Selected Ayaat of Surah al-Israa — Study Session 1
Overview
The main topics covered in this session are:
- Introduction to the series and the selected ayaat (Ayaat 23 onwards — the "Ten Commandments" in the Quran)
- How to use the Mujam (Hans Wehr Arabic–English dictionary) — online and PDF versions
- Overview of Surah al-Israa: names, themes, and its complementary sura (Surah al-Kahf)
- Similarities between Surah al-Israa and Surah al-Kahf
- The meaning of الدَّجَّال (al-Dajjāl) and its connection to Surah al-Kahf
- Grammar: multiple meanings of قَضَى (qadhā)
- Grammar: إِمَّا as إِن + ما (conditional + emphatic particle)
- Grammar: النُّون التَّوكِيدِيَّة — the emphatic nūn after إِمَّا
- Grammar: كِلَا (kilā) — "both" — and how it declines when its مُضَاف إِلَيه is a pronoun vs. a noun
1. Series Introduction — The Selected Ayaat
The selected ayaat begin at Ayah 23 of Surah al-Israa and run for approximately ten verses. According to ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (the great scholar of the ummah), these ten ayaat are the Ten Commandments that were revealed to Mūsā ʿalayhi al-salām in the Torah and have been re-stated in the Quran — cleansed of any later corruption and summarized with clarity.
Why These Ayaat?
Two reasons make these ayaat exceptionally important: 1. They appear in both the Torah and the Quran, showing their universal and timeless weight. 2. Allah re-revealed them in the Quran to purify these commandments from the distortions that had entered the Torah over time.
The teacher encourages students to read the entire Surah with a simple tafseer alongside the grammar study, since the selected ayaat are largely self-sufficient but a broader context deepens understanding.
2. How to Use the Mujam (Arabic Dictionary)
Two resources were demonstrated:
| Resource | Type | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Mujam (online — Almaany or similar) | Online | Quick lookups, built-in search |
| Mujam PDF (Islam House link) | Offline PDF | Available without internet |
Key symbols used in the Mujam PDF:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ج (jīm) | Jamʿ (plural) of the preceding word |
| و (wāw dash) | New/different meaning of the same root |
| ما | Indicates a word used differently in classical vs. modern Arabic |
| د | Words borrowed into Arabic from other languages (e.g., oxygen → أُوكسِجِين) |
Exercise
When you encounter an unfamiliar plural, type the root letters into the online Mujam. The plural (جمع) is listed right after the singular entry with a ج marker.
3. Surah al-Israa — Overview and Names
Surah al-Israa has two names:
| Name | Reason |
|---|---|
| سُورَة الإِسْرَاء | The Surah opens with the famous Night Journey (isrāʾ) of the Prophet ﷺ from Makkah to Jerusalem in one night |
| سُورَة بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل | The Surah contains extensive commentary on the story, responsibility, and downfall of Banū Isrāʾīl (the Children of Israel) |
Structure of the Surah
After describing the downfall of the Jews, Allah immediately mentions the Quran. At the end of the Surah He repeats:
"We have revealed this Quran with truth, and with truth it has descended."
The message: the fate of any nation — its success or failure — is now decided by its relationship with the Quran.
4. Surah al-Israa and Surah al-Kahf — Complementary Suras
The teacher noted that certain pairs of suras complement each other by addressing the same theme from two angles. Examples mentioned:
- Surah al-Muzzammil + Surah al-Muddaththir
- Surah al-Falaq + Surah al-Nās
- Surah al-Israa + Surah al-Kahf
- Surah al-Baqarah + Surah Āl-ʿImrān
Evidence for the al-Israa / al-Kahf pairing:
- Al-Israa opens with سُبْحَانَ; al-Kahf opens with الحَمْدُ لِلَّه. A ḥadīth states: "سبحان الله fills half the scales; الحمد لله fills the other half." These two suras together thus carry this complete dhikr.
- Both address the Prophet ﷺ as عَبْد (ʿabd — servant).
- Both establish the humanity and prophethood of the Messenger ﷺ simultaneously.
- Both contain the story of Ādam and Iblīs (brief reference).
- Both mention how previous peoples were destroyed when they disobeyed.
- A shared ayah appears in both suras — the same idea in slightly rearranged wording (al-Israa 89 parallels its counterpart in al-Kahf) — inviting reflection on why the word order differs in each context.
