Tafsir of Surah Al-Isra - Verse 38

Condemnation of strutting

Allah forbids His servants to strut and walk in a boastful manner:

وَلاَ تَمْشِ فِى الاٌّرْضِ مَرَحًا

(And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance.) meaning, walking in boastful manner and acting proud, like those who are arrogant oppressors.

إِنَّكَ لَن تَخْرِقَ الاٌّرْضَ

(Verily, you can neither rend nor penetrate the earth) means, you cannot penetrate the earth with your walking. This was the opinion of Ibn Jarir.

After having described details of the injunctions appearing above, it was said in the last verse: كُلُّ ذَٰلِكَ كَانَ سَيِّئُهُ عِندَ رَ‌بِّكَ مَكْرُ‌وهًا (That which is evil, of all these, is detestable in the sight of your Lord - 38).

As for what has been forbidden in the said injunctions, their repugnance is obvious. But, within these there are some commandments where rights of parents and relatives have been enjoined or fulfillment of promises has been made mandatory. Here too, the purpose is to avoid doing the opposite of it, like hurting parents, breaking off from relatives and going back on solemn promises. Since all these things are haram or reprehensible, therefore, it has been called 'makruh' in a general sense of 'detestable' which includes the haram and makruh both. (Bayan al-Qur an)

Note

The injunctions described in the fifteen verses cited above are, in a way, the explanation of the effort acceptable in the sight of Allah mentioned in: وَسَعَىٰ لَهَا سَعْيَهَا (and makes effort for it as due - 19). There it was said that not every effort is acceptable with Allah. Instead, the effort made in accordance with the Sunnah and teaching of the Holy Prophet ﷺ is the only one acceptable with Him. Main divisions of such acceptable effort have been mentioned in these injunctions which take up the rights of Allah first and then the rights of the servants of Allah.

A gist of Torah in fifteen verses

Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ said that the commandments of the entire Torah have been reduced to fifteen verses of Surah Bani Isra'il. (Mazhari)

Qatada, one of the early commentators of the Quran, said, ‘Don’t say, “I have seen” when you have not seen, don’t say, “I have heard” when you have not heard, and don’t say “I know” when you do not know.’ One who fears to be called to account before God, will never say anything without first verifying it. Man should use his eyes, ears and brain for the purpose they were designed and should talk of and act only upon such matters for which there is adequate evidence to warrant this. He should eschew all that is baseless, for example, bearing false witness, making false allegations, condemning someone on the basis of hearsay, justifying falsehoods merely on account of envy, placing credence on things that man does not know for sure because of his limitations. The ears, eyes and mind are apparently under man’s control. But these are, as it were, entrusted to him by God, and so it is a must for a man to utilize them according to God’s will, otherwise he will be taken strictly to task for their misuse. Man, even with all the power given to him, cannot tear apart the ground on which he lives, while the sheer height of the mountains negates his every claim to greatness. This is a practical comparison illustrating the real status of man as opposed to the greatness of God. It emphasizes the fact that man should not be filled with pride in this world. He should tread the path of humility and submissiveness and not that of pride and rebellion.