Surah Al Isra ayat 55 Tafsir Quran 17:55

﴿وَرَبُّكَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۗ وَلَقَدْ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَ النَّبِيِّينَ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۖ وَآتَيْنَا دَاوُودَ زَبُورًا﴾
[ الإسراء: 55]

17:55 And your Lord is most knowing of whoever is in the heavens and the earth. And We have made some of the prophets exceed others [in various ways], and to David We gave the book [of Psalms].

And your Lord knows best all who are in the heavens and the earth thus endowing them each one with what He will according to the measure of their states. And verily We have preferred some of the prophets above others endowing each of them with a particular merit Moses with being spoken to; Abraham with Friendship; and Muhammad (s) with the Night Journey; and We gave David the Psalms.

Allah, your Creator, knows best all creatures, the animate and the inanimate in the heavens and on earth and We invested some prophets with more privileges than we invested others and We gave David the Psalms

رَّبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِكُمْ ( Your Lord knows you best; ) O mankind, meaning, He knows best who among you deserves to be guided and who does not deserve to be guided. إِن يَشَأْ يَرْحَمْكُمْ ( if He wills, He will have mercy on you, ) by helping you to obey Him and turn to Him. أَوْ إِن يَشَأْ يُعَذِّبْكُمْ وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـكَ ( or if He wills, He will punish you.
And We have not sent you ) - O Muhammad - عَلَيْهِمْ وَكِيلاً ( as a guardian over them. ) meaning, `We have sent you as a warner, so whoever obeys you, will enter Paradise and whoever disobeys you, will enter Hell.' وَرَبُّكَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ ( And your Lord knows best all who are in the heavens and the earth. ) meaning, their status or level of obedience or disobedience. The Preference of some Prophets above Others وَلَقَدْ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَ النَّبِيِّينَ عَلَى بَعْضٍ ( And indeed, We have preferred some of the Prophets above others. ) As Allah says: تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ مِّنْهُمْ مَّن كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَـتٍ ( Those Messengers! We preferred some of them to others; to some of them Allah spoke (directly ); others He raised to degrees ( of honor. )) 2:253 This does not contradict the report in the Two Sahihs which says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«لَا تُفَضِّلُوا بَيْنَ الْأَنْبِيَاء»
( Don't give superiority to any Prophet among (Allah's ) Prophets.) What is meant in this Hadith is giving a superiority based on whims and fanaticism or sectarian feelings, not on the basis of evidence.
If there is solid evidence, we have to follow it.
There is no dispute that the Messengers are better than the rest of the Prophets, and that the mighty Messengers of Great Resolve are the best of all.
They are the five mentioned in two Ayat of the Qur'an, in Surat Al-Ahzab: وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِنَ النَّبِيِّيْنَ مِيثَاقَهُمْ وَمِنْكَ وَمِن نُّوحٍ وَإِبْرَهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ ( And (remember ) when We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you and from Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa and `Isa son of Maryam.) 33:7 and in Surat Ash-Shura: شَرَعَ لَكُم مِّنَ الِدِينِ مَا وَصَّى بِهِ نُوحاً وَالَّذِى أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا وَصَّيْنَا بِهِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى أَنْ أَقِيمُواْ الدِّينَ وَلاَ تَتَفَرَّقُواْ فِيهِ ( He has ordained for you the same religion which He ordained for Nuh, and that which We have revealed to you, and that which We ordained for Ibrahim, Musa and `Isa saying you should establish religion and make no divisions in it. ) 42:13 There is no dispute that Muhammad is the best of them, then Ibrahim, then Musa, then `Isa ( peace be upon them all ), according to the best-known view.
We have discussed the evidence for this in detail elsewhere, and Allah is the source of help.
Allah's saying, وَءَاتَيْنَا دَاوُودَ زَبُوراً ( and to Dawud We gave the Zabur. ) is an indication of his virtue and honor.
Al-Bukhari recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said:
«خُفِّفَ عَلَى دَاوُدَ الْقُرْآنُ، فَكَانَ يَأْمُرُ بِدَوَابِّهِ فَتُسْرَجُ، فَكَانَ يَقْرَؤُهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَفْرُغ»
( The Qur'an (i.e.
revea- led Scripture of Zabur ) was made easy for Dawud, so he would call for his mounts to be saddled, and he would finish reciting it ( i.e., the Zabur ) be- fore the job was done.)

(17:55) Your Lord is fully aware of all the creatures in the heavens and the earth. We have exalted some Prophets above the others in ranks, *62 and We gave the Psalms to David. *63

