Surah 17 The Night Journey - Al-Isra', 111 verses (Makka)
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
- Glory to (God) Who did take His servant for a
Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest
Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We
might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who
heareth and seeth (all things).
- 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."
- O ye that are sprung from those whom We carried (in
the Ark) with Noah! Verily he was a devotee most
grateful.
- And We gave (Clear) Warning to the Children of
Israel in the Book, that twice would they do mischief
on the earth and be elated with mighty arrogance (and
twice would they be punished)!
- When the first of the warnings came to pass, We
sent against you Our servants given to terrible
warfare: They entered the very inmost parts of your
homes; and it was a warning (completely) fulfilled.
- Then did We grant you the Return as against them:
We gave you increase in resources and sons, and made
you the more numerous in man-power.
- If ye did well, ye did well for yourselves; if ye
did evil, (ye did it) against yourselves. So when the
second of the warnings came to pass, (We permitted your
enemies) to disfigure your faces, and to enter your
Temple as they had entered it before, and to visit with
destruction all that fell into their power.
- It may be that your Lord may (yet) show Mercy unto
you; but if ye revert (to your sins), We shall revert
(to Our punishments): And we have made Hell a prison
for those who reject (all Faith).
- Verily this Qur'an doth guide to that which is most
right (or stable), and giveth the Glad Tidings to the
Believers who work deeds of righteousness, that they
shall have a magnificent reward;
- And to those who believe not in the Hereafter, (it
announceth) that We have prepared for them a Penalty
Grievous (indeed).
- The prayer that man should make for good, he maketh
for evil; for man is given to hasty (deeds).
- We have made the Night and the Day as two (of Our)
Signs: the Sign of the Night have We obscured, while
the Sign of the Day We have made to enlighten you; that
ye may seek bounty from your Lord, and that ye may know
the number and count of the years: all things have We
explained in detail.
- Every man's fate We have fastened on his own neck:
On the Day of Judgment We shall bring out for him a
scroll, which he will see spread open.
- (It will be said to him:) "Read thine (own) record:
Sufficient is thy soul this day to make out an account
against thee."
- Who receiveth guidance, receiveth it for his own
benefit: who goeth astray doth so to his own loss: No
bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another: nor
would We visit with Our Wrath until We had sent an
apostle (to give warning).
- When We decide to destroy a population, We (first)
send a definite order to those among them who are given
the good things of this life and yet transgress; so
that the word is proved true against them: then (it is)
We destroy them utterly.
- How many generations have We destroyed after Noah?
and enough is thy Lord to note and see the sins of His
servants.
- If any do wish for the transitory things (of this
life), We readily grant them - such things as We will,
to such person as We will: in the end have We provided
Hell for them: they will burn therein, disgraced and
rejected.
- Those who do wish for the (things of) the
Hereafter, and strive therefor with all due striving,
and have Faith,- they are the ones whose striving is
acceptable (to God).
- Of the bounties of thy Lord We bestow freely on
all- These as well as those: The bounties of thy Lord
are not closed (to anyone).
- See how We have bestowed more on some than on
others; but verily the Hereafter is more in rank and
gradation and more in excellence.
- Take not with God another object of worship; or
thou (O man!) wilt sit in disgrace and destitution.
- Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him,
and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of
them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word
of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms
of honour.
- And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of
humility, and say: "My Lord! bestow on them thy Mercy
even as they cherished me in childhood."
- Your Lord knoweth best what is in your hearts: If
ye do deeds of righteousness, verily He is Most
Forgiving to those who turn to Him again and again (in
true penitence).
- And render to the kindred their due rights, as
(also) to those in want, and to the wayfarer: But
squander not (your wealth) in the manner of a
spendthrift.
- Verily spendthrifts are brothers of the Evil Ones;
and the Evil One is to his Lord (himself) ungrateful.
- And even if thou hast to turn away from them in
pursuit of the Mercy from thy Lord which thou dost
expect, yet speak to them a word of easy kindness.
- Make not thy hand tied (like a niggard's) to thy
neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach, so that
thou become blameworthy and destitute.
