Tafseer of The Night Journey · Al-Israa · 17:62
[Iblees] said, "Do You see this one whom You have honored above me? If You delay me until the Day of Resurrection, I will surely destroy his descendants, except for a few."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Concerning His words أَرَأَيْتَكَ هَذَا الَّذِي كَرَّمْتَ عَلَيَّ (Do You see this one whom You have favoured above me? — 17:62): Allah the Exalted says: Do You see him whom You have favoured above me and commanded me to prostrate before? — by which he means Ādam. لَئِنْ أَخَّرْتَنِي : Allah's enemy swore and said to his Lord: If You defer my destruction until the Day of Resurrection, لأَحْتَنِكَنَّ ذُرِّيَّتَهُ إِلا قَلِيلا — he says: Then I shall surely dominate his offspring and uproot them entirely and draw them to myself. Of this one says: "So-and-so has utterly plundered the property or the knowledge of so-and-so (iḥtanaka)." Hence the saying of the poet:
We complain to You of a year of drought that has emaciated us, inflicting upon us hardship after hardship, weakening us, and has snatched away our property (iḥtanakata) and scraped it bare.
In the same vein as what we have here expounded, the people of interpretation spoke.
Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words لأَحْتَنِكَنَّ ذُرِّيَّتَهُ إِلا قَلِيلا : he said: "I shall utterly master them."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: likewise.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his words لأَحْتَنِكَنَّ ذُرِّيَّتَهُ إِلا قَلِيلا : he said: "I shall surely dominate them."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning لأَحْتَنِكَنَّ ذُرِّيَّتَهُ إِلا قَلِيلا : he said: "I shall surely lead them astray." These expressions, however much they differ from one another, are close to each other in meaning, for to dominate and to master have the same meaning, and once one has dominated them, one has led them astray.
