(Makki)

7:1. Alif. Lam. Meem. Sad.^{1Groups of letters (al-huroof al-muqafta‘ah) appear at the beginning of several soorahs. The most correct scholarly view states that we are required to believe in them as they appear to be, without delving into their meaning, knowledge of which we should leave to Allah. We believe that they were not revealed in vain, and that there is wisdom behind them of which we are not aware.}

7:2. This is a Book that has been sent down to you [O Muhammad], so do not let your heart be troubled by it; [it has been sent down] so that you may warn thereby and remind the believers.

7:3. Follow [O humankind] that which has been sent down to you from your Lord, and do not follow any close associates besides Him. Little is it that you pay heed!

7:4. How many a city did We destroy [for their sins]; Our punishment came upon them [suddenly] by night or whilst they rested at midday.

7:5. Their only cry, when Our punishment came upon them, was: We were indeed wrongdoers.

7:6. We will certainly question those to whom the Messengers were sent, and We will certainly question the Messengers themselves.

7:7. Then verily We will recount to them what they did, on the basis of knowledge, for We were never absent.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says to His Prophet (ﷺ), highlighting to him the greatness of the Qur’an: ﴾This is a Book that has been sent down to you﴿ that is, a great Book that contains all that people need, all divine injunctions and all aims and goals of Sharia, in a precise and detailed manner.

﴾so do not let your heart be troubled by it﴿ that is, do not let there be any anxiety, doubt or confusion in your heart; rather you should understand that it has been sent down by One Who is Most Wise, Worthy of all praise.

﴾No falsehood can approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from One Who is Most Wise, Praiseworthy.p (Fussilat 41: 42)

- and He is indeed the most truthful in speech. So let your heart be open to it and let your mind be at rest; convey its commands and prohibitions, and do not fear any blame or opposition.

﴾so that you may warn﴿ the people ﴾thereby﴿ and admonish and remind them; thus proof will be established against the stubborn, ﴾and remind the believers﴿, as Allah says elsewhere:

But continue to exhort them, for exhortation benefits the believers.﴿ (adh-Dhariyat 51: 55)

Thus they will remember the straight path and righteous deeds, both outward and inward, and be alert to that which prevents a person from following that path.

Then Allah addresses people in general and draws their attention to the Book:

﴾Follow [O humankind] that which has been sent down to you from your Lord﴿ that is, the Book that was sent down for your sake, for it is ﴾from your Lord﴿, Who wants to perfect you, so He has sent down to you this Book which, if you follow it, will perfect you and complete His favour upon you, and you will be guided to the best and most sublime of deeds and attitudes.

﴾and do not follow any close associates besides Him﴿ that is, do not take them as friends and follow their whims and desires, and forsake following the truth because of them.

﴾Little is it that you pay heed!﴿ If you paid heed and realised what is in your best interests, you would not have given precedence to that which is harmful over that which is beneficial, or to an enemy over a friend.

Then Allah warns of His punishment to the nations who rejected the message brought to them by their Messengers, lest those who are addressed here do likewise:

﴾How many a city did We destroy [for their sins]; Our punishment﴿ that is. Our severe penalty ﴾came upon them [suddenly] by night or whilst they rested at midday﴿ that is, at a time when they were heedless and unaware, and it never crossed their minds that they might perish. When the punishment came to them they could not ward itoff and their false gods in which they had placed their hopes could not help them.

They did not deny what they used to do of wrongdoing and sin: ﴾Their only cry, when Our punishment came upon them, was: We were indeed wrongdoers﴿. This is like the verses in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾How many cities that were given to wrongdoing have We utterly destroyed, and raised up other people in their stead. When they sensed Our punishment [approaching], they began to flee from it. [It was said to them:] Do not flee. Go back to your comforts and your dwellings, so that you may be sought out [to give help and advice to others]. They said: Woe to us! We were indeed wrongdoers. And that cry of theirs did not cease until We mowed them down and left them lifeless.﴿

﴾We will certainly question those to whom the Messengers were sent﴿ that is, We shall question the nations to whom Allah sent the Messengers as to their response to their Messengers. ﴾On that day, Allah will call to them, saying: What was your response to the Messengers?﴿ (al-Qasas 28: 65)

﴾and We will certainly question the Messengers themselves﴿ about their conveying of their Lord’s message, and the response of their nations.

﴾Then verily We will recount to them﴿ that is, to all people, telling them of their deeds ﴾on the basis of knowledge﴿ for Allah knows all that they do.

tffor We were never absent﴿ at any time whatsoever. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾f...Allah has kept account of it whilst they have forgotten it...﴿ (al-Mujadtlah 58: 6)

Then Allah mentions the recompense for deeds:

7:8. The weighing [of deeds] on that day will be true and just. Those whose good deeds weigh heavy in the balance will be the successful ones.

7:9. And those whose good deeds weigh lightly in the balance are the ones who will lose their own souls, because they wrongfully rejected Our revelations.

That is, the weighing of deeds on the Day of Resurrection will be done with justice and fairness, and there will be no injustice or unfairness at all.

﴾Those whose good deeds weigh heavy in the balance﴿ and outweigh their bad deeds

﴾will be the successful ones﴿ that is, those who will be saved from that which they fear, and will attain that which they hope for. They are the ones who will attain the greatest goal and eternal happiness.

﴾And those whose good deeds weigh lightly in the balance﴿ and are outweighed by their bad deeds

﴾are the ones who will lose their own souls﴿ because they will miss out on eternal bliss and be subjected to the painful punishment ﴾because they wrongfully rejected Our revelations﴿, so they did not comply with them as they were required to do.

7:10. We established you firmly on earth and appointed for you means of livelihood therein; little it is that you give thanks.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) reminds His slaves of His blessings, by mentioning shelter and livelihood:

﴾We established you firmly on earth﴿ that is, We prepared it for you so that you would be able to build on it, cultivate it and benefit from it in different ways ﴾and appointed for you means of livelihood therein﴿ by means of what it produces of trees, plants, metals and minerals, as well as all kinds of crafts and trades that you practice. He is the One Who prepared that and made available the means thereof.

﴾little it is that you give thanks﴿ to Allah, Who has bestowed upon you all kinds of blessings and diverted from you all kinds of suffering.

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7:11. We created you, then We shaped you, then We said to the angels: Prostrate to Adam. So they prostrated, except for Iblees; he was not one of those who prostrated.

7:12. [Allah] said: What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you? He said: I am better than he; You created me from fire and You created him from clay.

7:13. [Allah] said: Get down from here [paradise]! It is not proper for you to be arrogant here. Get out, for you are one of the despised.

7:14. [Iblees] said: Grant me respite until the day they are resurrected.

7:15. [Allah] said: You are among those who are granted respite.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, addressing the children of Adam: ﴾We created you﴿ in that We created the origin and source from which you emerged, namely your father Adam (عليه السلام)

﴾then We shaped you﴿ and gave you the best shape and form, and Allah taught him what he needed to perfect his character, the names of all things.

Then Allah commanded the noble angels to prostrate to Adam, by way of honour and respect, and in affirmation of his virtue. They all complied with the command of their Lord and ﴾prostrated﴿, all ﴾except for Iblees﴿. He refused to prostrate to him out of disdain for him and his own self-admiration. Hence Allah rebuked him for that and said:

﴾What prevented you from prostrating﴿ to the one whom I created directly with My own Hands, that is, I honoured him and favoured him in this way, which was not given to anyone else, but you disobeyed My command and showed no respect to Me?

﴾He﴿ namely Iblees ﴾said﴿ justifying his objection to his Lord: ﴾I am better than he﴿, then he tried to prove this false claim by saying ﴾You created me from fire and You created him from clay﴿, which implies that the one who was created from fire is superior to the one who was created from clay, because fire is able to rise above clay. But this is one of the most corrupt of analogies, and is invalid on a number of counts, including the following:

• It is used in the context of opposing the command of Allah to prostrate. If an analogy (qiyas) is contrary to a text then the conclusion of the analogy is false, because the purpose of making analogies is to find a ruling in matters concerning which there is no clear text. The issue should be similar to another issue for which there is a text, and should be connected to the one forwhich there is a text. But to make an analogy that is contrary to the text, and leads to overlooking the text altogether, is the worst kind of analogy.

• The words ﴾I am better than he﴿ on their own are sufficient to highlight the evil character of Iblees, because this shows that he demonstrated his evil nature by means of his self-admiration, arrogance and speaking about Allah without knowledge. What evil could be greater than that?

• He lied by regarding the substance of fire as being superior to the substance of clay or mud, for clay has the characteristics of humility, tranquillity and dignity, and from it emerge the blessings of the earth, such as trees and all kinds of plants. As for fire, it has the characteristics of fickleness and capriciousness, and it bums.

Hence when Iblees did what he did, he fell from his former lofty status and became the lowest of the low. Therefore Allah said to him: ﴾Get down from here﴿ that is, from paradise ?flt is not proper for you to be arrogant here﴿, because it is the abode of the good and pure, so it is not befitting for the most iniquitous and evil of Allah’s creation.

﴾Get out, for you are one of the despised﴿ that is, those who are scorned and humiliated; as a punishment for his arrogance and selfadmiration, he was disgraced and brought low.

When the enemy of Allah proclaimed his enmity towards Allah and towards Adam and his progeny, he asked Allah for respite until the Day of Resurrection, so that he would be able to mislead whomever he could of the children of Adam.

