Sequence of Verses
Verses 2 and 3 featuring the statement: (We made it guidance for the children of Bani Isra'il) exhorted the Bani Isra'il to follow and obey the Divine Law. The verses that follow warn and admonish them on their disobedience. These verses mention two events relating to the Bani Isra'il so that they serve as a lesson. Tuned to sin and disobedience, first they increased the tempo of their hostility. Allah Ta` ala set their enemies upon them. They shook them up. The Jews got the message, cut down on their mischief and gave the impression of having been corrected. But, soon after, the same lust for mischief and misdeeds overtook them. So then, Allah Ta’ ala had them punished at the hands of their enemies. The Qur'an mentions two events while history carries six like these:
1. The first event came to pass some time after the demise of Sayyidna Sulayman (علیہ السلام) ، the founder of Al-Masjid al-Aqsa, when the ruler of Baytul-maqdis became irreligious and corrupt. The ruler of Egypt attacked him and took away the gold and silver of Baytul-maqdis. But, he did not demolish the city and the Masjid.
2. The second event relates to the period nearly four hundred years after that. Some Jews settled in Baytul-maqdis started idol-worship while the rest began disputing among themselves. This ill omen prompted another ruler of Egypt to attack them which somewhat affected the city and the Masjid both. After that, their condition took a turn for the better.
3. The third event came to pass after some years when Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon ransacked Baytul-maqdis. He conquered the city, looted property and took back a lot of people as prisoners of war. When he left, he had a member of the family of the former king appointed a ruler of the city as his deputy.
4. When this new king, who worshipped idols and was corrupt, rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, he returned, killed people, destroyed property en masse and burned the city razing it to rubbles. This happened nearly four hundred and fifteen years after the construction of the Masjid. After that, the Jews went out as exiles to Babylon where they lived in disgrace for seventy years. After that, the King of Iran attacked the King of Babylon and conquered it. Then the King of Iran showed mercy to the Jewish expatriates and ordered that they should be sent back to Syria along with things looted from them. Now the Jews had repented having forsaken their habitual sins and misdeeds. When they resettled there, they restored the original structure of Al-Masjid al-Aqsa with the support of the King of Iran.
5. Then came the fifth event. When the Jews had peace and prosperity once again, the first thing they forgot was their past. They returned to the kind of evil deeds they were used to. Then, it so happened that, one hundred and seventy years before the birth of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) ، the king who had founded Antakiah (Antioch) attacked, killed forty thousand Jews and took with him another forty thousand as prisoners and slaves, even desecrated the Masjid though its structure remained safe. But, later, the successors of that king rendered the city and the Masjid totally denuded. Soon after this, Baytul-maqdis came under the authority of Roman kings. They put the Masjid back into shape and it was after eight years that Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) was born.
6. Forty years after the physical ascension of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) ، the Jews chose to rebel against their Roman rulers. The Romans destroyed the city and the Masjid once again relegating it to what it was. The king at that time was called Titus who was neither Jewish nor Christian because long after him Constantine I was a Christian. From that time to the time of Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ ، this Masjid lay desolate until he had it reconstructed. These six events have been reported in Tafsir Bayan al-Qur'an with reference to Tafsir Haqqani.
Now, it is difficult to precisely determine as to which two out of those mentioned above are the two events mentioned by the Holy Qur’ an. But, as obvious, the events that are major and serious among these, in which the Jews were far too wicked and more seriously punished too, should be taken as the likely ones. The fourth and the sixth event seem to be fit for such application. At this point, a lengthy Hadith narrated by Sayyidna Hudhayfah ؓ ، with its chains of authority ascending to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، has been reported in Tafsir al-Qurtubi. It also helps in determining that these two events mean the fourth and the sixth event. The translation of this lengthy Hadith is given below:
Sayyidna Hudhayfah ؓ says that he asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ if Baytul-maqdis was a great Masjid in the sight of Allah. He said that it was the most distinct house of Worship in the world, the greatest of all houses, which Allah Ta’ ala made for Sulayman (علیہ السلام) ، the son of Dawud, peace be on both, with gold, silver and precious stones like ruby and emerald. The manner in which this happened was, when Sulayman (علیہ السلام) started its construction, Allah Ta` ala made the Jinn subservient to him. The Jinn collected this gold, silver and precious stones and used them in the making of the Masjid. Sayyidna Hudhayfah ؓ ' says that he, then, asked as to where and how did all that gold, silver and precious stones go out of Baytul-Maqdis? The Holy Prophet ﷺ said: When the Bani Isra'il disobeyed Allah Ta` ala, got involved in sins and misdeeds and killed their noble prophets, Allah Ta` ala set King Nebuchadnezzar on them. He was a fire-worshipper who ruled Baytul-Maqdis for seven hundred years.
