Surah Al-araf in english

Verse 88

Said the council of those of his people who were disdainful, of believing: ‘Surely we will expel you, O Shu‘ayb, and those who believe with you, from our city, unless you return to our creed’, our religion (the plural person predominates over the singular in their address [to Shu‘ayb] because Shu‘ayb was never part of their religious community; and so in the same [plural] way he responded:) He said, ‘What, should we return to it, even though we are averse, to it? (the interrogative is meant as a disavowal).

Verse 89

We would be forging a lie against God if we were to return to your creed, after God has delivered us from it. It is not, right, for us to return to it, unless God our Lord wills, that [it be so] and forsakes us. Our Lord embraces all things through His knowledge, that is to say, His knowledge embraces all things, including my situation and yours. In God we have put our trust. Our Lord, decide, adjudicate, between us and our people, for You are the best of deciders’, adjudicators.

Verse 90

Said the council of those of his people who disbelieved, that is, some said to others: ‘Verily if (la-in: the lām is for oaths) you follow Shu‘ayb, you shall indeed be losers’.

Verse 91

So the Trembling, the violent earthquake, seized them, and they lay lifeless prostrate in their habitations, keeled over their knees, dead.

Verse 92

Those who denied Shu‘ayb (alladhīna kadhdhabū Shu‘ayban, this constitutes the subject [of the sentence], the predicate of which is [introduced by the following ka-an, ‘as if’]), it is as if (ka-an, has been softened, its subject omitted, in other words [understand it as] ka-annahum) they had never dwelt, [never] had residence, there, in those dwelling-places of theirs; those who denied Shu‘ayb, they were the losers (the emphasis effected by the repetition of the relative clause [alladhīna kadhdhabū Shu‘ayban, ‘those who denied Shu‘ayb’] and what follows it is intended as a refutation of what they had said previously [sc. ‘if you follow Shu‘ayb, you shall indeed be losers’]).

Verse 93

So he turned back on them, and said, ‘O my people, I have conveyed to you the Messages of my Lord and advised you sincerely, but you believe not: so why should I grieve for a disbelieving people?’ (the interrogative is meant [rhetorically] as a negation).

Verse 94

And We did not send a prophet to any city but that, when they denied him, We seized, We punished, its people with misery, abject poverty, and hardship, illness, so that they might be humble, [so that they might be] self-effaced, and so believe.

Verse 95

Then We gave them in place of evil, the chastisement, good, wealth and health, until they multiplied, and said, out of ingratitude towards this grace: ‘Hardship and happiness befell our fathers before’, just as it has befallen us, and this is nothing but the habit of time, and not the consequence of God, so remain firm in what you follow. God, exalted be He, says: So We seized them, with the chastisement, suddenly, while they perceived not, beforehand the time of its coming.

Verse 96

Yet had the people of the towns, the deniers, believed, in God and the messengers [sent] to them, and been fearful, of unbelief and acts of disobedience, We would have indeed opened upon them (read la-fatahnā or la-fattahnā) blessings from the heaven, by way of rain, and earth, by way of vegetation; but they denied, the messengers, and so We seized them, We punished them, on account of what they used to earn.

Verse 97

Do the people of the towns, the deniers, feel secure from the coming of Our might, Our chastisement, upon them at night while they are sleeping?, unaware of it?

Verse 98

Or, do the people of the towns feel secure from the coming of Our might upon them in the daytime while they are playing?

Verse 99

And so do they feel secure from God’s plotting?, that is, His drawing them on by degrees, through graces, and then seizing them suddenly. None feels secure from God’s plotting but the people who are losers.

Verse 100

Has it not been shown, [has it not] become clear, to those who inherit the earth, as a [place of] habitation, after, the destruction of, those who inhabited it that, (an is the softened form and constitutes the subject [of the verb], its noun having been omitted, in other words [understand it as] annahu), if We will, We could smite them, with chastisement, for their sins?, as We smote those before them? (the hamza in the four instances are meant to indicate rebuke, and the [particles] fa, ‘so’, and wa, ‘and’, which have been inserted in two instances [each], are meant to indicate a supplement; a variant reading [for a-wa-amina] has aw amina, ‘or do [they] feel secure’, in the [second] instance, as a supplement). And, We, seal up their hearts so that they do not hear, the admonition, in a way so as to reflect.

