17-101 And certainly We gave Moses nine clear signs; so ask the Children of Israel. When he came to them, Pharaoh said to him: Surely I deem thee, O Moses, to be one bewitched.a
وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا مُوسَىٰ تِسْعَ ءَايَـٰتٍۭ بَيِّنَـٰتٍۢ ۖ فَسْـَٔلْ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ إِذْ جَآءَهُمْ فَقَالَ لَهُۥ فِرْعَوْنُ إِنِّى لَأَظُنُّكَ يَـٰمُوسَىٰ مَسْحُورًۭا (۱۰۱)
17-101a: What is meant by nine signs: According to one hadith, two Jews enquired from the Holy Prophet about the nine signs. He responded by stating the nine commandments: do not associate anything with Allah, do not steal, do not commit adultery, etc., which are the foundation of the Mosaic religious law. Although this hadith is included in the Books of Hadith by Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and Imam Ahmad, it is not acceptable on several grounds, such as the fact that the commandments are ten not nine, and that the ten commandments were given to Bani Israel at a later time when they had migrated from Egypt to the Holy Land, while here Pharoah is mentioned. In the next verse the signs are called بَصَآئِرَ proofs of the truthfulness of Moses. The proofs of truthfulness can only be miracles and not instructions. Hence by the nine signs are meant the nine signs mentioned in Surah Al Araf for which see 7-134a. For مَسْحُورً see 17-47a. Its meaning can also be demented, and in another place, it is stated: قَالَ إِنَّ رَسُولَكُمُ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ لَمَجْنُونٌۭ : (Pharoah) said: Surely your messenger, who is sent to you, is mad (26:27).
17-102 He said: Truly thou knowest that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has sent these as clear proofs; and surely I believe thee, O Pharaoh, to be lost.a
قَالَ لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَآ أَنزَلَ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ إِلَّا رَبُّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ بَصَآئِرَ وَإِنِّى لَأَظُنُّكَ يَـٰفِرْعَوْنُ مَثْبُورًۭا (۱۰۲)
17-102a: مَثْبُور- The meaning of ثبرis حبس to restrain, hold back (LA). The meaning of ثبور is destruction, ruin, affliction, distress which is unavoidable. Thus, the Quran has: دَعَوْا۟ هُنَالِكَ ثُبُورًۭا : they will there pray for destruction (25:13). According to Ibn Abbas, its meaning is to be devoid of intelligence because this is the biggest ruination (R).
17-103 So he desired to scare them from the land, but We drowned him and those with him, all together;
فَأَرَادَ أَن يَسْتَفِزَّهُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ فَأَغْرَقْنَـٰهُ وَمَن مَّعَهُۥ جَمِيعًۭا (۱۰۳)
17-104 And We said to the Children of Israel after him: Abide in the land. But when the latter promise came, We brought you all rolled up.a
وَقُلْنَا مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ لِبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ ٱسْكُنُوا۟ ٱلْأَرْضَ فَإِذَا جَآءَ وَعْدُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًۭا (۱۰۴)
17-104a: لفیف – لَفَف is excessive fat on the thighs and لفیف means a large category of various types of people, such as noble and nasty, law abiding and criminal, strong and weak (LA). Ibn Abbas has taken its meaning to be جمیعاً all of them (IJ). In وَجَنَّـٰتٍ أَلْفَافًا : And luxuriant gardens, the meaning of لفیف is abundance of trees (LA).
وَعْدُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ the latter promise is interpreted as the coming of the Resurrection and the meaning is that all types of people will come together before Allah and then He will decide among them. However, immediately after this, it is stated: وَبِٱلْحَقِّ أَنزَلْنَـٰهُ وَبِٱلْحَقِّ نَزَلَ : And with truth have We revealed it, and with truth did it come (17:106) which pertains to the coming of the Holy Prophet. Hence وَعْدُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ could refer to the coming of the Holy Prophet because this is a special promise that was made with Moses. This is substantiated not only by the following verse but further on this promise is mentioned again: إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولًۭا : Surely the promise of our Lord was to be fulfilled and the ones uttering this are أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْعِلْمَ : those who are given the knowledge. So, in this case, the implication of جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًۭا : We will bring you all together will be that the Israelites will be expelled from the Sacred Land, or that the dispensation of Bani Israel will come to an end and a new succession will be started.
