17. Surah Al Isra

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَمَا مَنَعَنَا أَن نُّرْسِلَ بِالآيَاتِ إِلاَّ أَن كَذَّبَ بِهَا الأَوَّلُونَ...   

17: 59.  And We refrain from sending the Signs, only because the men of former generations treated them as false:

C2245. Past generations treated Signs and Portents with contempt or rebellion, and brought about their own undoing. It is only Allah's Mercy that gives them Grace for a time and prevents the coming of those Portents and Punishments which would overwhelm them if they were put to their trial at once.

...وَآتَيْنَا ثَمُودَ النَّاقَةَ مُبْصِرَةً فَظَلَمُواْ بِهَا...

We sent the She-camel: to the Thamud to open their eyes, but they treated her wrongfully:

C2246. An example is cited from the story of Thamud.

A wonderful She-camel was sent among them as a Portent and a Symbol. In their wickedness they hamstrung her.

So instead of her reclaiming them she was a cause of their destruction, as their sin and rebellion were laid bare. For the story of the She-camel and the references to the passages in which she is mentioned, see n. 104 4 to 7:73.

...وَمَا نُرْسِلُ بِالآيَاتِ إِلاَّ تَخْوِيفًا ﴿٥٩﴾

We only send the Signs by way of terror (and warning from evil).

C2247. Signs, Miracles, and Portents are sent by Allah as a warning, to strike terror into the hearts of evil-doers and reclaim them to the right path.

I have discussed Fear as a motive for reclaiming certain kinds of hard hearts, in my note 82 to 2:74. But some hearts are so hard that even this motive does not work. As they have a limited free-will given by Allah, they are to that extent free to choose. But when they actually choose evil, Allah in His infinite Mercy delays their punishment and removes the occasion for their immediate self-destruction by withholding the Signs which might make them transgress all the more and compass their total destruction.

Other versions:

17: 59 [al-Israa, Mecca 50 ]

Asad And nothing has prevented Us from sending with miraculous signs save that the people of olden times gave the lie to them: thus, We provided for Thamud the she-camel as a light-giving portent, and they sinned against it. And never did We send those signs for any other purpose than to convey a warning.

Yusuf Ali 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).

Pickthall Naught hindereth Us from sending portents save that the folk of old denied them. And We gave Thamud the she-camel--a clear portent--but they did wrong in respect of her. We send not portents save to warn.

Transliteration: Wa ma_ mana'ana_ an nursila bil a_ya_ti illa_ an kazzaba bihal awwalu_n(a), wa a_taina_ samu_dan na_qata mubsiratan fazalamu_ biha_, wa ma_ nursilu bil a_ya_ti illa_ takhwifa_(n).

[Ruby’s note: I believe what is conveyed here is that God sent miracles and portents to previous prophets, but their people still rejected those signs as magic or sorcery, and mocked and persecuted the prophets. The purpose of a miracle is to convince a people the genuineness of the Message. However, it did not work in the past to convince the hard-hearted, stubborn and arrogant people to reject in spite of a miracle or portent. And the people who are humble and rational considering the whole reality of life and death and all others signs in the reality, do not need these miracles to be convinced of God and His Messages. For them, there is sufficient evidence and justification all around. God therefore would not send anymore portent to Prophet Muhammad and his people to convince. Whoever wants can believe, whoever does not want is free to do so as well.]

[ Asad note 71 : This highly elliptic sentence has a fundamental bearing on the purpose of the Quran as a whole. In many places the Quran stresses the fact that the Prophet Muhammad ……was not empowered to perform miracles similar to those with which the earlier prophets are said to have reinforced their verbal messages. ………….]

[ Ali’s note: 2247 Signs, Miracles, and Portents are sent by Allah as a warning, to strike terror into the hearts of evil-doers and reclaim them to the right path. I have discussed Fear as a motive for reclaiming certain kinds of hard hearts, in my note 82 to ii. 74. But some hearts are so hard that even this motive does not work. As they have a limited free-will given by Allah, they are to that extent free to choose. But when they actually choose evil, Allah in His infinite Mercy delays their punishment and removes the occasion for their immediate self-destruction by withholding the Signs which might make them transgress all the more and compass their total destruction. (17.59) ]