And when the Qur’ an says: فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ أُولَاهُمَا بَعَثْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ عِبَادًا لَّنَا أُولِي بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ (So, when came the time appointed for the first of the two, We sent upon you some servants belonging to Us having strong aggressive power - 17:5), it means this event. The army of Nebuchadnezzar entered the Masjid of al-Quds, killed men, took women and children prisoners and carried away with him all gold, silver and everything of value belonging to Baytul-maqdis loaded on one hundred and seventy thousand vehicles. He kept the treasure in his country, Babylon and kept the children of Isra'il as his serfs and slaves for a hundred years making them do hard labor in utter disgrace.
Then Allah Ta’ ala made a king from among the kings of Persia to stand up against him. He conquered Babylon, freed the remnants of Bani Isra'il from the bondage of Nebuchadnezzar and made arrangements to have all valuables he had brought from Baytul-maqdis returned back to it. Then he sternly told the Bani Isra'il that should they, in future, return to disobedience and sin, he too will return the punishment of killing and prison back on them. This is what the verse of the Qur'an: عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يَرْحَمَكُمْ ۚ وَإِنْ عُدتُّمْ عُدْنَا (May be your Lord would bestow mercy upon you. And if you do this again, We shall do that again - 17:8) means.
Later, when the Bani Isra'il had come back to Baytul-maqdis (with lost wealth and property in their possession), they went back to the life of sins and misdeeds. At that time, Allah Ta` ala set the Roman Emperor, Caesar upon them. This is what the verse: فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الْآخِرَةِ لِيَسُوءُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ (Later, when came the time appointed for the second, [ We sent others ] so that they spoil your faces - 17:7) means. The Roman Emperor launched a two-pronged attack, from the land and the sea. He killed many and many were those he took prisoners. Then he had all this wealth of Baytul-maqdis loaded on one hundred and seventy thousand vehicles and took it home. There he had it deposited in the Temple of Gold. This wealth is still there, and there it will remain until comes the Mahdi who would bring these back to Baytul-maqdis on one hundred and seventy thousand boats and it will be at this place that Allah Ta’ ala will assemble everyone, former and later. (Lengthy Hadith as reported by al-Qurtubi in his Tafsir)
It appears in Bayan al-Qur'an, that the two events mentioned in the Qur'an refer to the disobedience of two Divine Codes of Law, first the disobedience to the Code brought by Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) and, then, after the advent of Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہ السلام) the disobedience to the Code brought by him. Thus, all events described above can be considered as relevant to the first disobedience. Now that we have gone through the details of the events, we can turn to the explanation of the verses cited above.
Commentary
The outcome of the events mentioned above is that Allah Ta’ ala had decreed that the Bani Isra'il will be successful, having the best of both worlds, the material and the spiritual, as long as they continue to obey Allah. But, whenever they deviate from the dictates of Faith, they shall be put to disgrace, and that they would be subjected to punishment at the hands of enemies and disbelievers. Then, not only that the enemies will run over them destroying their lives and properties, but it would also happen that their Qiblah, their sacred Baytul-Maqdis, will also not remain safe against the onslaught of that enemy. Their disbelieving enemies will barge into the Mosque of Baytul-Maqdis and defile and damage it. This too will be a part of the punishment of Bani Isra'il themselves. The Holy Qur'an has told us about two events relating to them. The first one dates back to the time of Mosaic religious law while the second pertains to the Christian. During both these periods, the Bani Isra'il rebelled against the divine law of the time. In the first case, a disbelieving Magian monarch was made to sit over them, and Baytul-Maqdis, who brought great destruction upon them. In the second case, a Roman emperor was set against them who killed and pillaged and made Baytul-Maqdis all demolished and rendered desolate. And along with this description, it has also been mentioned that the Bani Isra'il - when, on both occasions, they repented from their misdeeds resolving not to go near them again - Allah Ta` ala reinstated their country, wealth and children.
