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]

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.

Yuksel The rejection of previous people did not stop Us from sending the signs. We sent to Thamud the camel with foresight, but they did her wrong. We do not send the signs except to alert.*

Transliteration Wa iz qulna_ laka inna rabbaka aha_ta bin na_s(i), wa ma_ ja'alnar ru'yal lati araina_ka illa_ fitnatal lin na_si wasy syajaratal mal'u_nata fil qur'a_n(i), wa nukhawwifuhum, fama_ yaziduhum illa_ tugya_nan kabira_(n).

[[Yuksel’s note - 017:059 Traditional translations render the meaning of "Ma" as a relative pronoun rather than a negative particle, "What stopped us from sending…." The traditional translation implies that God initially sent signs/miracles to convert people and had an intention to send more signs but He is now disappointed to learn that His signs did not work as expected. Such an implication contradicts the attributes of God detailed in the Quran. Besides, we are repeatedly reminded that the purpose of sending signs/miracles has never been to make people acknowledge the message, but to support the open-minded people in their rational inquiries. The traditional translation also contradicts other verses of the Quran that remind us that messengers were supported by signs/miracles. Muhammad was not given a sign similar to previous messengers, but was rather given a unique sign, the Quran, a perpetual sign for every generation until the end of the world. See 29:51. Also, see 7:73-77; 26:155; 54:27; 91:13.]]