17. Surah Al Isra

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً ...

17: 1. Glory to (Allah) Who did take His Servant for Journey by night

C2166. The reference is to the Isra' for which see the Introduction to this Surah.

... مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ ...

from the Sacred Mosque

C2167. Masjid is a place of prayer: here it refers to the Ka'bah at Makkah. It had not yet been cleared of its idols and rededicated exclusively to the One True God. It was symbolical of the new Message which was being given to mankind.

... إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى...

to the Farthest Mosque,

C2168. The Farthest Mosque must refer to the site of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem on the hill of Moriah, at or near which stands the Dome of the Rock, called also the Mosque of Hadhrat 'Umar. This and the Mosque known as the Farthest Mosque (Masjid-ul-Aqsa) were completed by the Amir 'Abd al Malik in A.H. 68.

Farthest, because it was the place of worship farthest west which was known to the Arabs in the time of the holy Prophet: it was a sacred place to both Jews and Christians, but the Christians then had the upper hand, as it was included in the Byzantine (Roman) Empire, which maintained a Patriarch at Jerusalem.

The chief dates in connection with the Temple are:

- it was finished by Solomon about B.C. 1004;

- destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar about 586 B.C.;

- rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah about 515 B.C.;

- turned into a heathen idol-temple by one of Alexander's successors, Antiochus Epiphanes, 167 B.C.;

- restored by Herod, B.C. 17 to A.D. 29;

- and completely razed to the ground by the Emperor Titus in A.D. 70.

These ups and downs are among the greater Signs in religious history.

...الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا...

whose precincts We did Bless -- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs:

...إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ ﴿١﴾

for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things).

C2169. Allah's knowledge comprehends all things, without any curtain of Time or any separation of Space. He can therefore see and hear all things, and the Mi'raj was a reflection of this knowledge.

In this and the subsequent verses, the reference to Allah is generally in the first person and plural.

But in the first and the last clause of this verse it is in the third person singular: "Glory to Allah, Who did take His Servant ...... ; "He is the One ......."

In each of these two instances, the clause expresses the point of view of Allah's creatures, who glorify Him, and whose hearing and seeing are ordinarily so limited that they can do nothing but glorify Him when one of His creatures is raised up to hear and see the Signs. It is they who glorify Him. (R).

وَآتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ...

17: 2. We gave Moses the Book,

C2170. The Book: the revelation that was given to Moses.

It was there clearly laid down that those who followed Moses must consider Allah as the Only God.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me; thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image ...... thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God .... ;" etc. (Exod. 20:3-5).

These are the words of the English Bible.

As a matter of fact the spirit of the Mosaic teaching went further. It referred all things to the Providence of Allah: Allah is the Disposer of all affairs, and we are to look to none but Him. This is Islam, and the Mi'raj showed that it was the teaching of Allah from the most ancient times, and yet it was violated by the very people who claimed to be its custodians.

...وَجَعَلْنَاهُ هُدًى لِّبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَلاَّ تَتَّخِذُواْ مِن دُونِي وَكِيلاً ﴿٢﴾

and made it a Guide to the Children of Israel, (commanding):

"Take not other than Me as Disposer of (your) affairs."

C2171. Note the transition from "We" in the first clause to "Me" in the second clause.

- The first clause refers to the majesty of Allah as the Heavenly King;

- the second clause refers to His personal interest in all our affairs.

ذُرِّيَّةَ مَنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ ...

17: 3. O ye that are sprung from those whom We carried (in the Ark) with Noah!

C2172. After the Deluge of the time of Noah the only descendants of Noah were those who were saved in the Ark with him. They had special reason to celebrate the praises of Allah. But they relapsed into idolatry, sin, and abominations.

They are reminded of the true and sincere devotion of Noah himself, as contrasted with the unworthiness of Noah's descendants, especially the Children of Israel.

... إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا ﴿٣﴾

Verily he was a devotee most grateful.

وَقَضَيْنَا إِلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فِي الْكِتَابِ ...

17: 4. And We gave (clear) warning to the Children of Israel in the Book,

C2173. The Book is the revelation given to the Children of Israel.

Here it seems to refer to the burning words of Prophets like Isaiah. For example,

see Isaiah, chap, 24.

or Isaiah 5:20-30,

or Isaiah 3:16-26.

... لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِي الأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ...

that twice would they do mischief on the earth

C2174. What are the two occasions referred to?

It may be that "twice" is a figure of speech for "more than once", "often".

Or it may be that the two occasions refer to;

- the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., when the Jews were carried off into captivity,

- and the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in A.D. 70, after which the Temple was never re-built.

See n. 2168 above.

On both occasions it was a judgment of Allah for the sins of the Jews, their backslidings, and their arrogance.

...وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا ﴿٤﴾

and be elated with mighty arrogance (and twice would they be punished)!

فَإِذَا جَاء وَعْدُ أُولاهُمَا بَعَثْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ عِبَادًا لَّنَا أُوْلِي بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ...

17: 5. When the first of the warnings came to pass, We sent against you Our servants given to terrible warfare:

C2175. A good description of the war-like Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonians.

They were servants of Allah in the sense that they were instruments through which the wrath of Allah was poured out on the Jews, for they penetrated through their lands, their Temple, and their homes, and carried away the Jews, men and women, into captivity.

As regards "the daughters of Zion" see the scathing condemnation in Isaiah, 3:16-26.

...فَجَاسُواْ خِلاَلَ الدِّيَارِ...

They entered the very inmost parts of your homes;

...وَكَانَ وَعْدًا مَّفْعُولاً ﴿٥﴾

and it was a warning (completely) fulfilled.

ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَا لَكُمُ الْكَرَّةَ عَلَيْهِمْ ...

17: 6. Then did We grant you the Return as against them:

C2176. The return of the Jews from the Captivity was about 520 B.C.

They started life afresh. They rebuilt their Temple. They carried out various reforms and built up a new Judaism in connection with Ezra. See appendix II following Surah 5.

For a time they prospered. Meanwhile their old oppressors the Babylonians had been absorbed by Persia. Subsequently Persia was absorbed in Alexander's Empire. The whole of western Asia was Helienized, and the new school of Jews was Helienized also, and had a strong centre in Alexandria.

But their footing in Palestine continued, and under the Asmonaean Dynasty (B.C. 167-63), they had a national revival, and the names of the Makkah bees are remembered as those of heroes.

Another dynasty, that of the Idummaeans, (B.C. 63 to B.C. 4), to which Herod belonged, also enjoyed some semi-independent power. The scepter of Syria (including Palestine) passed to the Romans in B.C. 65, and Jewish feudatory Kings held power under them. But the Jews again showed a stiff-necked resistance to Allah's Messenger in the time of Jesus, and the inevitable doom followed in the complete and final destruction of the Temple under Titus in 70 A.C.

... وَأَمْدَدْنَاكُم بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِينَ...

We gave you increase in resources and sons,

...وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ أَكْثَرَ نَفِيرًا ﴿٦﴾

and made you the more numerous in manpower.

إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا...

17: 7. If ye did well, ye did well for yourselves;

if ye did evil, (ye did it) against yourselves;

C2177. This is a parenthetical sentence. If anyone follows Allah's Law, the benefit goes to himself: he does not bestow a favour on anyone else.

Similarly evil brings its own recompense on the doer of evil.

...فَإِذَا جَاء وَعْدُ الآخِرَةِ لِيَسُوؤُواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ ...

so when the second of the warnings came to pass, (We permitted your enemies) to disfigure your faces,

C2178. The second doom was due to the rejection of the Message of Jesus.

"To disfigure your faces" means to destroy any credit or power you may have got:

the face shows the personality of the man.

... وَلِيَدْخُلُواْ الْمَسْجِدَ...

and to enter your Temple

C2179. Titus's destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. was complete. He was a son of the Roman Emperor Vespasian, and at the date of the destruction of Jerusalem, had the title of Caesar as heir to throne.

He ruled as Roman Emperor from 79 to 81 A.C.

...كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَلِيُتَبِّرُواْ مَا عَلَوْاْ تَتْبِيرًا ﴿٧﴾

as they had entered it before,

and to visit with destruction all that fell into their power.

C2180. Merivale in his Romans Under the Empire gives a graphic account of the siege and final destruction (ed. 1890, 7:221-255).

The population of Jerusalem was then 200,000. According to the Latin historian Tacitus it was as much as 600,000.

