Surah 17. Al-Israa, Ayah 2
| وَآتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَجَعَلْنَاهُ هُدًى لِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَلَّا تَتَّخِذُوا مِنْ دُونِي وَكِيلًا |
| Asad | : | 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 |
| Malik | : | We gave Musa (Moses) the Book and made it a guide for the Children of Israel, saying: "Do not take any other protector besides Me. |
| Pickthall | : | We gave unto Moses the Scripture, and We appointed it a guidance for the Children of Israel, saying: Choose no guardian beside Me. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | 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." 2170 2171 |
| Transliteration | : | wa- 'aataynaa mosaa al- kitaab wa- jacalnaa -hu huda(n) li- bane 'israa'el 'an laa tattakhidho min doni -y wakel(an) |
Note - 3The 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 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.
|
Note - 4The 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 cald 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.
|
Note - 2170The Book: the revelation that was given to Moses. It was
there clearly laid down that those who followed Moses
must consider Allah as the Only God. "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. xx. 3-5). These are the words of the
English Bible. As a matter of fact the spirit of the
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.
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Note - 2171Note the transition from "We" in the first clause to "Me"
in the second clause. 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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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 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. |
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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 cald 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. |
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The Book: the revelation that was given to Moses. It was there clearly laid down that those who followed Moses must consider Allah as the Only God. "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. xx. 3-5). These are the words of the English Bible. As a matter of fact the spirit of the 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. |