Because Allah’s wisdom dictated that His slaves were to be tried and tested, in order to distinguish the truthful from the liars, those who would obey Him from those who would obey His enemy. He granted this request and said: ﴾You are among those who are granted respite﴿.:oly,Sl J JJ~) 4{J) J

7:16. [Iblees] said: Because You have caused me to be misguided, I will certainly lie in wait for them on Your straight path.

7:17. Then I will certainly come at them from before them and from behind them, from their right and from their left. And You will find most of them ungrateful.

When Iblees despaired of the mercy of Allah, he said: ﴾Because You have caused me to be misguided, I will certainly lie in wait for them﴿ that is, people ﴾on Your straight path﴿ that is, I will surely stay close to the path and do my utmost to bar people from it, and cause them not to follow it.

﴾Then I will certainly come at them from before them and from behind them, from their right and from their left﴿ that is, from all directions and angles, in every way he can, to achieve some of his intentions concerning them.

Because the evil one knew that they were weak and that many of them may be overcome with heedlessness, and because he had resolved to do his utmost to mislead them, he thought - and he was right in his thinking - that most of them would be ungrateful.

﴾fAnd You will find most of them ungrateful﴿ for giving thanks is part of following the straight path, which he wants to bar them from and prevent them from being grateful. Hence Allah (tte) says elsewhere:

﴾(.. .He only calls his followers so that they may become inhabitants of the raging fire.﴿ (Fatir 35: 6)

The only reason Allah warned us of what he said and resolved to do is so that we may take precautions against him and prepare ourselves to face our enemy, and protect ourselves by being aware of the ways in which he tries to get at us through our weak points. Praise be to Allah, for He has bestowed a great blessing upon us.

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7:18. [Allah] said: Get out of here [paradise], disgraced and outcast. Whoever among them follows you, I will surely fill hell with you all.

When said Iblees what he said, Allah said to him: ﴾Get out of here﴿ in the manner of one who is despised and scorned, not by way of honour; rather he was ?jdisgraced﴿ that is, rejected, and outcast﴿ far away from Allah and His mercy, and all that is good.

﴾I will surely fill hell with you all﴿ with you and all those among them who follow you. This is an oath from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), that hell is the abode of those who disobey Him, and He will inevitably fill it with Iblees and his followers among the jinn and humankind.

Then Allah warned Adam of his evil and temptation:

7:19. OAdam! Dwell, you and your wife, in paradise; and eat from it wherever you may wish; but do not approach this tree, or else you will both become transgressors.

7:20. Then Shaytan whispered to them so that that which had been hidden from them of their private parts would be disclosed to them. He said: Your Lord only forbade this tree to you, lest you become angels or become immortal.

7:21. And he swore to them both [saying]: I am to you a sincere adviser.

7:22. So he led them on by deceit. Then when they had tasted [the fruit] of the tree, their private parts became visible to them, so they began to put together leaves from the garden to cover themselves. Their Lord called unto them: Did I not forbid that tree to you and tell you that Shaytan was an avowed enemy unto you?

7:23. They said: Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will certainly be among the losers.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructed Adam and his wife Hawwa’, with whom Allah had blessed him and made her a source of comfort for him, to eat from wherever they wished in paradise, and to enjoy whatever they wanted, but He singled out for them one tree and told them not to eat from it. Allah knows best what it was, and there is no benefit for us in knowing what it was. He forbade them to eat from it, based on the words ﴾for else you will both become transgressors﴿. Theycontinued to comply with the instructions of Allah until the enemy Iblees came to them with his plot; he whispered to them, deceived them and confused them.

﴾He said: Your Lord only forbade this tree to you, lest you become angels or become immortal﴿. Elsewhere, Allah tells us that he said: ﴾. .0 Adam, shall I show you the tree of immortality and a dominion that will never decay?﴿ (Ta Ha 20:120)

In addition to that, he swore to them by Allah: ﴾I am to you a sincere adviser﴿; as I have told you this.

They were deceived by that, and desire overwhelmed reason at that point.

﴾So he led them on by deceit﴿ that is, he brought them down from their high status of being far away from sin and disobedience, and they became contaminated with the filth of sin, and they ate from that tree.

﴾Then when they had tasted [the fruit] of the tree, their private parts became visible to them﴿ that is, the 'awrah of each of them appeared after it had been covered, and their spiritual nakedness that resulted from loss of piety had an impact on their outward dress, which was removed as a result, causing their ‘awrahs to appear. When their ‘awrahs appeared, they felt shy, so they began to put together leaves from the garden to cover themselves (7: 22).

﴾Their Lord called unto them﴿ when they were in that state, rebuking them: ﴾Did I not forbid that tree to you and tell you that Shaytan was an avowed enemy unto you?﴿ So why did you do that which was forbidden and why did you pay heed to your enemy?

Then Allah blessed them by enabling them to repent and by accepting their repentance, so they acknowledged their sin and asked Allah for forgiveness, saying: ﴾Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will certainly be among the losers﴿ that is, we have committed the sin that You told us not to, and we have harmed ourselves by committing sin. We havedone that which will incur loss, unless You forgive us by erasing the sin and cancelling the punishment, have mercy on us by accepting our repentance and pardon us for such errors. So Allah forgave them for that:

﴾...Adam disobeyed his Lord, and fell into error. Then his Lord brought him close, accepted his repentance, and guided him.﴿ (Ta

However, Iblees continued his transgression and did not give up his disobedience.

Whoever follows the example of Adam by admitting his sin, asking for forgiveness, regretting it and giving it up - if he commits a sin - his Lord will draw him near and guide him.

But whoever follows the example of Iblees by carrying on - if he commits a sin - and continuing to increase it, will only go further away from Allah.

7:24. [Allah] said: Go down from here [all of you] as enemies to each other. On earth you will have an abode and your means of livelihood for a while.

7:25. He said: There you will live, there you will die and from it you will be brought forth.

7:26. O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you garments to cover your private parts and as an adornment. But the garmentof piety is best. That is one of the signs of Allah, so that they may pay heed.

When Allah sent Adam, his wife and their progeny down to the earth. He told them how their stay on earth would be, and that He had ordained that they should live a life there that was to be followed by death, a life that would be filled with trials and tests; they would stay there, and Messengers would be sent to them and Books would be revealed, until death came to them, whereupon they would be buried in the earth. Then after that would come the resurrection, when Allah would raise them up and bring them forth from the earth to the real, eternal realm.

Then He reminded them of what He had made available to them of clothing that is essential and clothing that is worn for the purpose of beautification. The same applies to all things, such as food, drink, mounts, spouses and so on. Allah has made available to His slaves that which is essential and more. He explains that this is not to be pursued for its own sake; rather Allah has sent it down to help them to worship and obey Him. Hence He says: ﴾But the garment of piety is best﴿. That is, better than physical clothing, for the garment of piety lasts and does not wear out or vanish; it is the beauty of the heart and soul.

As for outward clothing, its purpose is to cover the ‘awrah sometimes, or to be an adornment for the wearer, and it has no other benefit beyond that.

Moreover, if a person cannot obtain this clothing, all that results from that is the uncovering of his ‘awrah, which does not harm him if he cannot help it. But if there is no garment of piety, then his inner ‘awrah becomes uncovered, which results in disgrace and shame.

﴾That is one of the signs of Allah, so that they may pay heed﴿ that is, what is mentioned concerning clothing is so that you may be reminded of that which benefits you or harms you, by way of an analogy between outward garments and the inner garment of piety.

7:27. O children of Adam, do not let Shaytan deceive you, as he caused your parents to be expelled from the garden, stripping them of their garments and making their private parts visible to them. For he and his offspring see you from where you cannot see them. We have made the devils friends and allies of those who do not believe.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) warns the children of Adam that the Shaytan will do to them what he did to their father:

children of Adam, do not let Shaytan deceive you﴿ by making sin fair-seeming to you and calling you to it and encouraging you to commit it, lest you give in to him

﴾as he caused your parents to be expelled from the garden﴿ and brought them down from a high status to a lower one. He wants to do the same to you, and he will spare no effort to tempt you if he can. So you must be mindful and take precautions, equip yourselves so that you will be ready to combat him, and do not be heedless of situations where he may ambush you.

﴾For he and his offspring﴿ namely the devils among the jinn ﴾see you﴿ and are constantly watching you

﴾from where you cannot see them. We have made the devils friends and allies of those who do not believe﴿ for lack of faith inevitably leads to the formation of alliances between man and the Shaytan. ﴾Verily, he has no power over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord; he has power only over those who take him as an ally and, under his influence, ascribe partners to Allah. ﴿ (an-Nahl 16. 99-100)

7:28. When they do something shameful, they say: We found our fathers doing this and Allah has enjoined it upon us. Say: Verily Allah does not enjoin that which is shameful. Would you attribute to Allah something of which you have no knowledge?

7:29. Say [O Muhammad]: My Lord has enjoined the doing of what is right; direct your worship only to Him whenever you pray, and strive sincerely [in worship] for the sake of your Lord alone. As He created you in the beginning, so you will be brought back [to life].

7:30. Some [of you] He will have guided, whereas others will inevitably have gone astray, because they will have taken the devils as friends and allies instead of Allah, thinking that they are guided.