17-105 And with truth have We revealed it, and with truth did it come. And We have not sent thee but as a giver of good news and as a warner.
وَبِٱلْحَقِّ أَنزَلْنَـٰهُ وَبِٱلْحَقِّ نَزَلَ ۗ وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـٰكَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرًۭا وَنَذِيرًۭا (۱۰۵)
17-106 And it is a Qur’an We have made distinct, so that thou mayest read it to the people by slow degrees, and We have revealed it in portions.a
وَقُرْءَانًۭا فَرَقْنَـٰهُ لِتَقْرَأَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ عَلَىٰ مُكْثٍۢ وَنَزَّلْنَـٰهُ تَنزِيلًۭا (۱۰۶)
17-106a: فرقنا – The literal meaning of فرق is to separate two things. There can be two interpretations here, namely: explained it explicitly, by separating the various commands and elucidating them in detail, and little by little, by revealing it in portions (R).
مُكْثٍۢ – مُكْثٍۢ means ثُبَاتُ مَعَ انتظارٍ to remain waiting, as in قَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ ٱمْكُثُوٓا۟ : He said to his family: Wait (28:29).and فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍۢ : And he tarried not long (27:22) (R).
For تَنزِيلً see 2-97b.
Revelation of Quran in portions: The Quran was revealed in portions over a period of twenty-three years. The greatness of the Quran is upheld as it has all kinds of teachings and instructions. The wisdom in revealing the Quran in portions is that this is helpful in its memorizing and understanding. The indication in تَنزِيلًۭ is that it was revealed in portions in accordance with what was advisable and expedient. In another place, the wisdom of the revelation in portions is explained as follows: لِنُثَبِّتَ بِهِۦ فُؤَادَكَ : We may strengthen thy heart thereby (25:32).
17-107 Say: Believe in it or believe not. Surely those who are given the knowledge before it, fall down prostrate on their faces, when it is recited to them,a
قُلْ ءَامِنُوا۟ بِهِۦٓ أَوْ لَا تُؤْمِنُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهِۦٓ إِذَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ يَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ سُجَّدًۭا (۱۰۷)
17-108 And say: Glory to our Lord! Surely the promise of our Lord was to be fulfilled.
وَيَقُولُونَ سُبْحَـٰنَ رَبِّنَآ إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولًۭا (۱۰۸)
17-109 And they fall down on their faces, weeping, and it adds to their humility.a
وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًۭا ۩ (۱۰۹)
PROSTRATION
17-109a: أَذْقَان – It is the plural of ذَقَن which means chin (R). For خرّ see 12-100a. Here a part of the face is interpreted as the whole, so the meaning is the face (RM).
Prophecy of Moses: People may not acknowledge the truth, however anyone who fits the description of أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْعِلْمَ those given knowledge and whose ego does not prevent him from accepting knowledge, cannot deny that the promise Allah made through Prophet Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-18 is fulfilled in the being of the Holy Prophet. If the Holy Prophet had not come, that promise would have remained unfulfilled. The falling down mentioned twice, first in 17:107 and then in 17:109 could be a reference to the two prostrations in prayer, but the real meaning is that when those given knowledge prostrate to give thanks to Allah on the fulfilment of His promise, their hearts overflow with joy and pleasure at the truth in the Quran and they fall again in prostration, as their knowledge and faith grows.
