Essence of the Holy Qur’an — Page 37
37 Chapter 17 Ban i Isr a ’ i l 1 ! * + / (Revealed before Hijrah) Date of Revelation and Context This Chapter is known as Ban i Isr a ’ i l because it deals with some important incidents in the history of the Israelites and with the experiences through which they had to pass. It also bears the title of Isr a ’ because it opens with the Holy Prophet’s great Vision about his spiritual Night Journey to Jerusalem which forms one of the most outstanding topics of this Chapter. According to Ibn Mas‘ u d, one of the earliest Companions of the Holy Prophet, the revelation of this S u rah was completed between the 4th and 11th year of the Call. Christian writers assign this period between the 6th and the 12th year. Towards the end of the previous S u rah Muslims were warned that very soon they would meet with opposition from 'the People of the Book' as severe as they had already experienced at the hands of Meccan idolaters, but that they should bear it with patience and fortitude till God should give them victory over their opponents. In the present S u rah their attention is drawn to the fact that this opposition will start at Medina and will end in the total defeat and discomfiture of 'the People of the Book;' their sacred places falling into the hands of Muslims. Subject-Matter The S u rah , as its title shows, deals with the history of the Jewish people, with a pointed reference to two outstanding occasions when they openly disobeyed and defied the two great Prophets of God—David and Jesus. As a result of this defiance they suffered the destruction of their national life, first at the hands of the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar and then at those of the Roman Emperor Titus. This special reference to the twofold destruction of Jews implied a warning to Muslims that their wrongdoings and transgressions would also result in the double eclipse of their national life. The warning, however, was also accompanied with a word of hope and good cheer for them. It was to this effect that since the Holy Prophet was the last Law-giving Prophet, his Dispensation would not, like the Jewish Dispensation, suffer total extinction but after initial reverses would emerge triumphant with increased lustre and effulgence. Besides, some other subjects to which only an implied reference was made in the preceding S u rah have also been dealt with at some length. The S u rah opens with the subject of Isr a ’ (Spiritual Night Journey of the Holy Prophet) in order to show that as the successor and counterpart of Moses, his followers will conquer the lands which were promised to Moses, and that like Moses he will have to leave his native place. But his Emigration will lead to very rapid progress and advancement of his noble cause. Then it is briefly