سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ
LIMITLESS in His glory is He who transported His servant by night from the Inviolable House of Worship [at Mecca] to the Remote House of Worship [at Jerusalem] – the environs of which We had blessed – so that We might show him some of Our symbols: for, verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-seeing. (1)
وَآتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَجَعَلْنَاهُ هُدًى لِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَلَّا تَتَّخِذُوا مِنْ دُونِي وَكِيلًا
And [thus, too,] We vouchsafed revelation unto Moses, and made it a [source of] guidance for the children of Israel, [commanding them:] "Do not ascribe to any but Me the power to determine your fate, (2)
ذُرِّيَّةَ مَنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا
O you descendants of those whom We caused to be borne [in the ark] with Noah! Behold, he was a most grateful servant [of Ours]!" (3)
وَقَضَيْنَا إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فِي الْكِتَابِ لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا
And we made [this] known to the children of Israel through revelation: "Twice, indeed, will you spread corruption on earth and will indeed become grossly overbearing!" (4)
فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ أُولَاهُمَا بَعَثْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ عِبَادًا لَنَا أُولِي بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ فَجَاسُوا خِلَالَ الدِّيَارِ وَكَانَ وَعْدًا مَفْعُولًا
Hence, when the prediction of the first of those two [periods of iniquity] came true, We sent against you some of Our bondmen of terrible prowess in war, and they wrought havoc throughout the land: and so the prediction was fulfilled. (5)
ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَا لَكُمُ الْكَرَّةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَمْدَدْنَاكُمْ بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِينَ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ أَكْثَرَ نَفِيرًا
And after a time We allowed you to prevail against them once again, and aided you with wealth and offspring, and made you more numerous [than ever]. (6)
إِنْ أَحْسَنْتُمْ أَحْسَنْتُمْ لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الْآخِرَةِ لِيَسُوءُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَلِيَدْخُلُوا الْمَسْجِدَ كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَلِيُتَبِّرُوا مَا عَلَوْا تَتْبِيرًا
[And We said:] "If you persevere in doing good, you will but be doing good to yourselves; and if you do evil, it will be [done] to yourselves." And so, when the prediction of the second [period of your iniquity] came true, [We raised new enemies against you, and allowed them] to disgrace you utterly, and to enter the Temple as [their forerunners] had entered it once before, and to destroy with utter destruction all that they had conquered. (7)
عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَنْ يَرْحَمَكُمْ وَإِنْ عُدْتُمْ عُدْنَا وَجَعَلْنَا جَهَنَّمَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ حَصِيرًا
Your Sustainer may well show mercy unto you; but if you revert [to sinning], We shall revert [to chastising you]. And [remember this:] We have ordained that [in the hereafter] hell shall close upon all who deny the truth. (8)
إِنَّ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ يَهْدِي لِلَّتِي هِيَ أَقْوَمُ وَيُبَشِّرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَبِيرًا
VERILY, this Qur'ān shows the way to all that is most upright, and gives the believers who do good deeds the glad tiding that theirs will be a great reward; (9)
وَأَنَّ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
and [it announces, too,] that We have readied grievous suffering for those who will not believe in the life to come. (10)
- And [thus, too,] We vouchsafed revelation unto Moses,3 and made it a [source of] guidance for the children of Israel, [commanding them:] "Do not ascribe to any but Me the power to determine your fate,4
- 3 The conjunctive particle "And" which introduces this verse is meant to show that the mystic Night Journey - and, by implication, the subsequent Ascension as well - were experiences of the same high order of divine grace as the revelation bestowed upon Moses. The Qur'an mentions in 4:164 that "God spoke His word unto Moses", i.e., directly (takliman); see also 7:143-144, and especially verse 144, in which God says to Moses, "I have raised thee above all people ... by virtue of My speaking [unto thee]". A similar directness of experience is alluded to in the opening words of this surah, "Limitless in His glory is He who transported His servant [Muhammad] by night ... so that We might show him some of Our symbols" (see note 2 above; also, Appendix IV). Apart from this, the reference, in this and many other places in the Qur'an, to the religious history of the Hebrews is due to the fact that the revelations granted to their prophets represent the earliest formulation of monotheism, which makes it ideologically important for its later development.
- 4 The term wakil denotes "one who is entrusted with the management of [another person's] affairs", or "is responsible for [another person's] conduct". When applied to God, it is sometimes used in' the sense of "guardian" (e.g., in 3:173), or "defender" (e.g., in 4:109), or - in combination with the phrase 'ala kulli shay'in (as, e.g., in 6:102 or 11:12) - in the sense of "the One who has everything in His care". In the present instance (as well as in 39:62) the term evidently alludes to God's exclusive power to determine the fate of any created being or thing.
- We gave Moses the Book,2170 and made it a Guide to the Children of Israel, (commanding): "Take not other than Me2171 as Disposer of (your) affairs."
- 2170 The Book: the revelation that was given to Moses. It was there clearly laid down that those who followed Moses must consider Allah as all-in-all. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me; thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. . . ; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God . . . ;" etc. (Exod. 20:3-5). These are the words of the English Bible. As a matter of fact the spirit of Mosaic teaching went further. It referred all things to the Providence of Allah: Allah is the Disposer of all affairs, and we are to look to none but Him. This is Islam, and the Mi'raj showed that it was the teaching of Allah from the most ancient times, and yet it was violated by the very people who claimed to be its custodians.
- 2171 Note the transition from "We" in the first clause to "Me" in the second clause.<br/>The first clause refers to the majesty of Allah as the Heavenly King: the second clause refers to His personal interest in all our affairs.
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We gave Moses the Book, and made it a Guide to the Children of Israel, (commanding): "Take not other than Me as Disposer of (your) affairs."
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
We gave unto Moses the Scripture, and We appointed it a guidance for the children of Israel, saying: Choose no guardian beside Me.
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
And We gave Musa the Book and made it a guidance to the children of Israel, saying: Do not take a protector besides Me;
— M. Habib Shakir -
And We gave Musa (Moses) the Scripture and made it a guidance for the Children of Israel (saying): "Take not other than Me as (your) Wakil (Protector, Lord, or Disposer of your affairs, etc).
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
And We vouchsafed unto Musa the Book and We appointed it as a guidance to the Children of Isra'il: take not beside Me a trustee.
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
We gave Moses the Book and made it a guide for the Children of Israel. 'Take no guardian other than Me.
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
And We gave Moses the Book and made it a guidance for the Children of Israel: `Do not take any caretaker apart from Me'.
— Ayub Khan -
And We gave Moses the Book and We made it a guidance for the Children of Israel, commanding, 'Take ye no guardian beside Me,
— Sher Ali -
And [thus, too,] We vouchsafed revelation unto Moses, and made it a [source of] guidance for the children of Israel, [commanding them:] "Do not ascribe to any but Me the power to determine your fate,
— Muhammad Asad -
And We gave Moses the Book, and made it a guidance to the Children of Israel: Take not unto yourselves any guardian apart from Me.
— Arthur Arberry -
We gave Moses the Book, and made it a source of guidance for the Children of Israel,{{2}} commanding: "Take no other Guardian beside Me."{{3}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi