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Surah 17 · Makkah · 111 āyāt

Phase 04 · Ṭāʾif, al-Isrāʾ and the final Makkan years(c. 5–1 BH) — view in timeline

Al-IsrāʾThe Night Journey

الإسراء

The 50th surah revealed, opening the fourth phase of the Makkan mission. It begins with the Night Journey from the Sacred Mosque to al-Masjid al-Aqṣā — a consolation given after the death of Khadījah and Abū Ṭālib and the rejection at Ṭāʾif — and then lays down the moral charter of a believing society in āyāt 23–39: parents, kin, the poor, wealth, the orphan, the measure, speech, walking, killing, adultery. Between these it answers Quraysh's demands for miracles, states that the Qurʾān is itself the sign, and closes with the challenge that jinn and mankind together could not produce its like.

Why it was revealed

Revealed after the ʿām al-ḥuzn — the year in which Khadījah رضي الله عنها and Abū Ṭālib died — and after the Prophet ﷺ was driven out of Ṭāʾif. Quraysh were demanding physical miracles as the price of belief, and the small Muslim community had no state, no land and no protector.

Drawn fromBukhārī 125 and 4721 (Ibn Masʿūd on the question about the rūḥ); Bukhārī 3231 (the angel of the mountains); Bukhārī 3887; Bukhārī 3887 and Muslim 162 (the Isrāʾ); Muslim 162 and 172; Ibn Kathīr on 17:90–93; Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah; Ibn Kathīr, introduction to Sūrat al-Isrāʾ; Ibn Isḥāq via Ibn Hishām; Ibn Isḥāq via Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah; Ibn Isḥāq's account of the delegation to the Prophet ﷺ

The surah's opening āyah refers to the Night Journey, established in the ṣaḥīḥ collections. Per Ibn Masʿūd in al-Bukhārī, the question about the rūḥ (āyah 85) was asked directly by Jews in Madīnah, while other reports state Quraysh raised it on the advice of Jewish scholars. Beyond these, no single occasion is transmitted for the surah as a whole.

Cited toBukhārī 3887 and Muslim 162 (the Isrāʾ); Bukhārī 125 and 4721 (Ibn Masʿūd on the question about the rūḥ); Ibn Kathīr, introduction to Sūrat al-Isrāʾ

In the Prophet's ﷺ life

Lossc. 3 BH (the year of sorrow) · Age About 49–50 · Makkah

The death of Khadījah and Abū Ṭālib

Within a short span the Prophet ﷺ lost his wife of twenty-five years and the uncle whose tribal protection had shielded him, leaving him exposed to Quraysh in a way he had never been before.

Recalled in āyah 1

سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِۦ لَيْلًا مِّنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَا ٱلَّذِى بَـٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَآ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ

Exalted is He who took His Servant [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)] by night from al-Masjid al-Ḥarām to al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.

Cited toIbn Isḥāq via Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah; Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah

  • Madd — 2 vowels
  • Madd — 2, 4 or 6 vowels
  • Madd — 6 vowels (lāzim)
  • Madd — 4 or 5 vowels (wājib)
  • Ghunnah — 2 vowels
  • Qalqalah
  • Ikhfāʾ
  • Ikhfāʾ shafawī
  • Idghām shafawī
  • Idghām with ghunnah
  • Idghām without ghunnah
  • Idghām mutajānisayn
  • Idghām mutaqāribayn
  • Iqlāb
  • Hamzat al-waṣl
  • Lām shamsiyyah
  • Silent letter

Tajwīd markup and colour convention: Quran.com API (v4) — text_uthmani_tajweed. Recitation audio: Quran.com / Quran Foundation Audio API (v4).

THEME 01Āyāt 1–8

Glory be to the One who took His servant by night

The surah opens not with a complaint about Ṭāʾif but with a journey: the servant who was rejected on earth is honoured in the heavens. Allah names him ʿabd — servant — at the moment of highest honour. The passage then turns to Banū Isrāʾīl, who were given the Book and warned that corruption twice brought ruin upon them, tying the honour of the sanctuary to the conduct of the people who hold it.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān on 17:4–8; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 17:1

1

سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِۦ لَيْلًا مِّنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَا ٱلَّذِى بَـٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَآ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ

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Exalted is He who took His Servant [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)] by night from al-Masjid al-Ḥarām to al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.