Here Allah highlights the abhorrent state of the polytheists who commit sin and claim that Allah commanded them to do that.

﴾When they do something shameful﴿ - this refers to everything that is regarded as obscene and repugnant, including their circumambulation of the Kaaba whilst naked.

﴾they say: We found our fathers doing this﴿ and they were telling the truth concerning that

﴾and Allah has enjoined it upon us﴿. This was a lie, hence Allah rejected this claim and said:﴾Say: Verily Allah does not enjoin that which is shameful﴿) that is, it is not befitting to the perfect nature and wisdom of Allah to instruct His slaves to commit shameful deeds, whether it be this that the polytheists used to do or any other such deed.

﴾Would you attribute to Allah something of which you have no knowledge? What fabrication could be worse than this?

Then He mentions what He did enjoin: ﴾Say [O Muhammad]: My Lord has enjoined the doing of what is right﴿) that is, doing what is sound and just, in terms of both acts of worship and dealing with others. He did not enjoin wrongdoing and injustice.

﴾direct your worship only to Him whenever you pray﴿ that is, be devoted to Allah alone and strive hard to perfect your acts of worship, especially the prayer, which you should establish properly in terms of physical actions and inwardly in the sense of focus and contemplation, and purify it of everything that may distract from it or spoil it.

﴾and strive sincerely [in worship] for the sake of your Lord alone﴿) that is, seek thereby His Countenance alone, not ascribing any partner to Him, and do not show off and do not have any ulterior motive in your worship except devotion and servitude to Allah and the pursuit of His pleasure.

﴾As He created you in the beginning﴿) that is the first time ﴾jso you will be brought back [to life]﴿ when you are resurrected, for the One Who is able to create you in the first place is able to recreate you; indeed, recreation is easier than the initial creation.

﴾Some [of you] He will have guided﴿) that is, Allah will have made the means of guidance easy for them and diverted from them all obstacles and impediments

﴾whereas others will inevitably have gone astray﴿) - misguidance will have become their due because of what they brought upon themselves by taking measures that lead to misguidance.

﴾because they will have taken the devils as friends and allies instead of Allah﴿) -﴾(.. .Whoever takes the Shaytan as a protector [and helper] instead of Allah has indeed suffered a manifest loss.﴿ (an-Nisa’4: 119)

When they rejected friendship and alliance with the Most Merciful, and they preferred friendship and alliance with the Shaytan, that resulted in the likelihood of abandonment by Allah and being left to their own devices. Thus they incurred the greatest loss even though they thought that they were guided, because facts had been turned upside down in their minds, so that they thought that falsehood was truth and truth falsehood.

These verses indicate that commands and prohibitions are in accordance with divine wisdom and people’s best interests, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) states that it cannot be possible that He would enjoin something that is shameful or irrational, for He only enjoins that which is fair and right.

This indicates that guidance is by the grace and blessing of Allah, and that misguidance results from His forsaking a person if that person, because of his ignorance and wrongdoing, takes the Shaytan as an ally, thus becoming the cause of his own misguidance.

The one who thinks that he is guided when in fact he is misguided has no excuse, because it is within his means to be guided; his misjudgement in thinking that he is guided when he is not is due to his wrongdoing when he abandoned the path that could lead to guidance.

7:31. O children of Adam, dress well every time you offer prayer [or perform tawaj]. Eat and drink, but do not exceed the bounds, for He does not love those who exceed the bounds.

Having stated that He bestowed upon the sons of Adam garments to cover their private parts and as an adornment (7: 26), Allah says here: t﴾0 children of Adam, dress well every time you offer prayer [or perform tawaf]﴿ that is, cover your ‘awrah completely in all prayers, both obligatory and supererogatory, for covering them is an adornment to the body just as uncovering them is unsightly and displeasing.

It may be that what is meant by dressing well here is more than just covering the ‘awrah; rather what is meant is wearing clean and nice clothes. This is a command to cover the ‘awrah when praying and also to aim to look nice and keep one’s garment clean and free of dirt.

Then Allah says: ﴾Eat and drink﴿ that is, of that which Allah has provided to you of good and wholesome things ﴾but do not exceed the bounds﴿ in doing so. Exceeding the bounds means either consuming more than what is sufficient and eating too much of foods that are harmful to the body, or going to extremes in choosing the most luxurious and fanciest of foods, drinks and clothing, or going beyond that which is permissible to that which is unlawful.

for He does not love those who exceed the bounds﴿, for exceeding the bounds angers Allah and is detrimental to man’s physical wellbeing and livelihood. It may even lead to being unable to spend on what is necessary. This verse instructs us to eat and drink, and forbids us to refrain from doing so, and it also forbids us to exceed the bounds in doing so.

7:32. Say: Who has forbidden the decent apparel and goodly provision that Allah has bestowed upon His slaves? Say: They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe [although shared by others], and will be exclusively theirs on the Day of Resurrection. Thus We explain the revelations in detail for people who have knowledge.

7:33. Say: My Lord has only forbidden shameful deeds, whether [committed] openly or in secret, sin, unjustified aggression, ascribing partners to Allah for which He has not sent down any authority, and saying concerning Allah that of which you have no knowledge.

Here AI lah criticises those who go to extremes and cause themselves hardship by prohibiting that which Allah has made permissible of good and wholesome things.

﴾Say: Who has forbidden the decent apparel and goodly provision that Allah has bestowed upon His slaves﴿ of different types of clothing and good and wholesome provision, such as food and drink of all types? In other words: who is it that dares to prohibit that with which Allah has blessed His slaves, and who is it that seeks to impose restrictions on that which Allah has made easy?

Allah has bestowed this abundance of good things upon His slaves to help them to worship Him, so He did not make it permissible to any but His believing slaves. Hence He said: (-[Say: They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe [although shared by others], and will be exclusively theirs on the Day of Resurrection﴿.

﴾Thus We explain the revelations in detail﴿ that is. We clarify them and make them clear

﴾for people who have knowledge﴿, because they are the ones who will benefit from what Allah explains in detail of His revelations; they know that they are from Allah, so they appreciate them and understand them.

Then Allah mentions the things that He has prohibited, which are prohibited in all divinely revealed laws:

﴾Say: My Lord has only forbidden shameful deeds﴿ that is, major sins which people find shameful and repugnant because they are so horrible, such as fornication, adultery, homosexuality and so on.

﴾whether [committed] openly or in secret﴿ that is, shameful deeds that have to do with physical actions and those that have to do with beliefs, ideas and attitudes in the heart, such as arrogance, selfadmiration, showing off, hypocrisy and the like.

﴾sin, unjustified aggression﴿ that is, actions that incur a burden of sin and punishment with regard to violation of the limits set by Allah, and transgression against people with regard to their lives, wealth and honour. Thus this includes sins having to do with the rights of Allah and those having to do with the rights of other people.

﴾ascribing partners to Allah for which He has not sent down any authority﴿ that is proof; rather He has sent down proof and evidence in support of His oneness.

Ascribing partners to Allah means associating with Allah in worship any of His creation. That may include minor manifestations of this practice, such as showing off, swearing by anything other than Allah, and the like.

﴾fand saying concerning Allah that of which you have no knowledge﴿ with regard to His names, attributes, deeds or laws. All of that is prohibited by Allah, as He has forbidden His slaves to commit any such acts, because of the negative consequences to which they lead for the individual and for society as a whole. That is because they involve wrongdoing and constitute a challenge to Allah, as well as looking down on the slaves of Allah and changing the religion and laws that He has ordained.

7:34. For every nation there is an appointed time; when their appointed time comes, they will not be able to delay it for a single moment or bring it forward.

That is, Allah expelled the children of Adam to the earth and caused them to dwell therein, and He ordained for them an appointed time which no nation can bring forward or put back, either in conjunction with other nations or on its own.

7:35. O children of Adam, when there come to you Messengers from among you, reciting My revelations to you, then whoever fears Allah and mends his ways will have no fear nor will they grieve.

7:36. But as for those who reject Our revelations and turn away from them with arrogance, they will be inhabitants of the fire; they will abide therein forever.

When Allah expelled the children of Adam from paradise, He tested them by sending the Messengers and revealing the Books to them, telling them of the signs of Allah and explaining His rulings to them. Here He mentions the virtue of those who respond to theMessengers and the loss of those who do not respond to them, as He says:

﴾then whoever fears Allah﴿ and avoids that which Allah has prohibited, namely ascribing partners to Him and major and minor sins ﴾and mends his ways﴿ with regard to his outward deeds and his private acts

﴾will have no fear﴿ of evil that others fear

﴾nor will they grieve﴿ over the past. Once there is no fear or grief, there will be perfect security, happiness and eternal success.

﴾But as for those who reject Our revelations and turn away from them with arrogance﴿ that is, they do not believe in them in their hearts, and they do not submit outwardly to them ﴾they will be inhabitants of the fire; they will abide therein forever﴿, as they took the revelations lightly and persisted in rejecting them, so they will be humiliated with an eternal punishment.

7:37. Who does greater evil than he who fabricates lies against Allah or rejects His revelations? Such people will receive the share that is decreed for them^{1This refers to the share of provision and temporary joy that may be decreed for them in this world; that will not avail them at all in the hereafter.} until, when Our envoys come to take their souls, they will say: Where are those whom you used to call upon besides Allah? They will say: They are lost from us. And they will testify against themselves that they were disbelievers.

