Tafsir Surah Al-Isra ayah 109 | Learn Quran Tafsir

"The Revelation of the Qur'an in Stages

Allah tells:

وَبِالۡحَقِّ أَنزَلۡنَاهُ

And with truth We have sent it down,

Allah tells us that His Book, the Glorious Qur'an, has been sent with truth, i.e., it contains the truth, as Allah says:

لَّـكِنِ اللَّهُ يَشۡهَدُ بِمَأ أَنزَلَ إِلَيۡكَ أَنزَلَهُ بِعِلۡمِهِ وَالۡمَلَـيِكَةُ يَشۡهَدُونَ

But Allah bears witness to that which He has sent down unto you; He has sent it down with His knowledge, and the angels bear witness. (4:166)

meaning, it contains the knowledge which Allah wanted to teach to you, with His rulings, commands and prohibitions.

وَبِالۡحَقِّ نَزَلَ

and with truth it has descended.

means, ""It has been sent down to you, O Muhammad, preserved and protected, not contaminated or mixed with anything else, with nothing added or taken away. It has come to you with the truth, brought down by one mighty in power, trustworthy and strong, one who is obeyed by the higher group (angels).'

وَمَا أَرۡسَلۡنَاكَ

And We have sent you, (O Muhammad),

إِلاَّ مُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا

as nothing but a bearer of glad tidings and a warner.

a bearer of glad tidings for the believers who obey you and a warner to the disbelievers who disobey you

وَقُرۡاناً فَرَقۡنَاهُ

And (it is) a Qur'an which We have divided,

The word translated here as ""We have divided"" may be read in two ways.

If it is read as ""Faraqnahu"", with no Shaddah, the meaning is:

`We have made it depart from Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz to Bayt Al-`Izzah in the lowest heaven, then it was revealed in stages to the Messenger of Allah, according to events, over a period of twenty-three years.'

This was narrated by Ikrimah from Ibn Abbas.

It was also narrated that Ibn Abbas read it as ""Farraqnahu"", with a Shaddah,

meaning, `We revealed it Ayah by Ayah, and have explained it and made it clear.'

Hence Allah says:

لِتَقۡرَأَهُ عَلَى النَّاسِ

in order that you might recite it to men,

meaning, convey it to the people and recite it to them,

عَلَى مُكۡثٍ

at intervals.

meaning slowly.

وَنَزَّلۡنَاهُ تَنزِيلً

And We have revealed it by stages.

means, little by little

Those Who were given Knowledge before truly admit the Qur'an

Allah says to His Prophet Muhammad:

قُلۡ

Say,

O Muhammad to these disbelievers concerning what you have brought to them of this Glorious Qur'an:

امِنُواۡ بِهِ أَوۡ لَا تُوۡمِنُواۡ

""Believe in it (the Qur'an) or do not believe (in it).

meaning, it is all the same whether you believe in it or not, for it is true in and of itself. It was revealed by Allah, Who mentioned it previously in the Books that He revealed to other Messengers.

Hence He says:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواۡ الۡعِلۡمَ مِن قَبۡلِهِ

Verily, those who were given knowledge before it,

meaning righteous people among the People of the Book, who adhered to their Books and appreciated them without distorting them.

إِذَا يُتۡلَى عَلَيۡهِمۡ

when it is recited to them,

means, when this Qur'an is recited to them,

يَخِرُّونَ لِلَذۡقَانِ سُجَّدًا

fall down on their chins (faces) in humble prostration.

means, to Allah, in gratitude for the blessing He has bestowed on them by considering them fit to live until they met this Messenger to whom this Book was revealed.

Hence

وَيَقُولُونَ سُبۡحَانَ رَبِّنَا

And they say:Glory be to our Lord!,

meaning, they extol and glorify their Lord for His perfect power and for not delaying the fulfillment of the promise which He made through His earlier Prophets, that He would send Muhammad. Hence they said:

سُبۡحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِن كَانَ وَعۡدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفۡعُولاً

Glory be to our Lord! Truly, the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled

وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلَذۡقَانِ يَبۡكُونَ

And they fall down on their chins (faces) weeping,

means, in submission to Allah, may He be glorified, and in expression of their belief and faith in His Book and His Messenger.

وَيَزِيدُهُمۡ خُشُوعًا

and it increases their humility.

means, it increases them in faith and submission.

As Allah says:

وَالَّذِينَ اهۡتَدَوۡاۡ زَادَهُمۡ هُدًى وَءَاتَـهُمۡ تَقُوَاهُمۡ

While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance and bestows on them their Taqwa. (47:17)

وَيَخِرُّونَ

(And they fall down),

is a description rather than an action (i.e., this is a further description of their humility as referred to in Ayah 107; it does not imply that they prostrate twice)

To Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names

Allah says:

قُلِ

Say,

O Muhammad, to these idolators who deny that Allah possesses the attribute of mercy and refuse to call Him Ar-Rahman,

ادۡعُواۡ اللّهَ أَوِ ادۡعُواۡ الرَّحۡمَـنَ أَيًّا مَّا تَدۡعُواۡ فَلَهُ الَاسۡمَاء الۡحُسۡنَى

""Invoke Allah or invoke Ar-Rahman (the Most Gracious), by whatever name you invoke Him (it is the same), for to Him belong the Best Names.

meaning, there is no difference between calling on Him as Allah or calling on Him as Ar-Rahman, because He has the Most Beautiful Names, as He says:

هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِى لَا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ عَالِمُ الۡغَيۡبِ وَالشَّهَـدَةِ هُوَ الرَّحۡمَـنُ الرَّحِيمُ

He is Allah, beside Whom none has the right to be worshipped but He the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. (59:22) Until His saying;

لَهُ الاٌّسۡمَأءُ الۡحُسۡنَى يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرۡضِ

To Him belong the Best Names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him. (59:24)

Makhul reported that;

one of the idolators heard the Prophet saying when he was prostrating:""O Most Gracious, O Most Merciful.""