Verse 101

Those towns, which have been mentioned, We relate to you, O Muhammad (s), some of their tidings, [some of] the stories of their peoples. Verily their messengers brought them clear proofs, manifest miracles, but they would not believe, when these [signs]came to them, in what they had denied, disbelieved in, before, before these [signs] came to them; nay, they persisted in disbelief. Thus does God seal up the hearts of the disbelievers.

Verse 102

And We did not find in most of them, that is, people, any covenant, that is, any loyalty to a covenant from the day the pledge was made. Nay (wa-in: in is softened) We found that most of them were indeed wicked.

Verse 103

Then We sent, after them, that is, [after] the messengers mentioned, Moses with Our, nine, signs to Pharaoh and his council, his folk, but they mistreated, they disbelieved in, them. So behold what was the end of those who work corruption, by way of disbelief, when they were destroyed.

Verse 104

And Moses said, ‘O Pharaoh, I am a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds, to you, but he denied him. So he [Moses] said:

Verse 105

I am, one for whom it is right, [for whom] it is appropriate, to say nothing but the truth about God (a variant reading [for ‘alā] has ‘alayya, ‘for me’, in which case, haqīqun, ‘it is right’, is the subject [of the sentence], its predicate being an, ‘that’, and what follows it [sc. ‘I say nothing but the truth about God’]). Truly I have come to you with a clear proof from your Lord. So send forth with me, to Syria, the Children of Israel’: he [Pharaoh] had enslaved them.

Verse 106

Said he, Pharaoh, to him: ‘If you have come with a sign, as you claim, then produce it, if you are of those who speak the truth’, in this.

Verse 107

Then he cast down his staff and lo! it was a serpent, manifest [for all to see], an enormous snake.

Verse 108

And he drew forth his hand, he took it out from his bosom, and lo! it was white, radiant, for the beholders, and not its usual skin colour.

Verse 109

The council of Pharaoh’s folk said, ‘Surely this man is a cunning sorcerer, outstanding in the art of magic, in [sūrat] al-Shu‘arā’ [Q. 26:34], these are actually Pharaoh’s words, and so it is as if they said it in consultation with him,

Verse 110

who would expel you from your land. So what do you command?’

Verse 111

They said, ‘Put him and his brother off a while, postpone [any decision regarding] their affair, and send into the towns summoners, gatherers,

Verse 112

to bring you every cunning sorcerer’ (sāhir: a variant reading has sahhār) to outdo Moses in the art of magic. And so they summoned [them].

Verse 113

And the sorcerers came to Pharaoh, saying, ‘Surely (a-inna: read pronouncing both hamzas, or by not pronouncing the second one, but inserting an alif between the two in both cases) there will be a wage for us if we are the victors?’

Verse 114

He said, ‘Yes, and indeed you shall be of those brought near’.

Verse 115

They said, ‘O Moses, either you cast, your staff, or we shall be the casters!’, of what we have.

Verse 116

He said, ‘Cast!’, this is a command permitting them to cast first, as a means to manifesting the truth. And when they cast, their ropes and staffs, they put a spell upon the people’s eyes, misleading them from perceiving the real state of these [ropes and staffs], and overawed them, scared them, by making them appear to be slithering snakes, and produced a mighty sorcery.

Verse 117

And We revealed to Moses [saying]: ‘Cast your staff.’ And lo! it swallowed up (read talaqqafu, with one of the original tā’ letters [of tatalaqqafu] omitted) the illusion they were creating, that which they were transforming by delusion.

Verse 118

Thus did the truth come to pass, [thus was it] confirmed and made manifest; and that which they were doing, in the way of sorcery, was proved false.

Verse 119

Thus were they, that is, Pharaoh and his folk, there defeated, becoming humiliated — they ended up abased.

Verse 120

And the sorcerers fell down in prostration.

Verse 121

They said, ‘We believe in the Lord of the Worlds,

Verse 122

the Lord of Moses and Aaron’, for they realised that what they had witnessed of the staff could not be done through sorcery.

Verse 123

Pharaoh said, ‘Have you believed (a-āmantum, read pronouncing both hamzas, and replacing the second one with an alif) in him, in Moses, before I gave you leave? Surely this, that you have done, is a plot you have plotted in the city that you may expel its people from it. But you shall come to know, what I will do to you!

Verse 124

I shall assuredly have your hands and feet cut off on opposite sides, that is, the right hand and the left foot of every one, then I shall have every one of you crucified’.