There was a famine and there were massacres. There was much fanaticism. The judgment of Merivale is:

"They" (the Jews) "were judicially abandoned to their own passions and the punishment which naturally awaited them". (7:221).

عَسَى رَبُّكُمْ أَن يَرْحَمَكُمْ...

17: 8. It may be that your Lord may (yet) show Mercy unto you;

C2181. Now we come to the time of our holy Prophet.

In spite of all the past, the Jews could still have obtained Allah's forgiveness if they had not obstinately rejected the greatest of the Prophets also.

If they were to continue in their sins, Allah's punishment would also continue to visit them.

...وَإِنْ عُدتُّمْ عُدْنَا...

but if ye revert (to your sins), We shall revert (to Our punishments):

...وَجَعَلْنَا جَهَنَّمَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ حَصِيرًا ﴿٨﴾

and We have made Hell a prison for those who reject (all Faith).

C2182. There is such a thing as disgrace in this life, but the final disgrace is in the Hereafter, and that will be irretrievable.

Notice that the allegorical reference to Jewish history, when brought into relation with the true meaning of Mi’raj, refers to the constant struggle of the individual soul against evil. It has its setbacks and its punishments. But if it is true to itself and is true to the Faith in Allah, Allah will give it strength and make it successful in its fight against evil. For Allah's Mercy is unbounded and comes to suffering humanity again and again. (R).

إِنَّ هَـذَا الْقُرْآنَ يِهْدِي لِلَّتِي هِيَ أَقْوَمُ...

17: 9. Verily this Qur'án doth guide to that which is most right (or stable),

C2183. The instability and crookedness of the Jewish soul having been mentioned, the healing balm which should have cured it is now pointed out.

The Message of the Quran is for all.

- Those who have Faith and show that Faith in their conduct must reap their spiritual reward.

- But those who reject Faith cannot escape punishment.

Apart from what is past, apart from questions of national or racial history, there is a Hope, -and a Danger- for every soul.

...وَيُبَشِّرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَبِيرًا ﴿٩﴾

and giveth the glad tidings to the Believers who work deeds of righteousness, that they shall have a magnificent reward;

وأَنَّ الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالآخِرَةِ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا ﴿١٠﴾

17: 10. And to those who believe not in the Hereafter, (it announceth) that We have prepared for them a Penalty grievous (indeed).

Other versions:

17: 1 [al-isra]

Yusuf Ali Glory to (Allah) Who did take His Servant for Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose precincts We did Bless in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the one Who heareth and seeth (all things).

Pickthall Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far Distant Place of Worship the neighborhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! Lo! He, only He, is the Hearer, the Seer.

Yuksel Glory be to the One who took His servant by night from the Restricted Temple to the most distant temple which We had blessed around, so that We may show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearer, the Seer.*

Transliteration Subha_nal lazi asra_ bi nabdihi lailam minal masjidil hara_mi ilal masjidil aqsal lazi ba_rakna_ haulahu_ linuriyahu_ min a_ya_tina_, innahu_ huwas sami'ul basir(u).

[[ Yuksel’s note - 017:001 Hadith books contain many hearsay stories on this issue. See 30:1

[[ Ali’s notes - 2166 The reference is to the Isra' for which see the Introduction to this Sura. (17.1)

2167 Masjid is a place of prayer: here it refers to the Ka'ba at Makkah. It had not yet been cleared of its idols and rededicated exclusively to the One True God. It was symbolical of the new Message which was being given to mankind. (17.1)

2168 The Farthest Mosque must refer to the site of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem on the hill of Moriah, at or near which stands the Dome of the Rock, called also the Mosque of Hadhrat 'Umar. This and the Mosque known as the Farthest Mosque (Masjid-ul-Aqsa) were completed by the Amir 'Abd-ul-Malik in A.H. 68. Farthest, because it was the place of worship farthest west which was known to the Arabs in the time of the holy Prophet: it was a sacred place to both Jews and Christians, but the Christians then had the upper hand, as it was included in the Byzantine (Roman) Empire, which maintained a Patriarch at Jerusalem. The chief dates in connection with the Temple are: it was finished by Solomon about B.C. 1004; destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar about 586 B.C.; rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah about 515 B.C.; turned into a heathen idol-temple by one of Alexander's successors, Antiochus Epiphanes, 167 B.C.; restored by Herod, B.C. 17 to A.D. 29; and completely razed to the ground by the Emperor Titus in A.D. 70. These ups and downs are among the greater Signs in religious history. (17.1)

