I don't want to get in between both of you debating this, but to resolve it, point to your established tafsir of the Quran, which will show what the Quran meant and its correct context. If not, don't argue for the sake of arguing, and that too over crooked nose Jews.
Bro,
Surah al-Isra is not difficult to understand. It was disclosed to Holy Prophet (PBUH) in Mecca in times of safar-e-meraj.
سبحان الذي اسرى بعبده ليلا من المسجد الحرام الى المسجد الاقصى الذي باركنا حوله لنريه من اياتنا انه هو السميع البصير
quran.com
During this journey, Holy Prophet (PBUH) had the opportunity to see ruins of the Kingdom of Israel. Allah Almighty disclosed to Holy Prophet (PBUH) what happened in this region. Allah Almighty disclosed that these people were once slaves of Pharaoh and he granted them freedom. Allah Almighty also conveyed the Ten Commandments as a way of life to these people through Prophet Musa (AS).
واتينا موسى الكتاب وجعلناه هدى لبني اسرائيل الا تتخذوا من دوني وكيلا
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ذرية من حملنا مع نوح انه كان عبدا شكورا
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But these people embraced corruption and became mischievous and arrogant.
وقضينا الى بني اسرائيل في الكتاب لتفسدن في الارض مرتين ولتعلن علوا كبيرا
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"And We warned the Children of Israel in the Scripture, “You will certainly cause corruption in the land twice, and you will become extremely arrogant."
Allah Almighty punished them by creating conditions which led to war(s) between the Kingdom of Israel and other Empires having great military might from time-to-time.
فاذا جاء وعد اولاهما بعثنا عليكم عبادا لنا اولي باس شديد فجاسوا خلال الديار وكان وعدا مفعولا
quran.com
Translation of 17/5:
"When the first of the two warnings would come to pass, We would send against you some of Our servants of great might, who would ravage your homes. This would be a warning fulfilled."
----- general knowledge -----
The Kingdom of Israel vs. the Babylonia
Babylonia, ancient cultural region occupying southeastern Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern southern Iraq from around Baghdad to the Persian Gulf). Because the city of Babylon was the capital of this area for so many centuries, the term Babylonia has come to refer to...
www.britannica.com
My thread for reference:
Thread 'Assyrian military - the world's first professional army'
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/assyrian-military-the-worlds-first-professional-army.574303/
NOTE: The Assyrians were a part of the Babylonia.
----- general knowledge -----
Allah Almighty made it possible for the Kingdom of Israel to achieve freedom from the Babylonia after repentance but they reverted to their older ways of being corrupt, mischievous and arrogant and another more destructive war followed:
ثم رددنا لكم الكرة عليهم وامددناكم باموال وبنين وجعلناكم اكثر نفيرا
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ان احسنتم احسنتم لانفسكم وان اساتم فلها فاذا جاء وعد الاخرة ليسوءوا وجوهكم وليدخلوا المسجد كما دخلوه اول مرة وليتبروا ما علوا تتبيرا
quran.com
Translation of 17/7:
"If you act rightly, it is for your own good, but if you do wrong, it is to your own loss. “And when the second warning would come to pass, your enemies would ˹be left to˺ totally disgrace you and enter the Temple ˹of Jerusalem˺ as they entered it the first time, and utterly destroy whatever would fall into their hands."
----- general knowledge -----
The Kingdom of Israel vs. the Romans
The original Roman Empire was a great power in true sense of the word; much bigger and stronger than the Byzantine Empire that existed in times of Holy Prophet (PBUH). The original Roman Empire utterly destroyed the Kingdom of Israel in a war. The original Romans destroyed the Temple of Solomon as well.
----- general knowledge -----
Final warning is of HELL that is promised to disbelievers as their permanent abode:
عسى ربكم ان يرحمكم وان عدتم عدنا وجعلنا جهنم للكافرين حصيرا
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Guidance in the Holy Quran is for entire mankind.
ان هذا القران يهدي للتي هي اقوم ويبشر المؤمنين الذين يعملون الصالحات ان لهم اجرا كبيرا
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وان الذين لا يؤمنون بالاخرة اعتدنا لهم عذابا اليما
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ويدع الانسان بالشر دعاءه بالخير وكان الانسان عجولا
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وجعلنا الليل والنهار ايتين فمحونا اية الليل وجعلنا اية النهار مبصرة لتبتغوا فضلا من ربكم ولتعلموا عدد السنين والحساب وكل شيء فصلناه تفصيلا
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Every human will be judged for his deeds on the Day of Judgement:
وكل انسان الزمناه طائره في عنقه ونخرج له يوم القيامة كتابا يلقاه منشورا
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اقرا كتابك كفى بنفسك اليوم عليك حسيبا
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من اهتدى فانما يهتدي لنفسه ومن ضل فانما يضل عليها ولا تزر وازرة وزر اخرى وما كنا معذبين حتى نبعث رسولا
quran.com
Translation of 17/5:
"Whoever chooses to be guided, it is only for their own good. And whoever chooses to stray, it is only to their own loss. No soul burdened with sin will bear the burden of another. And We would never punish ˹a people˺ until We have sent a messenger ˹to warn them˺."