- Verily thy Lord doth provide sustenance in
abundance for whom He pleaseth, and He provideth in a
just measure. For He doth know and regard all His
servants.
- Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall
provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily
the killing of them is a great sin.
- Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful
(deed) and an evil, opening the road (to other evils).
- Nor take life - which God has made sacred - except
for just cause. And if anyone is slain wrongfully, we
have given his heir authority (to demand qisas or to
forgive): but let him nor exceed bounds in the matter
of taking life; for he is helped (by the Law).
- Come not nigh to the orphan's property except to
improve it, until he attains the age of full strength;
and fulfil (every) engagement, for (every) engagement
will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning).
- Give full measure when ye measure, and weigh with a
balance that is straight: that is the most fitting and
the most advantageous in the final determination.
- And pursue not that of which thou hast no
knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of
(feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the
Day of Reckoning).
- Nor walk on the earth with insolence: for thou
canst not rend the earth asunder, nor reach the
mountains in height.
- Of all such things the evil is hateful in the sight
of thy Lord.
- These are among the (precepts of) wisdom, which thy
Lord has revealed to thee. Take not, with God, another
object of worship, lest thou shouldst be thrown into
Hell, blameworthy and rejected.
- Has then your Lord (O Pagans!) preferred for you
sons, and taken for Himself daughters among the angels?
Truly ye utter a most dreadful saying!
- We have explained (things) in various (ways) in
this Qur'an, in order that they may receive admonition,
but it only increases their flight (from the Truth)!
- Say: If there had been (other) gods with Him, as
they say,- behold, they would certainly have sought out
a way to the Lord of the Throne!
- Glory to Him! He is high above all that they say!-
Exalted and Great (beyond measure)!
- The seven heavens and the earth, and all beings
therein, declare His glory: there is not a thing but
celebrates His praise; And yet ye understand not how
they declare His glory! Verily He is Oft-Forbear, Most
Forgiving!
- When thou dost recite the Qur'an, We put, between
thee and those who believe not in the Hereafter, a veil
invisible:
- And We put coverings over their hearts (and minds)
lest they should understand the Qur'an, and deafness
into their ears: when thou dost commemorate thy Lord
and Him alone in the Qur'an, they turn on their backs,
fleeing (from the Truth).
- We know best why it is they listen, when they
listen to thee; and when they meet in private
conference, behold, the wicked say, "Ye follow none
other than a man bewitched!"
- See what similes they strike for thee: but they
have gone astray, and never can they find a way.
- They say: "What! when we are reduced to bones and
dust, should we really be raised up (to be) a new
creation?"
- Say: "(Nay!) be ye stones or iron,
- "Or created matter which, in your minds, is hardest
(to be raised up),- (Yet shall ye be raised up)!" then
will they say: "Who will cause us to return?" Say: "He
who created you first!" Then will they wag their heads
towards thee, and say, "When will that be?" Say, "May
be it will be quite soon!
- "It will be on a Day when He will call you, and ye
will answer (His call) with (words of) His praise, and
ye will think that ye tarried but a little while!"
- Say to My servants that they should (only) say
those things that are best: for Satan doth sow
dissensions among them: For Satan is to man an avowed
enemy.
- It is your Lord that knoweth you best: If He
please, He granteth you mercy, or if He please,
punishment: We have not sent thee to be a disposer of
their affairs for them.
- And it is your Lord that knoweth best all beings
that are in the heavens and on earth: We did bestow on
some prophets more (and other) gifts than on others:
and We gave to David (the gift of) the Psalms.
- Say: "Call on those - besides Him - whom ye fancy:
they have neither the power to remove your troubles
from you nor to change them."
- Those whom they call upon do desire (for
themselves) means of access to their Lord, - even those
who are nearest: they hope for His Mercy and fear His
Wrath: for the Wrath of thy Lord is something to take
heed of.
- There is not a population but We shall destroy it
before the Day of Judgment or punish it with a dreadful
Penalty: that is written in the (eternal) Record.