2169 Allah's knowledge comprehends all things, without any curtain of Time or any separation of Space. He can therefore see and hear all things, and the Mi'raj was a reflection of this knowledge. In this and the subsequent verses, the reference to Allah is generally in the first person and plural. But in the first and the last clause of this verse it is in the third person singular: "Glory to Allah, Who did take His Servant..."; "He is the One...". In each of these two instances, the clause expresses the point of view of Allah's creatures, who glorify Him, and whose hearing and seeing are ordinarily so limited that they can do nothing but glorify Him when one of His creatures is raised up to hear and see the Signs. It is they who glorify Him. (17.1) ]]

17: 2 [ al-Israa, Mecca 50 ]

Yusuf Ali We gave Moses the Book and made it a Guide to the Children of Israel (commanding): "Take not other than Me as Disposer of (your) affairs."

Pickthall We gave unto Moses the Scripture, and We appointed it a guidance for the Children of Israel, saying: Choose no guardian beside Me.

Yuksel We gave Moses the book and We made it a guidance for the Children of Israel: "Do not pick any protector besides Me."

Transliteration Wa a_taina_ mu_sal kita_ba wa ja'alna_hu hudal libani isra_'ila alla_ tattakhiztu_ min du_ni wakila_(n).

17: 3 [ al-Israa, Mecca 50]

Yusuf Ali O ye that are sprung from those whom We carried (in the Ark) with Noah! verily he was a devotee most grateful.

Pickthall (They were) the seed of those whom We carried (in the ship) along with Noah. Lo! he was a grateful slave.

Transliteration Zurriyyata man hamalna_ ma'a nu_h(in), innahu_ ka_na 'abdan syaku_ra_(n).

17: 4 [ al-Israa, Mecca 50]

Yusuf Ali And We gave (clear) warning to the Children of Israel in the Book that twice would they do mischief on the earth and be elated with mighty arrogance (and twice would they be punished)!

Pickthall And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the scripture: Ye verily will work corruption in the earth twice, and ye will become great tyrants.

Yuksel We decreed to the Children of Israel in the book, that you will make corruption twice on earth, and that you will reach the zenith of arrogance.

Transliteration Wa qadaina_ ila_ bani isra_'ila fil kita_bi latufsidunna filardi marrataini wa lata'lunna 'uluwwan kabira_(n).

17: 5

Yusuf Ali When the first of the warnings came to pass We sent against you Our servants given to terrible warfare: They entered the very inmost parts of your homes; and it was a warning (completely) fulfilled.

Pickthall So when the time for the first of the two came, We roused against you slaves of Ours of great might who ravaged (your) country, and it was a threat performed.

Yuksel 17:5 So, when the promise of the first one comes to pass, We would send against you servants of Ours who are very powerful, thus they managed to breach your very homes, and this was a promise which has come to pass.

Transliteration Fa iza_ ja_'a wa'du u_la_huma_ ba'asna_ 'alaikum 'iba_dal lana_ uli ba'sin syadidin fa ja_su_ khila_lad diya_r(i), wa ka_na wa'dam maf'u_la_(n).

17: 6

Yusuf Ali Then did We grant you the Return as against them: We gave you increase in resources and sons and made you the more numerous in manpower.

Pickthall Then we gave you once again your turn against them, and We aided you with wealth and children and made you more in soldiery,

Yuksel Then We gave back to you your independence from them, and We supplied you with wealth and children, and We made you more influential.

Transliteration Summa radadna_ lakumul karrata 'alaihim wa amdadna_kum bi amwa_liw wa banina wa ja'alna_kum aksara nafira_(n).

17: 7 [ al-Israa, Mecca 50 ]

Yusuf Ali If ye did well ye did well for yourselves; if ye did evil (ye did it) against yourselves; so when the second of the warnings came to pass (We permitted your enemies) to disfigure your faces and to enter your Temple as they had entered if before and to visit with destruction all that fell into their power.

Pickthall (Saying): If ye do good, ye do good for your own souls, and if ye do evil, it is for them (in like manner). So, when the time for the second (of the judgments) came (We roused against you others of Our slaves) to ravage you, and to enter the Temple even as they entered it the first time, and to lay waste all that they conquered with an utter wasting.