That is, no one does greater evil ﴾than he who fabricates lies against Allah﴿ by ascribing partners to Him, or attributing shortcomings to Him, or attributing words to Him that He did not say ﴾or rejects His revelations﴿ that clearly point to the obvious truth and guide to the straight path. These people, even if they enjoy ease in this world and get their share of that which has been decreed for them in al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh, still nothing will avail them; they enjoy ease for a little while, then they will be punished for a long time.

﴾until, when Our envoys come to take their souls﴿ that is, when the angels who are appointed to take their souls at the appointed time (of death) come to them

﴾they will say﴿ to them at that point, by way of rebuke: ﴾Where are those whom you used to call upon besides Allah?﴿ namely the idols and statues; for now the time of need has come, if they can be of any benefit to you or ward off any harm from you.

﴾)They will say: They are lost from us﴿ that is, they have diminished and proven false, and they cannot avail us anything against the punishment of Allah.

﴾And they will testify against themselves that they were disbelievers﴿ and that they deserve the eternal, humiliating punishment.

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7:38. [Allah] will say: Enter the fire with the nations who passed away before you, of both jinn and humans. Every time another nation enters it, it will curse its fellow-nation until, when they haveall caught up with one another, the last of them will say about the first: Our Lord, these people led us astray, so give them a double punishment of fire. He will say: [It will be] doubled for all, but you do not know.

﴾Enter the fire with the nations who passed away before you, of both jinn and humans﴿, for they followed the same path as you followed of disbelief and arrogance, thus they will all deserve disgrace and loss.

Every time one of the transgressing nations enters the fire, ﴾it will curse its fellow-nation﴿. This is like the verse in which Allah says: ﴾.. .but on the Day of Resurrection you will disavow one another and curse one another... p (al- ‘Ankabooi 29: 25)

﴾until, when they have all caught up with one another﴿ that is, when all its people are gathered together in hell, the first and the last, the leaders and followers

﴾the last of them﴿ that is those who come last, the followers of the leaders

﴾will say about the first﴿ that is, about their leaders, complaining to Allah that they misguided them:

﴾Our Lord, these people led us astray, so give them a double punishment of fire﴿ that is, give them an extra punishment because they led others astray and they made evil deeds fair-seeming to us.

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7:39. The first of them will say to the last: You were no better than us, so taste the punishment for what you used to earn.

That is, the leaders will say to their followers: ﴾You were no better than us﴿ that is, we all played a part in misguidance and in doing deeds that incur punishment, so what advantage do you have over us? t﴾He﴿ namely Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)

﴾will say﴿ to each of them

﴾[It will be] doubled for all﴿ and each will have his own share of the punishment.

﴾so taste the punishment for what you used to earn﴿. But it is known that the punishment for the leaders of misguidance will be greater and more severe than that of the followers, just as the bliss of the leaders of guidance will be greater than the reward of the followers.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾For those who disbelieve and bar others from the path of Allah, We will add punishment to their punishment because they used to spread mischief.﴿ (an-Nahl 16: 88)

These and similar verses indicate that all types of those who rejected the revelations of Allah will abide forever in torment and will basically all share the punishment, although they will vary in degree according to the level of their deeds, stubbornness, wrongdoing and lies; the friendships that existed among them in this world will, on the Day of Resurrection, turn into enmity and mutual cursing.

7:40. But as for those who reject Our revelations and turn away from them with arrogance, the gates of heaven will not be openedfor them, nor will they enter paradise, until a camel can pass through the eye of a needle. Thus We requite the evildoers.

7:41. They will have a bed of hellfire and over them will be coverings [of fire]. Thus We requite the wrongdoers.

Here Allah tells us of the punishment of those who reject His revelations and do not believe in them, even though there are clear signs, and are too arrogant to believe or comply with the rulings; rather they disbelieved and turned away. They will despair of all good, for the gates of heaven are not opened to their souls when they die and are taken up, wanting to ascend to Allah. They ask permission, but permission is not given to them, as they did not ascend in this world to the level of faith in Allah and knowing and loving Him. By the same token, they will not ascend after death, because the recompense fits the nature of the deed.

What is meant in this verse is that the gates of heaven are opened for the souls of the believers who complied with the commands of Allah and believed in His revelations, so that they may ascend to Allah and reach wherever Allah wills they should reach of the higher realm. They will have the joy of being close to their Lord and of earning His good pleasure.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says concerning the people of hell: ﴾nor will they enter paradise, until a camel can pass through the eye of a needle﴿ that is, until a camel, which is one of the largest animals, can enter the eye of a needle, which is one of the smallest and narrowest of spaces. This is a metaphor of impossibility.

What is meant is that just as it is impossible for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, it is impossible for those who reject the revelations of Allah to enter paradise. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾... Whoever ascribes partners to Allah, then Allah has forbidden paradise for him, and the fire will be his abode...﴿ (al-Md'idah 5: 72)

- and here He says: ﴾Thus We requite the evildoers﴿ that is, those whose sins are many and their transgression and arrogance were great.

﴾They will have a bed of hellfire﴿ that is, beneath them sfand over them will be coverings [of fire]﴿ that is, they will be overshadowed and covered by the punishment ﴾Thus We requite the wrongdoers﴿ who wronged themselves, as a recompense and deserved punishment, for your Lord never wrongs His slaves.

7:42. But as for those who believe and do righteous deeds-We do not place on any soul a burden greater than it can bear - they will be the inhabitants of paradise; they will abide therein forever.

7:43. We will remove all ill feelings from their hearts and make rivers flow at their feet. They will say: Praise be to Allah Who has guided us to this, for we would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us. The Messengers of our Lord surely brought the truth to us. It will be proclaimed to them: This is paradise, which you are made to inherit as a reward for your deeds.

Having mentioned the punishment of the sinners and wrongdoers, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) then mentions the reward of those who obey Him:

﴾But as for those who believe﴿ in their hearts﴾and do righteous deeds﴿ with their physical faculties, thus combining faith and action, outward deeds and inward deeds, doing what is obligatory and refraining from what is prohibited. As the phrase ﴾and do righteous deeds﴿ is general in meaning and includes all righteous deeds, both obligatory and supererogatory, some of which may be beyond a person’s capability, Allah then says:

﴾We do not place on any soul a burden greater than it can bear﴿ that is, He places on it only as much as it is able to bear, and does not expect of it that which is beyond its means. As this is the case, the individual must fear Allah as much as he can, and if he is unable to do some duties that others are able to do, they will be waived in his case, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

Allah does not place on any soul a burden greater than it can bear...

﴾f...and [He] has not imposed any hardship on you in religion...

f﴾So fear Allah as best you can.. .b (at-Taghabun 64: 16)

Nothing is obligatory if one is unable to do it, and nothing is prohibited in the case of necessity.

﴾they﴿ that is, the ones who have faith and do righteous deeds ﴾will be the inhabitants of paradise; they will abide therein forever﴿ that is, they will never leave it or desire anything else in its stead, because they will see therein all kinds of delight, all desirable things, the ultimate in pleasure, and no one could aspire to anything greater.

﴾We will remove all ill feelings from their hearts﴿ - by His kindness and generosity towards the people of paradise, Allah will remove the ill feeling that existed in their hearts, and the attitude of competition that existed among them, so that they will become brothers who love one another and close friends who are reconciled.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:﴾We will remove all ill feelings from their hearts; they will be like brethren seated on couches facing one another.﴿ (al-Hijr 15: 47)

Allah will grant them honour because of which each one of them will attain a great deal of joy and happiness, and will think that there is no bliss greater than that which he enjoys. Thus they will be safe from envy and resentment, because the reasons for such feelings are no longer present.

﴾and make rivers flow at their feet﴿ that is, they will cause the rivers to spring out whenever and wherever they want. If they want them to flow through their palaces or those lofty chambers, or through the gardens of paradise, through the orchards and flowers, they will flow without any ditch or channel, and they will enjoy good things without limits.

When they see what Allah has blessed and honoured them with, ﴾They will say: Praise be to Allah Who has guided us to this﴿ because He blessed us and inspired us to believe in Him and to adhere to the deeds that led to this abode, and Allah preserved our faith and our deeds until we reached this abode thereby, so blessed be the Most Generous Lord Who has bestowed all these blessings upon us and has granted us favours both visible and invisible, that cannot be listed or counted.

﴾for we would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us﴿ that is, we could not have found guidance if He had not blessed us with His guidance and enabled us to follow His Messengers ﴾The Messengers of our Lord surely brought the truth to us﴿ that is, when they enjoy all the blessings of which the Messengers had foretold and they become certain of their reality by seeing them, after it had been certain knowledge, they will say: It has come to pass and we have seen all that the Messenger promised us, and all that they brought to us has been shown to be true, with no doubt or confusion. f(It will be proclaimed﴿ by way of congratulation, honour, greeting and respect: ﴾This is paradise, which you are made to inherit﴿ thatis, you are its heirs and it has become your lot, as the lot of the disbelievers is hell. You are made to inherit it ﴾fas a reward for your deeds﴿.

Some of the earlier generations said that the people of paradise will be saved from hell by the forgiveness of Allah, and will be admitted to paradise by the mercy of Allah, and they will be allocated abodes and will inherit them by virtue of their righteous deeds, which are part of His mercy and indeed are one of the highest degrees of His mercy.

