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7. Surah Al-A'râf سورة الأعراف

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This Surah (Revealed) Meccan, except for verses 163-170 inclusive, which are Medinese: it consists of 205 or 206 verses, and was revealed after [sūrat] Sād.(Al-Aârâf)
 
Ayah  7:1  الأية
بِسْم ِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Ayah First  1  الأية
Tafseer
 
Alif Lām Mīm Sād: God knows best what He means by these [letters].
 
Ayah  7:2  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
This is, a Book that is revealed to you â addressing the Prophet (s) â so let there be no inhibition, [no] constraint, in your breast because of it, to convey it â for fear that you might be called a liar â that you may warn thereby (li-tundhira, âthat you may warnâ, is semantically connected to unzila, âis revealedâ, that is to say, â[it is revealed] for [the purposes of] warningâ) and as a reminder for those who believe, in it.
 
Ayah  7:3  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Say to them: Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord, namely, the Qurâān, and do not follow, [do not] take, beside Him, namely, God, in other words, other than Him, any patrons, obeying them in disobedience of Him, exalted be He. Little do you remember (read tadhakkarūn or yadhakkarūn, â[little] are you or they admonishedâ; the original tāâ [of tatadhakkarūn] has been assimilated with the dhāl; a variant reading has tadhkurūn; the mā [of qalīlan mā, âlittleâ] is extra, merely emphasising the âlittlenessâ).
 
Ayah  7:4  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
How many (kam is predicative and is the direct object [of the main verb, ahlaknāhā, âWe have destroyedâ]) a city, meaning its inhabitants, have We destroyed, have We willed its destruction! So Our might, Our chastisement, came upon it at night or while they slept at noon (qāâilūn: al-qaylūla is a rest taken halfway during the day, even if it does not involve sleep), in other words, sometimes it came upon it at night, and sometimes it came during the day.
 
Ayah  7:5  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And their only plea, their [only] words, when Our might came upon them, was to say, âWe were evildoers indeedâ.
 
Ayah  7:6  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Then verily We shall question those to whom the Message was sent, that is, [We shall question those] communities, about their response to the messengers, and to what extent they implemented that which was 158 conveyed to them; and We shall question the messengers, about the conveying [of that Message].
 
Ayah  7:7  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And We shall narrate to them with knowledge, We shall inform them, with [previous] knowledge, of what they did; for verily We were not absent, when the messengers were conveying [the Message], nor [were We absent] during the time of bygone communities and what they did.
 
Ayah  7:8  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
The weighing, of deeds or of the scrolls of these [deeds] shall be â in a balance that has a tongue and two palms [as scales], as reported in a hadīth â on that day, that is, on the day of the questioning mentioned, namely, the Day of Resurrection, the true [weighing], the fair [weighing] (al-haqq, âthe trueâ, is an adjectival qualification of al-wazn, âthe weighingâ). As for those whose scales are heavy, with good deeds, they are the successful, the triumphant.
 
Ayah  7:9  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And as for those whose scales are light, because of evil deeds, those are the ones who have lost their souls, by causing them to travel towards the Fire, because they mistreated, they [knowingly] denied, Our signs.
 
Ayah  7:10  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And We have given you power, O Children of Adam, in the earth, and have appointed for you therein livelihoods (maâāyish is the plural of maâīsha), that is, the means by which you [are able to] subsist; little (qalīlan mā: mā is to emphasise the âlittlenessâ) thanks you show, for this.
 
Ayah  7:11  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And We created you, that is, your father Adam, then shaped you, that is, We shaped him with you [deposited] in his back, then said to the angels: âProstrate yourselves before Adam!â, a prostration that is a bow of salutation. So they fell prostrate, all save Iblīs, the father of the jinn, who was among the angels â he was not of those who make prostration.
 
Ayah  7:12  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He, exalted be He, said, âWhat prevented you from falling prostrate (allā is [made up of] an-lā, the lā being extra) when I commanded you?â He [Iblīs] said, âI am better than him. You created me from fire, while him You created from clayâ.
 
Ayah  7:13  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Said He, âThen go down from it, that is, from the Garden â it is also said, [go down] from the heavens â it is not, right, for you to show pride here, so go forth, out of it! Surely you are among the abased!â, the contemptible!
 
Ayah  7:14  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Said he, âReprieve me, postpone my affair, until the day when they, people, are resurrectedâ.
 
Ayah  7:15  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Said He, âLo! You are of those reprievedâ â in another verse, it is said, until the day of an appointed time [Q. 38:81], that is, [until] the time of the first blast [of the Trumpet].
 
Ayah  7:16  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
159 Said he, âNow, because You have sent me astray (fa-bi-mā aghwaytanī means bi-ighwāâik, âfor Your sending me astrayâ: the bāâ is for oaths, and the response of the oath is [the following]) verily I shall sit in ambush for them, that is, for the Children of Adam, on Your straight path, that is, on the path that leads to You.
 
Ayah  7:17  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Then I shall come upon them from before them and from behind them and from their right and from their left, that is to say, from every side, and prevent them from following it [that path]. Ibn âAbbās said, âHowever, he cannot come upon them from above, lest he come between the servant and the mercy of God, exalted be Heâ. And You will not find most of them thankfulâ, believing.
 
Ayah  7:18  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Said He, âGo forth from it, degraded (read madhâūman) disgraced or despised, and banished, removed from mercy. As for those of them, of people, who follow you (la-man, âas for those whoâ: the lām is for inceptiveness; or it is for introducing the oath, which is [the following]) I shall assuredly fill Hell with all of youâ, that is, with you, through your seed, and with people â herein [in this address] those present have predominance over those absent (this [last] sentence [of the verse] expresses the sense of âthe requitalâ [suggested] in the conditional man, âwhoâ: in other words, âwhoever follows you, then I shall punish himâ).
 
Ayah  7:19  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And, He said, âO Adam, dwell, you (anta: this is reiterated in order to emphasise the subject of the verb uskun, âdwellâ, and to supplement to it [what follows]) and your wife, Eve (read Hawwāâ), in the Garden, and eat from whence you will, but do not come near this tree, to eat of it â and this was wheat â lest you become evildoersâ.
 
Ayah  7:20  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Then Satan, Iblīs, whispered to them that he might manifest, reveal, to them that which was hidden (wūriya: based on [the verbal form] fūâila and [derives] from [the infinitive] al-muwārā) to them of their shameful parts. And he said, âYour Lord prohibited you from this tree only, in aversion, lest you become angels (malakayn may also be read malikayn) or become immortalsâ, in other words, that is the necessary consequence of eating from it, as [is stated] in another verse: Shall I guide you to the Tree of Immortality and a kingdom that does not waste away? [Q. 20:120].
 
Ayah  7:21  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And he swore to both of them, that is, he swore to both of them by God, âTruly, I am a sincere adviser to youâ, in this matter.
 
Ayah  7:22  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Thus did he lead them on, [thus] did he debase them in their status, by delusion, on his part; and when they tasted of the tree, that is, [when] they ate of it, their shameful parts were manifested to them, that is, the front [private part] of each was revealed to the other, as well as their behinds â each of these parts is called sawâa, âshamefulâ, because its exposure âshamesâ (yasūâu) that person â and they began to piece together, they began to stick, onto themselves some of the leaves of the Garden, to cover themselves up therewith. And their Lord called them: âDid I not prohibit you from this tree, and say to you, âVerily Satan is a manifest enemy to youâ?â, one whose enmity is evident? (the interrogative is meant as an affirmative).
 
