Tafsir of Surah Al-Isra - Verse 107

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

Allah says to His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:

قُلْ

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

ءَامِنُواْ بِهِ أَوْ لاَ تُؤْمِنُواْ

("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 أُوتُواْ الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهِ

(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 يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ

(when it is recited to them,) means, when this Qur'an is recited to them,

يَخِرُّونَ لِلاٌّذْقَانِ 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 they say:

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَآ

(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 ﷺ. Hence they said:

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَآ إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولاً

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

وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلاٌّذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ

(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 .

وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا

(and it increases their humility.) means, it increases them in faith and submission. As Allah says:

وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْاْ زَادَهُمْ هُدًى وَءَاتَـهُمْ تَقُوَاهُمْ

(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).

Commentary

The first verse (101): وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَىٰ تِسْعَ آيَاتٍ mentions the bestowal of nine clear signs on Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) . The word: آیَہ ('ayah) carries the meaning of miracle or sign as well as that of the آیَت : ayat or verses of the Qur'an, that is, the divine injunctions. At this place, the probability of both meanings exists. Therefore, a number of commentators have taken the word 'ayat' to mean miracles - and the number nine does not make it necessary that they will not be more than nine - but, at this place, the figure 'nine' has been mentioned on the basis of some particular importance it has. Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ has enumerated these miracles as follows:

1\. The staff of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) which turned into a huge snake.

2\. The hand that emitted light when placed under and taken out of the armpit.

3\. The removal of stammering from his tongue.

4\. The splitting of the water barrier in two sections to give safe passage to the Bani Isra'il to cross it.

5\. The sending of the punishment through locusts in unusual circumstances.

6\. The sending of the storm.

7\. The clothes on their bodies were infested with countless lice they had no escape from.

8\. The punishment of frogs was released on them when frogs would appear in everything they ate or drank.

9\. The punishment of blood was sent that filled every utensil and mingled with whatever they ate or drank.

And a Sahih Hadith tells us that the word 'ayat' used here means divine injunctions. This Hadith has been reported in Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah on the authority of Sayyidna Safwan ibn al-` Aththal. He says that a Jew asked one of his friends to take him to 'that' prophet. The friend said, 'do not call him a prophet. If he finds out that we too call him a prophet, he will have four eyes on him (that is, he will have an opportunity to wallow in his pride and glee).' Then they came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and asked him as to what were the nine clear signs given to Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) . He said:

1\. Do not ascribe any partners to Allah.

2\. Do not steal.

3\. Do not fornicate.

4\. Do not unjustly take the life of the one whose killing has been forbidden by Allah.

5\. Do not falsely impute anyone innocent with charges liable to the sentence of death or any other punishment.

6\. Do not practice magic.

7\. Do not devour interest.

8\. Do not level a false accusation of fornication on a chaste woman.

9\. Do not desert the battlefield in Jihad for fear of being killed.

And he also said, '0 Jews, it has also been specially enjoined on you that you shall not contravene the particular injunctions of the observance of the day of Sabbath (Saturday) given to you.'

Hearing what the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, they both kissed his hands and feet and declared, 'We bear witness that you are the prophet of Allah.' He said, 'What is it, then, that stops you from following me?' They said that Sayyidna Dawud (علیہ السلام) had prayed to his Lord for prophets to always keep appearing from among his progeny - 'and we are scared that the Jews will kill us if we started following you.'

Since this explanation of the verse stands proved on the authority of Sahih Hadith, therefore, this is what many commentators have preferred to go by.

Divine words require humility from man, for God does not come Himself to the present world to convey His message to man. He selects a human being for this purpose. Now those who are filled with ego and arrogance think that surrendering to the truth is tantamount to surrendering to a human being. That is why they refuse to accept it. On the contrary, those who are free of arrogance can see God in the words falling from the lips of His messenger. So through these words they come in contact with God. They discover their humility vis-à-vis God’s greatness. This experience moves their hearts. They fall prostrate before Him with tears in their eyes. The leaders of the Quraysh are examples of the former, while the People of the Book who believed in the Prophet in the first phase, are examples of the latter. The virtuous people mentioned in this verse are the People of the Book. They had learnt from their ancient divine scriptures that a final prophet was going to come, and that those who believed in him and supported him, would be held deserving of special divine succour. Therefore, they had been eagerly waiting for the advent of the final prophet. That is why they took no time in recognizing the Prophet Muhammad. They were so greatly moved by the words of the Quran that, while reciting it, they would fall down in prostration before God with tears in their eyes. However, this is not a matter of just one group. The same applies to all human beings. God has already vested in the soul of every human being born on this earth the ability to recognize the truth. It is as if every individual is already waiting for the call of truth. Now those who live in a state of awareness can undergo the same experience as that of the People of the Book mentioned here. Consciousness at the level of nature will enable them to recognize the truth and rush towards it wholeheartedly.