Sūrat al-Isrāʾ
Section 11 of 16 · Surah Studies · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Show Us a Spring, and a House of Gold
A few more points before the sūrah is finished; but this part here is again of great interest. Allah (swt) says in verse 89:
وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِى هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ فَأَبَىٰٓ أَكْثَرُ ٱلنَّاسِ إِلَّا كُفُورًا
“Indeed We explained every subject in this Qur’ān in various ways for the benefit of mankind. Still, most of the people refused to do anything but reject.” (17:89)
Wa laqad ṣarrafnā li-l-nāsi fī hādhā al-Qurʾāni min kulli mathal: We have set out for people in this Qur'an every kind of parable and example and instance; but most people have denied.
Now consider this. These were the challenges put by the people of Makkah, like the challenges of the peoples of the past, to the Prophet (peace be upon him). They ask for the following, from verse 91: we shall not believe in you until you show us these miracles.
وَقَالُوا۟ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ تَفْجُرَ لَنَا مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ يَنۢبُوعًا أَوْ تَكُونَ لَكَ جَنَّةٌ مِّن نَّخِيلٍ وَعِنَبٍ فَتُفَجِّرَ ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرَ خِلَـٰلَهَا تَفْجِيرًا أَوْ تُسْقِطَ ٱلسَّمَآءَ كَمَا زَعَمْتَ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفًا أَوْ تَأْتِىَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ قَبِيلًا أَوْ يَكُونَ لَكَ بَيْتٌ مِّن زُخْرُفٍ أَوْ تَرْقَىٰ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَلَن نُّؤْمِنَ لِرُقِيِّكَ حَتَّىٰ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَا كِتَـٰبًا نَّقْرَؤُهُۥ ۗ قُلْ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّى هَلْ كُنتُ إِلَّا بَشَرًا رَّسُولًا
“They said, “We shall never believe in you unless you cause a spring to gush forth for us from the earth. Or you have a garden of date palms and grapes, then you bring forth rivers from their midst in abundance. Or you cause the sky to fall upon us in pieces, as you claimed, or you bring Allah and angels before us face to face. Or you have a house made of gold. Or you ascend to the sky, and we will not believe in your ascension unless you send down to us a book we may read.” Say, “I proclaim the Purity of my Lord. I am nothing but human, a messenger.”” (17:90–93)
First, that you cause a spring to gush forth from the ground — and in Makkah that would be very useful; cause that to happen. Second, that you have a palm orchard or a vine orchard and cause a stream or a river to flow through the midst of it. Or that you cause a piece of the heavens to fall down upon us. Or that you let us visit the angels, or let the angels visit us. Or that you have a house made of gold — it grows wild: if you say you have help from the unseen, why do you not simply get a house made of gold? Or that you ascend to the heaven. And even if you ascend to the heaven, we shall still not accept your ascension until — until — until you bring us down a physical book from there: you go up with nothing and come back down with a book.
SubḥānAllāh. Whether there is any relevance in it cannot be said, but the matter of the Isrāʾ, of that journey of the Isrāʾ, is mentioned in the same chapter in which they challenge him to go up to the heavens — and he went up to the heavens.
Verses 82, 88 and 89 speak again of the truthfulness of the Qur'an and of some of its objectives. And verses 61 to 65 are where Allah (swt) ennobles the human being above all other creatures. That may be seen in practice. There was a question the other day — at a programme a year or two ago — where a man asked: why do we think we are superior to all other animals? Allah (swt) has said so in the Qur'an. He has given us the disposal of everything in the world; and we must not abuse it, but must look after things.
Then there is the account of Mūsā (peace be upon him) and Pharaoh, which comes from verse 101 to 104.