Allah Almighty is judging humans on individual level as well as societal level in the context of Good vs. Bad. Do Good and you will benefit from it. Do bad and you will have to deal with its consequences.
واذا اردنا ان نهلك قرية امرنا مترفيها ففسقوا فيها فحق عليها القول فدمرناها تدميرا
quran.com
Translation of 17/6:
"Whenever We intend to destroy a society, We command its elite ˹to obey Allah˺ but they act rebelliously in it. So the decree ˹of punishment˺ is justified, and We destroy it utterly."
وكم اهلكنا من القرون من بعد نوح وكفى بربك بذنوب عباده خبيرا بصيرا
quran.com
Translation of 17/7:
"˹Imagine˺ how many peoples We have destroyed after Noah! And sufficient is your Lord as All-Aware and All-Seeing of the sins of His servants."
It is not just the nation of Noah that Allah Almighty destroyed due to being corrupt, mischievous and arrogant. Numerous nations throughout history in fact.
Surah al-Isra offers guidance and warning to entire mankind. Not just the Jews.
Commandments for Muslims and believers in general in following verses:
انظر كيف فضلنا بعضهم على بعض وللاخرة اكبر درجات واكبر تفضيلا
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لا تجعل مع الله الها اخر فتقعد مذموما مخذولا
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وقضى ربك الا تعبدوا الا اياه وبالوالدين احسانا اما يبلغن عندك الكبر احدهما او كلاهما فلا تقل لهما اف ولا تنهرهما وقل لهما قولا كريما
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واخفض لهما جناح الذل من الرحمة وقل رب ارحمهما كما ربياني صغيرا
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ربكم اعلم بما في نفوسكم ان تكونوا صالحين فانه كان للاوابين غفورا
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وات ذا القربى حقه والمسكين وابن السبيل ولا تبذر تبذيرا
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ان المبذرين كانوا اخوان الشياطين وكان الشيطان لربه كفورا
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واما تعرضن عنهم ابتغاء رحمة من ربك ترجوها فقل لهم قولا ميسورا
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ولا تجعل يدك مغلولة الى عنقك ولا تبسطها كل البسط فتقعد ملوما محسورا
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ان ربك يبسط الرزق لمن يشاء ويقدر انه كان بعباده خبيرا بصيرا
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ولا تقتلوا اولادكم خشية املاق نحن نرزقهم واياكم ان قتلهم كان خطئا كبيرا
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ولا تقربوا الزنا انه كان فاحشة وساء سبيلا
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ولا تقتلوا النفس التي حرم الله الا بالحق ومن قتل مظلوما فقد جعلنا لوليه سلطانا فلا يسرف في القتل انه كان منصورا
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ولا تقربوا مال اليتيم الا بالتي هي احسن حتى يبلغ اشده واوفوا بالعهد ان العهد كان مسئولا
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واوفوا الكيل اذا كلتم وزنوا بالقسطاس المستقيم ذلك خير واحسن تاويلا
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ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علم ان السمع والبصر والفؤاد كل اولئك كان عنه مسئولا
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ولا تمش في الارض مرحا انك لن تخرق الارض ولن تبلغ الجبال طولا
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كل ذلك كان سيئه عند ربك مكروها
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Translation of 17/37 in focus:
"And do not walk on the earth arrogantly. Surely you can neither crack the earth nor stretch to the height of the mountains."
Translation of 17/38 in focus:
"The violation of any of these ˹commandments˺ is detestable to your Lord."
One of the things that Allah Almighty detests is "arrogance." This is for both individuals and nations.
Do not make big boasts about yourself for you never know when Allah Almighty will decide to humble you or teach you a lesson in humility. ----[1]
----- Food for thought -----
Now let us reflect on the situation of Pakistan for perspective.
One of our slogans is this:
"There is no power on Earth that can undo Pakistan."
Really? Statements like these are devoid of humbleness and arrogant.
Reality check. There (are) powers on Earth that can undo Pakistan. They are not doing it because Allah Almighty has softened their hearts for now.
Remember the fate of Titanic - a ship that was supposed to be unsinkable? It sank in its maiden voyage. Refer back to [1].
Corruption, mischief and arrogance is apparent in Pakistan. So what is happening to Pakistan?
1. WE lost our Eastern Half in a war with India in 1971.
2. Americans killed thousands in our country and neighboring Afghanistan in
War On Terror. They even raided Abbottabad in 2011 to assassinate Osama Bin Laden.
3. Global Warming is manifesting and Pakistan is on the hit list. The Earthquake in 2005 was a warning. The massive flooding event in 2022 is another warning.
But look at the level of arrogance in statements of fellow brothers. Muslims are so out of touch with revelations in the Holy Quran and so fixated on deeds of OTHERS that they have forgotten to reflect on themselves. Many mistakenly assume that Muslims are exempt from judgement of Allah Almighty. No, WE are NOT.
Questionable religious narratives are constructed from selective use of Hadith to mislead masses with terrible outcomes from time-to-time. Just look at the fate of
Black Banners in our times.
