for We have not sent you [O Muhammad] except as a bearer of good news [for those who listen and obey] and a bearer of bad news [for those who do not listen and do not obey],

[Mindful] of a scriptural Discourse that We have gradually spread out [throughout the course of twenty-three years], so that you may read it out to people carefully, stage by stage — for We have bestowed it from on high steadily.

Say, “Commit yourselves to it or do not commit yourselves.” Behold, those who have acquired knowledge throughout the ages fall upon their faces in prostration when this [divine Writ] is arranged in order for them,

And they say, “Uniquely exalted is our Sustainer! Our Sustainer’s promise has been fulfilled!”

And so they fall upon their faces, weeping, and [their awareness of Allah’s grace] increases their emotional attachment [to Him].5

Say, “Invoke Allah [by His name], or invoke [His attribute] the Mercy-Giver: by whichever attribute you invoke Him, [He is always the One — for] His are all the attributes of perfection.” And do not call at the top of your voice in your ṣalāh [so as to incite hostility when you cannot defend yourself] nor murmur it, but seek a tone in between;

And say, “All praise is to due Allah, who begets no descendants, and has no partner in His dominion, and has no ally of ignominy and therefore is in no need of any aid” — and [thus] magnify Him limitlessly.