Al Islam

1704. With this verse begins the subject of the Isra’ (Spiritual Night Journey) of Moses. As stated above, the followers of Jesus Christ achieved great material power and prosperity, and in their chequered career left their indelible imprint twice on world’s history. This double prosperity of Christian nations has been likened to "two gardens" in v. 33. The first of these two periods began with the conversion to Christianity of the Roman Emperor, Constantine when it became the religion of the State, and continued till the birth of the Holy Prophet of Islam. The second and more important of these two periods is represented by the present age when Christian nations of the West have acquired so much power and prestige that the nations of Asia and Africa have to dance attendance upon them like serfs and slaves. Between these "two gardens" flowed a "stream" (v. 34). This "stream" denoted the birth and rise to power of Islam which left its deep mark on human history during the interval between these two periods. In order to provide an historical setting to the account and to make it look like a connected whole, a somewhat detailed description of the Isra’ or Spiritual Journey of Moses has been given in the present and following few verses. Moses had foretold the advent of a Prophet like unto him (Deut. 18:‌18). This prophecy has been referred to in the Qur’an in 73:16. By putting the account of Moses’s Spiritual Journey between those of the Dwellers of the Cave and Gog and Magog representing the two periods of the beginning of Christianity and its later progress and advance the Qur’an has pointed out to the fact that the Prophet referred to in Moses’s prophecy, who was also to be his counterpart, was to appear during the interval between these two periods. Thus have these incidents been mentioned in their historical order. (close)

1704A. Huqub is plural of Huqbah which means, long time, indefinite time; an age; seventy years or more (Lane & Mufradat).

The Isra’ of Moses was, like the Isra’ of the Holy Prophet (17:2), no physical journey but a spiritual experience by means of which Moses was transported from his body of flesh and blood to a spiritual tabernacle. The Bible and the Qur’an both support this view. Some of the arguments advanced in its support are as follows:

(1) The Bible which is considered by Christians to be more or less a reliable record of Moses’s life has omitted all mention of this most unusual and wonderful incident and has failed even to make a passing reference to it.

(2) Before and after he was commissioned as a Divine Prophet, Moses is known to have undertaken only one journey and that was to Midian. The Bible and the Qur’an have both referred to this journey. Both also agree that Moses undertook the journey to Midian alone, while in the journey referred to in the present and the following verses he is described as having been accompanied by 'his young companion.' (3) There is no place in the world which is known by the name, Majma‘ul-Bahrain. The expression can only mean 'the junction of two seas.' Such junctions nearest to the place where Moses lived, after he had left Egypt, are Babul-Mandab which unites the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and the Straits of Dardanelles which joins the Mediterranean Sea with the Sea of Marmara and Al-Bahrain where the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean meet. Of all these places the Straits of Dardanelles alone can possibly be the point where such a meeting could have taken place because on its way from Egypt lies Canaan which was the destination of Moses but which he could not reach in his lifetime. All these three points were about one thousand miles distant from Moses’s place of living, and considering the absence of good means of communication and transport in those days it would have taken him several months to cover such a long distance and Moses could not afford to remain absent from his people for such a long time without seriously jeopardising their spiritual well-being, specially after his bitter experience with them when he was absent from them on Mount Tur only for forty days. The expression Majma‘ul-Bahrain, seems to mean the junction of the two Dispensations—Mosaic and Islamic.

Besides this external evidence there is much internal evidence in vv. 61-83 which shows that the journey was not a physical event but a spiritual experience of Moses:

The "Servant of God" made a big hole in the boat (v. 72) to save it from being forcibly seized by the king. But did the boat remain seaworthy after it was damaged, or did it not? If it did, why did not the king seize it? If it did not, why did it not sink? In this physical world no boat is ever known to have remained floating after a big hole had been made in its bottom. In the world of visions, however, such things are possible. (b) In this world of flesh and bones no sensible person, much less a Prophet of God, would take the life of another person without a legitimate cause, as "the Servant of God" is stated to have done (v. 75). (c) How could a great Prophet of God and a most noble and broadminded person like Moses have found fault with the "Man of God" for not demanding payment from two poor orphan boys for repairing their broken wall because the people of their town had refused to entertain them? What had the two orphan boys done to deserve Moses’s displeasure? It was the people of the town and not they who had refused to entertain them as guests. (d) It is inconceivable that a great Prophet of God like Moses should have undertaken a long arduous journey in search of a "Servant of God" to learn from him how to break a hole in a boat or to kill a young man or to repair a wall and demand no remuneration for it. Moreover, the 'Holy Prophet' is reported to have said, 'Would that Moses had kept silent, so that God would have revealed to us many more secrets of the unseen (Bukhari, Kitabut-Tafsir). But there was nothing of the secrets of the unseen in the unusual acts which the "Servant of God" is stated to have done. According to Mawardi, the person whom Moses had gone to see was no human being but an angel of God (Kathir). All these facts taken together constitute very solid and weighty evidence, that the journey of Moses was but a vision which needs to be interpreted and explained in order to understand its reality and significance. The words 'young companion' (v. 61) may refer to Joshua, the son of Nun, but they may more fittingly apply to Jesus. Jesus was the young companion of Moses who came not to destroy but to fulfil the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 5:‌17). The words, I will not cease pursuing my course until I reach the junction of the two seas, show that Moses’s young companion had joined him towards the end of his journey. Moses did not seem to have taken the young man with him from the very outset of his journey. Jesus came fourteen hundred years after him. The words, though I may have to journey on for ages, signify that the Mosaic Dispensation would remain in force for many centuries. The period from the time of Moses to the advent of the Holy Prophet, when the Mosaic Dispensation came to an end, extends over 2000 years. (close)