Verse 125

They said, ‘Surely to our Lord, after our death, however it come about, we shall be restored, we shall return, in the Hereafter.

Verse 126

You are vindictive, spiteful, towards us only because we have believed in the signs of our Lord when they came to us. Our Lord, pour out onto us patience (and constancy), when that with which he has threatened us comes to pass, lest we revert to unbelief; and take us to You as men who have submitted’.

Verse 127

Then the council of Pharaoh’s folk said, to him [to Pharaoh]: ‘Will you leave Moses and his people to work corruption in the land, by calling to disobedience against you, and flout you and your gods?’ — he had fashioned small idols for them to worship, and had said to them, ‘I am your lord and their lord’, which is why he says, I am your lord the highest [Q. 79:24]. He said, ‘We shall slaughter (read nuqattilu or naqtulu) their, new-born, sons and spare their women, keeping them alive [for us], as we did with them before. For surely we have [irresistible] power over them!’, and they did this to them, and so the Children of Israel grieved.

Verse 128

Moses said to his people, ‘Seek help in God and be patient, their persecution. Surely the earth is God’s and He bequeaths it, He gives it, to whom He will from among His servants. The, praiseworthy, sequel belongs to those who are wary, of God’.

Verse 129

They said, ‘We suffered harm before you came to us, and since you have come to us.’ He said, ‘Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, that He may observe how you shall act’, in it.

Verse 130

And verily We seized Pharaoh’s folk with the years, of drought, and dearth of fruits, so that they might remember, [that they might] heed the admonition, and become believers.

Verse 131

But whenever a good thing, [such as] fertility and abundance, befell them, they said, ‘This belongs to us’, that is, we deserve it, and they did not give thanks for it; and whenever an evil thing, [such as] drought or hardship, smote them, they would augur ill of Moses and those, believers, with him. Surely their ill augury is with God, Who brings it upon them, but most of them do not know, that whatever befalls them is from Him.

Verse 132

And they said, to Moses, ‘Whatever sign you bring us, to cast a spell upon us therewith, we will not believe in you’, and so he [Moses] invoked God against them.

Verse 133

So We unleashed upon them the flood, of water, which penetrated their houses and which for seven days would come up to people’s necks as they sat; and the locusts, which consumed their crops and fruits, likewise [engulfing them for seven days]; and the lice (al-qummal is like al-sūs, ‘woodworm’, or al-qurād, ‘ticks’), which would follow [and consume] what the locusts left behind; and the frogs, such that they infested their houses and food supplies; and the blood, [flowing] in their water, distinct, clear, signs: but they were too scornful, to believe in them, and were a sinful folk.

Verse 134

And when the terror, the chastisement, fell upon them, they said, ‘O Moses, pray to your Lord for our sake by the covenant which He has made with you, to remove the chastisement from us if we believe. Indeed if (la-in: the lām is for oaths) you remove from us the terror, verily we will believe in you and let the Children of Israel go with you’.

Verse 135

But when We removed, through the supplication of Moses, the terror from them to a term which they should reach, lo! they were already reneging, breaking their covenant and persisting in their disbelief.

Verse 136

So We exacted retribution from them and therefore We drowned them in the sea (al-yamm denotes salty waters) for, the reason, that they denied Our signs and were heedless of them, not reflecting upon them.

Verse 137

And We bequeathed upon the people who were oppressed, through bondage, namely, the Children of Israel, the eastern parts of the land and the western parts thereof which We had blessed, with water and trees (allatī bāraknā fīhā, ‘which We had blessed’, is an adjectival qualification of al-ard, ‘the land’), and this was Syria, and the fair word of your Lord was fulfilled, which was His saying, exalted be He: Yet We desired to be gracious to those who were oppressed in the land ... to the end [of the verse, Q. 28:5], for the Children of Israel because they endured patiently, persecution at the hands of their enemy; and We destroyed utterly what Pharaoh and his folk had been creating, by way of architecture, and what they had been erecting (read ya‘rishūn or ya‘rushūn), [what they had been] raising of edifices.

Verse 138

And We brought the Children of Israel across the sea, and they came upon, they passed by, a people cleaving in devotion (read ya‘kufūn or ya‘kifūn) to idols they had, constantly worshipping them. They said, ‘O Moses, make for us a god, an idol for us to worship, just as they have gods.’ He said, ‘Truly you are an ignorant folk, for repaying God’s grace to you with what you have said.