Ayah  7:23  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
They said, âOur Lord, we have wronged ourselves, by our act of disobedience, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we shall surely be among the lostâ. 160
 
Ayah  7:24  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Said He, âGo down, that is, Adam and Eve, with all those you comprise of your seed, each of you, each seed, an enemy to the other, on account of the wrong each does to the another. There will be for you on earth an abode, a place of settlement, and enjoyment for a whileâ, [until] your terms [of life] are fulfilled.
 
Ayah  7:25  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Said He, âThere, that is, [on] earth, you shall live, and there you shall die, and from there you shall be brought forthâ, through the Resurrection (read active takhrujūn, âyou shall come forthâ, or passive tukhrajūn, âyou shall be brought forthâ).
 
Ayah  7:26  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
O Children of Adam! We have sent down on you a garment, that is, We have created it for you, to conceal, to cover up, your shameful parts, and feathers, meaning all that one adorns oneself with of garments, and the garment of God-fearing, righteous deeds and virtuous traits (read as libāsaâl-taqwā, âthe garment of Godfearingâ, as a supplement to the preceding libāsan, âa garmentâ; or read as libāsuâl-tawqā as the subject, the predicate of which is the [following] sentence) that is best; that is one of Godâs signs, the proofs of His power; perhaps they will remember, and believe (the address shifts from the second [to the third] person).
 
Ayah  7:27  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
O Children of Adam! Let not Satan tempt you, lead you astray, that is, do not follow him, lest you fall into temptation, as he caused your parents to go forth from the Garden, by tempting them, stripping (yanziâu is a circumstantial qualifier) them of their garments to manifest to them their shameful parts. Surely he, Satan, sees you, he and his tribe, his army, from where you do not see them â because of their ethereal bodies or their being colourless. We have made the devils friends, helpers and companions, of those who do not believe.
 
Ayah  7:28  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And when they commit any indecency, such as idolatry, or circumambulating the [Sacred] House naked, saying, âWe cannot perform the circumambulations wearing clothes in which we were disobedient to Godâ â and so they forbade this [wearing of clothes] â they say, âWe found our fathers practising it, and so we followed their example, and God has, also, enjoined it on usâ. Say, to them: âGod does not enjoin indecency. Do you say concerning God that which you do not know?â, that He has said? (the interrogative is meant as a repudiation).
 
Ayah  7:29  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Say: âMy Lord enjoins justice, fairness. And set (wa-aqīmū is a supplement to the [syntactical] significance of biâl-qist, âjusticeâ, that is to say, [it is as if] He said, âBe just and set [your faces]â, or read [wa-aqīmū] with an implied fa-aqbilū, âso turnâ towards it) your faces, towards God, in every place of worship, performing your prostrations purely for Him, and call upon Him, worship Him, devoting your religion to Him, [free] of any idolatry. As He brought you into being, [as] He created you, when you were nothing, so you will return, that is, [so] He will bring you back to life on the Day of Resurrection.
 
Ayah  7:30  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
A party, of you, He has guided, while another party has deserved to go astray â they have taken devils as patrons instead of God, that is, other than Him, and think that they are guidedâ.
 
Ayah  7:31  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
161 O Children of Adam! Don your adornment, that which covers your nakedness, at every place of worship, at prayer and at the circumambulation, and eat and drink, what you want, but do not be excessive; He truly does not love those who are excessive.
 
Ayah  7:32  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Say, in disavowal of them, âWho has forbidden the adornment of God which He has brought forth for His servants, in the way of garments, and the good things, the delicious foods, of [Godâs] sustenance?â Say: âThese, on the Day of Resurrection, shall be exclusively (read khālisatun meaning âexclusively theirsâ, or khālisatan as a circumstantial qualifier) for those who believed during the life of this world, deservedly, even if others should share it with them. Thus We detail the signs, We explain them in such detail, for a people who knowâ, [who] reflect, for they are the ones to profit from these [signs].
 
Ayah  7:33  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Say: âMy Lord forbids only indecencies, grave sins, such as fornication, such of them as are apparent and such as are hidden, that is, the overt ones and the secret ones, and sin, the act of disobedience, and wrongful insolence, against people, namely, oppression, and that you associate with God that for which He never revealed any warrant, any definitive proof for such association, and that you say concerning God that which you do not knowâ, in the way of forbidding what He has not forbidden and other things.
 
Ayah  7:34  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Every community has a term, a [finite] period of time. When their term comes they shall not delay it a single hour nor bring it forward.
 
Ayah  7:35  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
O Children of Adam! If (immā: the nūn of the conditional particle in has been assimilated with the extra mā) there should come to you messengers from among you, narrating to you My signs, then whoever fears, associating others with God, and makes amends, in his actions â no fear shall befall them, neither shall they grieve, in the Hereafter.
 
Ayah  7:36  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And those who deny Our signs and scorn them, not believing in them â those shall be the inhabitants of the Fire, abiding therein.
 
Ayah  7:37  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And who â that is, none â does greater evil than he who invents a lie against God, by ascribing to Him a partner or a child, or denies His signs?, the Qurâān. Those â their portion, their lot, of the Scripture, of what has been inscribed as theirs in the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfūz), in the way of provision, term [of life] and other matters, shall reach them until, when Our messengers, the angels, come to them, to take their souls, they say, to them, in reprimand: âWhere is that which you were calling upon, worshipping, beside God?â They will say, âThey have gone astray from usâ, they are not present [before us], and so we cannot see them; and they will bear witness against themselves, upon death, that they were disbelievers.
 
Ayah  7:38  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He, exalted be He, will say, to them, on the Day of Resurrection: âEnter into the Fire among, the number of, communities of jinn and mankind who passed away before youâ (fīâl-nār, âinto the Fireâ, is semantically connected to udkhulū, âenterâ). Every time a community enters, the Fire, it curses its sister-community, [the one] that came before it, because of its having gone astray on account of it, until, when they have all followed, caught up with, one another there, the last of them, those who were the followers, shall say to the first of them, those whom they revered and followed: âOur Lord, these led us astray; so give them a double 162 chastisement of the Fire.â He, exalted be He, will say, âFor each, of you and them, will be a double, chastisement, but you do not knowâ (read taâlamūn, or yaâlamūn, âthey [do not] knowâ), what will be for each party.
 
Ayah  7:39  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And the first of them shall say to the last of them, âYou have no advantage over us, since you did not disbelieve because of us: you and we are equal [in this predicament]. God, exalted be He, says to them: So taste the chastisement for what you used to earnâ.
 
Ayah  7:40  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Those who deny Our signs and scorn them, not believing in them, indeed the gates of heaven shall not be opened for them, when their spirits are carried up to it after death, for instead they are taken down into Sijjīn [cf. Q. 83:7f.] â in contrast to the believer, for whom the gates are opened, and his spirit is carried up into the seventh heaven, as is stated in one hadīth â nor shall they enter Paradise until the camel passes through the eye of the needle, which is impossible, and so is their entry [into Paradise]. So, with this requital, We requite those who are sinful, through disbelief.
 
Ayah  7:41  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Hell shall be their bed, and over them coverings, of fire (ghawāshin is the plural of ghāshiya and its nunation compensates for the omitted yāâ). Thus do We requite the evildoers.
 
Ayah  7:42  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And those who believe and perform righteous deeds (waâlladhīna āmanū wa-âamilūâl-sālihāti is the subject) We do not charge any soul beyond its scope, its capacity for action (lā nukallifu nafsan illā wusâahā, âWe do not charge any soul beyond its scopeâ, constitutes a parenthetical statement, intervening between it [the above subject] and its predicate, which is [the following]) those are the inhabitants of Paradise, abiding therein.
 
