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Happy Christmas everyone! I hope your day is filled with joy. As for me, I’m working my way through a very long chapter of the Qur’an…<\/p>\n
Surah 17 – “The Night Journey” (Al-Isra<\/a>) Then begins some teaching concerning\u00a0the Children of Israel. We are told that Allah “gave Moses the Scripture and made it a guidance for [them]”<\/span>. Again, there is no indication that the Hebrew scriptures have been corrupted at all.<\/p>\n After a brief mention of Noah, we are told that Allah told the Children of Israel that they would “surely cause corruption on the earth twice”<\/span> and he promised punishment on both of these occasions.<\/p>\n 1. On the first occasion, Allah promised that a servant of His, someone with great military power, would\u00a0invade their homes. He then promised that the Israelites would\u00a0eventually be\u00a0victorious.<\/p>\n 2. On the second occasion, Allah sent enemies who entered the Jerusalem Temple and destroyed it.<\/p>\n I’m not exactly sure which events are being described here, since we are given very little information. The destruction of the Temple was done first by the Babylonians and\u00a0then by the Romans.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We then jump to some verses about judgement, describing how each person will read the record of his own deeds on Judgmenet Day which will either condemn him or vindicate him. Once more we are told that “no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another”<\/span>. I’m not sure if this is a subtle dig at the Christian understanding of Jesus’ crucifixion.<\/p>\n After the verses about Judgment, there is some moral teaching on the family. Muslims are told to “worship not except [Allah] and to parents, good treatment”<\/span>. \u00a0They are told to “speak to them a noble word”<\/span> and not to speak words of disapproval or irritation.<\/p>\n We are told that when Muslims recite the Quran that Allah puts between them and unbelievers “a concealed partition”<\/span> which prevents the guidance from reaching them. I’m confused as to why this should be the case. The subsequent verses are about the disbelief of Muhammad’s critics, particularly concerning\u00a0the Resurrection.<\/p>\n There is a brief reference to Allah giving David the book of Psalms.<\/p>\n We are told that some invoke (according to the footnote) “angels, prophets, deceased scholars”<\/span>, but that these supposed intercessors\u00a0themselves seek means of access to Allah.<\/p>\n The Fall of Satan is then recounted, but with no new inforamtion.<\/p>\n Allah’s goodness and mercy are exstolled for a few verses and we then return again to the topic of Judgement Day.<\/p>\n There is a cryptic passage about unbelievers trying\u00a0to tempt Muhammad away and invent something false about Allah. We are told that he was saved from doing this because Allah\u00a0strengthened him. We are told, however, that if Muhammad had done this, He would have made him “taste double [punishment in] life and doube [after] death”<\/span>.<\/p>\n Although the tenses are confusing, it then\u00a0speaks of Muhammad being driven from Mecca, but his enemies remaining there only for a little while longer. My footnote comments that within ten years of Muhammad’s emigration, Mecca is completely cleared of his enemies, so I assume this is treated as a prophecy.<\/p>\n There are some verses exhorting prayer at the various appointed times.<\/p>\n Some people ask\u00a0Muhammad about the soul and Allah tells him to say that the soul\u00a0is the concern of Allah and that mankind has only been given a little bit of knowledge about it.<\/p>\n We are told that even if mankind and the jinn gathered to produce something like the Qur’an, they would fail.\u00a0I’ve often heard this assertion from Muslims, but it’s always been one which has confused me. What makes the Qur’an really so amazing? I’m finding this current project of reading it really tough going…<\/p>\n Muhammad’s critics demand various miracles or angelic visits, but Muhammad is told to say “Was I ever but a human messenger?… Sufficient is Allah as Witness between me and you”\u00a0<\/span>The miraculous signs of Moses are mentioned, since this were rejected by Pharaoh as magic, thereby showing, I assume, why Muhammad does no miracles.<\/p>\n We are told that Allah has separated the revelation of the Qur’an by intervals so that Muhammad may recite it to the people over a prolonged period. If you recall, the\u00a0gradual revelation of the Qur’an was one of the criticisms of Muhammad’s opponents.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>This chapter begins with an brief reference to event which gives its name to this chapter: The Night Journey. We are told that, in a single night, Muhammad travelled from Mecca to Jerusalem. There’s a second journey made later that night to Heaven, but it is not mentioned in this chapter.
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