1705. Hut when seen in a vision denotes houses of worship of the righteous people (Ta‘tirul-Anam). In this sense of the word the expression, when they reached the place where the two seas met, they forgot their fish, signifies that at the time when the Mosaic and the Islamic Dispensations would meet, i.e. when Mosaic Dispensation would cease to function and the Islamic Dispensation would come into force, true righteousness would depart from among the followers of Moses and Jesus, and would henceforward become the special mark of the followers of the new Dispensation (48:30). (close)

1706. 'Asking for morning meal or breakfast' in a vision denotes 'weariness' (Ta‘tirul-Anam), and the verse purports to say that after passing the 'junction of the two seas' and going on their separate journeys for a long time and being tired of vainly waiting for the Promised Prophet (Deut. 18:‌18), Moses and his young companion would begin to wonder that he may have already appeared but that they had failed to recognize him. In the verse Moses and his young companion (Jesus) may stand for Jews and Christians respectively. (close)

1707. Sakhrah in the language of dreams and visions denotes 'a life of vice and sin.' So the expression, when we betook ourselves to the rock, signifies that when the two seas would meet, i.e. when the Mosaic Dispensation would come to an end and a new Prophet and a new Dispensation would appear, the Jews and Christians would be sunk into a life of sin and iniquity. The words, it took its way into the sea in a marvellous manner signify that true piety and worship of God would take leave of these peoples. (close)

1708. Who is this "Servant of God" (‘Abd) upon whom God had bestowed mercy and whom He had taught knowledge and in search of whom Moses, in pursuance of Divine command, had undertaken such a long and difficult journey and who is the central figure and the hero of the whole story? He is none other than the Holy Prophet Muhammad—his soul having taken an embodied form in Moses’s Vision. Reasons for this are: (a) He has been called ‘Abd servant of God, in the Qur’an (2:24; 8:42; 17:2; 18:2; 25:2; 39:37; 53:11 & 72:20). In fact, he is ‘Abdullah (God’s servant) par excellence. (b) He has been spoken of as 'a mercy to the whole world' (21:108), an epithet applied in the Qur’an to none other than the Holy Prophet. (c) He was vouchsafed Divine knowledge in a very large measure (4:114; 20:115 & 27:7). (d) This "Servant of God" had told Moses that he (Moses) would not keep silent (v. 68 below), and the Holy Prophet is reported to have said, 'Would that Moses had kept silent! If he had done so, we would have been vouchsafed more knowledge about the unseen' (Bukhari, Kitabut-Tafsir). As a matter of fact, Moses had seen a manifestation of God 'in the fire' when travelling from Midian to Egypt (28:30). Later on, however, he was told that a Prophet would appear from among the brethren of the Israelites in whose mouth God would put His own Word (Deut. 18:‌18-22). The words of the prophecy signified that the Promised Prophet would be the object of a greater manifestation of God than Moses. Moses, therefore, naturally wished to see who 'that Prophet' could be. To satisfy his curiosity God made him see in his Vision 'that Prophet' of much higher spiritual powers. This learned "Servant of God" of Moses’s Vision who has been popularly known by the name of Khidr was the spirit of our noble Master, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, which had assumed a physical tabernacle. See also 7:144. (close)

1709. Moses was denied the heights which the spiritual knowledge of the Holy Prophet had attained. (close)

1710. The patience and steadfastness under severe trials and difficulties of the followers of Moses were not of the same high order and pattern as those of the Holy Prophet’s followers (5:22-25 & Bukhari, Kitabul-Maghazi). The verse also compares the natural dispositions of Moses and the Holy Prophet. Moses impatiently inquired the "Servant of God" about things which he did not understand; but the Holy Prophet waited patiently till Archangel Gabriel explained to him the meanings of the various things he saw in his own Mi‘raj. This difference in the temperaments of these two great Prophets was also reflected in the behaviour of their respective followers. While the Israelites continued to pester Moses with all sorts of unnecessary and foolish questions, the demeanour of the Holy Prophet’s Companions was characterized by great dignity and restraint. They scrupulously avoided putting him questions on religious matters. Both the Holy Prophet and his Companions most faithfully observed the admonition contained in 20:115. (close)