Ayah  7:43  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
We shall strip away all rancour, [all] spite that existed between them in the world, that is in their breasts; and beneath them, beneath their palaces, flow rivers; and they will say, once they have settled in their dwellings: âPraise be to God, Who guided us to this, action, the reward of which is this [Paradise]; for we would surely never have been guided if God had not guided us (the response to the [conditional] law lā, âif â notâ is omitted, because it is indicated by the preceding [clause]). Verily the messengers of our Lord did bring the truth.â And it is cried to them: (an is read softened, that is, [understand it as] annahu; alternatively, it is an explicative particle in all five places [here and the four to follow]) âThis is your Paradise; you have inherited it for what you used to doâ.
 
Ayah  7:44  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And the inhabitants of Paradise will call to the inhabitants of the Fire, either in affirmation or in reprimand: âWe have found that which our Lord promised us, in the way of reward, to be true; have you found that, chastisement, which your Lord promised, you, to be true?â They will say: âYes!â And then a crier, a caller, shall proclaim between them, between both parties, making them hear that: âGodâs curse is on the evildoers,
 
Ayah  7:45  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
who bar, people, from Godâs way, [from] His religion, desiring it, that is, they seek the way that is, crooked, disbelieving in the Hereafterâ.
 
Ayah  7:46  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
163 And between them, that is, [between] the inhabitants of Paradise and those of the Fire, is a veil, a barrier, said to be the wall of the Heights, and on the Heights, which is, the wall of Paradise, are men, whose good deeds and evil deeds are equal, as [is stated] in the hadīth, who know each, of the inhabitants of Paradise and those of the Fire, by their mark â glowing faces in the case of the believers and blackened [ones] in the case of the disbelievers, for they are able to see them, their position being high â and they call to the inhabitants of Paradise: âPeace be upon you!â God, exalted be He, says: They, that is, those men of the Heights, have not entered it, Paradise, although they aspire, to enter it. Al-Hasan [al-Basrī] said, âGod causes them to have this aspiration only because He desires to be generous to themâ. Al-Hākim reported that Hudhayfa [b. al-Yamān] said, âWhile they are in this situation, God appears to them and says âGet up and enter Paradise, for I have forgiven youâ.â
 
Ayah  7:47  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And when their eyes, those of the men of the Heights, are turned towards, in the direction of, the inhabitants of the Fire, they shall say, âOur Lord, do not assign us, to the Fire, with the evildoing folkâ.
 
Ayah  7:48  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And those of the Heights call to men, from among the inhabitants of the Fire, whom they know by their mark, [saying]: âYour masses, of property, or your multitude, and your haughtiness, that is, your disdaining of belief, have not availed you, [as protection against] the Fire. And they also say to them, pointing to those [formerly] oppressed Muslims:
 
Ayah  7:49  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Are these the ones of whom you swore that God would never grant them mercy?â: it has already been said to them, âEnter Paradise; no fear shall come upon you, nor shall you grieveâ (a variant reading [for udkhulū, âenterâ (imperative, second person plural)] has the passive udkhilū, âthey have been admittedâ, or dakhalū, âthey enteredâ; the negation clause [âno fear shall come upon you, nor shall you grieveâ] is a circumstantial qualifier, in other words, [they enter Paradise] while this is being said to them).
 
Ayah  7:50  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And the inhabitants of the Fire call out to the inhabitants of Paradise [saying]: âPour on us some water, or some of that, food, which God has provided you!â They say: âGod has forbidden, He has prohibited, both to the disbelievers,
 
Ayah  7:51  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
those who took their religion for a diversion and a game, and whom the life of this world has deluded.â Therefore today We have forgotten them, We have left them in the Fire, just as they forgot the encounter of this day of theirs, when they neglected to perform [good] deeds for it, and because they used to deny Our signs.
 
Ayah  7:52  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And indeed We have brought them, that is, the people of Mecca, a Book, the Qurâān, which We have detailed, [which] We have made clear through tidings and the Promise [of reward] and the Threat [of punishment], with knowledge (âalā âilmin is a circumstantial qualifier, in other words, âknowing what has been detailed in itâ), a guidance (hudan is [also] a circumstantial qualifier referring to the hāâ [the suffixed pronoun of fassālnā-hu, âwhich We have detailedâ]) and a mercy for a people who believe, in it.
 
Ayah  7:53  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Are they waiting â they are not waiting â for anything but its fulfilment, the consequences of what is in it? 164 On the day when its fulfilment comes, which will be [on] the Day of Resurrection, those who were forgetful of it before, [those who] neglected to believe in it, shall say, âIndeed, our Lordâs messengers came with the truth. Have we then any intercessors, that they may intercede for us, or shall we be returned, to the world, that we may act otherwise than we used to act?â, [and instead] affirm Godâs Oneness and refrain from associating others with Him. It will then be said to them, âNo!â God, exalted be He, says: Verily they have lost their souls, for they have ended up in perdition, and that which they used to invent, in alleging [that God has] a partner, has failed, has abandoned, them.
 
Ayah  7:54  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Surely your Lord is God, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, of the days of this world, that is to say, in the equivalent thereof, since there was no sun then. Had He willed He could have created them in an instant; but the reason for His not having done so is that He wanted to teach His creatures to be circumspect; then presided upon the Throne, a presiding befitting of Him (al-âarsh, âthroneâ, in the [classical] language is the elevated seat on which a king sits). He cloaks (read yughshī or yughashshī) the night with the day, that is, He covers each one with the other: each following the other in swift pursuit â and the sun and the moon and the stars (if all of these are read in the accusative, then they constitute a supplement to al-samāwāt, âthe heavensâ, and if in the nominative, then they constitute the subject of the sentence, the predicate of which follows) have been made subservient, [have been] subdued, by His command, by His power. Verily, His is, all, creation and the command, in its entirety. Blessed, Magnified, be God, the Lord, the Master, of the Worlds!
 
Ayah  7:55  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Call upon your Lord humbly (tadarruâan is a circumstantial qualifier), in subservience, and quietly, in secret. Truly, He loves not the aggressors, who are braggarts and loud-mouthed in [their] supplications.
 
Ayah  7:56  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And work not corruption in the land, through idolatry and acts of disobedience, after it has been set right, as a result of the sending forth of messengers [to it], and call upon Him in fear, of His punishment, and in hope, of His mercy â surely the mercy of God is near to the virtuous, the obedient (qarīb, ânearâ, as the predicate of [the feminine noun] rahma, âmercyâ, is in the masculine because it [rahma] is annexed to Allāh, âGodâ).
 
Ayah  7:57  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He it is Who sends the winds, unfolding with His mercy, that is, dispersing before the rains (a variant reading [for nushuran, âunfoldingâ] has nushran; another reading has nashran as the verbal noun; and a third variant has bushran, meaning mubashshiran, â[with which] He is bearing good tidings [of His mercy]â; the singular of the first reading is nashūr, similar [in pattern] to rasūl, âmessengerâ; the singular of the last is bashīr) until, when they, the winds, bear heavy clouds, [clouds heavy] with rain, We lead it, that is, [We lead] the clouds (herein is a shift from the third [to the first] person), to a dead land, one devoid of any vegetation, in other words, [We lead it there] in order to revive it, and then We send down thereon, on that land, and bring forth thereby, by this water, fruits of every kind. Like that, bringing forth, We shall bring forth the dead, from their graves, through revivification, so that you might remember, and believe.
 
Ayah  7:58  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
As for the good land, the one of rich soil, its vegetation comes forth, wholesomely, by permission of its Lord â this is a similitude of the believer who, when he hears an admonition, he [heeds it and] benefits from it. While as for the, one whose soil is, bad â the vegetation in, it comes forth only miserably, laboriously and with difficulty â this is the similitude of the disbeliever. Even, as We have made clear what has been mentioned, so We dispense, We make clear, the signs for a people who are thankful, to God and so believe.
 