Verse 139

Truly as for these, their way will be destroyed and what they have been doing is in vain’.

Verse 140

He said, ‘Shall I seek other than God as a god for you, to worship (abghīkum, ‘[shall] I seek for you’, is originally abghī lakum), when He has favoured you above all the worlds?’, of your time, in the ways He has mentioned in His sayings?

Verse 141

And, remember, when We delivered you (anjaynākum: a variant reading has anjākum, ‘He delivered you’) from Pharaoh’s folk who were inflicting upon you, [who were] burdening you and making you taste, terrible chastisement, the worst kind [of chastisement], namely, slaying your sons and sparing, retaining, your women; and therein, [in that] deliverance or chastisement, was a tremendous trial, [either] a grace or a tribulation, from your Lord, so will you not heed the admonition and desist from what you are saying?

Verse 142

And We appointed (read wa-wā‘adnā or wa-wa‘adnā) for Moses thirty nights, at the end of which We would speak to him, after he has fasted [during that period]; that was the month of Dhū’l-Qa‘da. He completed the fast. But when it came to an end, he disliked the [bad] odour of his mouth and so cleaned his teeth. God then commanded him [to fast for] another ten nights so that He may speak to him despite the odour in his mouth: as God says, and completed them with ten, nights of Dhū’l-Hijja. Thus was the time appointed by his Lord concluded, the time at which God had promised him to speak to him, as forty (arba‘īna is a circumstantial qualifier) nights (laylatan is for specification); and Moses said to his brother Aaron, when he was departing to the Mount for the communion [with his Lord]: ‘Succeed me, be my deputy, over my people, and be righteous, [among them] with regard to their affair, and do not follow the way of the agents of corruption’, by consenting with them to acts of disobedience.

Verse 143

And when Moses came at Our appointed time, that is, the time at which We had promised to speak to him, and his Lord spoke with him, without any intermediary, with speech which he heard from all directions, he said, ‘My Lord! Show me, Yourself, that I may behold You!’ Said He, ‘You shall not see Me, that is to say, you do not have the power to see me, the use of this expression [lan tarānī, ‘you shall not see Me’] instead of lan urā, ‘I shall not be seen’, implies that it is possible to see God, exalted be He; but behold the mountain, which is stronger than you are, and if it remains, stays fixed, in its place, then you shall see Me’, that is, [then] you shall remain fixed [able] to see Me, otherwise, you will not have the capacity [for it]. And when his Lord revealed Himself, that is, [when] He manifested of His Light the equivalent of half a nail of a little finger, as stated in one hadīth verified by al-Hākim, to the mountain He levelled it to the ground (read dakkan or dakkā’a, meaning madkūkan) and Moses fell down senseless, having lost consciousness at the awesomeness of what he had seen. And when he recovered his senses he said, ‘Glory be to You!, in Your transcendence. I repent to You, for having asked You what I was not commanded [to ask], and I am the first of the believers’, of my time.

Verse 144

He, God, said, to him: ‘O Moses, I have elected you, chosen you, from among mankind, the people of your time, for My Messages (read plural, bi-risālātī, or singular, bi-risālatī, ‘for My Message’) and My Speech, that is, [for] My having spoken to you. So take what I have given you, of bounty, and be of the thankful’, of My favours.

Verse 145

And We inscribed for him in the Tablets, that is, the Tablets of the Torah — these were made from the Lote-tree of Paradise, or of chrysolite or emerald, and they were either seven or ten — about all things, one needs in religion, as an admonition and a detailing, an explanation, of all things (li-kulli shay’in substitutes for the previous genitive construction [min kulli shay’, ‘about all things’]). ‘Take it then (there is an implicit qulnā, ‘We said’, before this [fa-kudhhā, ‘take it then’]) firmly, seriously and earnestly, and enjoin your people to adhere to the fairest [precepts] in it. I shall show you the abode of the wicked, [of] Pharaoh and his followers, and that is Egypt, that you may take an example from them.

Verse 146

I shall turn away from My signs, the proofs of My power, in the way of creations and otherwise, those who behave arrogantly in the earth without right, by humiliating them so that they do not magnify themselves; and if they see every sign do not believe in it, and if they see the way, the path, of rectitude, the guidance that has come from God, do not adopt it as a way, to follow, and if they see the way of error, misguidance, adopt it as a way. That, turning [of them] away, is because they have denied Our signs and were heedless of them. A similar statement has been made above.