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From the tafsīr

Allah begins with tasbīḥ because the journey is beyond ordinary causes; and He calls him ʿabdihi — 'His servant' — showing that servitude is the highest station a human can hold.

Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm on 17:1

The two corruptions of Banī Isrāʾīl and their two punishments are placed here as a warning to any community entrusted with a sanctuary and a scripture: possession does not guarantee protection.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān on 17:4–8

Key takeaways

Reflect

When you were last rejected by people, what did Allah open for you that you only recognised later?

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0 / 2 correct

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Question 1 of 2

What title does āyah 1 use for the Prophet ﷺ at the moment of the Night Journey?

Question 2 of 2

Why does al-Qurṭubī say the ruin of Banī Isrāʾīl is mentioned right after the Night Journey?

THEME 02Āyāt 23–39

The charter: parents, kin, wealth, speech and the measure

Seventeen āyāt that read like the constitution of a society that does not yet exist. Worship none but Allah, and to parents excellence — do not say 'uff' to them. Give the relative, the needy and the traveller their right. Do not squander. Do not kill your children out of fear of poverty. Do not approach zinā. Do not take a life unjustly. Fulfil the covenant. Give full measure. Do not pursue what you have no knowledge of. Do not walk the earth in arrogance.

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān on 17:32; Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān on 17:36; Ibn Kathīr on 17:23

23

۞ وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَـٰنًا ۚ إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ ٱلْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَآ أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا

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And your Lord has decreed that you worship not except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], "uff," and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word.

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32

وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا۟ ٱلزِّنَىٰٓ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ فَـٰحِشَةً وَسَآءَ سَبِيلًا

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And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is ever an immorality and is evil as a way.

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36

وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِۦ عِلْمٌ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْبَصَرَ وَٱلْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْـُٔولًا

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And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned.

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From the tafsīr

Allah pairs His own right with the right of parents in a single command, and forbids even the smallest word of irritation, 'uff', before forbidding anything larger.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 17:23

'Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge' is a general prohibition of speaking, judging or testifying without verification — hearing, sight and heart are each held answerable.

Cited toAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān on 17:36

The wording is 'do not approach zinā', not merely 'do not commit it' — the pathways to it are forbidden along with the act.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān on 17:32

Key takeaways

Reflect

Which single āyah of this charter would change your week most if you applied it strictly for seven days?

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0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

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Question 1 of 2

What does Ibn Kathīr highlight about the command regarding parents in 17:23?

Question 2 of 2

According to al-Ṭabarī, what does 17:36 forbid?

THEME 03Āyāt 82–89

The Qurʾān as healing, and the challenge no one met

Quraysh wanted a miracle they could touch. The answer: this recitation is healing and mercy for the believers and only loss for the wrongdoers. Then the question about the rūḥ, answered by naming the limit of human knowledge, and finally the challenge — if mankind and jinn gathered to produce the like of this Qurʾān they could not, even backing one another.

Drawn fromBukhārī 4721, from Ibn Masʿūd; Al-Qurṭubī on 17:88; Ibn Kathīr on 17:82

82

وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ ٱلْقُرْءَانِ مَا هُوَ شِفَآءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۙ وَلَا يَزِيدُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ إِلَّا خَسَارًا

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And We send down of the Qur’ān that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss.

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From the tafsīr

He was walking with the Prophet ﷺ in Madīnah when a group of Jews asked him directly about the rūḥ; the answer 'the rūḥ is of the affair of my Lord' came down while he leaned on a palm branch.

Cited toBukhārī 4721, from Ibn Masʿūd

The Qurʾān is shifāʾ — healing — for the diseases of the heart such as doubt, hypocrisy and desire, and for the body by permission of Allah; the wrongdoer gains nothing from it but greater loss.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 17:82

The taḥaddī is the standing miracle: it is public, repeatable and permanent, unlike a one-off sign that only the witnesses could see.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 17:88

Key takeaways

Reflect

Do you come to the Qurʾān as a patient seeking healing, or as a critic seeking material?

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Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

Who reported the occasion of the question about the rūḥ in 17:85?

Question 2 of 2

What does Ibn Kathīr say the Qurʾān is shifāʾ for?