Ayah  7:59  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
165 Verily (laqad is the response to an oath that has been omitted) We sent Noah to his people, and he said, âO my people, worship God! You have no god other than Him (read ghayrihi as an adjective of ilāh, âgodâ, or ghayruhu as a substitution in its place [sc. instead of min ilāhin, âany godâ). Truly, I fear for you, if you worship other than Him, the chastisement of an Awful Dayâ, that is, the Day of Resurrection.
 
Ayah  7:60  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
The council, of the respected elders, of his people, said: âTruly We see you in manifest errorâ.
 
Ayah  7:61  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He said, âMy people, there is no error in me (dalāla is more general than al-dalāl, âmisguidanceâ, and so to deny it is more effective than to deny the latter), but I am a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds.
 
Ayah  7:62  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
I convey to you (read ublighkum or uballighukum) the Messages of my Lord, and I am advising you, I desire good [for you], for I know from God what you know not.
 
Ayah  7:63  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Do you then, deny, marvel that a reminder, an admonition, from your Lord should come to you through, the tongue of, a man from among you, that he may warn you, of chastisement if you do not believe, and that you may fear, God, and that you might be shown mercyâ, by it?
 
Ayah  7:64  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
But they denied him, and so We delivered him and those with him, from drowning, in the Ark, [in] the ship, and We drowned those who denied Our signs, by means of the Flood. Truly they were a people blind, to the truth.
 
Ayah  7:65  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And, We sent, to, the earlier, âĀd their brother Hūd. He said, âO my people, worship God, affirm His Oneness! You have no god other than Him. Will you not fear?â, will you [not] fear Him, and so believe?
 
Ayah  7:66  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
The council, those of his people who disbelieved, said: âWe truly see you in folly, ignorance, and we truly deem you of the liarsâ, in your Message.
 
Ayah  7:67  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He said, âO my people, there is no folly in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds.
 
Ayah  7:68  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
I convey to you the Messages of my Lord, and I am your truthful adviser, trustworthy in the Message [I convey].
 
Ayah  7:69  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Or do you marvel that a reminder from your Lord should come to you through, the tongue of, a man from among you, that he may warn you? And remember when He made you vicegerents, on earth, after the people of Noah, and increased your stature in extension, in strength and in height â (the tallest of them 166 measured 100 feet, the shortest, 60). Remember then Godâs bounties, His graces, so that you might prosperâ, triumph.
 
Ayah  7:70  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
They said, âHave you come to us that we should worship God alone, and forsake, abandon, what our fathers worshipped? Then bring upon us what you promised us, of chastisement, if you are of the truthfulâ, in what you say.
 
Ayah  7:71  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He said, âAlready, terror, chastisement, and wrath from your Lord have fallen, [they] must be [sent down], on you. Do you dispute with me concerning names which you have named, that is, with which you, you and your fathers, have named idols that you worship, for which, that is, for the worship of which, God has not revealed any warrant?, any definitive argument or proof? Then await, the chastisement. Truly I shall be with you waitingâ, for that, on account of your denial of me: thus a blighting wind was unleashed against them [cf. Q. 51:4].
 
Ayah  7:72  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
So We delivered him, namely, Hūd, and those with him, from among the believers, by a mercy from Us, and We cut the root of those, people, who denied Our signs, that is, We extirpated them, and were not believers (wa-mā kānū muâminīna is a supplement to kadhdhabū, â[those who] deniedâ).
 
Ayah  7:73  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And, We sent, to Thamūd (Thamūda, read without declining [the noun], as denoting the tribe [of Thamūd] itself) their brother Sālih. He said, âO my people, worship God! You have no god other than Him. Truly there has come to you a clear proof, an illustration, from your Lord, of my truthfulness, this is the she-camel of God, a sign for you (lakum āyatan is a circumstantial qualifier operated by the import of the demonstrative noun [hādhihi, âthisâ]), they had asked him to make it come out of a [specific] rock which they had designated. So leave her to feed throughout Godâs earth, and do not touch her with harm, either by hamstringing or beating her, lest you be seized by a painful chastisement.
 
Ayah  7:74  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And remember how He made you vicegerents, on earth, after âĀd, and gave you habitations in the land, making castles in its plains, in which you lodge during summer, and hewing its mountains into houses, in which you lodge during winter (buyūtan, âhousesâ, is in the accusative because of the implied circumstantial qualifier). So remember Godâs bounties and do not be degenerate in the earth, seeking corruptionâ.
 
Ayah  7:75  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Said the council of those of his people who waxed proud, [who] disdained belief in him, to those who were oppressed, to such of them as believed, that is, from among his people (li-man āmana minhum, âto such of them as believedâ, is a substitution for the preceding clause [liâlladhīna istudâifū, âto those who were oppressedâ], repeating the preposition [li-, âtoâ]): âAre you aware that Sālih has been sent, to you, from his Lord?â They said, âYes! Truly we believe in the Message with which he has been sent.â
 
Ayah  7:76  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Said the ones who were proud, âTruly we are disbelievers of that which you believe!â
 
Ayah  7:77  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
The she-camel was given the water one day and then, another; but they soon tired of this: So they 167 hamstrung the she-camel â Qudār hamstrung her by their command, killing her with a sword â and flouted the commandment of their Lord, and said, âO Sālih, bring upon us that which you promised us, in the way of chastisement for [our] killing it, if you are indeed a messengerâ.
 
Ayah  7:78  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
So the Trembling, a violent earthquake and a cry from the heaven, seized them, and they lay lifeless prostrate in their habitations, keeled over their knees, dead.
 
Ayah  7:79  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
So he turned his back on them, Sālih left [them], and said, âO my people, I have conveyed to you the Message of my Lord and gave you sincere advice, but you do not love sincere advisersâ.
 
Ayah  7:80  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And, mention, Lot (Lūtan is substituted by [the following, idh qāla]) when he said to his people, âDo you commit abomination, that is, [penetrating] the rears of men, such as no one in all the worlds ever committed before you, humans or jinn?
 
Ayah  7:81  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Do you (read a-innakum, pronouncing both hamzas, or by not pronouncing the second one, but in both cases inserting an alif between the two; a variant reading has innakum, âindeed you â â) come lustfully to men instead of women? Nay, you are a wanton folkâ, transgressing [the bounds], [going] from what is lawful to what is unlawful.
 
Ayah  7:82  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And the response of his people was only that they said, âExpel them, that is, Lūt and his followers, from your city. Surely they are folk who would be pure!â, from [the abomination of penetrating] the rears of men.
 
Ayah  7:83  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
So We delivered him and his family, except his wife: she was of those who stayed behind, who remained in the chastisement.
 
Ayah  7:84  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And We rained upon them a rain, the stones of baked clay (hijārat al-sijjīl), and it destroyed them. So behold what was the end of the sinners!
 
Ayah  7:85  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And, We sent, to Midian their brother Shuâayb. He said, âO my people, worship God! You have no god other than Him. Verily there has come to you a clear proof, a miracle, from your Lord, to [prove] my truthfulness. So give full measure and weight and do not defraud, diminish [the value of], peopleâs goods, and do not work corruption in the earth, by way of unbelief and acts of disobedience, after it has been set right, through the sending of messengers [thereto]. That, mentioned, is better for you, if you are believers, [if you are] seekers of faith, so hasten to it.
 
Ayah  7:86  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And do not sit in every path, [every] route, threatening, terrifying people by seizing their garments, or by charging them excise [tax], and barring, driving away, from Godâs way, [from] His religion, those who believe in Him â when you threaten to kill them â and desiring that it, seeking that the path, be crooked. 168 And remember when you were but few, and then He multiplied you. And behold what was the end of the agents of corruption, before you, for denying their messengers, that is, [behold] how destruction was the conclusion of their affair.
 
