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Surah al-Isra' — The Night Journey: The Mi'raj Verse and the Ten Commandments of Islam

سُورَةُ الإِسرَاء — الإِسرَاء: آيَةُ المِعرَاجِ وَوَصَايَا الإِسلَامِ العَشر
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Surah al-Isra' (سُورَةُ الإِسرَاء — the Night Journey; also called *Surah Bani Isra'il* — because it extensively addresses the Children of Israel; 111 verses; 17th surah; primarily Meccan with some Medinan additions) opens with the famous miracle verse: *'Exalted is He who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque [Masjid al-Haram] to the Farthest Mosque [Masjid al-Aqsa]'* (17:1) — a single verse that carries the Isra' (Night Journey from Mecca to Jerusalem) as a given, leading into the Quran's account of the Banu Isra'il's history of covenant and transgression. The surah's most practically significant section is the Quranic 'Ten Commandments of Islam' (17:22-39): twelve ethical commands in eleven verses that cover the complete moral framework for individual and social life — tawhid, parents, relatives, poverty, children, murder, orphans, sexual ethics, commerce, knowledge, and personal conduct.

The Mi’raj Verse (17:1)

“Subhana alladhi asra bi-‘abdihi laylan min al-Masjid al-Haram ila al-Masjid al-Aqsa alladhi barakna hawlahu li-nuriyahu min ayatina — innahu huwa al-Sami’ al-Basir.”

“Exalted is He who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.”

Key observations:

The Ten Commandments of Islam (17:22-39)

In eleven verses, the Quran lays out twelve ethical commands:

  1. Do not take a deity alongside Allah (17:22) — tawhid as foundation
  2. Be excellent to your parents (17:23-24) — don’t even say “uff” to them, speak with honor
  3. Give relatives their rights, and the needy, and the traveler (17:26)
  4. Do not be wasteful (tabdhir) (17:26-27) — the wasters are brothers of the devils
  5. Do not kill your children from fear of poverty (17:31) — a direct address to the pre-Islamic practice of female infanticide
  6. Do not approach zina (17:32) — even approaching it is forbidden, let alone the act
  7. Do not kill unlawfully (17:33)
  8. Do not approach the orphan’s wealth except to improve it (17:34)
  9. Give full measure and weigh with just scales (17:35)
  10. Do not pursue what you have no knowledge of (17:36) — hearing, sight, and heart are all accountable
  11. Do not walk arrogantly on the earth (17:37) — the earth is not your property; such conduct is despised
  12. [Summary]: “All of that — its evil is hateful in the sight of your Lord.” (17:38)

The Quran in Stages (17:106)

“And [it is] a Quran which We have separated [into parts] so that you might recite it to the people over a prolonged period. And We have sent it down progressively.”

The Arabic furqan (separation/distinguishing) here is the verb form of the same root as al-Furqan — the Criterion — revealing that the Quran’s staged revelation was itself a merciful design.

See also: Quran Sciences, Tafsir Overview, Prophet Muhammad, Seerah Early Mecca, Akhlaq, Maqasid Al Shariah

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