The Conditions of the Children of Israel throughout History

Tafsir of Surah al-Isra Ayah 4-8

(We informed the Children of Israel in the scripture that, ‘You would indeed make mischief on the earth twice, and you would indeed be tyrannically arrogant.’

When the promise of the first one came to pass, We would send you some of Our slaves, possessing great might. They would ravage through the houses, and it was a promise that would be inevitably fulfilled.

Then We gave you back dominance over them, provided you with wealth, and made you more in number.

If you act righteously, it is for the benefit of yourselves, and if you act wickedly, you harm yourselves. When the second promise came to pass, We would empower your enemies over you so that they would humiliate you, enter the Mosque as they formerly entered it, and utterly destroy whatever is under their control.

Your Lord may have mercy on you, and if you re-corrupt, We shall re-punish you, and We have made Hell a prison for the disbelievers.)

[Q 17:4-8]

Relationship with the Previous Part

After Allah, Exalted is He, mentioned how He bestowed His blessings on the Children of Israel by revealing the Torah to their Prophet Moses to guide them to the straight path, He mentioned the fact that they did not comply with teachings of the Torah. Rather, they made corruption on earth by killing the Prophets of Allah, and shedding blood. Thus, Allah made the Babylon under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar dominate them. They killed them, plundered their wealth, ruined Jerusalem, and captured their children and women. This was the first corruption and the punishment for it. Then after the Children of Israel repented, and obeyed Allah, He made them re-dominate, and provided them with wealth and offspring. Then they re-corrupted on earth, disobeyed Allah, and killed Prophet John. Thus, Allah made the Persians dominate them. They killed them, plundered their wealth, and ruined Jerusalem for the second time. After that Allah, Exalted is He, promised to make them victorious if they obeyed Him, and punish them in hellfire if they disobeyed Him and corrupted on earth. 

Tafsir

(We informed the Children of Israel in the scripture that, ‘You would indeed make mischief on the earth twice, and you would indeed be tyrannically arrogant.’) [4]

Allah, Exalted is He, mentioned what the Children of Israel would do, and how their conditions would be. This denotes His comprehensive knowledge.
Allah, Exalted is He, mentioned in the Torah that the Children of Israel would make corruption on the earth twice, and would be tyrannically arrogant. Such acts would cause them loss and destruction.  
Some of the acts of the corruption of the Children of Israel are distortion of the Torah, not complying with its teachings, and killing the Prophets and righteous people. 

(When the promise of the first one came to pass, We would send you some of Our slaves, possessing great might. They would ravage through the houses, and it was a promise that would be inevitably fulfilled.) [5]

When the time of the punishment for your first corruption came – O Children of Israel, We would send you some of Our slaves, possessing great might. They would humiliate, defeat, and subjugate you. They would also ravage your houses, and look for whomever of you, who might be still alive, to kill him. 
Thus, you would be humiliated and killed. Your houses would be ruined, and your wealth would be plundered. This promise of Allah would be inevitably fulfilled, and you could not escape it. 

It may be asked the following question: What is the benefit of Allah’s informing of the fact that the Children of Israel would make corruption on the earth twice, and that He would punish them for their corruption by making some of His slaves dominate and subjugate them?

The answer is as follows: Allah mentions such matter so that it becomes clear that He is not unjust. Allah punishes people because of their sins, though He forgives many of their sins. On the other hand, His mercy embraces them if they repent and obey Him. Moreover, such informing gives warning to the wise everywhere that they must not disobey Allah because the result will be severe punishment.  
In addition, such informing gave warning to the Jews during the time of Prophet Muhammadﷺ and their likes. It made clear to them that one of the rules of Allah is that the end of corruption is loss in this world and punishment in the hereafter.   

(Then We gave you back dominance over them, provided you with wealth, and made you more in number.)[6]

O Children of Israel! After you repented, did righteous deeds, and obeyed your messengers, We gave you back dominance and victory over your enemies, who subjugated and humiliated you. Moreover, We provided you with abundant wealth, and offspring after your enemies plundered your wealth and killed many of your children. We also made your number more than your enemies’ number, and made you stronger than them.
Thus, it was obligatory on you that you should acknowledge these blessings, and use them in a manner that pleases Allah. You should have thanked Allah for His blessings, worshipped Him alone, and obeyed His commands. Indeed, Allah made you victorious after you were defeated, rich after you were poor, and many after your number decreased when your enemies killed many of your people.   
Then Allah, Exalted is He, mentions one of His lasting rules. This rule states that the result of acting righteously is success, the result of sinning is loss, and that every man is responsible for his deeds and their consequences will affect him, whether good or bad. 