Verse 147

Those who deny Our signs and the encounter in the Hereafter, the Resurrection and so on. their works, the good deeds they performed in the world, such as the maintenance of kinship ties or voluntary almsgivings, have failed, are invalid, and will not be rewarded, since they are not binding [in this case]. Shall they, they shall not, be requited anything but, the requital [for], what they used to do?’, in the way of denial and acts of disobedience?

Verse 148

And the people of Moses, after him, that is, after he had departed for the communion [with God], made of their ornaments, which they had borrowed from Pharaoh’s folk on the pretext of a wedding celebration, and which remained in their possession, a calf, which the Samaritan had fashioned for them therefrom; a [mere] living body (jasadan is a substitution [for ‘ijlan, ‘a calf’]), of flesh and blood, which lowed, that is, [which] made audible sounds [like a cow]: it [the calf] was transformed in this way when the dust, which he [the Samaritan] had collected from [where] the hoof of Gabriel’s steed [had trodden], was placed in its mouth, for it has the effect of [giving] life to that in which it is placed (the second direct object of the verb ittakhadha, ‘[they] made’, has been omitted, but it would be ilāhan, ‘[as] a god’). Did they not see that it spoke not to them, nor guided them to any way?, so how can it be taken as a god? Yet they took it as such, a god, and were evildoers, for taking it so.

Verse 149

And when they became at a loss, that is, [when] they became remorseful for having worshipped it, and saw, [and] realised, that they had gone astray, thereby, and this was after Moses’s return [from the communion], they said, ‘Unless our Lord is merciful to us and forgives us (read both [verbs] either in the third person singular or in the second person singular), verily we shall be among the losers’.

Verse 150

And when Moses returned to his people, angry, because of them, and bitterly grieved, he said, to them: ‘Evil is that, that is, evil is the [manner of] succession, which you have followed in my place, after I had gone, this idolatry of yours. Would you hasten on the judgement of your Lord?’ And he cast down the Tablets, the Tablets of the Torah, angry for the sake of his Lord, and they were broken into pieces, and he seized his brother by the head, that is, by the hair, with his right hand, and [seized him] by the beard, with his left hand, dragging him toward him, in anger. He said, ‘O, son of my mother! (read either ibna ummi or ibna umma, by which he meant [the standard form of saying ‘my mother’] ummī: the mention of her is more affectionate [in appealing] to his heart), Truly the people judged me weak and they were close to killing me. Do not make my enemies gloat over my misfortune, to rejoice thereat, by your humiliating me, and do not count me among the folk who have done evil’, by worshipping the calf, in [your] reproach [of them].

Verse 151

He said, ‘My Lord, forgive me, what I have done to my brother, and my brother, he includes him in the supplication in order to reconcile him and to fend off any gloating over his misfortune, and admit us into Your mercy, for You are the Most Merciful of the merciful’.

Verse 152

God, exalted be He, says, ‘Surely those who chose the calf, as a god. wrath, chastisement, and abasement shall come upon them from their Lord in the life of this world: and so they were punished [for this deed] by the command to slay themselves, and abasement was stamped upon them until the Day of Resurrection. Even, as We have requited them, so We requite those who invent lies, against God by way of idolatry and otherwise.

Verse 153

But those who commit evil deeds and repent, desist from them, thereafter and believe, in God — indeed your Lord thereafter, that is, after repentance, is truly Forgiving, Merciful’, towards them.

Verse 154

And when Moses’s anger abated, subsided, he took the Tablets, which he had cast down, and in their copy, that is, [in] what was inscribed upon them — in other words, it was written that: there was guidance, from error, and mercy for all those who hold their Lord in awe, [who] have fear [of Him] (the lām [in li-rabbihim, ‘their Lord’] has been inserted into the direct object because it [the direct object] has preceded [the verb]).