- And We refrain from sending the signs, only because
the men of former generations treated them as false: We
sent the she-camel to the Thamud to open their eyes,
but they treated her wrongfully: We only send the Signs
by way of terror (and warning from evil).
- Behold! We told thee that thy Lord doth encompass
mankind round about: We granted the vision which We
showed thee, but as a trial for men,- as also the
Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Qur'an: We put terror
(and warning) into them, but it only increases their
inordinate transgression!
- Behold! We said to the angels: "Bow down unto
Adam": They bowed down except Iblis: He said, "Shall I
bow down to one whom Thou didst create from clay?"
- He said: "Seest Thou? this is the one whom Thou
hast honoured above me! If Thou wilt but respite me to
the Day of Judgment, I will surely bring his
descendants under my sway - all but a few!"
- (God) said: "Go thy way; if any of them follow
thee, verily Hell will be the recompense of you (all)-
an ample recompense.
- "Lead to destruction those whom thou canst among
them, with thy (seductive) voice; make assaults on them
with thy cavalry and thy infantry; mutually share with
them wealth and children; and make promises to them."
But Satan promises them nothing but deceit.
- "As for My servants, no authority shalt thou have
over them:" Enough is thy Lord for a Disposer of
affairs.
- Your Lord is He That maketh the Ship go smoothly
for you through the sea, in order that ye may seek of
his Bounty. For he is unto you most Merciful.
- When distress seizes you at sea, those that ye call
upon - besides Himself - leave you in the lurch! but
when He brings you back safe to land, ye turn away
(from Him). Most ungrateful is man!
- Do ye then feel secure that He will not cause you
to be swallowed up beneath the earth when ye are on
land, or that He will not send against you a violent
tornado (with showers of stones) so that ye shall find
no one to carry out your affairs for you?
- Or do ye feel secure that He will not send you back
a second time to sea and send against you a heavy gale
to drown you because of your ingratitude, so that ye
find no helper. Therein against Us?
- We have honoured the sons of Adam; provided them
with transport on land and sea; given them for
sustenance things good and pure; and conferred on them
special favours, above a great part of our creation.
- One day We shall call together all human beings
with their (respective) Imams: those who are given
their record in their right hand will read it (with
pleasure), and they will not be dealt with unjustly in
the least.
- But those who were blind in this world, will be
blind in the hereafter, and most astray from the Path.
- And their purpose was to tempt thee away from that
which We had revealed unto thee, to substitute in our
name something quite different; (in that case), behold!
they would certainly have made thee (their) friend!
- And had We not given thee strength, thou wouldst
nearly have inclined to them a little.
- In that case We should have made thee taste an
equal portion (of punishment) in this life, and an
equal portion in death: and moreover thou wouldst have
found none to help thee against Us!
- Their purpose was to scare thee off the land, in
order to expel thee; but in that case they would not
have stayed (therein) after thee, except for a little
while.
- (This was Our) way with the apostles We sent before
thee: thou wilt find no change in Our ways.
- Establish regular prayers - at the sun's decline
till the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer
and reading: for the prayer and reading in the morning
carry their testimony.
- And pray in the small watches of the morning: (it
would be) an additional prayer (or spiritual profit)
for thee: soon will thy Lord raise thee to a Station of
Praise and Glory!
- Say: "O my Lord! Let my entry be by the Gate of
Truth and Honour, and likewise my exit by the Gate of
Truth and Honour; and grant me from Thy Presence an
authority to aid (me)."
- And say: "Truth has (now) arrived, and Falsehood
perished: for Falsehood is (by its nature) bound to
perish."
- We send down (stage by stage) in the Qur'an that
which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe: to
the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss.
- Yet when We bestow Our favours on man, he turns
away and becomes remote on his side (instead of coming
to Us), and when evil seizes him he gives himself up to
despair!
- Say: "Everyone acts according to his own
disposition: But your Lord knows best who it is that is
best guided on the Way."
- They ask thee concerning the Spirit (of
inspiration). Say: "The Spirit (cometh) by command of
my Lord: of knowledge it is only a little that is
communicated to you, (O men!)"
- If it were Our Will, We could take away that which
We have sent thee by inspiration:then wouldst thou find
none to plead thy affair in that matter as against Us,-
- Except for Mercy from thy Lord: for his bounty is
to thee (indeed) great.
- Say: "If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to
gather together to produce the like of this Qur'an,
they could not produce the like thereof, even if they
backed up each other with help and support.
- And We have explained to man, in this Qur'an, every
kind of similitude: yet the greater part of men refuse
(to receive it) except with ingratitude!
- They say: "We shall not believe in thee, until thou
cause a spring to gush forth for us from the earth,
- "Or (until) thou have a garden of date trees and
vines, and cause rivers to gush forth in their midst,
carrying abundant water;
- "Or thou cause the sky to fall in pieces, as thou
sayest (will happen), against us; or thou bring God and
the angels before (us) face to face:
- "Or thou have a house adorned with gold, or thou
mount a ladder right into the skies. No, we shall not
even believe in thy mounting until thou send down to us
a book that we could read." Say: "Glory to my Lord! Am
I aught but a man,- an apostle?"
- What kept men back from belief when Guidance came
to them, was nothing but this: they said, "Has God sent
a man (like us) to be (His) Apostle?"
- Say, "If there were settled, on earth, angels
walking about in peace and quiet, We should certainly
have sent them down from the heavens an angel for an
apostle."
- Say: "Enough is God for a witness between me and
you: for He is well acquainted with His servants, and
He sees (all things).
- It is he whom God guides, that is on true Guidance;
but he whom He leaves astray - for such wilt thou find
no protector besides Him. On the Day of Judgment We
shall gather, them together, prone on their faces,
blind, dumb, and deaf: their abode will be Hell: every
time it shows abatement, We shall increase from them
the fierceness of the Fire.
- That is their recompense, because they rejected Our
signs, and said, "When we are reduced to bones and
broken dust, should we really be raised up (to be) a
new Creation?"
- See they not that God, Who created the heavens and
the earth, has power to create the like of them (anew)?
Only He has decreed a term appointed, of which there is
no doubt. But the unjust refuse (to receive it) except
with ingratitude.
- Say: "If ye had control of the Treasures of the
Mercy of my Lord, behold, ye would keep them back,
for fear of spending them: for man is (every)
niggardly!"
- To Moses We did give Nine Clear Sings: As the
Children of Israel: when he came to them, Pharaoh said
to him: "O Moses! I consider thee, indeed, to have been
worked upon by sorcery!
- Moses said, "Thou knowest well that these things
have been sent down by none but the Lord of the heavens
and the earth as eye-opening evidence: and I consider
thee indeed, O Pharaoh, to be one doomed to
destruction!"
- So he resolved to remove them from the face of the
earth: but We did drown him and all who were with him.
- And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel,
"Dwell securely in the land (of promise)": but when the
second of the warnings came to pass, We gathered you
together in a mingled crowd.
- We sent down the (Qur'an) in Truth, and in Truth
has it descended: and We sent thee but to give Glad
Tidings and to warn (sinners).
- (It is) a Qur'an which We have divided (into parts
from time to time), in order that thou mightest recite
it to men at intervals: We have revealed it by stages.
- Say: "Whether ye believe in it or not, it is true
that those who were given knowledge beforehand, when it
is recited to them, fall down on their faces in humble
prostration,
- "And they say: 'Glory to our Lord! Truly has the
promise of our Lord been fulfilled!'"
- They fall down on their faces in tears, and it
increases their (earnest) humility.
- Say: "Call upon God, or call upon Rahman: by
whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well): for to
Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Neither speak thy
Prayer aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a
middle course between."
- Say: "Praise be to God, who begets no son, and has
no partner in (His) dominion: Nor (needs) He any to
protect Him from humiliation: yea, magnify Him for His
greatness and glory!"
Quran
Surah 16 The Bee
Surah 17 The Night Journey
Surah 18 The Cave