- Both mention Salāh al-Fajr and the Quran being witnessed at that time (al-Israa 78).
Study Recommendation
If doing tafseer research, study Surah al-Israa and Surah al-Kahf side by side. Find the similarities and ponder why each topic is phrased differently in each surah.
5. The Meaning of الدَّجَّال and the Wisdom of Surah al-Kahf
The word الدَّجَّال is not a personal name — it is a title. It comes from the root د-ج-ل (dajala), meaning to veil something and show a false picture in its place — to obscure reality with a deceptive appearance.
The Dajjāl will have one eye because the evil of his era is that people see only the material world; the eye that perceives the spiritual and the Hereafter is absent.
Surah al-Kahf protects against the Fitnah of the Dajjāl because its themes are the antidote to precisely this deception:
| Dajjal's Deception | Surah al-Kahf's Antidote |
|---|---|
| Makes the evil of dunya appear beautiful and easy | Opens with: "We have made what is on earth an adornment — a test" |
| Distracts from the Hereafter | Emphasises that reward is in the Ākhirah; keep your eye there |
| Tests through wealth and power | Story of the man with two gardens (test of wealth) |
| Tests through hardship | Story of the People of the Cave (test of oppression) |
| Tests through knowledge | Story of Mūsā and al-Khiḍr |
| Tests through power and kingdom | Story of Dhul-Qarnayn |
Key Lesson
Reading Surah al-Kahf every Friday with understanding is the prescription — not merely as a ritual recitation. Only through understanding its lessons can a person build the spiritual immunity the Prophet ﷺ described.
6. Ayah 23 — Grammar Analysis
6.1 Full Ayah
وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا
Translation: And your Lord has decreed that you shall not worship anyone except Him, and [show] kindness to parents.
6.2 The Word قَضَى (qadhā) — Multiple Meanings
Root: ق-ض-ي Form: I verb
| Meaning | Quranic Example |
|---|---|
| To decree / judge | وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ — Your Lord has decreed (Surah al-Israa 23) |
| To carry out / complete / perform | فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُم مَّنَاسِكَكُمْ — When you have completed your rites of Hajj (al-Baqarah 200) |
| To kill / do away with | فَوَكَزَهُ مُوسَىٰ فَقَضَىٰ عَلَيْهِ — Mūsā struck him with his fist and finished him off (al-Qaṣaṣ 15) |
| To die (intransitive) | فَمِنْهُم مَّن قَضَىٰ نَحْبَهُ — Among them are those who redeemed their pledge by dying (al-Aḥzāb 23) |
Root Thread
All meanings share the sense of bringing something to a definitive end — whether by divine decree, completion of a ritual, or death.
From قَضَى comes قَاضٍ (qāḍin) — a judge; a person who gives binding decisions in court.
6.3 أَلَّا — An + Lā
أَلَّا = أَنْ (the maṣdar-forming particle) + لَا (negation). The nūn of أَن is assimilated into the lā.
The phrase أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا is a مصدر مؤوَّل (implied maṣdar) functioning as the مفعول به of قَضَى:
قَضَى رَبُّكَ عَدَمَ عِبَادَةِ غَيرِه — "Your Lord decreed the non-worship of other than Him."
6.4 وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا
إِحْسَانًا is a مفعول مطلق (mafʿūl muṭlaq) — the maṣdar from the same verb root, used here for emphasis.
| Term | Arabic | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Root verb | أَحْسَنَ يُحْسِنُ | To do good; to be good to someone |
| Maṣdar (مفعول مطلق) | إِحْسَانًا | (Do so with) goodness |
| Active participle | مُحْسِن | One who does good |
Mafʿūl Muṭlaq — Three Uses
- Emphasis (most common in the Quran — as here)
- State/manner: describing how something was done
- Number: one time, twice, etc.
