A Reflection On Surah AL-ISRA’

Abstract

Abstract        

 The reflection on Surah al-Isra’ (The Night Journey) is an attempt to show how the surah (chapter) is an integral whole of meaning. Each ayah (verse) of the surah connects with the two main themes of the surah – Meccan polytheists objections to the Prophet’s message and God’s responses, and the believers’ impatience asking for the punishment of the polytheists in the eleventh year of the Prophet’s teaching in Mecca. The example of the Children of Isra’il in the surah serves the purpose of informing the polytheists of their coming reward or punishment based on accepting or rejecting the Prophet’s message. When we study the surah as a unity of meaning, i.e., all ayat (verses) connect in meaning with each other, the discontinuity in the narrative disappears. For example, ayah 1 is about Isra’ (night journey) but then connected with a wa (and) in ayah 2 with the story of Moses. The two subjects have no connection, but a deep connection exists. The difficult circumstance in the eleventh year of the Prophet’s preaching required to show the Prophet God’s great signs that God was in full control. Therefore, the believers shall remain patient. Whereas the ayah 2 poses a threat to the polytheists by narrating the story of Moses and his followers when they disobeyed. The surah is full of such discontinuities. For each discontinuity, the paper will show the hidden connection. The reflection on the Qur’an then becomes a process of discovering hidden meaning threads among the ayat of the surah. The beauty of a narrative is in its flow of ideas without discontinuities. Further, it fulfills the idea of a surah as a boundary within which certain ideas exist and others excluded based on the principle of making certain key points. Reading a surah as disjointed subjects or unity of subjects drastically impacts its correct understanding.