His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

"And they fall upon their faces weeping, and it increases them in humility." "Say, 'Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful. Whichever you call, to Him belong the best names. And do not raise your voice in your supplication, nor be silent therein, but seek between that a way.'" "And say, 'Praise be to Allah, who has not taken a son and who has not had a partner in the dominion, and who has not had a protector out of weakness. And magnify Him with great magnification.'"

This is an exaggeration in their description, and a praise for them, and an encouragement for everyone who has pursued knowledge and acquired something from it to strive towards this rank. Al-Tabari narrated from Al-Taymi that he said: "Indeed, whoever has been given knowledge that does not make him weep, it is impossible that he has not been given knowledge that benefits him; for Allah, exalted and majestic is He, described the scholars by saying: 'Indeed, those who were given knowledge before it...'" [Al-Isra: 107] until the end of the two verses.

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Say, 'Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful.'"

The reason for the revelation of this verse is that the polytheists heard the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, calling: "O Allah! O Most Merciful!" They said: "Muhammad commands us to call upon one God, yet he calls upon two gods." This was said by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both. And Al-Makki said: "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, prayed at night and said in his supplication: 'O Most Merciful! O Most Compassionate!' A man from the polytheists heard him - and there was a man in Yamama named Al-Rahman - and that listener said: 'Why is Muhammad calling upon the Most Merciful of Yamama?' So the verse was revealed clarifying that these are names for one thing. If you call upon Him by Allah, then that is Him, and if you call upon Him by the Most Merciful, then that is Him.

And Talhah ibn Musarif read: "Whichever you call, to Him belong the best names," meaning: and to Him belong all the best names, which necessitate the best attributes.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And it is by specification; the name of Allah, exalted and majestic is He, cannot be established except by specification from the Quran or the Hadith. It has been narrated: "Indeed, Allah has ninety-nine names..." The Hadith, and all of them were narrated by Al-Tirmidhi and others with a sound chain. The meaning of the verse is: whichever of the names you call upon Him by, you are correct; to Him belong the best names.

Then the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, commanded that he should not raise his voice in his prayer, nor should he lower it too much. This is the secret that the one who speaks hears. This is its reality. However, in the verse, it is an expression of lowering the voice, even if it does not reach what we have mentioned. The interpreters differed regarding 'the prayer,' what is it? Ibn Abbas, and Aisha, may Allah be pleased with them, and a group said: It is the supplication. Ibn Abbas also said: It is the recitation of the Qur'an in prayer. This is based on the omission of a genitive, the meaning being: And do not raise your voice in the recitation of your prayer. He said: The reason is that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, raised his voice with the Qur'an, so the polytheists heard it and insulted the Qur'an and the One who revealed it. So the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was commanded to be moderate, so that his companions who prayed with him could hear, and the harm of the polytheists would be removed from him. Ibn Sirin said: The Bedouins would raise their voices in their testimony, and the verse was revealed regarding that. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, would keep his recitation quiet, while Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, would raise his voice. They were asked about that, and Abu Bakr said: I am only conversing with my Lord, and He knows my need. Umar said: I cast out the devil and awaken the sleepy. When this verse was revealed, it was said to Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him: Raise your voice a little, and it was said to Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: Lower your voice a little. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, also said: The prayer referred to in this verse is the testimony. Ibn Abbas and Al-Hasan said: The meaning is: Do not perform your prayer well in raising your voice, nor do it poorly in keeping it quiet, but follow a middle path that is constant in every situation. Ibn Zayd said: The meaning of the verse is the prohibition of what the people of the Gospel and the Torah do, who sometimes raise their voices, and the people raise their voices with them, and sometimes lower their voices, and those behind them remain silent. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said regarding the verse: Its meaning is: Do not raise your voice in the prayer of the day, nor lower it in the prayer of the night, and seek a way of complying with the command as it has been prescribed for you, as mentioned by Yahya ibn Salam and Al-Zahrawi. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: He who makes his voice heard does not lower it.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: What has been narrated that it was said to Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him: 'Raise your voice a little,' contradicts this. However, what Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said is the original of the language, and the lowering of the voice is used thereafter in a higher manner than that.

And His saying, the Exalted: 'And say, Praise be to Allah, who has not taken a son.' This verse is a refutation against the Jews, Christians, and Arabs in their saying: 'Uzair, and Jesus, and the angels are the offspring of Allah.' Glorified and exalted is He above their sayings, and it is a refutation against the Arabs in their saying: 'If it were not for the allies of Allah, we would be humiliated.' The wording of the verse restricts the denial of the guardianship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, by way of humiliation, and in the context of victory; for His guardianship exists through His grace and mercy for those who are allied from His righteous servants. Mujahid said: The meaning is: He did not ally with anyone, nor did He seek the victory of anyone.

And His saying: ﴿And proclaim His greatness with a great proclamation﴾ is the most eloquent expression for the Arabs in the meaning of glorification and reverence. Then He confirmed it with the noun to affirm it and to emphasize its meaning.

(p-560) And Mu'trif narrated from Abdullah ibn Ka'b who said: "The Torah was opened with the opening of Surah Al-An'am and was concluded with the conclusion of this Surah."

We conclude the interpretation of Surah Al-Isra, and all praise and grace are due to Allah. May Allah send blessings upon our master Muhammad and upon his family and companions, and peace.