Verse 155

And Moses chose of his people seventy men, from among those who had not worshipped the calf, by God’s command, for Our appointed time, that is, for the time at which We promised him that they should come and apologise for their comrades’ worship of the calf. He [Moses] then departed with them; but when the Trembling, a violent earthquake, seized them, Ibn ‘Abbās said, ‘[That earthquake was] because they did not separate themselves from their people when the latter took to worshipping the calf’; he [Ibn ‘Abbās] added, ‘These [people] were not the same ones who asked to see God and were struck by the thunderbolt [cf. Q. 2:55]’, he, Moses, said, ‘My Lord, had You willed You would have destroyed them long before, that is, before my departure with them, so that the Children of Israel might see this and not make [false] accusations against me, and me [with them]. Will You destroy us for what the foolish ones among us have done? (this interrogative is meant as a plea for compassion, in other words, ‘Do not punish us for the sins of others’). It, that is, the trial which the ignorant ones underwent, is but Your trial, Your test, whereby You send astray whom You will, to lead stray, and guide whom You will, to guide. You are our Protector, looking after our affairs, so forgive us and have mercy on us, for You are the Best of all who show forgiveness.

Verse 156

And prescribe for us, grant [us], in this world good and in the Hereafter, good. We have turned, repented, to You’. He, God, says: ‘My chastisement — I smite with it whom I will, to chastise, and My mercy embraces, subsumes, all things, in this world, and so I shall prescribe it, in the Hereafter, for those who are God-fearing and pay the alms, and those who believe in Our signs;

Verse 157

those who follow the Messenger, the uninstructed Prophet, Muhammad (s) whom they will find inscribed in their Torah and Gospel, in name and description, enjoining them to decency and forbidding them indecency, making lawful for them the good things, which were forbidden [to them] by their Law, and making unlawful for them the vile things, such as carrion and the like, and relieving them of their burden, their onus, and the shackles, the hardships, that they used to bear, such as [the requirement] to kill oneself as a repentance and the severing of that part that had come into contact with any impurity. Then those who believe in him, from among them, and honour, revere, him, and help him, and follow the light that has been revealed with him, namely, the Qur’ān, they are the ones who will prosper’.

Verse 158

Say, addressing the Prophet (s) here: ‘O mankind, I am the Messenger of God to you all, [the Messenger] of Him to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth. There is no god but Him. He gives life and makes to die. Believe, then, in God and His Messenger, the uninstructed Prophet, who believes in God and His words, the Qur’ān, and follow him, so that you might be guided, led aright.

Verse 159

And among the people of Moses there is a community, a group, who guide, people, by the truth and act justly according to it, when passing judgements.

Verse 160

And We divided them, We separated the Children of Israel, into twelve (ithnatay ‘asharata is a circumstantial qualifier) tribes (asbātan substitutes for this [previous circumstantial qualifier]) communities (umaman substitutes for the preceding [asbātan, ‘tribes’). And We revealed to Moses, when his people asked him for water, in the wilderness, [saying]: ‘Strike the rock with your staff’, and he struck it, and there gushed forth, burst forth, from it twelve fountains, equal to the number of tribes, each people, [each] tribe among them, now knew their drinking-place. And We made the cloud overshadow them, in the wilderness, from the heat of the sun, and We sent down to them manna and quails — which are [respectively, a type of citrus] turunjabīn, and the quail and We said to them: ‘Eat of the good things We have provided for you.’ And they did not wrong Us, but they wronged themselves.

Verse 161

And, mention, when it was said to them, ‘Dwell in this city, the Holy House [of Jerusalem], and eat therein wherever you will, and say, ‘our concern is for [an], Exoneration,’ and enter the gate, that is, the gate of the city, prostrating, a prostration that is [actually] a bow. We shall forgive (read naghfir, or the passive tughfar) you your transgressions; We shall give more to those who are virtuous, through obedience, in terms of reward.

Verse 162

But the evildoers among them substituted a saying other than that which had been said to them, they said instead, ‘A grain inside a hair’ and entered [the gate] dragging themselves on their rears. So We sent down upon them terror, a chastisement, from the heaven for their evildoing.

Verse 163

And question them, O Muhammad (s), in rebuke, about the city that was by the sea, bordering the Red Sea (bahr al-qulzum), and this was Eilat, [about] what befell its inhabitants, how they would transgress, violate, the Sabbath, by fishing, which they had been commanded not to do on that [day]; how (idh is an adverbial qualifier of ya‘dūn, ‘they [would] transgress’) their fish would come to them on the day of their Sabbath floating at the surface, visible at the surface of the water; but on the day they did not observe the Sabbath, when they would not consecrate the Sabbath over the other days, they would not come to them, as a trial from God. Thus were We trying them for their wickedness. And when they went to fish, the city split into three: one third joined the fishing party, another prohibited them, while a third abstained from both fishing and prohibiting.