Yuksel If you do good, then it will be good for you, and if you do bad, then so be it. But when the promise of the second time comes, they will make your faces filled with sorrow and they will enter the Temple as they did the first time, and they will strike down all that was raised up.

Transliteration In ahsantum ahsantum li anfusikum, wa in asa'tum falaha_, fa iza_ ja_'a wa'dul a_khirati liyasu_'u wuju_hakum wa liyadkhulul masjida kama_ dakhalu_hu awwala marratiw wa liyutabbiru_ ma_ 'alau tatbira_(n).

17: 8

Yusuf Ali It may be that your Lord may (yet) show Mercy unto you; but if ye revert (to your sins) We shall revert (to Our punishments): and We have made Hell a prison for those who reject (all Faith).

Pickthall It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you, but if ye repeat (the crime) We shall repeat (the punishment), and We have appointed hell a dungeon for the disbelievers.

Yuksel Perhaps your Lord will have mercy on you, and if you revert then so will We. We made hell a prison for the ingrates.

Transliteration 'Asa_ rabbukum ay yarhamakum, wa in 'uttum 'udna_, wa ja'alna_ jahannama lil ka_firin

17: 9 [ al-Israa, Mecca 50]

Yusuf Ali Verily this Qur'an doth guide to that which is most right (or stable) and giveth the glad tidings to the Believers who work deeds of righteousness that they shall have a magnificent reward;

Pickthall Lo! this Quran guideth unto that which is straightest, and giveth tidings unto the believers who do good works that theirs will be a great reward.

Yuksel 17:9 This Quran guides to what is more upright, and it gives glad tidings to those who acknowledge, those who do good work that they will have a great reward.

Transliteration Inna ha_zal qur'a_na yahdi lil lati hiya aqwamu wa yubasysyirul mu'mininal lazina ya'malu_nas sa_liha_ti anna lahum ajran kabira_(w),

17: 10 [ al-Israa, Mecca 50 ]

Yusuf Ali And to those who believe not in the Hereafter (it announceth) that We have prepared for them a Penalty grievous (indeed).

Pickthall And that those who believe not in the Hereafter, for them We have prepared a painful doom.

Yuksel For those who do not acknowledge the Hereafter, We have prepared for them a painful retribution.

Transliteration Wa annal lazina la_ yu'minu_na bil a_khirati a'tadna_ lahum 'aza_ban alima_(n).

[[Ali’s notes - 2166 The reference is to the Isra' for which see the Introduction to this Sura. (17.1)

2168 The Farthest Mosque must refer to the site of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem on the hill of Moriah, at or near which stands the Dome of the Rock, called also the Mosque of Hadhrat 'Umar. This and the Mosque known as the Farthest Mosque (Masjid-ul-Aqsa) were completed by the Amir 'Abd-ul-Malik in A.H. 68. Farthest, because it was the place of worship farthest west which was known to the Arabs in the time of the holy Prophet: it was a sacred place to both Jews and Christians, but the Christians then had the upper hand, as it was included in the Byzantine (Roman) Empire, which maintained a Patriarch at Jerusalem. The chief dates in connection with the Temple are: it was finished by Solomon about B.C. 1004; destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar about 586 B.C.; rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah about 515 B.C.; turned into a heathen idol-temple by one of Alexander's successors, Antiochus Epiphanes, 167 B.C.; restored by Herod, B.C. 17 to A.D. 29; and completely razed to the ground by the Emperor Titus in A.D. 70. These ups and downs are among the greater Signs in religious history. (17.1)

2170 The Book: the revelation that was given to Moses. It was there clearly laid down that those who followed Moses must consider Allah as the Only God. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me; thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image...thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God .... ;" etc.(Exod. xx. 3-5). These are the words of the English Bible. As a matter of fact the spirit of the Mosaic teaching went further. It referred all things to the Providence of Allah: Allah is the Disposer of all affairs, and we are to look to none but Him. This is Islam, and the Mi'raj showed that it was the teaching of Allah from the most ancient times, and yet it was violated by the very people who claimed to be its custodians. (17.2)

2171 Note the transition from "We" in the first clause to "Me" in the second clause. The first clause refers to the majesty of Allah as the Heavenly King; the second clause refers to His personal interest in all our affairs. (17.2)

