Surah 17

Surah 17:3

"(They were) descendants of those whom We carried with Noah. Surely he was a thankful servant."
Tafsir of Surah Al-Isra', Verses 2-3 (Continued) Verses 17:2-3
Show Full Scripture Context (17:2-3) — 2 Verses
Verse 2

وَءَاتَيۡنَا مُوسَى ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ وَجَعَلۡنَٰهُ هُدٗى لِّبَنِيٓ إِسۡرَـٰٓءِيلَ أَلَّا تَتَّخِذُواْ مِن دُونِي وَكِيلٗا

We gave Moses the Book, and made it a guidance for the Sons of Israel: ‘Do not take any guardian other than Me!’

Verse 3

ذُرِّيَّةَ مَنۡ حَمَلۡنَا مَعَ نُوحٍۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ عَبۡدٗا شَكُورٗا

(They were) descendants of those whom We carried with Noah. Surely he was a thankful servant.

for the Children of Israel (saying): "Take none . . ;"

means, lest they should take,

"... other than Me as (your) Wakil"

means, 'you have no protector, supporter or god besides Me,' because Allah revealed to every Prophet that he should worship Him alone with no partner or associate. Then Allah says:

O offspring of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nuh!

by addressing the descendants of those who were carried in the ship with Nuh there is a reminder of the blessings, as if Allah is saying: 'O descendants of those whom We saved and carried in the ship with Nuh, follow in the footsteps of your father,

Verily, he was a grateful servant. 'Remember the blessing I have granted you by sending Muhammad.'

Imam Ahmad reported that Anas bin Malik said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Allah will be pleased with His servant if, when he eats something or drinks something, he praises Allah for it.'"

This was also recorded by Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i.

Malik said about Zayd bin Aslam: "He used to praise Allah in all circumstances." In this context, Al-Bukhari mentioned the Hadith of Abu Zar'ah narrating from Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Prophet said:

"I will be the leader of the sons of Adam on the Day of Resurrection ..."

He quoted the Hadith at length, and in the Hadith, the Prophet said:

"They will come to Nuh and will say, 'O Nuh, you were the first of the Messengers sent to the people of earth, and Allah called you grateful servant, so intercede for us with your Lord.'"

And he quoted the Hadith in full.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 5, Page 577)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.