Al-Israa (The Night Journey)

107. “Say: ‘Believe in it or believe not, (it makes no difference to Allah), verily, those who were given knowledge before it, when it is read to them, they fall down prostrate on their faces, adoring.”

108. “And they say: “Glory be to our Lord! Verily, our Lord’s promise is to be fulfilled.”

109. “And they fall down (in prostration) weeping and it adds up to their humility.”

In this noble verse, and in the following one, the Lord has commanded His prophet to remain rather heedless of such people who are companions of paganism and ‘Ignorance’.

Whether they embrace the faith or they reject it altogether it does not matter, for a better stock which includes those who are knowledgeable and who have studied the heavenly Books, and have practiced according to the Divine religions, have asserted their belief, confirming that he is the prophet who has been promised to emerge in their authentic religious books, and whenever the Lord’s verses are read to them, they fall to the ground, prostrating in face of all the Lord’s glory and for implementing what is promised in their Divine Books that He appoints Muhammad (S) as His Prophet and sends down the Book to him.

The verse says:

“Say: ‘Believe in it or believe not, (it makes no difference to Allah), verily, those who were given knowledge before it, when it is read to them, they fall down prostrate on their faces, adoring.”

This is what is intended by the promise mentioned in the verse which says:

“And they say: “Glory be to our Lord! Verily, our Lord’s promise is to be fulfilled.”

By this, they mean: Our Lord’s promise is to be fulfilled. They express this way their utmost commitment and faith towards the Divinity of the Lord and His pure Attributes as well as to the promises He has kept.

This is a speech within which, both, faith in monotheism as well as the attributes of the Lord and His justice are included while the prophecy of the Prophet (S) and belief in resurrection are contained. Thus, they assemble all the religious principles in one concise sentence.

Again in verse 109, to stress further the point, and the impact of those Divine verses as well as of this loving prostration, the Qur’an implies that they fall into a state of prostration (involuntarily) and start crying, and the reading of these verses always adds up to their modesty.

They never stay in one state or mood, rather they try to climb up toward the peak of development, and continuously their modesty increases. ‘Modesty’, is the state of humbleness and the physical and spiritual politeness, in which case one bows to the command of Allah and His obedience.

The verse says:

“And they fall down (in prostration) weeping and it adds up to their humility.”

Incidentally, the Qur’anic term / yaxirrūna/ is derived from /xarir/ in the sense of the whispering of the sound of water which is flowing downward from up. This also refers to those who, losing their control, fall into a state of prostration before Allah, worship Him in their fairly loud voices.

The Arabic term /’aŏq an/ is the plural form of /ŏaqan/ which means ‘chin’, it signifies having absolute modesty, in which case, not only one’s forehead but his face and chin also touch the floor as well.

In conclusion, another clear lesson drawn from the above verses relates to the interrelationship of science with Faith.

The Qur’an implies whether you accept these Divine verses or not, men of knowledge will not only accept them believing in them but they also tend to fall into a state of prostration for the love of Allah which is like a burning desire within them, letting their tears be shed in abundance from their eyes.

Their modesty and humbleness is then being augmented while, at the same time, their polite behaviour and their respect increases unto these verses.

It is only those ignorant mean individuals who sometimes disregard heedlessly, and at times ridicule, when confronting the facts: and even if such individuals happen to be attracted to the faith, their belief would be weak, fleeting, and void of love, activity and of any warmth.

Moreover, this meaning reflects a further emphasis on the obliteration of the empty hypothesis of those who believe that religion has got a correlation with the ignorance of mankind.

The glorious Qur’an, in contradiction with this claim, repeatedly stresses the fact that science and religion are always associated with each other in various circumstances. A deep and sustaining devotion in faith can only be attained in having a deep knowledge, and knowledge borrows its weight in higher echelons from faith. ‘Remember’