Ayah  7:87  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And if there is a party of you who believe in that with which I have been sent, and a party who do not believe, in it, then be patient, wait, until God judges between us, and you, by delivering the affirmer [of this truth] and destroying the denier [of it]. He is the best of judgesâ, the fairest of them.
 
Ayah  7:88  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Said the council of those of his people who were disdainful, of believing: âSurely we will expel you, O Shuâayb, and those who believe with you, from our city, unless you return to our creedâ, our religion (the plural person predominates over the singular in their address [to Shuâayb] because Shuâayb was never part of their religious community; and so in the same [plural] way he responded:) He said, âWhat, should we return to it, even though we are averse, to it? (the interrogative is meant as a disavowal).
 
Ayah  7:89  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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 decidersâ, adjudicators.
 
Ayah  7:90  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Said the council of those of his people who disbelieved, that is, some said to others: âVerily if (la-in: the lām is for oaths) you follow Shuâayb, you shall indeed be losersâ.
 
Ayah  7:91  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
So the Trembling, the violent earthquake, seized them, and they lay lifeless prostrate in their habitations, keeled over their knees, dead.
 
Ayah  7:92  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Those who denied Shuâayb (alladhīna kadhdhabū Shuâayban, this constitutes the subject [of the sentence], the predicate of which is [introduced by the following ka-an, âas ifâ]), 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 Shuâayb, they were the losers (the emphasis effected by the repetition of the relative clause [alladhīna kadhdhabū Shuâayban, âthose who denied Shuâaybâ] and what follows it is intended as a refutation of what they had said previously [sc. âif you follow Shuâayb, you shall indeed be losersâ]).
 
Ayah  7:93  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
So he turned back on them, and said, âO 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?â (the interrogative is meant [rhetorically] as a negation).
 
Ayah  7:94  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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 169 be] self-effaced, and so believe.
 
Ayah  7:95  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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: âHardship and happiness befell our fathers beforeâ, 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.
 
Ayah  7:96  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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.
 
Ayah  7:97  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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?
 
Ayah  7:98  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Or, do the people of the towns feel secure from the coming of Our might upon them in the daytime while they are playing?
 
Ayah  7:99  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And so do they feel secure from Godâs plotting?, that is, His drawing them on by degrees, through graces, and then seizing them suddenly. None feels secure from Godâs plotting but the people who are losers.
 
Ayah  7:100  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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, âsoâ, and wa, âandâ, which have been inserted in two instances [each], are meant to indicate a supplement; a variant reading [for a-wa-amina] has aw amina, âor do [they] feel secureâ, 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.
 
Ayah  7:101  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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.
 
Ayah  7:102  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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. 170
 
Ayah  7:103  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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.
 
Ayah  7:104  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And Moses said, âO Pharaoh, I am a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds, to you, but he denied him. So he [Moses] said:
 
Ayah  7:105  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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 âalā] has âalayya, âfor meâ, in which case, haqīqun, âit is rightâ, is the subject [of the sentence], its predicate being an, âthatâ, and what follows it [sc. âI say nothing but the truth about Godâ]). Truly I have come to you with a clear proof from your Lord. So send forth with me, to Syria, the Children of Israelâ: he [Pharaoh] had enslaved them.
 
Ayah  7:106  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Said he, Pharaoh, to him: âIf you have come with a sign, as you claim, then produce it, if you are of those who speak the truthâ, in this.
 
Ayah  7:107  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Then he cast down his staff and lo! it was a serpent, manifest [for all to see], an enormous snake.
 
Ayah  7:108  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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.
 
Ayah  7:109  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
The council of Pharaohâs folk said, âSurely this man is a cunning sorcerer, outstanding in the art of magic, in [sūrat] al-Shuâarāâ [Q. 26:34], these are actually Pharaohâs words, and so it is as if they said it in consultation with him,
 
Ayah  7:110  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
who would expel you from your land. So what do you command?â
 
Ayah  7:111  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
They said, âPut him and his brother off a while, postpone [any decision regarding] their affair, and send into the towns summoners, gatherers,
 
Ayah  7:112  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
to bring you every cunning sorcererâ (sāhir: a variant reading has sahhār) to outdo Moses in the art of magic. And so they summoned [them].
 
Ayah  7:113  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And the sorcerers came to Pharaoh, saying, âSurely (a-inna: read pronouncing both hamzas, or by not 171 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?â
 
Ayah  7:114  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He said, âYes, and indeed you shall be of those brought nearâ.
 
Ayah  7:115  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
They said, âO Moses, either you cast, your staff, or we shall be the casters!â, of what we have.
 
Ayah  7:116  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He said, âCast!â, 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 peopleâs 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.
 
Ayah  7:117  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And We revealed to Moses [saying]: âCast your staff.â And lo! it swallowed up (read talaqqafu, with one of the original tāâ letters [of tatalaqqafu] omitted) the illusion they were creating, that which they were transforming by delusion.
 
Ayah  7:118  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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.
 
Ayah  7:119  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Thus were they, that is, Pharaoh and his folk, there defeated, becoming humiliated â they ended up abased.
 
Ayah  7:120  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And the sorcerers fell down in prostration.
 
Ayah  7:121  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
They said, âWe believe in the Lord of the Worlds,
 
Ayah  7:122  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
the Lord of Moses and Aaronâ, for they realised that what they had witnessed of the staff could not be done through sorcery.
 
Ayah  7:123  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Pharaoh said, âHave 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!
 
Ayah  7:124  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
172 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 crucifiedâ.
 
Ayah  7:125  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
They said, âSurely to our Lord, after our death, however it come about, we shall be restored, we shall return, in the Hereafter.
 
Ayah  7:126  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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 submittedâ.
 
Ayah  7:127  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Then the council of Pharaohâs folk said, to him [to Pharaoh]: âWill you leave Moses and his people to work corruption in the land, by calling to disobedience against you, and flout you and your gods?â â he had fashioned small idols for them to worship, and had said to them, âI am your lord and their lordâ, which is why he says, I am your lord the highest [Q. 79:24]. He said, âWe 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!â, and they did this to them, and so the Children of Israel grieved.
 
Ayah  7:128  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Moses said to his people, âSeek help in God and be patient, their persecution. Surely the earth is Godâs 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 Godâ.
 
Ayah  7:129  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
They said, âWe suffered harm before you came to us, and since you have come to us.â He said, âPerhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, that He may observe how you shall actâ, in it.
 
Ayah  7:130  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And verily We seized Pharaohâs folk with the years, of drought, and dearth of fruits, so that they might remember, [that they might] heed the admonition, and become believers.
 
Ayah  7:131  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
But whenever a good thing, [such as] fertility and abundance, befell them, they said, âThis belongs to usâ, 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.
 
Ayah  7:132  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And they said, to Moses, âWhatever sign you bring us, to cast a spell upon us therewith, we will not believe in youâ, and so he [Moses] invoked God against them.
 
Ayah  7:133  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
So We unleashed upon them the flood, of water, which penetrated their houses and which for seven days would come up to peopleâs necks as they sat; and the locusts, which consumed their crops and fruits, 173 likewise [engulfing them for seven days]; and the lice (al-qummal is like al-sūs, âwoodwormâ, or al-qurād, âticksâ), 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.
 
Ayah  7:134  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And when the terror, the chastisement, fell upon them, they said, âO 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 youâ.
 
Ayah  7:135  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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.
 
Ayah  7:136  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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.
 
Ayah  7:137  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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, âwhich We had blessedâ, is an adjectival qualification of al-ard, âthe landâ), 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 yaârishūn or yaârushūn), [what they had been] raising of edifices.
 