7. إِمَّا — The Conditional + Emphatic Particle
7.1 Two Different إِمَّا Constructions
| Construction | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| إِمَّا (one word) | A particle meaning either … or | Used to present two mutually exclusive options: إِمَّا مُذَكَّرٌ وَإِمَّا مُؤَنَّث |
| إِمَّا = إِن + مَا | Conditional إِن + emphatic مَا | The nūn of إِن assimilates to the mīm of مَا → إِمَّا |
7.2 إِمَّا in Ayah 23
The ayah uses the second type:
إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِنْدَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا If one of them or both of them reach old age while with you…
Here: إِن (conditional particle شرط) + مَا (emphatic) → إِمَّا
7.3 The Emphatic Nūn (نُون التَّوكِيد) After إِمَّا
When a verb follows this type of إِمَّا, it almost always takes the نون التوكيد الثقيلة (or خفيفة). This is close to wājib.
| Form | Without Nūn | With Emphatic Nūn |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | يَبْلُغُ | يَبْلُغَنَّ |
| Plural (masc.) | يَبْلُغُون | يَبْلُغُنَّ (wāw dropped due to التقاء ساكنين) |
Homework
Review Madina Arabic Book 3, Chapter 33 for how the emphatic nūn attaches to verbs and how it changes the verb's form.
8. كِلَا (kilā) — "Both" — and Its Declension
كِلَا (kilā) means both and is always a مُضَاف — it must be followed by a مُضَاف إِلَيه.
8.1 Rule: Pronoun vs. Noun as Muḍāf Ilayh
| Muḍāf Ilayh | كِلَا behaves like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A pronoun (e.g., هُمَا) | A dual noun → declines with ا / ي | كِلَاهُمَا (marfūʿ), كِلَيْهِمَا (majrūr/manṣūb) |
| A noun (not pronoun) | A maqṣūr noun → stays كِلَا | كِلَا الطَّالِبَيْنِ (does not change) |
8.2 Declension Table (with pronoun)
| Case | Form | Sign |
|---|---|---|
| مرفوع | كِلَاهُمَا | الألف (long alif) |
| منصوب / مجرور | كِلَيْهِمَا | الياء |
Example from Ayah 23: أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا (or both of them) — marfūʿ because it is subject (فاعل) of يَبْلُغَنَّ.
Kila with Noun Muḍāf
كِلَا الطَّالِبَيْنِ غَائِبَانِ — "Both students are absent." Here كِلَا does not take a yāʾ even in manṣūb/majrūr positions because the muḍāf is a noun, not a pronoun. كِلَا is then treated like a maqṣūr noun.
Rule Summary
- كِلَا + pronoun → declines (ا → ي)
- كِلَا + noun → does not decline (always كِلَا)
9. Vocabulary from This Session
| Arabic | Root | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| قَضَى | ق-ض-ي | Form I | to decree; to complete; to kill |
| قَاضٍ | ق-ض-ي | فَاعِل pattern | judge |
| إِحْسَان | ح-س-ن | إِفعال maṣdar | goodness; doing good |
| مُحْسِن | ح-س-ن | Form IV active participle | one who does good |
| كِلَا | — | fixed dual | both (of two) |
| الكِبَر | ك-ب-ر | فِعَل pattern | old age |
| بَدْو / بَادِية | ب-د-و | — | open land; wilderness (high-visibility, obstacle-free terrain) |
| دَجَلَ | د-ج-ل | Form I | to veil reality; to deceive by false appearance |
| الدَّجَّال | د-ج-ل | فَعَّال intensive | the Deceiver; one who veils reality |
10. Key Lessons from This Session
Summary of Lessons
- The selected ayaat from Surah al-Israa (23 onwards) are the Quranic re-statement of the Ten Commandments given to Mūsā ʿalayhi al-salām — of supreme universal importance.
- قَضَى has at least four distinct meanings; the root thread is bringing something to a definitive conclusion.
- إِمَّا can be either a single particle (either/or) or the contraction of إِن + مَا. Context distinguishes the two.
- After the conditional إِمَّا, the emphatic nūn (نون التوكيد) on the following verb is nearly obligatory.
- كِلَا declines like a dual noun only when its مُضَاف إِلَيه is a pronoun; when it is a noun, كِلَا remains unchanged (maqṣūr behaviour).
- Surah al-Kahf is the complementary sura to Surah al-Israa; understanding its lessons with comprehension is the protection against the Fitnah of the Dajjāl.
Next session will begin with a refresher on ممنوع من الصرف (maqṣūr nouns) and then continue with more grammatical analysis of Ayah 23, followed by Ayah 24 and beyond.