Surah Al-Isra, Ayah 3

Musa and how He was given the Tawrah

When Allah mentions how He took His servant Muhammad ﷺ, on the Journey by Night, He follows it by mentioning Musa, His servant and Messenger who also spoke with Him. Allah often mentions Muhammad ﷺ and Musa (AH.) together, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them both, and he mentions the Tawrah and the Qur'an together. So after mentioning the Isra', He says:

وَءَاتَيْنَآ مُوسَى الْكِتَـبَ

(And We gave Musa the Scripture), meaning the Tawrah.

وَجَعَلْنَاهُ

(and made it), meaning the Scripture,

هُدًى

(a guidance), meaning a guide,

لِّبَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ أَلاَّ تَتَّخِذُواْ

(for the Children of Israel (saying): "Take none...") means, lest they should take,

Commentary

Described in this verse is the event of Mi` raj (the Ascent to the heavens, or al-'Isra', the midnight journey of the Holy Prophet ﷺ which is a signal honor and distinctive miracle of our Messenger of Allah ﷺ). The word: أَسْرَ‌ىٰ (asra) is a derivation from: اِسْرَ‌ىٰ (isra' ) which literally means to make someone travel at night. After that, the introduction of the word: لَيْلًا (lailan) also makes this sense very clear. Then, by placing this word as a common noun, the indication released was that during this event the time spent was that of a part of the night - not even that of the whole night. The journey from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa mentioned in this verse is called al-'Isra' and the name of the journey from here to the seven heavens is al-Mi` raj. Isra' stands proved under the definitive textual authority of this verse and the Mi` raj finds mention in the verses of Surah an-Najm and is proved by Ahadith appearing in an uninterrupted succession. The word: بِعَبْدِهِ (bi'abdihi: His servant) used here for the Holy Prophet ﷺ is special. It shows that, in this magnificent setting of honor and welcome, when Allah Ta’ ala, on His own, elects to call someone His servant', a unique bond of love lies embedded therein and that this is the highest honor any man could ever have.

The implication of the above-mentioned event was that the Children of Israel, the Jews, were deposed from the position of the ‘bearers of the Scriptures’ in favour of the Children of Ishmael (Banu Isma‘il). This event took place in accordance with the way of God, who has always chosen a particular group for the declaration of the truth. This is the greatest honour one can have in this world. However, this selection is not based on race or community. A group is entitled to this honour only if it is able to demonstrate the necessary competence. The moment its competence becomes questionable, it must forgo its entitlement to this honour. This happened in the case of the respective communities of Adam, Noah, Moses, and Jesus—without exception. This is the law of God, moreover, for any future community and there can be no exception to it for anyone. To qualify for this position, the chosen group must treat God as the sole guardian, (wakil), and, placing their full trust in the one and only God, should leave all their affairs to Him. When man discovers God in all His majesty and power, it is but natural that he should make God his guardian. One who attains the true realization of God will make God his everything, and will lead the life of a true believer in the present world. In order to lead such a life, man has to find God as the greatest reality, that is, the Creator and Lord of all creation. Moreover, only those who attain this status in the realization of God can properly discharge the responsibility of calling upon others to the truth. To preach the word of God, it is absolutely necessary to be completely selfless, for total concentration cannot be developed in a man unless all his hopes and fears are attached to God; God should be his everything.