Surah Al-Isra, Ayah 101-111 — Word by Word
الإسراء
The Night Journey
Explanations are simplified from tafsirs by Ibn Kathir, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Spot an inaccuracy? Let us know.
walaqad ātaynā mūsā tis'ʿa āyātin bayyinātin fasal banī is'rāīla idh jāahum faqāla lahu fir'ʿawnu innī la-aẓunnuka yāmūsā masḥūran
And We had certainly given Moses nine evident signs, so ask the Children of Israel [about] when he came to them and Pharaoh said to him, "Indeed I think, O Moses, that you are affected by magic."
qāla laqad ʿalim'ta mā anzala hāulāi illā rabbu l-samāwāti wal-arḍi baṣāira wa-innī la-aẓunnuka yāfir'ʿawnu mathbūran
[Moses] said, "You have already known that none has sent down these [signs] except the Lord of the heavens and the earth as evidence, and indeed I think, O Pharaoh, that you are destroyed."
fa-arāda an yastafizzahum mina l-arḍi fa-aghraqnāhu waman maʿahu jamīʿan
So he intended to drive them from the land, but We drowned him and those with him all together.
waqul'nā min baʿdihi libanī is'rāīla us'kunū l-arḍa fa-idhā jāa waʿdu l-ākhirati ji'nā bikum lafīfan
And We said after him [i.e., Pharaoh] to the Children of Israel, "Dwell in the land, and when there comes the promise [i.e., appointment] of the Hereafter, We will bring you forth in [one] gathering."
wabil-ḥaqi anzalnāhu wabil-ḥaqi nazala wamā arsalnāka illā mubashiran wanadhīran
And with the truth We have sent it [i.e., the Qur’ān] down, and with the truth it has descended. And We have not sent you, [O Muḥammad], except as a bringer of good tidings and a warner.
waqur'ānan faraqnāhu litaqra-ahu ʿalā l-nāsi ʿalā muk'thin wanazzalnāhu tanzīlan
And [it is] a Qur’ān which We have separated [by intervals] that you might recite it to the people over a prolonged period. And We have sent it down progressively.
qul āminū bihi aw lā tu'minū inna alladhīna ūtū l-ʿil'ma min qablihi idhā yut'lā ʿalayhim yakhirrūna lil'adhqāni sujjadan
Say, "Believe in it or do not believe." Indeed, those who were given knowledge before it - when it is recited to them, they fall upon their faces in prostration,
wayaqūlūna sub'ḥāna rabbinā in kāna waʿdu rabbinā lamafʿūlan
And they say, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, the promise of our Lord has been fulfilled."
wayakhirrūna lil'adhqāni yabkūna wayazīduhum khushūʿan
And they fall upon their faces weeping, and it [i.e., the Qur’ān] increases them in humble submission.
quli id'ʿū l-laha awi id'ʿū l-raḥmāna ayyan mā tadʿū falahu l-asmāu l-ḥus'nā walā tajhar biṣalātika walā tukhāfit bihā wa-ib'taghi bayna dhālika sabīlan
Say, "Call upon Allāh or call upon the Most Merciful [ar-Raḥmān]. Whichever [name] you call - to Him belong the best names." And do not recite [too] loudly in your prayer or [too] quietly but seek between that an [intermediate] way.
waquli l-ḥamdu lillahi alladhī lam yattakhidh waladan walam yakun lahu sharīkun fī l-mul'ki walam yakun lahu waliyyun mina l-dhuli wakabbir'hu takbīran
And say, "Praise to Allāh, who has not taken a son and has had no partner in [His] dominion and has no [need of a] protector out of weakness; and glorify Him with [great] glorification."