The ENTIRE pan-Islamic bloc is susceptible to influence of OTHER powers since the fall of the Ottoman Empire in World War 1. Muslims are now split on the lines of nationhood and belief systems. And any nation is vulnerable to invasion and hammering from OTHER powers in this dynamic.
But the level of arrogance in statements of fellow brothers is mind-blowing.
Americans pounded Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya and got rid of anybody
they wanted to kill across the ENTIRE pan-Islamic bloc in
War On Terror.
But Taliban types won the war, right? These people won the war by hiding in caves and neighboring countries for sure. All should strive for this model of warfare and victory in a war.
The word "victory" has lost its meaning lately. There is nothing stopping USA from bombing Afghanistan to oblivion, if necessary. They can do this from a distance. But there are innocents in view and Allah Almighty have softened hearts of those having great military might in modern times. For now.
But how many understand the causes of War On Terror? How many seem to realize what the Al-Qaeda types were doing? What happened in 9/11? Not many. Conspiracy theories galore.
I am a Muslim and a Pakistani. I want Pakistan to flourish. I am an advocate of peace and prosperity, however. Pakistan should not partake in war(s) of other countries. Pakistan should raise its sword in its defense only.
Learn to stay away from the Cold War between OTHER powers. Reject corruption, mischief and arrogance for unity, faith and discipline. Develop local industries and explore ways to fulfill energy needs. Strive for self-sufficiency in economy and reliance on loans of other countries and organizations. Those who give loans are able to EXPLOIT as well. Look for trading opportunities in the entire world. And think about implications of Global Warming. This is our REAL STRUGGLE.
Fix yourself and put your house in order. Allah Almighty will help when WE will be on the right track as a nation.
----- Food for thought -----
Coming back to Surah al-Isra. Allah Almighty also addressed disbelievers like pagans of Mecca and others in this surah (disbelievers in general around the world). These people reject Allah Almighty and his messengers. Some even mocked that why these messengers are human like them, why not in other forms to be convincing?
وما منع الناس ان يؤمنوا اذ جاءهم الهدى الا ان قالوا ابعث الله بشرا رسولا
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قل لو كان في الارض ملائكة يمشون مطمئنين لنزلنا عليهم من السماء ملكا رسولا
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قل كفى بالله شهيدا بيني وبينكم انه كان بعباده خبيرا بصيرا
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ومن يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد لهم اولياء من دونه ونحشرهم يوم القيامة على وجوههم عميا وبكما وصما ماواهم جهنم كلما خبت زدناهم سعيرا
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Allah Almighty revealed that he will resurrect every human and teach those a lesson on the Day of Judgement who rejected him and his messengers. All will see for themselves on this particular day.
Allah Almighty revisited the case of Jews in following verses:
ولقد اتينا موسى تسع ايات بينات فاسال بني اسرائيل اذ جاءهم فقال له فرعون اني لاظنك يا موسى مسحورا
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Moses replied, “You know well that none has sent these ˹signs˺ down except the Lord of the heavens and the earth as insights. And I really think that ...
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So Pharaoh wanted to scare the Israelites out of the land ˹of Egypt˺, but We drowned him and all of those with him.
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And We said to the Children of Israel after Pharaoh, “Reside in the land, but when the promise of the Hereafter comes to pass, We will bring you all t...
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Translation of 17/104 in focus:
And We said to the Children of Israel after Pharaoh, “Reside in the land, but when the promise of the Hereafter comes to pass,1 We will bring you all together.”
Red highlight suggest that the Jews will continue to exist in these lands including Palestine. Ponder over this.
Blue highlight is FUTURE TENSE. This gathering is in the End Times. Open to interpretation but bound to happen.
I hope all is clear now.
----- ----- -----
Bro, I do NOT have a problem with OP in person. He is a fellow Muslim and like a brother. But he is boastful and too fixated on his political sentiments about jews and Israel and the sort. He should reflect on himself and his political sentiments for a change. He claims to have spent 25 years studying Holy Quran and he could not figure out what is the message in Surah al-Isra? I can excuse his fallibility as a human being but I have cautioned him to not question intellect of other members. There are some who will put him in his place in intellectual capacity. Be humble.
A fine line must be drawn between Islam and political sentiments of our times. WE are NOT supposed to decide which state should exist and should not exist
using Islam as the basis. This matter is in the hands of Allah Almighty. Arabs attempted to wipe out Modern Israel but what have they achieved with these attempts? They have made matters WORSE for local Palestinians instead.
Now Iranians feel strongly about defending local Palestinians but they will exhaust themselves as well.
Some members question the legitimacy of the United Nations (UN). These people are in need of a "reality check" as well. UN is a global body that strives for co-existence and dialogue between all nation states. UN grants legitimacy to the borders of every nation-state including Pakistan in modern times. Otherwise India or another country can claim Pakistan for itself.
It is foolish to question legitimacy of UN in view of its mission and purpose.
Allah Almighty have not instructed believers to defy things that are beneficial to mankind in any way or form. WE are not supposed to be devoid of LOGIC and REASON. Islam itself advances lawfulness and co-existence.
The above being said, this thread has served its purpose and will be closed in view of Forum Rules.
en.m.wikipedia.org
