The social contents in Surat Al-Asraa'

Abstract According to Islam, the Quran is the word of God, and its purpose is to purify the prophet Mohammad and each unique generation of Muslims from sin, to save and to bring these generations out of darkness into the light. Some of the most important subjects that the Quran examines are the social and educational issues that appear in several of the 114 different surahs (divisions) of the Quran. Surah al-Isra (the Night Journey) delineates and emphasizes the foundations, principles, and concepts that each Muslim should master because of the important and beneficial roles they play in the private and public life of the Muslim individual. The purpose of this research study, “Social Themes in the Surah Al- Isra,” is to explore and address all the divine social and educational themes this surah demonstrates in a precise and coherent way. The content of this surah undoubtedly has a direct connection with our current reality, as it addresses the issues of corruption and how to enable the Islamic nation to live in peace and safety. Muslim behavior is dictated by the Quran and Sunnah (the practice of the prophet Mohammad, the exemplar of this behavior). This research thesis consists of four chapters. In the first, introductory chapter, I outline the structure of Surat Al-Isra, noting it characteristics, subjects, and connections with the previous and following surahs. The following three chapters focus on the social issues illustrated in Surat Al-Isra. These issues are divided into three correlated and linked groups. In the second chapter, I discuss the social issue of relatives and needy people. Through analytical and explanatory approaches, I attempt to show the rights of relatives vis-à-vis other family members, especially the rights of fathers concerning their children, the rights of beggars to receive help from their society, and the effect of these issues on the strength, unity, and solidarity of Islamic society. The third chapter discusses the social issues of the individual, such as the right to live peacefully. I emphasize how God honors human life by prohibiting murder, including the Quranic emphasis on the prohibition of the pre-Islamic practice of killing children from fear of poverty. I have tried to connect the issues in Surat Al-Isra with our current reality, showing the solutions the Quran provides. Finally, in the fourth chapter, the most important chapter in this study, I discuss the social ills that that threaten the stability of Islamic society. In this chapter I investigate the seven evils mentioned in Surat Al-Isra: extravagance, wastefulness, meanness, adultery, robbing an orphan, betrayal, and dishonest weights and measures (when selling or buying). I survey and review the interpretations and approaches of different religious scholars concerning these evils, and examine their connections to our world today, emphasizing the solutions provided for them in Surat Al-Isra. My research methodology in this study is to survey the content of Surat Al-Isra, using inductive analytical and critical methodology. The findings of this research show that, first, the instructions provided in Surat Al-Isra aim to build a useful individual in Islamic society in any time or place. Second, the social themes of Surat Al-Isra are sufficient to reform and repair the corruption of society, and ensure peace and safety in Islamic society. Third, disobedience and sin blind the insight of the heart, preventing human beings from realizing the truth. They weaken human strength and determination, leaving us to fall into evil and corruption, which in turns threatens the stability of society. Fourth, the basis of disrepute ethics is arrogance and superiority, the characteristics of Satan, who refused to obey God’s commands. Finally, the most important issue that Islamic societies must be concern with is how to implement the ways that Surat Al-Isra indicates in order to avoid falling into evil and corruption.