The Qur'ân, ed. Palmer (SBE9): XVII. The Chapter of...

This is an excerpt from Surah Al-Isra (Chapter 17) of the Qur'an, presented in E.H. Palmer's 1880 English translation as part of the Sacred Books of the East series — a Victorian scholarly effort to render non-Western religious texts into academic English. The passage opens with the Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem, then moves through a series of divine declarations addressed alternately to the Prophet, to humanity at large, and to the children of Israel, covering God's sovereignty, human accountability, and the inevitability of judgment. A dense ethical code is embedded mid-passage — prohibitions against killing children, fornication, and unjust homicide sit alongside commands to honor parents, give to the poor, keep fair weights and measures, and speak kindly — framed as wisdom God inspired in the Prophet. The surah takes a distinctively argumentative stance toward disbelievers, repeatedly dramatizing their skepticism about resurrection and responding with divine rebuttals, while also warning the Prophet against being seduced or expelled by opponents. A notable thread is the story of Iblis (Satan) refusing to bow to Adam and being granted a reprieve to tempt humanity until judgment — establishing the cosmic stakes behind human moral failure. The excerpt ends mid-sentence, but its overall thrust is that the Qur'an itself is a healing guidance for believers and a sealed path for those who reject it.

The Qur'ân, ed. Palmer (SBE9): XVII. The Chapter of...

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