7:44. The inhabitants of paradise will call out to the inhabitants of hell: We have indeed found what our Lord promised us to be true. Have you found what your Lord promised to be true? They will say: Yes. Then a caller will proclaim among them: The curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers,

7:45. Those who barred [people] from the path of Allah and sought to make it appear crooked, and who disbelieved in the hereafter.

Having mentioned how the two groups will settle into the two abodes, and will find that of which the Messengers told them and that the Books mentioned of reward and punishment, Allah then tells us that the people of paradise will call out to the inhabitants of hell:

We have indeed found what our Lord promised us to be true﴿ when He promised us paradise in return for believing and doing righteous deeds, and He has admitted us to it and shown us that which He described to us﴾Have you found what your Lord promised﴿ in return for that disbelief and disobedience ﴾to be true?﴿

﴾They will say: Yes,)) we have found it to be true. Then it will become clear to all creatures, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that the promise of Allah is true, and who is truer in speech than Allah? All doubts and confusion will be dispelled and the matter will become certain reality. The believers will rejoice greatly in the promise of Allah, and the disbelievers will despair of all good and will acknowledge that they deserve the punishment.

﴾Then a caller will proclaim among them﴿ that is, among the people of hell and the people of paradise

﴾The curse of Allah﴿ that is, being cast far away from all that is good ﴾is upon the wrongdoers﴿, because Allah opened to them the gates of His mercy, but they turned away wrongfully, and they turned away from the path of Allah themselves and barred others from it, thus they went astray and caused others to go astray.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) wants His path to be straight and He wants those who follow it to adhere to it, but these people ﴾sought to make it appear crooked﴿, so as to divert people from following the straight path, and they ﴾disbelieved in the hereafter﴿.

This is what caused them to deviate from the straight path and to focus on their own unlawful whims and desires, and not to believe in the resurrection or fear the punishment or hope for reward. What this proclamation means is that the mercy of Allah is upon the believers, and His kindness always encompasses them.

7:46. Between them there will be a barrier, and on its heights there will be men who will recognise each group by their marks. They will call out to the inhabitants of paradise: Peace be upon you. They will not have entered it but they will hope [to do so].

7:47. And when their eyes are turned towards the inhabitants of hell, they will say: Our Lord, do not put us with the wrongdoers.

7:48. The people on the heights will call out to men whom they will recognise by their marks: Of what benefit to you were your great numbers and wealth and your scornful pride?

7:49. Are these the ones concerning whom you swore that Allah would never bestow His mercy upon them? [Now] enter paradise; you will have no fear nor will you grieve.

Between the people of paradise and the people of hell there will be a barrier called al-a 'rdf (the heights), which is not part of paradise or of hell, but it overlooks both, and it is possible to look down from it and see both groups. On top of this barrier will be men who will recognise both the people of paradise and of hell ﴾by their marks﴿ that is, signs in them from which they may be recognised and distinguished. When they look at the people of paradise, they will call out to them, saying: ﴾Peace be upon you﴿. In other words, they will greet them even though — up to this point - they will not have entered paradise, but they will hope to enter it, and Allah will not put hope in their hearts except for the reason that He will want to bestow honour upon them.

﴾And when their eyes are turned towards the inhabitants of hell﴿ and they see the scene of great horror

﴾they will say: Our Lord, do not put us with the wrongdoers﴿. When the people of the heights see the people of paradise, they will hope to be with them in paradise, and they will greet them. But when their gaze turns involuntarily towards the people of hell, they will seek the protection of Allah from that fate. This is in general terms.

Then Allah mentions some specific exchanges after having spoken of the matter in general terms:

﴾The people on the heights will call out to men whom they will recognise by their marks﴿. This refers to some of the people of hell, who were men of high status and wealth in this world, and had many children. The men on the heights will say to them, when they see them alone in their punishment, with no supporters or helpers:

﴾Of what benefit to you were your great numbers﴿ in the former world, which you used to rely on to ward off harm and seek what you needed in the former world, yet today they have vanished and are of no avail to you. Of what benefit to you was your arrogance towards the truth and towards those who brought it and those who followed it?

Then they will point out to them some people among the inhabitants of paradise who in this world were poor and weak, and the people of hell used to ridicule them. And they will say to the people of hell: ﴾Are these﴿ whom Allah has admitted to paradise ﴾the ones concerning whom you swore that Allah would never bestow His mercy upon them﴿, thinking little of them, looking down on them and admiring yourselves? Now you have broken your oath and Allah has shown you something you never reckoned with.

﴾[Now] enter paradise﴿ because of your deeds; in other words, it will be said to these weak ones by way of honour and respect: Enter paradise by virtue of your righteous deeds ﴾you will have no fear﴿ with regard to hardship in the future﴾nor will you grieve﴿ for the past; rather you are safe and secure, rejoicing in all good.

This is like the passage in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾Verily, the evildoers used to laugh at those who believed; when they passed by them, they would wink at one another [in mockery],.. But on that day those who believed will laugh at the disbelievers, while sitting on couches, observing [the wretched fate of the disbelievers].﴿

The scholars and commentators differed as to who the people on the heights are and what their deeds will be.

The correct view is that they are people whose good deeds and bad deeds are equal. Their bad deeds will not be greater than their good deeds, such that they would enter hell, and their good deeds are not greater than their bad deeds, such that they would enter paradise. So they will remain on the heights for as long as Allah wills, then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will admit them - by His mercy - to paradise, for His mercy precedes and prevails over his wrath, and His mercy encompasses all things.

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7:50. The inhabitants of hell will call out to the inhabitants of paradise, [saying]: Send down to us some of the water or other things that Allah has provided for you. They will say: Verily Allah has forbidden them both to the disbelievers,

7:51. Those who took the religion they were ordained to follow as a mockery and a mere game, and were deceived by the life of this world. Today We will forget them as they forgot that they would ever meet this day and because they used to reject Our revelations.

7:52. We have indeed brought to them a Book which We have explained in detail, on the basis of knowledge, as guidance and mercy to people who believe.

7:53. What are they waiting for but the fulfilment of its [warning]? On the day when it is finally fulfilled, those who neglected it before will say: The Messengers of our Lord indeed brought the truth. Have we, then, any intercessors who could intercede on our behalf? Or could we be sent back [to the previous world], so that we might act differently from the way we used to act. In fact they will have lost their souls and that which they invented will be lost from them.

The inhabitants of hell will call out to the inhabitants of paradise when the punishment reaches an unbearable degree and their hunger and thirst become intense, seeking their help. They will say: ﴾Send down to us some of the water or other things that Allah has provided for you﴿ of food. The people of paradise will respond to them by saying: ﴾Verily Allah has forbidden them both﴿ that is, the water and food of paradise ﴾to the disbelievers﴿. That will be the requital for their disbelief in the revelations of Allah and their taking of the religion that they were instructed to follow, in return for which they were promised a great reward, ﴾as a mockery and a mere game﴿ that is, they were distracted and turned away from it, and they took it as a game and mockery; instead of following their religion, they weredistracted by idle pursuits and were content with that rather than adhering to the true religion.

﴾and were deceived by the life of this world﴿ with all its adornments and many callers, so they were content with it and rejoiced in it, and they turned away from the hereafter and forgot about it.

﴾Today We will forget them﴿ that is, we will leave them in torment ﴾jas they forgot that they would ever meet this day﴿, so it was as if they were only created for this world, with no punishment or recompense ahead of them

﴾and because they used to reject Our revelations﴿. In fact they did not reject them because the revelations of Allah were short and unclear; rather Allah tells us: ﴾We have indeed brought to them a Book which We have explained in detail﴿ that is. We clarified in it all that people need to know ﴾on the basis of knowledge﴿ from Allah, Who knows the situation of people at all times and in all places, and He knows what is and is not good for them. Hence His explanation is not the explanation of one who is unaware of human affairs or ignorant of some of them, as a result of which he may issue an inappropriate ruling; rather it is an explanation by One Whose knowledge encompasses all things and His mercy encompasses all things.

﴾as guidance and mercy to people who believe﴿ that is, by means of this Book the believers attain guidance and are saved from misguidance; truth and falsehood, guidance and error, are highlighted. They also attain thereby mercy and goodness, and are blessed in this world and the hereafter. Thus they are protected from misguidance and doom.

As for the ones who deserve punishment, they did not believe in this great Book or comply with its commands and prohibitions; hence nothing remains to be said except that they deserve to have happen to them what the Qur’an foretold.

Hence Allah says: ﴾What are they waiting for but the fulfilment of its [warning]?]! That is, the occurrence of what it foretold. This is like the words of Yoosuf (عليه السلام) when his dream came to pass: ﴾...this is the fulfilment of my dream of old...]i (Yoosuf 12:100)

﴾On the day when it is finally fulfilled, those who neglected it before will say]!, regretting what they did, seeking intercession for forgiveness of their sins, and affirming what the Messengers had said: ﴾The Messengers of our Lord indeed brought the truth. Have we, then, any intercessors who could intercede on our behalf? Or could we be sent back [to the previous world], so that we might act differently from the way we used to act?]! But the time for returning to this world will be over:

﴾So the intercession of the intercessors will not benefit them.]! (al-Muddath-thir 74: 48)

Their request to return to this world so that they might do good deeds will be a false promise, the intent of which is to ward off what has befallen them. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾f...And even if they were sent back, they would surely go back to that which was forbidden to them, for they are indeed liars.]! (al-An'am 6: 28)

﴾In fact they will have lost their souls]! when they caused them to miss out on gains and to follow the path of doom. This is not like losing one’s wealth or furniture or children; rather this is a loss that cannot be made up.