Ayah  7:138  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And We brought the Children of Israel across the sea, and they came upon, they passed by, a people cleaving in devotion (read yaâkufūn or yaâkifūn) to idols they had, constantly worshipping them. They said, âO Moses, make for us a god, an idol for us to worship, just as they have gods.â He said, âTruly you are an ignorant folk, for repaying Godâs grace to you with what you have said.
 
Ayah  7:139  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Truly as for these, their way will be destroyed and what they have been doing is in vainâ.
 
Ayah  7:140  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He said, âShall I seek other than God as a god for you, to worship (abghīkum, â[shall] I seek for youâ, is originally abghī lakum), when He has favoured you above all the worlds?â, of your time, in the ways He has mentioned in His sayings?
 
Ayah  7:141  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And, remember, when We delivered you (anjaynākum: a variant reading has anjākum, âHe delivered youâ) from Pharaohâs 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 174 tribulation, from your Lord, so will you not heed the admonition and desist from what you are saying?
 
Ayah  7:142  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And We appointed (read wa-wāâadnā or wa-waâadnā) 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 Dhūâl-Qaâda. 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 Dhūâl-Hijja. Thus was the time appointed by his Lord concluded, the time at which God had promised him to speak to him, as forty (arbaâīna 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]: âSucceed 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 corruptionâ, by consenting with them to acts of disobedience.
 
Ayah  7:143  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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, âMy Lord! Show me, Yourself, that I may behold You!â Said He, âYou shall not see Me, that is to say, you do not have the power to see me, the use of this expression [lan tarānī, âyou shall not see Meâ] instead of lan urā, âI shall not be seenâ, 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 Meâ, 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 dakkāâa, 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, âGlory 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 believersâ, of my time.
 
Ayah  7:144  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He, God, said, to him: âO 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, âfor My Messageâ) and My Speech, that is, [for] My having spoken to you. So take what I have given you, of bounty, and be of the thankfulâ, of My favours.
 
Ayah  7:145  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And We inscribed for him in the Tablets, that is, the Tablets of the Torah â these were made from the Lotetree of Paradise, or of chrysolite or emerald, and they were either seven or ten â about all things, one needs in religion, as an admonition and a detailing, an explanation, of all things (li-kulli shayâin substitutes for the previous genitive construction [min kulli shayâ, âabout all thingsâ]). âTake it then (there is an implicit qulnā, âWe saidâ, before this [fa-kudhhā, âtake it thenâ]) 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.
 
Ayah  7:146  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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. 175
 
Ayah  7:147  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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?â, in the way of denial and acts of disobedience?
 
Ayah  7:148  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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 Pharaohâs 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 âijlan, âa calfâ]), 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 Gabrielâs 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, â[they] madeâ, has been omitted, but it would be ilāhan, â[as] a godâ). 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.
 
Ayah  7:149  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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 Mosesâs return [from the communion], they said, âUnless 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 losersâ.
 
Ayah  7:150  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And when Moses returned to his people, angry, because of them, and bitterly grieved, he said, to them: âEvil 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?â 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, âO, son of my mother! (read either ibna ummi or ibna umma, by which he meant [the standard form of saying âmy motherâ] 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 evilâ, by worshipping the calf, in [your] reproach [of them].
 
Ayah  7:151  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He said, âMy 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 mercifulâ.
 
Ayah  7:152  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
God, exalted be He, says, âSurely 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. 176
 
Ayah  7:153  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
But those who commit evil deeds and repent, desist from them, thereafter and believe, in God â indeed your Lord thereafter, that is, after repentance, is truly Forgiving, Mercifulâ, towards them.
 
Ayah  7:154  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And when Mosesâs anger abated, subsided, he took the Tablets, which he had cast down, and in their copy, that is, [in] what was inscribed upon them â 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, âtheir Lordâ] has been inserted into the direct object because it [the direct object] has preceded [the verb]).
 
Ayah  7:155  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And Moses chose of his people seventy men, from among those who had not worshipped the calf, by Godâs command, for Our appointed time, that is, for the time at which We promised him that they should come and apologise for their comradesâ worship of the calf. He [Moses] then departed with them; but when the Trembling, a violent earthquake, seized them, Ibn âAbbās said, â[That earthquake was] because they did not separate themselves from their people when the latter took to worshipping the calfâ; he [Ibn âAbbās] added, âThese [people] were not the same ones who asked to see God and were struck by the thunderbolt [cf. Q. 2:55]â, he, Moses, said, âMy 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, âDo not punish us for the sins of othersâ). 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.
 
Ayah  7:156  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And prescribe for us, grant [us], in this world good and in the Hereafter, good. We have turned, repented, to Youâ. He, God, says: âMy chastisement â 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 Godfearing and pay the alms, and those who believe in Our signs;
 
Ayah  7:157  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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 Qurâān, they are the ones who will prosperâ.
 
Ayah  7:158  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Say, addressing the Prophet (s) here: âO 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 Qurâān, and follow him, so that you might be guided, led aright.
 
Ayah  7:159  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And among the people of Moses there is a community, a group, who guide, people, by the truth and act 177 justly according to it, when passing judgements.
 
Ayah  7:160  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And We divided them, We separated the Children of Israel, into twelve (ithnatay âasharata is a circumstantial qualifier) tribes (asbātan substitutes for this [previous circumstantial qualifier]) communities (umaman substitutes for the preceding [asbātan, âtribesâ). And We revealed to Moses, when his people asked him for water, in the wilderness, [saying]: âStrike the rock with your staffâ, 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 â which are [respectively, a type of citrus] turunjabīn, and the quail and We said to them: âEat of the good things We have provided for you.â And they did not wrong Us, but they wronged themselves.
 
Ayah  7:161  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And, mention, when it was said to them, âDwell in this city, the Holy House [of Jerusalem], and eat therein wherever you will, and say, âour concern is for [an], Exoneration,â 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.
 
Ayah  7:162  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
But the evildoers among them substituted a saying other than that which had been said to them, they said instead, âA grain inside a hairâ and entered [the gate] dragging themselves on their rears. So We sent down upon them terror, a chastisement, from the heaven for their evildoing.
 
Ayah  7:163  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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 yaâdūn, âthey [would] transgressâ) 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.
 
Ayah  7:164  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And when (wa-idh is a supplement to the preceding idh, âhowâ) a community among them, who neither fished nor prohibited it, said, to those who prohibited it: âWhy do you preach [admonition] to a folk whom God is about to destroy or chastise with a severe chastisement?â They said, our admonishing [them] is, âAs 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 fishingâ.
 
Ayah  7:165  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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.
 
Ayah  7:166  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
178 And when they disdained, to desist from, that which was prohibited to them, We said to them, âBe apes, despised!â, abased, and they became so: this is an explication of what preceded [with regard to the details of their âgrievous chastisementâ]. Ibn âAbbās said, âI do not know what befell the group that abstainedâ. âIkrima said, âThat group was not destroyed because they had been averse to what the others did and had said, âWhy do you preach (admonition) ââ Al-Hākim reported [in a hadīth] that he [âIkrima] referred this opinion to Ibn âAbbās, who was delighted by it.
 
Ayah  7:167  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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.
 
Ayah  7:168  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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.
 
Ayah  7:169  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
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, âIt will be forgiven usâ, what we have done; and yet if similar transient things were to come to them, they would take them (wa-in yaâtihim âaradun mithluhu yaâkhudhūhu: 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, âinâ [sc. âthe covenant in the Scriptureâ]) been taken (a-lam yuâkhadh, âhas [it] not been takenâ, 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 yuâkhadh, âhas it [not] been taken?â), 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? (yaâqilūn, may also be read as taâqilūn, â[do] you [not] understand?â) that it is better and so prefer it to [the abode of] this world?
 