The idolator said, he claims to pray to One, but he is praying to two!

Then Allah revealed this Ayah.

This was also narrated from Ibn Abbas, and by Ibn Jarir.

The Command to recite neither loudly nor softly

Allah says:

وَلَا تَجۡهَرۡ بِصَلَتِكَ

And offer your Salah neither aloud,

Imam Ahmad reported that Ibn Abbas said:

""This Ayah was revealed when the Messenger of Allah was preaching underground in Makkah.""

وَلَا تَجۡهَرۡ بِصَلَتِكَ وَلَا تُخَافِتۡ بِهَا

And offer your Salah neither aloud nor in a low voice,

Ibn Abbas said:

""When he prayed with his Companions, he would recite Qur'an loudly, and when the idolators heard that, they insulted the Qur'an, and the One Who had revealed it and the one who had brought it. So Allah said to His Prophet:

وَلَا تَجۡهَرۡ بِصَلَتِكَ

(And offer your Salah (prayer) neither aloud), means, do not recite it aloud, lest the idolators hear you and insult the Qur'an,

وَلَا تُخَافِتۡ بِهَا

(nor in a low voice), means, nor recite it so quietly that your companions cannot hear the Qur'an and learn it from you.

وَابۡتَغِ بَيۡنَ ذَلِكَ سَبِيلً

but follow a way between.""

This was also reported in the Two Sahihs.

Ad-Dahhak also narrated something similar from Ibn Abbas, and added:

""When he migrated to Al-Madinah, this no longer applied, and he recited as he wished.""

Muhammad bin Ishaq said that Ibn Abbas said,

""When the Messenger of Allah recited Qur'an quietly while he was praying, the (idolators) would disperse and refuse to listen to him; if one of them wanted to hear some of what he was reciting in his prayer, he would try to listen without anyone seeing him, because he was afraid of them. If he realized that anybody knew he was listening, he would go away lest they harm him, so he would stop listening. If the Prophet lowered his voice, those who wanted to listen to his recitation could not hear anything, so Allah revealed,

وَلَا تَجۡهَرۡ بِصَلَتِكَ

(And offer your Salah neither aloud) meaning, do not recite aloud, lest those who want to listen disperse for fear of attracting unwelcome attention,

وَلَا تُخَافِتۡ بِهَا

(nor in a low voice), but do not make your voice so soft that the one who is trying to listen without being seen cannot hear anything at all. Perhaps he will pay attention to some of what he hears and benefit from it.

وَابۡتَغِ بَيۡنَ ذَلِكَ سَبِيلً

(but follow a way between).""

This was the view of Ikrimah, Al-Hasan Al-Basri and Qatadah that;

this Ayah was revealed concerning recitation in prayer.

It was narrated from Ibn Mas`ud:

""Do not make it so soft that no one can hear it except yourself.""

Declaration of Tawhid

Allah says

وَقُلِ الۡحَمۡدُ لِلّهِ الَّذِي لَمۡ يَتَّخِذۡ وَلَدًا

And say:""All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has not begotten a son...""

because Allah has stated that the Most Beautiful Names belong to Him, and has declared Himself to be above having any faults or defects.

وَقُلِ الۡحَمۡدُ لِلّهِ الَّذِي لَمۡ يَتَّخِذۡ وَلَدًا وَلَم يَكُن لَّهُ شَرِيكٌ فِي الۡمُلۡكِ

And say:""All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has not begotten a son, and Who has no partner in (His) dominion...""

indeed, He is Allah, (the) One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.

وَلَمۡ يَكُن لَّهُ وَلِيٌّ مِّنَ الذُّلَّ

nor He is low to have a supporter.

means, He is not so humble or weak that He needs to have a helper or supporter or adviser, rather He Alone, with no partner or associate, may He be exalted, is the Creator of all things and is the One Who is running and controlling them by His will, with no partner or associate.

Mujahid said:

He does not form an alliance with anyone, nor does He seek the support or help of anyone.

وَكَبِّرۡهُ تَكۡبِيرًا

And magnify Him with all magnificence.

means, glorify and extol Him far above whatever the transgressors and aggressors say.

Ibn Jarir recorded that Al-Qurazi used to say about this Ayah,

وَقُلِ الۡحَمۡدُ لِلّهِ الَّذِي لَمۡ يَتَّخِذۡ وَلَدًا

(And say:""All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has not begotten a son..."") that the Jews and Christians said that Allah has taken a son; the Arabs said, ""At Your service, You have no partner except the partner You have, and You possess him and whatever he owns;"" and the Sabians and Magians said, ""If it were not for the supporters of Allah, He would be weak."" Then Allah revealed this Ayah:

وَقُلِ الۡحَمۡدُ لِلّهِ الَّذِي لَمۡ يَتَّخِذۡ وَلَدًا وَلَم يَكُن لَّهُ شَرِيكٌ فِي الۡمُلۡكِ وَلَمۡ يَكُن لَّهُ وَلِيٌّ مِّنَ الذُّلَّ وَكَبِّرۡهُ تَكۡبِيرًا

And say:""All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has not begotten a son, and Who has no partner in (His) dominion, nor is He low to have a supporter. And magnify Him with all magnificence.""

This is the end of the Tafsir of Surah Al-Isra'. All praise is due to Allah, He is for us, the most excellent."

Al-Isra: 109

Ayah

Translation

Tafsir

Al-Isra: 109