﴾fand that which they invented will be lost from them]! in this world, namely the false hopes that they entertained and the promises that the Shaytan made to them. They will come to something they never reckoned with; their falsehood and misguidance will become obvious to them and they will realise that what the Messengers brought was true.

7:54. Verily your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and then rose over the Throne [in a manner that befits His Majesty], He covers the day with the night in swift pursuit. [And He created] the sun, the moon and the stars, all subservient to His command. Verily, His is the creation and the command. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that He is the only Lord Who is deserving of worship, with no partner or associate.

﴾Verily your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earthy and all that is in them, despite their greatness and vastness, and the precision, care and beauty with which they are created.

﴾fin six days﴿, the first of which was Sunday and the last of which was Friday. When He finished their creation, He ﴾rose over the Throne [in a manner that befits His Majesty]﴿ that is, the mighty Throne that encompasses seven heavens and the earth, and all that is in them and between them, in a manner that is befitting to His majesty, greatness and power. So He rose above the Throne and everything is under His control and subjected to His universal laws and religious decrees. Hence He says:

﴾He covers the day﴿ which is bright ﴾with the night﴿ which is dark, thus everything on the face of the earth becomes dark, humans rest, and all creatures go back to their dwellings and rest from their striving and comings and goings that occupy them during the day.

﴾fin swift pursuit﴿. Every time night comes, the day goes, and every time the day comes, the night goes, and this is ongoing and will continue until Allah rolls up this earth and people are moved to another realm.

4[And He created] the sun, the moon and the stars, all subservient to His command﴿ that is, His control and domination, which are indicative of His attributes of perfection. The creation of these entities and their great size is indicative of His perfect power; their precision, order and proficiency are indicative of His perfect wisdom; what they contain of benefits that meet basic necessities and other, non-essential benefits are indicative of the vastness of His mercy. All of that is indicative of His vast knowledge and that none should be worshipped but He.

﴾Verily, His is the creation and the command﴿ that is, He is the Creator Who originated all of creation, both the upper and lower realms, and their essence, qualities, and actions; His command includes laws and prophethoods.

His creation includes His universal laws and decrees, and His command includes religious rulings, then there will be rules and decrees of requital in the hereafter.

﴾Blessed be Allah﴿ that is, how great and exalted is He, and how generous and kind. So He is blessed for what He is, for His greatness and perfect attributes. And He blesses others by bestowing a great deal of good by His generosity and kindness. All blessings in the universe stem from His mercy, hence He says: ﴾Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the worlds﴿.

Having mentioned His greatness and majesty, which highlights to people of understanding that He is One and the only One Who is to be worshipped and Whose help is to be sought for all one’s needs, He then enjoins what one should do in response to that:

7:55. Call upon your Lord with humility and in private, for indeed Allah does not love those who overstep the limits.

7:56. Do not spread mischief in the land after it has been put in order, but call upon Him with fear and hope, for the mercy of Allah is always near to those who do good.

Calling or supplication includes the supplication of asking and the supplication of worship. Allah enjoins us to call upon Him ﴾with humility﴿ that is, beseeching Him when asking and persisting in worship ﴾and in private﴿ that is, not out loud or openly, for fear of showing off; rather it should be done in private and with sincerity towards Allah.

﴾for indeed Allah does not love those who overstep the limits﴿ that is, those who transgress the bounds in all matters. Overstepping the limits also includes asking Allah for things that are not good for one, or being unreasonable in asking, or going to extremes in raising the voice in supplication. All of that comes under the heading of overstepping the limits.

﴾jDo not spread mischief in the land﴿ by committing acts of sin and disobedience

Rafter it has been put in order﴿ by doing acts of obedience, for acts of disobedience lead to corruption of people’s character, deeds and provision, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾Corruption and disorder have appeared on land and sea^{1This refers to the widespread occurrence of troubles such as drought, fires and floods, poor yield of crops, decline of fish stocks, market stagnation and difficulty in earning a living. That is because of people’s sins, including neglect and abuse of the natural environment.} because of what people’s hands have earned... ﴿ (ar-Room 30: 41)

By the same token, acts of obedience refine and set straight people’s character, deeds and provision, and all their affairs in this world and the hereafter.

﴾but call upon Him with fear and hope﴿ that is, fear of His punishment and hope of His reward, hoping that one’s deeds will be accepted and fearing that they will be rejected, not offering supplication in the manner of one who thinks that he is entitled to a response from his Lord, filled with self-admiration and raising himself above his station, or in the manner of one who is heedless and not focusing.

To sum up, the etiquette of supplication as mentioned in this verse is that one should be sincere in calling upon Allah alone, which is indicated by offering supplication in private, concealing and hiding it. There should be both fear and hope, with no heedlessness, complacency or not caring about the response. This is part of offering supplication in the proper manner, because doing every act of worship properly means striving one’s best and doing it in a perfect manner with no shortcomings in any way. Hence Allah says: ﴾for the mercy of Allah is always near to those who do good﴿ in worshipping Allah, and do kindness to the slaves of Allah. The more a person strives to worship Allah properly, the closer he is to the mercy of his Lord, and his Lord is closer to him by His mercy. This is obviously encouragement to strive to do well.

7:57. It is He Who sends forth the winds as harbingers of His mercy. Then, when they have gathered up heavy clouds. We drive themto a dead land where We cause the rain to fall upon it, bringing forth all kinds of crops thereby. In like manner will We bring forth the dead [on the Day of Resurrection], so that you may pay heed.

7:58. The good land brings forth its vegetation abundantly, by its Lord’s leave, but bad land brings forth only poor and scant vegetation. Thus do We make the revelations elaborately clear for people who give thanks.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) highlights one of the signs of His power and one of the signs of His mercy:

﴾It is He Who sends forth the winds as harbingers of His mercy﴿ that is, the winds are harbingers of rain, which the wind drives by His leave, and people feel happy with the sign of Allah’s mercy, and their hearts feel at rest before it comes.

﴾Then, when they﴿ the winds ﴾have gathered up heavy clouds﴿ that some of the winds drove up and other winds accumulated them, and yet other winds fecundated them

﴾We drive them to a dead land﴿ where almost all of the animals have died and the people have almost despaired of the mercy of Allah. ﴾where We cause the rain to fall upon it﴿ that is, the dead land. So abundant rain falls from that cloud, and Allah causes a wind to scatter it by His leave.

﴾bringing forth all kinds of crops thereby﴿, so that people feel happy with the mercy of Allah and enjoy His bounty.

﴾In like manner will We bring forth the dead [on the Day of Resurrection], so that you may pay heed﴿ that is, just as We revived the earth with vegetation after it was dead, in like manner We will bring the dead forth from their graves, after they had become scattered dust. This is clear proof (of the resurrection), and there is no difference between the two matters. The one who denies the resurrection because he thinks it is not possible - even though he sees something similarto it - is doing that out of stubbornness and is denying something tangible.

This encourages us to contemplate and reflect upon the signs of Allah, and to think of them in order to learn a lesson and find proof, not in a negligent and careless manner.

Then Allah tells us how the lands that receive rain vary.

﴾The good land﴿ is that which has good soil. If rain falls upon it, it ﴾brings forth its vegetation abundantly﴿, for which it has the potential ﴾by its Lord’s leave﴿ that is, by the will of Allah, for the means do not lead to the ends unless Allah permits it by His leave.

﴾f(but bad land brings forth only poor and scant vegetation﴿ that is, poor quality vegetation that is of no benefit and in which there is no blessing.

﴾Thus do We make the revelations elaborately clear for people who give thanks﴿ that is, We explain in different ways, giving different likenesses, and We make it available to people who show gratitude to Allah by acknowledging His blessings and using them to seek His pleasure. They are the ones who benefit from what Allah has discussed in His Book of rulings and obligations, because they see it as one of the greatest blessings that could lead them to their Lord. Hence they receive it by joyfully expressing their need for it, and they ponder it and contemplate its meanings, so they understand it according to their ability to understand.

This is a likeness of hearts when revelation, which is the substance of life, just as rain is the substance of life, comes to them. When revelation comes to good hearts, they accept it and understand it, and the result is in accordance with their good origin and good nature.

As for evil hearts in which there is no good, when revelation comes to them it finds no acceptance; rather it finds these hearts negligent and heedless, or opposed to it. Hence it is like rain that falls on a salty marsh, sand or rocks, and has no impact on them. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:﴾He sends down water from the sky and the watercourses flow, each according to its measure, and the torrent carries with it a rising

7:59. Indeed We sent Nooh to his people. He said: O my people, worship Allah; you have no god but He. I fear for you the punishment of a momentous day.

7:60. The chieftains of his people said: Verily we see that you are clearly misguided.

7:61. He said: O my people, I am not misguided; rather I am a Messenger from the Lord of the worlds.

7:62. I convey unto you the messages of my Lord and give you sincere advice, for I know from Allah that which you do not know.

7:63. Do you wonder that there has come to you an admonition from your Lord through a man from among yourselves, so that he may warn you, and you may fear [Allah], and so that you may attain mercy.

