Surah Al-Isra (The Night Journey ) 17 : 2

Overview (Verses 2 - 4)

The Promise to the Israelites
 
The night journey is a remarkable sign which God wished to demonstrate. It is an amazing journey by human standards. The Aqşā Mosque in Jerusalem, which was the destination of the first part of this journey, is at the heart of the Holy Land which God assigned to the Children of Israel before He caused them to be driven out of it. Thus it is appropriate to relate in the passage that follows the history of Moses and his people, the Israelites:
 
We gave Moses the book and made it a [source of] guidance for the Children of Israel, saying: Do not take anyone for a guardian other than Me. You are the descendants of those whom We carried [in the ark] with Noah. He was a truly grateful servant of Ours. ‘ We made it clear to the Children of Israel in the book: ‘Twice will you spread corruption on earth and will indeed become grossly overbearing.’ When the prediction of the first of these came true, We sent against you some of Our servants of great might who wrought havoc throughout the land. Thus [Our] warning came to be fulfilled. Then We let you prevail against them once more, and We gave you wealth and offspring, and made you more numerous [than ever. And We said:] ‘If you do good, you will be but doing good to yourselves; and if you do evil, it will be also against yourselves.’ And when the second prediction came true, [We allowed your enemies] to disgrace you utterly, and to enter the Mosque just like [their predecessors] had entered it the first time, and to visit with destruction all that fell into their power. It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you; but if you revert [to your old ways], We shall revert [to punishing you]. Indeed We have made hell a place of confinement for the unbelievers. (Verses 2-8)
 
This episode in the Children of Israel’s history is mentioned only in this sūrah in the Qur’ān. It refers to the fate of the Jews which led to the collapse of their state. It reveals the direct relationship between the spread of corruption and loose morality in a nation and its decline and destruction. This comes in fulfilment of a law of nature God has set in operation, and which the sūrah refers to. The law states that the corruption and immorality of the affluent in any community is the cause of its destruction by God.
 
The story begins here by mentioning Moses’ revealed book, the Torah, and the warnings it gives to the Israelites. It reminds them of their great ancestor, Noah, God’s obedient and truly grateful servant, and also of their ancestors who were carried with him in the ark. It should be remembered that only the believers were allowed on the ark: “We gave Moses the book and made it a [source of] guidance for the Children of Israel, saying: Do not take anyone for a guardian other than Me. You are the descendants of those whom We carried [in the ark] with Noah. He was a truly grateful servant of Ours.” (Verses 2-3)
 
Both the warning and the reminder are confirmation of the promise that the sūrah soon mentions. The promise makes it clear that God will not inflict punishment on any community unless He sends them first a messenger to warn and remind them. It makes clear the primary purpose of giving the book to Moses. It serves as a source of guidance and warns them: “Do not take anyone for a guardian other than Me.” They must rely on none other than God and turn to Him only for guidance. This is the essence of faith. Anyone who seeks a guardian other than God is misguided and devoid of true faith.
 
The sūrah makes its address to them in the name of their ancestors who were carried in the ark with Noah. These were the best of mankind at the time of the first messenger on earth. Pointing out this relationship in this address serves to remind them of God’s grace when He saved their forefathers with His truly grateful servant, Noah. Thus it establishes an age-long bond of faith. That Noah is described here as God’s servant is intended to emphasize this point and also to highlight the essential quality of God’s chosen messengers, which is their servitude to Him. In the first verse Muĥammad is described as ‘God’s servant’. This follows the Qur’ānic method of maintaining an air of harmony and coherence throughout each sūrah.
 
In the book which God gave Moses to serve as a source of guidance to the Israelites, He issued them with a warning that they would be doomed to destruction should they spread corruption on earth. The destruction was visited on them twice because its causes were repeated. This is followed by a warning of further episodes of destruction should they revert to their old ways of spreading corruption. This leads to the inevitable operation of God’s laws of nature that never fail: “We made it clear to the Children of Israel in the book: ‘Twice will you spread corruption on earth and will indeed become grossly overbearing.’” (Verse 4)
 
This judgement is merely information given to them by God, spelling out what they will do and what will happen to them as a result. It is based on God’s knowledge of their fate. It is not an act of predestination that they cannot escape, or that forces their hands so as to behave in a certain way. God does not compel anyone to be corrupt or to spread corruption. “Say: ‘never does God enjoin what is indecent.’” (7: 28) It is the nature of God’s knowledge that makes Him aware of what will happen in the future in the same way as He is aware of what is happening now. What is yet to happen, and is totally unknown to all human beings, is, to God, the same as what has already happened.