(If you act righteously, it is for the benefit of yourselves, and if you act wickedly, you harm yourselves. When the second promise came to pass, We would empower your enemies over you so that they would humiliate you, enter the Mosque as they formerly entered it, and utterly destroy whatever is under their control.)[7]

(If you act righteously, it is for the benefit of yourselves, and if you act wickedly, you harm yourselves.)

O people! If you act righteously by obeying the commands of Allah and avoiding His prohibitions, you will succeed and attain His pleasure. On the other hand, if you act wickedly by disobeying Allah, and committing sins, you will lose, and bear the negative results of your disobedience to Allah. 

Then Allah, Exalted is He, told about what would happen to the Children of Israel after their second corruption.  

(When the second promise came to pass, We would empower your enemies over you so that they would humiliate you, enter the Mosque as they formerly entered it, and utterly destroy whatever is under their control.)[7]

O Children of Israel! When the time of your second corruption came, We would empower your enemies over you. They would humiliate you until the effects of humiliation and sadness became clear on your faces because of the great abuse and killing that you would suffer. Your enemies would enter the mosque in Jerusalem as they formerly entered it, that is to say, by means of dominance and humiliation, and they would destroy the places they controlled. 
Then the ayat are concluded with showing that the destruction that would befall the Children of Israel might be a means for their repentance, which would make them attain the mercy of Allah.

(Your Lord may have mercy on you, and if you re-corrupt, We shall re-punish you, and We have made Hell a prison for the disbelievers.)[8]

(Your Lord may have mercy on you…)

O Children of Israel! Your Lord, Allah, may have mercy on you if you worship Him sincerely, obey Him and do righteous deeds. Indeed, Allah, Exalted is He, only causes afflictions to befall because of sinning. He only removes afflictions by means of repentance and obeying His commands and avoiding His prohibitions. 

(… and if you re-corrupt, We shall re-punish you…)

If you re-corrupt by sinning and disobeying Allah after His mercy embraces you, Allah will re-punish you through killing, and destruction.

Then, Allah, Exalted is He, mentions what the punishment of the disbelievers will be in the hereafter. 

(…and We have made Hell a prison for the disbelievers.)

The punishment of the disbelievers will be Hell in the hereafter. They will be remain there forever, suffering its severe torment. 
The scholars mention many opinions about the identity of the people whom Allah made dominant over the Children of Israel. Commenting on this issue, imam ibn Kathîr said, ‘Many Israeli narrations have been narrated about this issue. I do not think that it is useful to make the book long by mentioning them. That is because some of these narrations are fabricated, and some may be authentic. We do not need them, thank to Allah. What Allah narrated to us about it in the Quran suffices us to the exclusion of what is mentioned in the former books. Moreover, neither Allah nor His messenger made us need them. Allah, Exalted is He, informed us that when the Children of Israel became tyrannical, He made their enemies dominate them so they killed them, entered and destroyed their houses, and humiliated them, which was an appropriate punishment for their disobedience and corruption. Indeed, Allah is never unjust to His slaves. Indeed, the Children of Israel sinned, and killed many prophets and scholars.’  
Imam ar-Rãzy said, ‘You should know that it is not important to know the exact identity of those who subjugated the Children of Israel. Rather, the intended goal is to make clear that when the Children of Israel excessively disobeyed Allah, Exalted is He, He made some people dominate, kill, and annihilate them.’ 

Learned Lessons

• The truthfulness of the information that Allah told about the Children of Israel, that is to say, that they would commit sins. Indeed, His knowledge is comprehensive. 
• Re-punishment may be mercy from Allah. That is because it may be a tool for refinement and repentance.  
• Coping with crises invigorates the souls, opens doors of hope before them, and drives away despair. 
• The result of acting righteously benefits the doer. Likewise, the result of acting wickedly harms the doer. Allah is never unjust to His slaves. He reward them immensely if they obey Him, and punish them if they insist on disobeying Him. 
• Allah is just. Whoever re-disobeys Him, He will re-punish him. Similarly, whoever repents and acts righteously, Allah will have mercy on him, and forgive his sins.
• The punishment of the disbelievers will not be only in the worldly life. They will be also punished in hereafter. They will enter the Hell and remain therein forever, suffering its severe torment. 

Recitation of Surah Al-Isra