17-110 Say: Call on Allah or call on the Beneficent. By whatever (name) you call on Him, He has the best names. And utter not thy prayer loudly nor be silent in it, and seek a way between these.a
قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ أَوِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنَ ۖ أَيًّۭا مَّا تَدْعُوا۟ فَلَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ وَلَا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلَاتِكَ وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِهَا وَٱبْتَغِ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ سَبِيلًۭا (۱۱۰)
17-110a: تُخَافِتْ – خَفُت and خفات is the weakness from hunger or the lowering of the voice. When the voice is cut off and a person becomes silent on death, it is called خافِت and this word is also used when someone hides something. Example from Quran: يَتَخَـٰفَتُونَ بَيْنَهُمْ : consulting together secretly (20:103) (LA).
All misleading religions are in serious error with regards to the رحمانیت or beneficence of Allah. The idol worshippers of Arabia, like the Christians, did not believe in Allah’s attribute of beneficence, which shows mercy without compensation. Although this chapter is primarily devoted to Bani Israel, the subject is now turned towards Christianity which marks the end of the Mosaic dispensation. Hence there is a clear mention in this verse and the next one of a core principle of Christian doctrine. Quran commentaries cite Ibn Abbas as stating that in Makkah, the Holy Prophet addressed God as either Allah or as Rahman in his supplications. The idol worshippers objected to this by saying that the Holy Prophet preached to them not to worship more than one God, but called on two gods himself. In response to this objection, this verse was revealed stating that these are the names of a Being, since He has different names based on His attributes. The real aim is to convey that humans reach their perfection by praying to Allah with humility and sincerity so they can develop similar qualities. All the attributes of Allah are beautiful. Whichever attribute a person tries to develop in himself, it adds beauty to his character.
The word صلوٰت occurring in this verse means supplication. See 2-3b. Bukhari has both kinds of hadith: a narration by Ibn Abbas that this verse refers to قرأت the recitation of the Quran in the prayer, and a counter opinion by Hazrat Ayesha that the instructions are about ordinary supplications, and this later view is supported by Mujahid and Ibn Abbas in yet another narration (RM). The context shows that the opinion regarding the verse being about ordinary supplication is correct because there is a clear reference to supplication in the previous verse. Thus, it is stated in the previous verse to call on Allah by His attributive names and now it is conveyed that a medium approach should be adopted in supplicating to Him. One should not call Him in a very loud voice so that it appears that Allah only listens to loud voices, and on the other extreme, one should not think that Allah knows what we desire and there is no need to verbalize it and one should remain silent. People have adopted an extreme position even in the matter of how to supplicate. Shouting the prayer is against the decorum of the occasion and remaining silent does not move the heart to bring full earnestness and passion in the supplication which carries the supplication to the point of acceptance. If the meaning of صلوٰت is taken to be prayer, then the interpretation will be that neither should the entire prayer recitation be in a loud voice nor should it entirely be silent; a golden mean is to be adopted between the two. Thus, some portions of the recitation are loud and audible so that the entire congregation is one in standing with bowed heads before the majesty of Allah, and some potions are silent so that each individual is absorbed in the remembrance of Allah in his own way.
17-111 And say: Praise be to Allah! Who has not taken to Himself a son, and Who has not a partner in the kingdom, and Who has not a helper because of weakness; and proclaim His greatness, magnifying (Him).a
وَقُلِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى لَمْ يَتَّخِذْ وَلَدًۭا وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ شَرِيكٌۭ فِى ٱلْمُلْكِ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ وَلِىٌّۭ مِّنَ ٱلذُّلِّ ۖ وَكَبِّرْهُ تَكْبِيرًۢا (۱۱۱
17-111a: The oneness of God: The chapter is ended on a note of the greatness of Allah just as it is started with the glorification of Allah. He has no son, no partner and no helper. A son is needed by someone who will die, a partner is needed by someone who cannot do all tasks alone, and a helper is needed by one who does not have the ability to complete a certain task and depends on another. By mentioning the doctrine of sonship, the subject is transitioned into a discussion of the Christian religion which is the subject of the next chapter. The objective of all chapters is the same: that the hearts are awed only by Allah. The real purpose of raising the prophets is to expound the greatness of Allah. The mention of Allah’s greatness before a discussion of the Christian religion is of special significance.
Bayan-ul-Quran 