2172 After the Deluge of the time of Noah the only descendants of Noah were those who were saved in the Ark with him. They had special reason to celebrate the praises of Allah. But they relapsed into idolatry, sin, and abominations. They are reminded of the true and sincere devotion of Noah himself, as contrasted with the unworthiness of Noah's descendants, especially the Children of Israel. (17.3)

2173 The Book is the revelation given to the Children of Israel. Here it seems to refer to the burning words of Prophets like Isaiah. For example, see Isaiah, chap. xxiv. or Isaiah v. 20-30, or Isaiah iii. 16-26. (17.4)

2174 What are the two occasions referred to? It may be that "twice" is a figure of speech for "more than once", "often". Or it may be that the two occasions refer to (1) the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., when the Jews were carried off into captivity, and (2) the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in A.D. 70, after which the Temple was never re-built. See n. 2168 above. On both occasions it was a judgment of Allah for the sins of the Jews, their backslidings, and their arrogance. (17.4)

2175 A good description of the war-like Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonians. They were servants of Allah in the sense that they were instruments through which the wrath of Allah was poured out on the Jews, for they penetrated through their lands, their Temple, and their homes, and carried away the Jews, men and women, into captivity. As regards "the daughters of Zion" see the scathing condemnation in Isaiah, iii. 16-26. (17.5)

2176 The return of the Jews from the Captivity was about 520 B.C. They started life afresh. They rebuilt their Temple. They carried out various reforms and built up a new Judaism in connection with Ezra. See appendix 11 following S. v. For a time they prospered. Meanwhile their old oppressors the Babylonians had been absorbed by Persia. Subsequently Persia was absorbed in Alexander's Empire. The whole of western Asia was Hellenized, and the new school of Jews was Hellenized also, and had a strong centre in Alexandria. But their footing in Palestine continued, and under the Asmonaean Dynasty (B.C. 167-63), they had a national revival, and the names of the Makkah bees are remembered as those of heroes. Another dynasty, that of the Idummans, (B.C. 63 to B.C. 4), to which Herod belonged, also enjoyed some semi-independent power. The sceptre of Syria (including Palestine) passed to the Romans in B.C. 65, and Jewish feudatory Kings held power under them. But the Jews again showed a stiff-necked resistance to Allah's Messenger in the time of Jesus, and the inevitable doom followed in the complete and final destruction of the Temple under Titus in 70 A.D. (17.6)

2177 This is a parenthetical sentence. If anyone follows Allah's Law, the benefit goes to himself: he does not bestow a favour on anyone else. Similarly evil brings its own recompense on the doer of evil. (17.7)

2178 The second doom was due to the rejection of the Message of Jesus. "To disfigure your faces" means to destroy any credit or power you may have got: the face shows the personality of the man. (17.7)

2179 Titus's destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. was complete. He was a son of the Roman Emperor Vespasian, and at the date of the destruction of Jerusalem, had the title of Caesar as heir to throne. He ruled as Roman Emperor from 79 to 81 A.D. (17.7)

2180 Merivale in his Romans Under the Empire gives a graphic account of the siege and final destruction (ed. 1890, vii. 221-255). The population of Jerusalem was then 200,000. According to the Latin historian Tacitus it was as much as 600,000. There was a famine and there were massacres. There was much fanaticism. The judgment of Merivale is: "They" (the Jews) "were judicially abandoned to their own passions and the punishment which naturally awaited them". (vii. 221). (17.7)

2181 Now we come to the time of our holy Prophet. In spite of all the past, the Jews could still have obtained Allah's forgiveness if they had not obstinately rejected the greatest of the Prophets also. If they were to continue in their sins, Allah's punishment would also continue to visit them. (17.8)

2182 There is such a thing as disgrace in this life, but the final disgrace is in the Hereafter, and that will be irretrievable. (17.8)

2183 The instability and crookedness of the Jewish soul having been mentioned, the healing balm which should have cured it is now pointed out. The Message of the Qur-an is for all. Those who have Faith and show that Faith in their conduct must reap their spiritual reward. But those who reject Faith cannot escape punishment. Apart from what is past, apart from questions of national or racial history, there is a Hope,-and a Danger- for every soul. (17.9) ]]