THEME 04Āyāt 78–81

Prayer at the sun's decline, and the station of the night

Immediately after the moral charter comes the timetable: establish prayer from the decline of the sun to the darkness of night, and the recitation of dawn — which is witnessed. Then a command addressed to the Prophet ﷺ personally: keep vigil in part of the night as extra for you, that your Lord may raise you to a praised station, al-maqām al-maḥmūd. The section closes with the duʿāʾ of the honest entrance and exit, and the announcement that truth has come and falsehood has vanished.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 17:78; Al-Saʿdī on 17:80; Ibn Kathīr on 17:79

79

وَمِنَ ٱلَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِۦ نَافِلَةً لَّكَ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَّحْمُودًا

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

And from [part of] the night, pray with it [i.e., recitation of the Qur’ān] as additional [worship] for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a praised station.

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From the tafsīr

Al-maqām al-maḥmūd is explained in the ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth as the station of the great intercession on the Day of Resurrection, which the Prophet ﷺ will be granted.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 17:79

'Qurʾān al-fajr' is the recitation in the dawn prayer, and it is 'witnessed' by the angels of the night and the day as they exchange watch.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 17:78

The duʿāʾ for a truthful entrance and exit is asking Allah for integrity of purpose in every transition — every beginning and ending of an affair.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 17:80

Key takeaways

Reflect

What would it take to make one part of your night belong to Allah alone this week?

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Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

Why is the dawn recitation described as 'witnessed' (mashhūdā)?

Question 2 of 2

What is al-maqām al-maḥmūd in 17:79, per Ibn Kathīr?

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VOCABULARY

Roots from this surah

Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.

س ر ي

āyāt 1

to travel by night

  • أَسْرَىٰHe took by night
  • إِسْرَاءa night journey
  • سَرَىٰhe travelled by night

ق ض ي

āyāt 4, 23

to decree, decide, complete an affair

  • قَضَىٰHe decreed
  • قَضَاءa decree, judgement
  • مَقْضِيًّاdecreed, settled

ح م د

āyāt 79, 111

praise given for what is good by choice

  • مَحْمُودpraised
  • ٱلْحَمْدall praise
  • مُحَمَّدthe much-praised one

ش ف ي

āyāt 82

to heal, to cure

  • شِفَاءhealing
  • يَشْفِىHe heals
  • شَافِىhealer

ق ر ب

āyāt 32, 34

to draw near, to approach

  • تَقْرَبُوا۟you approach
  • قَرِيبnear
  • قُرْبَىٰkinship

ف س د

āyāt 4

to corrupt, to spoil what was sound

  • فَسَادcorruption
  • مُفْسِدa corrupter
  • أَفْسَدَhe corrupted

ع ل م

āyāt 36, 85

to know; knowledge as a basis for claims

  • عِلْمknowledge
  • أُوتِيتُمyou were given
  • عَلِيمall-knowing

Carry this with you

  • When people close every door, Allah may answer by opening the heavens.
  • The highest title given to the best of creation is 'servant'.
  • A believing society is defined by how it treats parents, orphans, the poor and the traveller — before anything else.
  • Forbidden things are fenced off at their approaches, not just at the act.
  • Never assert what you have not verified; your hearing, sight and heart will each be questioned.
  • The night prayer is the private engine behind public elevation.
  • The Qurʾān is the standing miracle: the challenge to produce its like remains open and unmet.
  • Holding a sacred place or a scripture protects no community that abandons justice.

Where this surah connects

Cross-surah threads

Parts of the Qurʾān explain other parts. Each thread below opens the same subject as it is argued across every other surah you have studied, in revelation order.

The signs you already walk on4 movementsThe four trials2 movementsProvision, wealth and the tongue that forgets1 movementPatience while the answer is delayed1 movement
All threads →

Sources behind Sūrah Al-Isrāʾ

Every line of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these references. Ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com and āyah references open on quran.com, so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust. The Arabic text itself is fetched live from a verified public corpus.

Seerah & history3

  • Ibn Isḥāq via Ibn Hishām
  • Ibn Isḥāq via Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah
  • Ibn Isḥāq's account of the delegation to the Prophet ﷺ
FINAL ASSESSMENT

Full exam — the whole surah, from memory

Every question from every theme, interleaved and reworded. Interleaving is what turns recognition into recall. Each answer updates your review schedule, your mistakes list and your mastery score for that theme.

Al-Isrāʾ — full exam

1 / 8 · 0 correct

8 questions across 4 themes.

Al-Isrāʾ · The Qurʾān as healing, and the challenge no one met

Who reported the occasion of the question about the rūḥ in 17:85?

Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol