Surah Al-Isra Ayat 2 (17:2 Quran) With Tafsir

Ala-Maududi

(17:2) We gave Moses the Book, and made it a source of guidance for the Children of Israel,^[2] commanding: “Take no other Guardian beside Me.”^[3]

2. As this verse has no apparent connection with the event of Miraj, it may appear to a cursory reader that either of the two verses has been misplaced here. But if we try to understand the matter in the context of the theme of the whole Surah, we can easily understand the connection between the two. The main object of this Surah is to give a warning to the disbelievers of Makkah. That is why the mention of Miraj has been made in the very first verse, as if to say: The person whom you dub as an impostor and reject the Book sent down to him, has just now seen with his naked eyes great signs of Allah. So you should learn a lesson from the history of the Israelites who discarded the Book of Allah and therefore, were given painful punishment.

3. The Arabic word vakil (guardian) denotes a person who is trustworthy and can be depended upon in regard to his affairs and may be turned to for guidance and help.

Ibn-Kathir

2. And We gave Musa the Scripture and made it a guidance for the Children of Israel (saying): “Take none other than Me as (your) Wakil.” 3. “O offspring of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nuh! Verily, he was a grateful servant.”

When Allah mentions how He took His servant Muhammad , on the Journey by Night, He follows it by mentioning Musa, His servant and Messenger who also spoke with Him. Allah often mentions Muhammad and Musa 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:

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

(and made it), meaning the Scripture,

(a guidance), meaning a guide,

(for the Children of Israel (saying): “Take none…”) means, lest they should take,

(”… other than Me as (your) Wakil”) means, `you have no protector, supporter or god besides Me,’ because Allah revealed to every Prophet that he should worship Him alone with no partner or associate. Then Allah says:

(O offspring of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nuh) by addressing the descendants of those who were carried in the ship with Nuh there is a reminder of the blessings, as if Allah is saying: `O descendants of those whom We saved and carried in the ship with Nuh, follow in the footsteps of your father,

(Verily, he was a grateful servant). `Remember the blessing I have granted you by sending Muhammad.’ Imam Ahmad reported that Anas bin Malik said: “The Messenger of Allah said:

(Allah will be pleased with His servant if, when he eats something or drinks something, he praises Allah for it.)” This was also recorded by Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa’i. Malik said about Zayd bin Aslam: “He used to praise Allah in all circumstances.” In this context, Al-Bukhari mentioned the Hadith of Abu Zar`ah narrating from Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Prophet said:

(I will be the leader of the sons of Adam on the Day of Resurrection…) He quoted the Hadith at length, and in the Hadith, the Prophet said:

(They will come to Nuh and will say, `O Nuh, you were the first of the Messengers sent to the people of earth, and Allah called you grateful servant, so intercede for us with your Lord.’) And he quoted the Hadith in full.