Verse 164

And when (wa-idh is a supplement to the preceding idh, ‘how’) a community among them, who neither fished nor prohibited it, said, to those who prohibited it: ‘Why do you preach [admonition] to a folk whom God is about to destroy or chastise with a severe chastisement?’ They said, our admonishing [them] is, ‘As an exculpation, by which we excuse ourselves, before your Lord, lest we are reproached for failing to prohibit [them] in any way; and so that they might be wary, of fishing’.

Verse 165

And when they forgot, when they overlooked, that whereof they had been reminded, [that for which they had been] admonished, and did not desist, We delivered those who forbade evil, and seized those who did wrong, through transgression, with a grievous, terrible, chastisement for their wickedness.

Verse 166

And when they disdained, to desist from, that which was prohibited to them, We said to them, ‘Be apes, despised!’, abased, and they became so: this is an explication of what preceded [with regard to the details of their ‘grievous chastisement’]. Ibn ‘Abbās said, ‘I do not know what befell the group that abstained’. ‘Ikrima said, ‘That group was not destroyed because they had been averse to what the others did and had said, ‘Why do you preach (admonition) …’ Al-Hākim reported [in a hadīth] that he [‘Ikrima] referred this opinion to Ibn ‘Abbās, who was delighted by it.

Verse 167

And when your Lord proclaimed, made it known, that He would send against them, that is, the Jews, to the Day of Resurrection, those who would inflict on them grievous torment, through humiliation and the exacting of the jizya-tax [from them]. Thus, God sent Solomon against them, and after him, Nebuchadnezzar, who slaughtered [some of] them and took [others among] them captive, and imposed the jizya-tax on them. They continued to pay this [tax] to the Magians up until the [time of the] sending of our Prophet (s), who [also] imposed it on them. Lo! verily your Lord is swift in requital, of those who disobey Him. And lo! verily He is Forgiving, to those who obey Him, Merciful, [in dealing] with them.

Verse 168

And We divided them, We separated them, into communities, sects, in the earth. Some of them are righteous, and some of them, people [who], are otherwise, disbelievers and wicked individuals. And We tried them with good things, with graces, and evil things, with misfortunes, so that they might revert, from their wickedness.

Verse 169

And there succeeded after them a generation who inherited the Scripture, the Torah, from their forefathers, choosing the transient things of this inferior [life], that is, the ephemeral aspects of this lowly thing that the world is, in the way of what is lawful and what is unlawful, and saying, ‘It will be forgiven us’, what we have done; and yet if similar transient things were to come to them, they would take them (wa-in ya’tihim ‘aradun mithluhu ya’khudhūhu: this sentence is a circumstantial qualifier), in other words, they hope for forgiveness whilst committing the same offence again and persisting in it: and in the Torah there is no [such] promise about forgiveness for persistence [in sin]. Has not the covenant of the Scripture (mīthāqu l-kitābi, the annexation functions in place of fī, ‘in’ [sc. ‘the covenant in the Scripture’]) been taken (a-lam yu’khadh, ‘has [it] not been taken’, is an interrogative meant as an affirmative) from them that they should not say about God anything but the truth? And they have studied (wa-darasū, is a supplement to yu’khadh, ‘has it [not] been taken?’), they have read, what is in it, so why do they impute lies to it [the Scripture] by ascribing to it [the idea of] forgiveness for persistence [in sin]? And the Abode of the Hereafter is better for those who are wary, of what is unlawful. Do they not understand? (ya‘qilūn, may also be read as ta‘qilūn, ‘[do] you [not] understand?’) that it is better and so prefer it to [the abode of] this world?

Verse 170

And those who adhere (read yumassikūn or yumsikūn) to the Scripture, from among them, and have established prayer, the likes of ‘Abd Allāh b. Salām and his companions, verily We shall not let the wages of reformers go to waste (innā lā nudī‘u ajra l-muslihīn: the sentence is the predicate of alladhīna, ‘those who’; also there is here the replacing of the [third person] pronominalisation [alladhīna, ‘those who’] with an overt noun [al-muslihīna, ‘reformers’], in other words, their wages).

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Hizb 17 | AL-ARAF 7:88 -> AL-ARAF 7:170

Surah 7 AL-ARAF

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