Course of Bani Israel - brief and comprehensive ..

[Zainab_M]

very interesting Quraanic elucidation ..

 


17:4 And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Scripture: Ye verily will work corruption in the earth twice, and ye will become great tyrants.

17:5 So when the time for the first of the two came, We roused against you slaves of Ours of great might who ravaged (your) country, and it was a threat performed.

17:6 Then we gave you once again your turn against them, and We aided you with wealth and children and made you more in soldiery.

17:7 (Saying): If ye do good, ye do good for your own souls, and if ye do evil, it is for them (in like manner). So, when the time for the second (of the judgments) came (We roused against you others of Our slaves) to ravage you, and to enter the Temple even as they entered it the first time, and to lay waste all that they conquered with an utter wasting.

17:8 It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you, but if ye repeat (the crime) We shall repeat (the punishment), and We have appointed hell a dungeon for the disbelievers.

(Chapter 17, Verses 4 - 8.  Surah 'Bani Israel')


Verse 4 to 6
References could include

-  the period of Hebrew oppresssion by the people of Pharoah in ancient Egypt, who used the Hebrews as slaves, generation after generation. 

-  the liberation of the Jews led by Prophet Moses (pbuh) from the tyranny of Pharoah, and the exodus of the Jews to the Land of the Philistines (Palestine).  Gradually, as the Jews settled there, they flourished & prospered in their freedom.  At the same time they began deviating from the path of righteousness in various ways.  Atrocities were also committed.  Check the History of Palestine for your own assessments.

Verse 7
By this time that part of the world was occupied by the Byzantine Empire, including the province of Judea.*  The Jews had a fractious relationship with the Romans - some collaborated with them while some plotted against them.  Eventually around 70 A.D. the Romans lashed out at the Jews  brutally.  They barged into Temple Mount and destroyed it completely.  Only a single wall within the compound of the Temple Mount was left standing which is today known as the 'wailing wall.'**

Verse 8
Apparently refers to the future of the Jews from this point onward.  Thus, it's upto every individual to read and analyse history.

And the Almighty Allah knows best.



*Judea: Judea is a mountainous and arid region, much of which is considered to be a desert. It varies greatly in height, rising to an altitude of 1,020 m (3,346 ft) in the south at Mount Hebron, 19 miles (30 km) southwest of Jerusalem, and descending to as much as 400 m (1,312ft) below sea level in the east of the region. Major cities in the region include Jerusalem, Beitar Illit, Bethlehem, Efrat, Gush Etzion, Jericho and Hebron.

**The Western Wall .. it is called the Wailing Wall (Arabic: il-Mabka), referring to Jews mourning the destruction of the Temple.