Ayah  7:170  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And those who adhere (read yumassikūn or yumsikūn) to the Scripture, from among them, and have established prayer, the likes of âAbd Allāh b. Salām and his companions, verily We shall not let the wages of reformers go to waste (innā lā nudīâu ajra l-muslihīn: the sentence is the predicate of alladhīna, âthose whoâ; also there is here the replacing of the [third person] pronominalisation [alladhīna, âthose whoâ] with an overt noun [al-muslihīna, âreformersâ], in other words, their wages).
 
Ayah  7:171  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And, mention, when We wrenched the mountain above them, We lifted it up [unearthing it] from its root, as if it were a canopy, and they thought, they were certain, that it was about to fall upon them, because of Godâs threat to them that it would fall upon them if they refused to accept the rulings contained in the Torah, they had [initially] refused [to accept] them because of their being burdensome, but then accepted them, and We said to them: âTake firmly, seriously and earnestly, what We have given you, and remember 179 what is in it, by acting in accordance with it, that you might be God-fearingâ.
 
Ayah  7:172  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And, remember, when your Lord took from the Children of Adam, from their loins (min zuhūrihim, is an inclusive substitution for the preceding [clause: min banī Ādama, âfrom the Children of Adamâ], with the same preposition [min, âfromâ]) their seed, by bringing forth one from the loins of the other, [all] from the loins of Adam, offspring after offspring, in the way that they multiply, [looking] like small ants at [the valley of] Naâmān on the Day of âArafa [because of their multitude]. God set up proofs of His Lordship for them and endowed them with [the faculty of] reason, and made them testify against themselves, saying, âAm I not your Lord?â They said, âYea, indeed, You are our Lord, we testifyâ, to this, and this [taking of] testimony is, lest they should say (in both instances, read third person [yaqūlū, âthey sayâ] or second person [taqūlū, âyou sayâ]) on the Day of Resurrection, âTruly, of this, Oneness of God, we were unawareâ, not knowing it!
 
Ayah  7:173  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Or lest you should say, âIt is merely that our fathers were idolaters before, that is, before our time, and we were descendants of theirs, and so we followed their example. Will You then destroy us, chastise us, for that which those who follow falsehood did?â, from among our forefathers, by [their] establishing idolatry? The meaning is: they cannot use such arguments when they have been made to testify before their very selves to Godâs Oneness. To effect this reminder by the tongue of the bearer of the miracle [Muhammad (s)] equally serves [as a reminder] for every soul to remember this within itself.
 
Ayah  7:174  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Thus We detail the signs, We explain them even as We have explained the covenant, that they might reflect on them, and that they might revert, from their disbelief.
 
Ayah  7:175  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And recite, O Muhammad (s), to them, that is, the Jews, the tidings, the tale, of him to whom We gave Our signs, but he cast them off, emerging in his disbelief in the same way that a snake emerges from its [shed] skin, he rebelled in disbelief, this was Balâam b. Bāâūrāâ, a scholar from among the Children of Israel, who had been given some knowledge [of the Scriptures], and who was asked [by them] to invoke God against Moses. And when he did, the invocation turned against him and his tongue fell out onto his chest, and Satan pursued him, catching up with him and so he became his comrade, and he became of the perverse.
 
Ayah  7:176  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And had We willed, We would have raised him up, to the ranks of the scholars, thereby, by facilitating his way to [good] deeds; but he was disposed to, at peace [in], the earth â that is, this world â and inclined to it, and followed his whims, by calling [others] to them, and so We abased him. Therefore his likeness, his description, is as the likeness of a dog: if you attack it, by driving it away or curbing it, it lolls its tongue out, and if you leave it, it lolls its tongue out, and no other animal is like it in this way (both conditional sentences constitute a circumstantial qualifier, that is to say, it has its tongue lolling out despicably in all circumstances. The purpose here is to point out the similarity [between the one who follows his whims and a dog] in terms of condition and vileness, judging by the [contextualising] fāâ [of fa-mathaluhu, âtherefore his likenessâ], which relates what comes after it to what came before it in the way of âinclining towards this world and following whimsâ, and judging by Godâs saying: That, likeness, is the likeness of those people who deny Our signs. So recount the tale, to the Jews, that they might reflect, upon it and so believe.
 
Ayah  7:177  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Evil as an example are the people, evil is the example of the people, who denied Our signs, and were wont to wrong themselves, through denial. 180
 
Ayah  7:178  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He whom God guides, he is guided, and he whom He sends astray â truly they are the losers.
 
Ayah  7:179  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And We have indeed urged unto Hell many of the jinn and mankind, having hearts wherewith they do not understand, the truth, and having eyes wherewith they do not perceive, the proofs of Godâs power with a perception that entails reflection, and having ears wherewith they do not hear, the signs or the admonitions, in a way so as to reflect and take heed. These, they are like cattle, in their failure to understand, perceive or listen â nay, rather they are further astray, than cattle, because [at least] they [cattle] seek what is beneficial to them and stay away from what is harmful to them: these individuals, on the other hand, are proceeding towards the Fire, out of [sheer] obstinacy. These â they are the heedless.
 
Ayah  7:180  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And to God belong the, ninety nine, Most Beautiful Names â mentioned in hadīth â (al-husnā is the feminine for al-ahsan) so invoke, name, Him by them, and leave those who blaspheme His Names (yulhidūn, âthey blasphemeâ, from [fourth form] alhada or [first form] lahada, meaning âthose who incline away from the truthâ), by deriving from them names for their gods, as in the case of al-Lāt, from Allāh (âGodâ), al-âUzzā, from al-âAzīz (âMightyâ), and Manāt, from al-Mannān (âLord of Favoursâ). They will be requited, in the Hereafter, the requital, for what they did â this was [revealed] before the command to fight [them].
 
Ayah  7:181  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And of those whom We created there is a community who guide by the truth, and act justly therewith: this is the community of Muhammad (s), as stated in a hadīth.
 
Ayah  7:182  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And those who deny Our signs â the Qurâān â from among the people of Mecca, We will draw them on by degrees, We will lead them on gradually, whence they do not know.
 
Ayah  7:183  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And I will respite them â assuredly My scheme is strong, powerful, and cannot be withstood.
 
Ayah  7:184  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Have they not considered, and so realised that, that there is no madness in their comrade, Muhammad (s)? He is but a clear warner, one whose warning is evident.
 
Ayah  7:185  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And have they not reflected upon the dominion, the kingdom (malakūt is mulk) of the heaven and of the earth, and, upon, what things God has created (min shayâin is an explication of the preceding mā, âwhatâ), so that they are able to infer the power of their Creator and His Oneness, and, upon, that, [upon] the fact that, it may be that their term is already near, so that they might hasten to believe, lest they die as disbelievers and move towards the Fire? In what fact then after this, that is, the Qurâān, will they believe?
 
Ayah  7:186  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Whomever God sends astray, he has no guide. And He leaves them (read in the imperfect indicative wayadharuhum or wa-nadharuhum, âand We leave themâ, as the beginning of a new sentence; or [the same verbs] in the imperfect jussive [apocopated form] wa-yadharhum, or wa-nadharhum, as a supplement to what comes after fāâ [of fa-lā hādiya lahu, âso he has no guideâ]) in their insolence to wander on blindly, 181 hesitating, out of perplexity.
 
