17:9 Al-Israa (The Night Journey)

يخبر تعالى عن شرف القرآن وجلالته وأنه { يَهْدِي لِلَّتِي هِيَ أَقْوَمُ } أي: أعدل وأعلى من العقائد والأعمال والأخلاق، فمن اهتدى بما يدعو إليه القرآن كان أكمل الناس وأقومهم وأهداهم في جميع أموره. { وَيُبَشِّرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ } من الواجبات والسنن، { أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَبِيرًا } أعده الله لهم في دار كرامته لا يعلم وصفه إلا هو.

يمدح تعالى كتابه العزيز الذي أنزله على رسوله محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو القرآن بأنه يهدي لأقوم الطرق وأوضح السبل ويبشر المؤمنين به الذين يعملون الصالحات على مقتضاه. "أن لهم أجرا كبيرا" أي يوم القيامة.

Praising the Qur'an

Allah praises His noble Book, the Qur'an, which He revealed to His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ. It directs people to the best and clearest of ways.

وَيُبَشِّرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(gives good news to those who believe,) in it a

الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّـلِحَاتِ

(those who do righteous deeds,) in accordance with it, telling them

أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَبِيرًا

(that they will have a great reward,) i.e., on the Day of Resurrection. And He tells

وأَنَّ الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالاٌّخِرَةِ

(those who do not believe in the Hereafter,) that

لَهُمْ عَذَاباً أَلِيماً

(for them is a painful torment,) i.e. on the Day of Resurrection. As Allah says:

فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ

(... then announce to them a painful torment.) 84:24

Truly this Qur’ān guides to that to that way which is straightest most upright and correct and gives tidings to the believers who perform righteous deeds that there is a great reward for them.

Sequence

At the beginning of the Sarah, the majesty of the prophet-hood of the Messenger of Allah was described through the miracle of al-Mi` raj. The present verses cite the miracle of Qur'an as its confirmation.

Commentary

The most upright way

The way to which the Qur'an guides has been called 'aqwam,' the most upright. 'Aqwam' can be explained by saying that it is a way that is closer to the destination, is easy and free of dangers at the same time. (Qurtubi) This tells us that the rules set for human life by the Holy Qur'an are a combination of all three features mentioned above. However, it is a different matter that man may start taking this way to be difficult or dangerous on occasions because of his own lack of comprehension. But, the Lord of all the worlds has the most comprehensive knowledge of every single particle in the entire universe. Before Him, the past and the future are the same. It is He who can have the knowledge of the reality as to the function and form most beneficial for human beings. And since man is unaware of things as they are in a comprehensive setting, he can-not identify even his own good or bad fully and decisively.