7:64. But they rejected him, and We saved him and those who were with him, in the Ark, and We drowned those who rejected Our signs. Verily, they were people who were blind [to the truth].

Having mentioned sound evidence of His oneness, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) then supports that by mentioning what happened to the Prophets who called their people to affirm His oneness, but they rejected that; how He supported those who affirmed His oneness and destroyed those who opposed them and refused to accept their messages; and how the call of all the Messengers was to the same religion and the same belief. Here He tells us about Nooh, who was the first of the Messengers:

fjlndeed We sent Nooh to his people﴿ to call them to worship Allah alone, at a time when they were worshipping idols.

﴾He said﴿ to them: ﴾0 my people, worship Allah﴿ alone ﴾you have no god but He﴿ for He is the Creator, Provider and Controller of all things, and all others are created, subject to His control, and have no power at all. Then he warned them, if they did not obey him, of the punishment of Allah:

﴾l fear for you the punishment of a momentous day﴿. This was indicative of his sincerity towards them and his compassion for them, as he feared for them the eternal punishment and everlasting misery, like his fellow Messengers who cared for people more than their own fathers and mothers did. But when he said that to them, they responded in the worst manner.

﴾The chieftains of his people﴿ that is, the leaders and influential wealthy individuals who are usually arrogant towards the truth and do not follow the Messengers

﴾said: Verily we see that you are clearly misguided﴿ and it was not enough for them - may Allah curse them - not to follow him; rather they also displayed arrogance and criticised him in the worst manner, describing him as misguided. And they did not just describe him as misguided; they described him as clearly misguided, as if it were something that was obvious to everyone.

This is one of the worst kinds of stubbornness that cannot even deceive the least rational of people. This description (of being ﴾clearly misguided)*) was in fact applicable to the people of Nooh, who wouldcome to the idols that they had shaped with their own hands from inanimate material that could not hear or see, and could not avail them anything, and elevate them to the status of the Creator of the heavens, and they would devote to them whatever they could of all kinds of acts of worship.

Were it not for the fact that they had minds and reason by means of which the proof of Allah was established against them, they would be deemed insane. In fact one might say that the insane would be more rational than they were. Nooh responded to them in a kind and gentle manner, in the hope that they might follow him.

﴾He said: O my people, I am not misguided﴿ that is, I am not misguided in any way; rather I am myself guided and I seek to guide others. His guidance was akin to that of his fellow Prophets, the Messengers of strong resolve; it was the best and most perfect kind of guidance, the guidance of the perfect and complete message. Hence he said: ﴾rather I am a Messenger from the Lord of the worlds﴿ that is, my Lord and your Lord, the Lord of all creation Who takes care of His creation in all aspects, one of the most important of which is that He sent Messengers to His slaves, to enjoin them to do righteous deeds, attain good characteristics and adopt sound beliefs, and to forbid them to do the opposite of that.

Hence he said: ﴾fl convey unto you the messages of my Lord and give you sincere advice﴿ that is, my role is to convey the message to you, to explain His oneness, and His commands and prohibitions, by way of sincerity and compassion towards you.

﴾for I know from Allah that which you do not know﴿; therefore what you must do is obey me and comply with my instructions, if you understand.

﴾Do you wonder that there has come to you an admonition from your Lord through a man from among yourselves﴿ that is, how can you be amazed by something you should not be amazed by, whichis that there has come to you a reminder, admonition and advice at the hands of a man from among you whose character, honesty and background you know well?

That is because Allah cares for you, and His kindness should be met with acceptance and gratitude.

﴾so that he may warn you, and you may fear [Allah], and so that you may attain mercy ﴿ that is, to warn you of the painful punishment, and so that you may take measures to save yourselves, such as fearing Allah outwardly and inwardly. Thus you may attain the abundant mercy of Allah.

But his efforts were to no avail and he did not succeed: ﴾But they rejected him, and We saved him and those who were with him, in the Ark﴿ that is, the ship which Allah instructed Nooh (عليه السلام) to build, and He revealed to him that he should take on board a pair of every type of animal, along with his family and those who believed with him. So he took them all on board and Allah saved them thereby.

﴾and We drowned those who rejected Our signs. Verily, they were people who were blind﴿ to guidance. They saw the truth and Allah showed them - at the hands of Nooh - clear signs that could cause people of understanding to believe, but they mocked him and ridiculed him, and they disbelieved.

7:65. To ‘Ad We sent their brother Hood. He said: O my people, worship Allah; you have no god but He. Will you not then fear Him?

7:66. The chieftains of his people who disbelieved said: Indeed we regard you as foolish, and indeed we think you are a liar.

7:67. He said: O my people, there is nothing foolish about me; on the contrary, I am a Messenger from the Lord of the worlds.

7:68. I convey unto you the messages of my Lord and I am your sincere and honest adviser.

7:69. Do you wonder that there has come to you an admonition from your Lord through a man from among yourselves, so that he may warn you? Remember when He made you successors to the people of Nooh and increased you in stature. Remember the favours of Allah, so that you may prosper.

7:70. They said: Have you come to tell us to worship Allah alone, and to give up that which our forefathers used to worship? Bring us that with which you are threatening us, if you are telling the truth.

7:71. He said: Punishment and wrath have already become due to you from your Lord. Are you arguing with me about names that you have invented, you and your forefathers, for which Allah has not sent down any authority? Wait then; I too am waiting.

7:72. Then We saved him and those who were with him, by Our mercy, and we destroyed to the last man those who rejected Our signs, for they would not believe.

﴾To ‘Ad﴿ - This refers to the first ‘Ad, who were in Yemen ﴾We sent their brother﴿ in lineage ﴾Hood﴿ (عليه السلام), to call them to affirm the oneness of Allah and forbid them to ascribe partners to Him or transgress in the land.

﴾He said﴿ to them: ﴾O my people, worship Allah; you have no god but He. Will you not then fear Him﴿ and fear His wrath and punishment, if you continue as you are? But they did not respond and they did not follow him.

﴾The chieftains of his people who disbelieved said﴿, rejecting his call and criticising his message:

﴾Indeed we regard you as foolish, and indeed we think you are a liar﴿ that is, we think you are nothing but a fool and immature, and we think it most likely that you are one of the liars.

Things had turned completely upside down in their minds and they became utterly blind to the truth, as they accused their Prophet (3tSO of what they were guilty of, when he was the furthest of all people from that, for they were the real fools and liars.

What foolishness can be greater than that of one who responds to the utmost truth with rejection and is too arrogant to follow those who wish to guide him and show him the way with all sincerity, and instead submits both physically and emotionally to every rebellious devil and directs his worship inappropriately, worshipping trees and rocks that can avail him nothing?

What lie could be worse than the lie which attributes all these falsehoods to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)?

﴾He said: O my people, there is nothing foolish about me﴿ in any way whatsoever. Rather he was a Messenger who was guided and sought to guide others.﴾fon the contrary, I am a Messenger from the Lord of the worlds. I convey unto you the messages of my Lord and I am your sincere and honest adviser﴿, so what you must do is respond by accepting, submitting and obeying the Lord of humankind.

﴾Do you wonder that there has come to you an admonition from your Lord through a man from among yourselves, so that he may warn you?﴿ That is, how can you wonder at something that is not surprising at all? Namely, Allah has sent to you a man from among you who you know, to guide you to that which is in your best interests and encourage you to do that which is beneficial for you. Your amazement is that of people who reject it.

﴾f Remember when He made you successors to the people of Nooh﴿ that is, and praise your Lord and give thanks to Him, for He established you in the land and made you successors to the doomed nations who

- for they did as you have done, and they enjoyed their share of worldly pleasures as you have done, and they indulged in falsehood as you have done. Verily they were losers; that is, the first and the last of them, and what loss could be greater than losing out on the gardens of bliss and being deprived of closeness to the Most Generous? But even though they will share the loss, they will vary greatly in the extent of their loss.

﴾For all﴿ of them ﴾there will be ranks according to their deeds﴿; the one who did less evil will not be like the one who did a great deal of evil, and the follower will not be like the leader.

Similarly, although those who attain reward and paradise will share the success, triumph and admission to paradise, there will be differences (in status) between them such as is known only to Allah.

But they will all be pleased with what the Lord gives them, and they

﴾They said﴿ in amazement at his call, telling him that it was impossible for them to obey him:

﴾Have you come to tell us to worship Allah alone, and to give up that which our forefathers used to worship?﴿ May Allah curse them, for they regarded the beliefs and practices of their forefathers as the most important of obligations and the most perfect of matters, and something that no one should object to. They gave precedence to the misguidance of their forefathers, polytheism and idol worship, over that which the Messengers called to, namely affirming the oneness of Allah alone, with no partner or associate. They rejected their Prophet and said: ﴾Bring us that with which you are threatening us, if you are telling the truth﴿. Thus they prayed against themselves.

Hood said to them: ﴾Punishment and wrath have already become due to you from your Lord﴿ that is, they will inevitably befall you, for all the causes thereof are present and the time for doom has come.

﴾Are you arguing with me about names that you have invented, you and your forefathers)* that is, how can you argue about matters that are not real, and about idols that you call gods, when there is nothing divine in them at all, not even an atom’s weight ﴾for which Allah has not sent down any authority?﴿ For if that were true, Allah would have sent down authority for it; the fact that He did not do so indicates that it is false. There is nothing expected or made obligatory - especially with regard to major fundamental issues - but Allah has provided evidence to support it and unambiguous authority.

