As-salaam wa-alaikum, brothers and sisters.
Summary
Today’s episode of 17 Verses is from Surah 17, Al-Isrâ or the Night Journey, verses 23-40. These verses contain commandments to the believers to be obedient and courteous to your parents and relatives and those in your community. It also forbids ending the lives of younglings for fear of want and talks of honoring the property of orphans and enjoins the believers to fulfill all terms of agreements and to be humble and not associate any other deities with God.
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Verses
Bis-millahi ar-rahman, ar-raheem.
In the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful.Your Lord has decreed to you that: You shall worship none but Him, and you shall be kind to your parents; if one or both of them live to their old age in your lifetime, you shall not say to them any word of contempt nor repel them and you shall address them in kind words.[23] You shall lower to them your wings of humility out of mercy for them and pray: “O my Lord! Bestow on them Your blessings just as they cherished me when I was a little child.”[24] Your Lord knows best what is in your hearts. If you have good intention, certainly He is most forgiving to those who turn to Him in repentance.[25] You shall give to your relatives their due and to the needy, and to the wayfarers. You shall not be a spendthrift[26] – as spendthrifts are the brethren of shaitân (Satan) and shaitân is ever ungrateful to His Lord.[27] 17:[23-27]
You shall speak courteously to needy persons if you are waiting for your Lord’s bounty and you lack the means to assist them.[28] You shall neither tie your hands to your neck (be miserly) nor stretch them forth to their utmost reach (be prodigal), lest you sit back, blameworthy and destitute.[29] Surely, your Lord gives abundantly to whom He pleases and sparingly to whom He wills, for He is aware of the condition of His servants and observes them closely.[30] 17:[28-30]
You shall not kill your children for fear of want, for it is We Who provide sustenance for them as well as for you; surely, killing them is a great blunder.[31] You shall not go near the unlawful sex; surely, it is a shameful deed and an evil way (opening the door to other evils).[32] You shall not kill anyone whose killing Allah has forbidden, except for just cause under the Islamic law. If anyone is killed unjustly, We have granted the right of retribution to his heir, but let him not carry his vengeance too far in killing the culprit, as he is supported by the law.[33] 17:[31-33]
You shall not go near the property of an orphan, except with the good intention of improving it, until he attains his maturity. You shall fulfill your pledges; surely, you shall be held accountable for your pledges.[34] 17:[34]
You shall give full measure, when you measure, and weigh with even scale; this is the best way and will prove to be the best in the end.[35] You shall not follow anyone blindly in those matters of which you have no knowledge, surely, the use of your ears and eyes and heart – all of these, shall be questioned on the Day of Judgment.[36] 17:[35-36]
You shall not walk arrogantly on the earth, for you can neither rend the earth asunder nor attain the height of the mountains.[37] All these, their evil aspects are hateful in the sight of your Lord.[38] This is but a part of the wisdom which your Lord has revealed to you. Do not associate with Allah other deities as object of worship, lest you should be cast into hell, blameworthy and rejected.[39] What! Has your Lord preferred to give you sons and adopted angels as daughters for Himself? Certainly you are uttering a monstrous statement.[40] 17:[37-40]
Ameen.
This concludes today’s episode of the 17 Verses Podcast. I hope that this selection has helped increase your understanding of the holy Qur’an just a little bit.
Thank you and be well.