Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 17 Al-Isra, Ayat 71-73

يَوۡمَ نَدۡعُوۡا كُلَّ اُنَاسٍۢ بِاِمَامِهِمۡ​ۚ فَمَنۡ اُوۡتِىَ كِتٰبَهٗ بِيَمِيۡنِهٖ فَاُولٰۤـئِكَ يَقۡرَءُوۡنَ كِتٰبَهُمۡ وَلَا يُظۡلَمُوۡنَ فَتِيۡلًا‏ ﴿17:71﴾ وَمَنۡ كَانَ فِىۡ هٰذِهٖۤ اَعۡمٰى فَهُوَ فِى الۡاٰخِرَةِ اَعۡمٰى وَاَضَلُّ سَبِيۡلًا‏ ﴿17:72﴾ وَاِنۡ كَادُوۡا لَيَـفۡتِنُوۡنَكَ عَنِ الَّذِىۡۤ اَوۡحَيۡنَاۤ اِلَيۡكَ لِتَفۡتَرِىَ عَلَيۡنَا غَيۡرَهٗ​ ​ۖ  وَاِذًا لَّاتَّخَذُوۡكَ خَلِيۡلًا‏ ﴿17:73﴾

(17:71) Then think of the Day We shall summon every community with its leader. Those who are given their Record in their right hand shall read the Record of their deeds86 and shall not be wronged a whit. (17:72) Whoever lived in this world as blind shall live as blind in the Life to Come; rather, he will be even farther astray than if he were (just) blind. (17:73) (O Muhammad), they had all but tempted you away from what We have revealed to you that you may invent something else in Our Name.87 Had you done so, they would have taken you as their trusted friend.


Notes

86. We learn from the Quran that on the Day of Resurrection, the righteous people will be given their records in their right hands and they will be overjoyed to have a look at it and will show it to others. As regards to the wicked people, they will get their records in their left hands and in their shame will try to hide it behind their backs. Please refer to (Surah Al-Haaqqa, Ayats 19-28), (Surah Al-Inshiqaq, Ayats 7-13).

87. In order to understand the significance of this verse, we should keep in view the circumstances through which the Prophet (peace be upon him) had been passing at Makkah during the preceding decade or so. The disbelievers of Makkah were exerting their utmost to turn the Prophet (peace be upon him) away, somehow or other, from his message of Tauhid, which he was presenting, and to force him to make a compromise with shirk and the customs of ignorance. In order to achieve this end, they tempted him in several ways. They practiced deception upon him, and tempted him with greed, held out threats, and raised a storm of false propaganda against him, and persecuted him and applied economic pressure and social boycott against him. In short, they did all that could be done to defeat his resolve.