The Night Journey (Al-Isra)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) [above all that (evil) they associate with Him] [Tafsir Qurtubi, Vol. 10, Page 204] Who took His slave (Muhammad SAW) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Haram (at Makkah) to the farthest mosque (in Jerusalem), the neighborhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him (Muhammad SAW) of Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.). Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer. 1 We gave Moses the Book and made it a guide for the Children of Israel saying, "Do not take anyone besides Me as a guardian, 2 O you, the offspring of those We bore (in the ark) with Noah, he was indeed a grateful votary. 3 And We conveyed to the Children of Israel in the Scripture that, "You will surely cause corruption on the earth twice, and you will surely reach [a degree of] great haughtiness. 4 (We told them) during your first uprising of evil We shall send to you Our mighty servants, who will chase you from house to house. This is a decree already ordained. 5 And after a time We allowed you to prevail against them once again, and aided you with wealth and offspring, and made you more numerous [than ever]. 6 If you do good, you will do good for your own souls, and if you do evil, it shall be for them. So when the second promise came (We raised another people) that they may bring you to grief and that they may enter the mosque as they entered it the first time, and that they might destroy whatever they gained ascendancy over with utter destruction. 7 [And We said in the Taurat (Torah)]: "It may be that your Lord may show mercy unto you, but if you return (to sins), We shall return (to Our Punishment). And We have made Hell a prison for the disbelievers. 8 This Quran shows the way to that which is the most upright and gives to the righteous believers the glad news of a great reward. 9 (It also declares) that for the disbelievers We have prepared a painful torment in the life to come. 10