And your Lord is most knowing of meaning

*62) Though this has apparently been addressed to the Holy Prophet, in fact the real addressees arc the disbelievers of Makkah.
This is to rebuke them for the low opinion they held in regard to the Holy Prophet.
As it commonly happens contemporaries, in general, and opponents, in particular, do not see anything great and noble in a person of their own time.
The same was the case with the contemporaries of the Holy Prophet who could not see anything extraordinary or great in him.
He appeared to be merely a common man of their habitation.
On the other hand, they were full of praise in regard to the famous personalities who had lived in the past few centuries and imagined them to be the perfection of greatness.
That is why, they raised frivolous objections against his claim to Prophethood, as if to say, " Look at this man who considers himself to be a Prophet whereas he cannot stand in comparison with the former great Prophets who are held in high esteem by all.
" Allah has answered their objection, as if to say, " We are fully aware of all Our creatures in the heavens and the earth, and We know their ranks but you do not know.
We know whom to favour with Prophethood, as We have been favouring the former Prophets and exalting some Prophets above others in rank. "
*63) It appears that Prophet David has been particularly mentioned to show that Prophethood dces pot mean that one should have nothing to do with the life of this world.
This was the answer to the objection they were raising against the claim to Prophethood by Muhammad ( Allah's peace be upon him ), that he was a man of the world.
It means to say, "Though David was a king who had to engage himself in worldly affairs more than a common man, he was favoured by Allah with Prophethood, and given the Book, the Psalms.
Likewise Muhammad ( Allah's peace be upon him ) could be favoured with Prophethood inspite of the fact that he had wife and children and passed his life like other common people and was ' engaged in buying and selling in the market, in short, in performing all those duties that a man of the world has to perform to meet his necessities of life.
This was necessitated because according to the disbelievers of Makkah, such a man of the world could not be considered to be even a pious man, much less a Prophet, for pious people should have nothing to do with the worldly affairs but should sit in seclusion and remember God whereas the Holy Prophet had to work to fulfil the necessities of life.

 

رَّبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِكُمْ ( Your Lord knows you best; ) O mankind, meaning, He knows best who among you deserves to be guided and who does not deserve to be guided. إِن يَشَأْ يَرْحَمْكُمْ ( if He wills, He will have mercy on you, ) by helping you to obey Him and turn to Him. أَوْ إِن يَشَأْ يُعَذِّبْكُمْ وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـكَ ( or if He wills, He will punish you.
And We have not sent you ) - O Muhammad - عَلَيْهِمْ وَكِيلاً ( as a guardian over them. ) meaning, `We have sent you as a warner, so whoever obeys you, will enter Paradise and whoever disobeys you, will enter Hell.' وَرَبُّكَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ ( And your Lord knows best all who are in the heavens and the earth. ) meaning, their status or level of obedience or disobedience. The Preference of some Prophets above Others وَلَقَدْ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَ النَّبِيِّينَ عَلَى بَعْضٍ ( And indeed, We have preferred some of the Prophets above others. ) As Allah says: تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ مِّنْهُمْ مَّن كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَـتٍ ( Those Messengers! We preferred some of them to others; to some of them Allah spoke (directly ); others He raised to degrees ( of honor. )) 2:253 This does not contradict the report in the Two Sahihs which says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «لَا تُفَضِّلُوا بَيْنَ الْأَنْبِيَاء» ( Don't give superiority to any Prophet among (Allah's ) Prophets.) What is meant in this Hadith is giving a superiority based on whims and fanaticism or sectarian feelings, not on the basis of evidence.
If there is solid evidence, we have to follow it.
There is no dispute that the Messengers are better than the rest of the Prophets, and that the mighty Messengers of Great Resolve are the best of all.
They are the five mentioned in two Ayat of the Qur'an, in Surat Al-Ahzab: وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِنَ النَّبِيِّيْنَ مِيثَاقَهُمْ وَمِنْكَ وَمِن نُّوحٍ وَإِبْرَهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ ( And (remember ) when We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you and from Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa and `Isa son of Maryam.) 33:7 and in Surat Ash-Shura: شَرَعَ لَكُم مِّنَ الِدِينِ مَا وَصَّى بِهِ نُوحاً وَالَّذِى أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا وَصَّيْنَا بِهِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى أَنْ أَقِيمُواْ الدِّينَ وَلاَ تَتَفَرَّقُواْ فِيهِ ( He has ordained for you the same religion which He ordained for Nuh, and that which We have revealed to you, and that which We ordained for Ibrahim, Musa and `Isa saying you should establish religion and make no divisions in it. ) 42:13 There is no dispute that Muhammad is the best of them, then Ibrahim, then Musa, then `Isa ( peace be upon them all ), according to the best-known view.
We have discussed the evidence for this in detail elsewhere, and Allah is the source of help.
Allah's saying, وَءَاتَيْنَا دَاوُودَ زَبُوراً ( and to Dawud We gave the Zabur. ) is an indication of his virtue and honor.
Al-Bukhari recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said: «خُفِّفَ عَلَى دَاوُدَ الْقُرْآنُ، فَكَانَ يَأْمُرُ بِدَوَابِّهِ فَتُسْرَجُ، فَكَانَ يَقْرَؤُهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَفْرُغ» ( The Qur'an (i.e.
revea- led Scripture of Zabur ) was made easy for Dawud, so he would call for his mounts to be saddled, and he would finish reciting it ( i.e., the Zabur ) be- fore the job was done.)

( And thy Lord is best aware of all who are in the heavens and the earth ) of the believers and what is best for them. ( And we preferred some of the Prophets above others ) through bestowing upon some Our friendship and speaking directly to others, ( and unto David We gave the Psalms ) and We gave Moses the Torah, Jesus the Gospel and Muhammad ( pbuh ) the Qur’an.

And your Lord knows best all who are in the heavens and the earth. And indeed, We have preferred some of the Prophets above others, and to Dawud (David) We gave the Zabur (Psalms).

Page 287 English transliteration