Ayah  7:187  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
They, that is the people of Mecca, will question you about the Hour, the Resurrection, when it shall come to pass. Say, to them: âThe knowledge of, when, it, shall be, is only with my Lord. He alone shall reveal it, manifest it, at its proper time (li-waqtihā: the lām here functions as fī, âatâ). It weighs heavily, tremendously, in the heavens and the earth, upon their inhabitants, because of its awesomeness. It will not come on you save all of a suddenâ. They will question you, as if you were preoccupied with, obsessed with inquiring about, it, such that you have come to acquire knowledge of it. Say: âKnowledge of it is only with God (innamā âilmuhā âindaâLlāhi is for emphasis), but most people do not knowâ, that knowledge of it lies with God, exalted be He.
 
Ayah  7:188  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Say: âI have no power to bring benefit, to attract it to, myself, or hurt, to repel it, except as God wills. Had I knowledge of the Unseen â that which is hidden from me, I would have acquired much good, and adversity, in the way of impoverishment and otherwise, would not touch me, since I would take precautions against such [adversity] by avoiding what is harmful. I am but a warner, to disbelievers, of the Fire, and a bearer of good tidings, of Paradise, to a people who believeâ.
 
Ayah  7:189  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
He, that is, God, it is Who created you from a single soul, namely, Adam, and made, created, from him his spouse, Eve, that he might take rest in her, and become intimate with her. Then, when he covered her, when he had sexual intercourse with her, she bore a light burden, namely, the sperm-drop, and moved to and fro with it, that is, she came and went [easily] on account of its lightness; but when she became heavy, because of the child growing inside her, and they became anxious that it should be a dumb child, they cried to God their Lord, âIf You give us one, a child, that is sound, unimpaired, we indeed shall be of the thankfulâ, to You for it.
 
Ayah  7:190  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
But when He gave them a sound one, [a sound] child, they ascribed to Him associates (shurakāâa: a variant reading has shirkan, meaning sharīkan, âan associateâ) in that which He had given them, by naming it âAbd al-Hārith, âservant of al-Hārithâ, when it is not right to be a âservantâ (âabd) of any one but âGodâ [sc. âAbd Allāh], but this [namesake âAbd] is not an association [of another with God] in terms of servitude, for Adam was immune [from a sin such as associating others in worship with God]. Samura [b. Jundub] reported that the Prophet (s) said, âOn one occasion when Eve gave birth â all the children she bore had failed to survive â Satan visited her and said [to her], âName it [the child] âAbd al-Hārith, and it will live.â She named it so and it lived. This [affair] was the result of Satanâs inspiration and his doingsâ: reported by al-Hākim, who deemed it [the report] âsoundâ (sahīh), and [also reported] by al-Tirmidhī, who considered it âfair-uncommonâ (hasan gharīb); but exalted is God above what they, the people of Mecca, associate, in the way of idols (this sentence is consequent, a supplement to [the one beginning with] khalaqakum, âHe created youâ, so that what comes between the two is a parenthetical statement).
 
Ayah  7:191  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Do they associate, with Him, in worship, those who cannot create anything, but are themselves created,
 
Ayah  7:192  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
and who are not able to give them, that is, those who worship them, any help, nor can they help themselves?, by defending themselves against someone intending to damage them, by breaking them or otherwise (the interrogative is meant as a rebuke). 182
 
Ayah  7:193  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And if you call them, that is, the idols, to guidance, they will not follow you (read yatbaâūkum or yattabiâūkum). It will be the same [response] for you, whether you call them, to it, or whether you are silent, [refraining] from calling them, they will not follow it, because they cannot hear.
 
Ayah  7:194  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Truly those on whom you call, [whom] you worship, besides God are servants, owned, like you; call them then and let them answer you, your call, if you are truthful, in [claiming] that they are gods: God then illustrates their utter incapacity and the superiority which their worshippers possess over them, saying:
 
Ayah  7:195  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Have they feet wherewith they walk or, indeed, have they hands (aydin is the plural of yad) wherewith they can grasp or, indeed, have they eyes wherewith they can see or, indeed, have they ears wherewith they give ear? (an interrogative of rejection), in other words, they have none of these things, which you have, so why do you worship them when you are more complete in being than they are? Say, to them, O Muhammad (s): âCall upon your associates, to destroy me; then scheme against me, and waste no time, [do not] give me any respite, for I am not concerned with you.
 
Ayah  7:196  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Truly my Protector, the One in charge of my affairs, is God Who reveals the Book, the Qurâān, and He takes charge of the righteous, by protecting them.
 
Ayah  7:197  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And as for those on whom you call besides God, they have no power to help you, nor can they help themselvesâ, so why should I be concerned with them?
 
Ayah  7:198  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And if you call upon them, that is, the idols, to guidance, they do not hear; and you see them, that is, the idols, O Muhammad (s), staring at you, looking toward you, as a person looks, but they do not perceive.
 
Ayah  7:199  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Indulge [people] with forgiveness, [accepting] what issues spontaneously from peopleâs manners [of behaviour], and do not scrutinise them, and enjoin kindness, decency, and turn away from the ignorant, and do not counter their stupidity with the like.
 
Ayah  7:200  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And if (immā: the letter nūn of the conditional particle in, âifâ, has been assimilated with the extra mā, âanyâ) any insinuation from Satan should provoke you, that is, if anything should turn you away from that which you have been commanded to do, then, seek refuge in God (faâstaâidh biâLlāh is the response to the conditional clause, with the response to the command being omitted), and He will ward it off from you, He is Hearing, of what is said, Seeing, of what is done.
 
Ayah  7:201  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Truly the God-fearing, when a visitation from Satan touches them, befalls them (tayfun: a variant reading has tāâifun), that is, [when] something [of the sort] overcomes them, they remember, Godâs punishment and His reward, and then see clearly, [distinguishing] the truth from what is other than it, and so they return [to God]. 183
 
Ayah  7:202  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And their brothers, that is, the brothers of devils from among the disbelievers, they, the devils, lead them further into error, and, they, do not stop short, [do not] desist from it, by seeing clearly, in the way that those who are God-fearing come to see clearly.
 
Ayah  7:203  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And when you do not bring them, that is, the people of Mecca, a sign, from among those which they request, they say, âWhy have you not chosen one?â, [why have you not] produced one [all by] yourself? Say, to them: âI follow only that which is revealed to me from my Lord, and it is not for me to bring anything from myself; this, Qurâān, is insight, proofs, from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy for a people who believeâ.
 
Ayah  7:204  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And when the Qurâān is recited, listen to it and pay heed, [refraining] from speech, so that you might find mercy: this was revealed regarding [the requirement of] refraining from speech during the [mosque] sermon, which here has been expressed by [the recital of] âthe Qurâānâ, because it [the sermon] comprises it; others say that it was revealed regarding the [requirement of silence and attention during the] recitation of the Qurâān in general.
 
Ayah  7:205  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
And remember your Lord within yourself, that is, secretly, humbly, submissively, and fearfully, in awe of Him, and, louder than [speaking] in secret, more quietly than speaking out loud, that is, a middle way between the two, at morning and evening, at the beginning of the day and at its end. And do not be among the heedless, of Godâs remembrance.
 
Ayah  7:206  الأية
 
Tafseer
 
Surely those who are with your Lord, namely, the angels, are not too proud, they do [not] disdain, to worship Him; they glorify Him, exalting Him as being transcendent above what does not befit Him, and to Him they prostrate, that is, they devote their submission and worship exclusively to Him: so be like them! Medinese, except for verses 30 to 36 inclusive, which are Meccan; it consists of 75 or 77 verses, and was revealed after [sūrat] al-Baqara. The Muslims fell into dispute over the spoils of [the battle of] Badr. The young men said, âThese [spoils] should be ours because we hastened to join the fightingâ, while the old men said, âWe were your support, holding up the banners behind you; had you been exposed, you would have come back to us, so do not claim it as yours exclusively.â Thus the following was revealed:





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