﴾Wait then﴿ for what will befall you of the punishment that I have promised you

﴾I too am waiting﴿. There is a difference between the two types of waiting: the waiting of one who fears the coming of the punishment, and that of the one who hopes for victory and reward from Allah. Hence Allah followed that by saying:

﴾Then We saved him﴿ namely Hood﴾and those﴿ believers ﴾who were with him, by Our mercy﴿. Allah was the One Who guided them to faith and made their faith a means of their attaining His mercy, so He saved them by His mercy.

﴾and we destroyed to the last man those who rejected Our signs﴿ that is, We eradicated them by means of the severe punishment that left none of them alive. Allah sent against them the devastating wind that left nothing it came upon, but made it as stuff decayed (cf. 51: 41-42). Thus they were destroyed and thereafter nothing was left to be seen except their dwellings (cf 46. 25). So see what was the fate of those who were warned and against whom proof was established. But they did not pay heed; they were commanded to believe but they did not believe, so the outcome for them was destruction, disgrace and shame.

tfThey were overtaken by a curse in this world, and [they will be cursed] on the Day of Resurrection. Verily, ‘Ad disbelieved in their Lord. So away with ‘Ad, the people of Hood! ﴿ (Hood 11: 60)

And Allah says here: ﴾and we destroyed to the last man those who rejected Our signs, for they would not believe﴿ by any means; rather He described them as disbelievers and stubborn.

7:73. And to Thamood We sent their brother Salih. He said: O my people, worship Allah; you have no god but He. There has come to you a clear sign from your Lord: this is the she-camel of Allah, a sign unto you. So leave her to graze in the land of Allah, and do not harm her in any way, or else a painful punishment will overtake you.

7:74. Remember when He made you successors to the people of‘Ad and settled you in the land; you build for yourselves palaces in the plains and carve out dwellings in the mountains. So remember the favours of Allah, and do not strive to spread mischief in the land.

7:75. The chieftains of his people who were arrogant said to those who were regarded as weak, to those among them who believed: Do you really know that Salih has been sent by his Lord? They said: We do indeed believe in the message with which he has been sent.

7:76. Those who were arrogant said: As for us, we disbelieve in that in which you believe.

7:77. Then they hamstrung the she-camel, and insolently transgressed the command of their Lord, saying: O Salih, bring us that with which you are threatening us, if you are indeed one of the Messengers [of Allah]!

7:78. So an earthquake overtook them, and morning found them lying lifeless in their homes.

7:79. So he left them, saying: O my people, I did indeed convey to you the message of my Lord. I gave you sincere advice, but you do not like sincere advisers.

﴾And to Thamood﴿ - they were a well-known tribe who lived in al-Hijr (the Rocky Tract) and its environs, in the Hejaz region of Arabia.

Allah sent to them ﴾their brother Ṣalih﴿ as a Prophet, calling them to believe and affirm His oneness, and to forbid them to ascribe partners to Allah or set up rivals to Him.

﴾He said: O my people, worship Allah; you have no god but He﴿. His call was the same as the call of his fellow Messengers: the command to worship Allah alone, explaining that people have no god other than Allah.

﴾There has come to you a clear sign from your Lord﴿ that is, an extraordinary sign that could only be a sign from heaven, for people could not produce it. Then he explained further by saying:

﴾this is the she-camel of Allah, a sign unto you﴿ that is, this is a special and noble she-camel, because it is attributed to Allah Be) by way of honour, and in it there is a great sign for you.

The nature of that sign is mentioned elsewhere:

﴾fṣalih said: Here is a she-camel; she will have her share of water and you will have your share, each on an appointed day.﴿ (ash-Shu‘ara' 26: 155)

They had a large well which was known as Bi V an-Naqah (the Well of the She-Camel), where they and the she-camel took turns. The she-camel had a day when she would drink, and the people would drink the milk from her udder, and the people had a day when they would come to drink, and the she-camel would stay away.

Their Prophet Salih (عليه السلام) said to them: ﴾So leave her to graze in the land of Allah﴿; you do not have to take care of her in any way﴾fand do not harm her in any way﴿ by hamstringing or otherwise, *for else a painful punishment will overtake you﴿.

﴾Remember when He made you successors﴿ in the land, enjoying it and achieving what you aspired to

﴾successors to the people of ‘Ad﴿ whom Allah destroyed, and He caused you to succeed them

﴾and settled you in the land﴿ that is, He caused you to become established in the land, and He made available to you the means that lead to what you want to achieve ﴾you build for yourselves palaces in the plains﴿ that is, in the flat land where there are no mountains; you build tall palaces and fortified buildings there

﴾and carve out dwellings in the mountains﴿ as can be seen until the present, their dwellings and other buildings in the mountains, which will remain as long as the mountains remain.

﴾So remember the favours of Allah﴿ that is, His blessings and what He has bestowed upon you of bounty, provision and strength ﴾and do not strive to spread mischief in the land﴿ that is, do not cause ruin to the earth with evildoing and sin, for sin leads to the ruin of civilisation, and now their land is devoid of them and their dwellings are empty.

﴾The chieftains of his people who were arrogant﴿ that is, the leaders and nobles who were too arrogant to believe ﴾said to those who were regarded as weak﴿ although not all the weak were believers

﴾to those among them who believed: Do you really know that Salih has been sent by his Lord?﴿ That is, is he telling you the truth or is he lying?

Those who were regarded as weak said: ﴾We do indeed believe in the message with which he has been sent﴿ that is, the oneness of Allah, and what he tells us about Him and His commands and prohibitions.

﴾Those who were arrogant said: As for us, we disbelieve in that in which you believe.﴿ Their arrogance made them not submit to the truth to which those who were regarded as weak had submitted.

﴾Then they hamstrung the she-camel﴿ that he had warned them about, saying that if they harmed her, a painful punishment would befall them.

﴾and insolently transgressed the command of their Lord﴿ that is, their hearts grew hard and they arrogantly refused to comply with the command of their Lord, insolent transgression of which causes one to taste the severe punishment. So it is no wonder that Allah sent upon them a punishment which He did not send upon anyone else.

In addition to these actions, they began challenging Allah, not caring what they did; rather they boasted of it by saying: Ṣalih, bring us that with which you are threatening us﴿ if you are telling us the truth, of the punishment. He said:

C-.Enjoy life in your worldly abodes for [another] three days. This is a promise that will not be belied.﴿ (Hood 11: 65)

﴾So an earthquake overtook them, and morning found them lying lifeless in their homes﴿ on their knees, for Allah had destroyed them to the last man.

﴾fSo he﴿ that is, Salih (HU ﴾left them﴿ when Allah sent the punishment upon them

﴾saying﴿ that is, addressing them by way of rebuke after Allah had destroyed them: ﴾0 my people, I did indeed convey to you the message of my Lord. I gave you sincere advice﴿ that is, everything with which Allah sent me to you, I conveyed to you and I was keen for you to be guided, and I strove hard to make you follow the straight path and the true religion

﴾but you do not like sincere advisers﴿; rather you rejected the words of the sincere advisers, and you obeyed the words of every accursed devil.

It should be noted that many commentators mention with regard to this story that the she-camel came out of a solid rock that they suggested to Salih, and that the rock went into labour in the manner of a pregnant woman, and the she-camel emerged as they were looking on; she had a calf with her when they hamstrung her, which bleated three times, then the mountain opened up and the calf entered into it; Salih (عليه السلام) told them: The sign of the punishment coming upon you is that on the first of three days your faces will be yellow, on the second day they will be red, and on the third day they will be black, and it came to pass as he foretold.

All of these stories come from the Isra’eeliyat (stories narrated from Jewish sources), which should not be transmitted in commentaries on the Book of Allah. There is nothing in the Qur’an to indicate such events at all. Rather, if they were true Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) would have mentioned them, because they contain signs and wonders and lessons that He could not have overlooked or omitted to mention until they came via those whose narrations are not trustworthy. In fact the Qur’an proves false some of the things mentioned. Salih said to them:

﴾...Enjoy life in your worldly abodes for [another] three days...p

- that is, enjoy this very short time, for you will have no other pleasure after that. What pleasure could there be for people whose Prophet (according to the story mentioned above) had warned them of the punishment and told them of its precursors, which were to happen day by day in a manner that included all of them, by their faces becoming yellow, red and black, because of the punishment?

This can only be contrary to the Qur’an and opposite to what it says. The Qur’an provides sufficient information and guidance and there is no need for anything else.

Yes, if there is a soundly narrated report from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that does not contradict the Book of Allah, then we acceptit, for it is included among that which the Qur’an has instructed us to follow:

ff... Whatever the Messenger gives you [of the gains, or of instructions], accept it, and whatever he forbids to you, refrain from it... [) (al-Hashr 59: 7)

We have seen above that it is not permissible to interpret the Book of Allah on the basis of Isra’eeliyat reports, even if it is the case that it is permissible to narrate reports from them that cannot be certain. That is because the meanings of the Book of Allah are certain, but these reports cannot be confirmed as true or false. Hence there is no way that they can be used to interpret the Qur’an.

(a t -a > :ai

7:80. And We also sent Loot. He said to his people: Do you commit this shameful deed that no one in the world has ever committed before you?

7:81. For you approach men with lust instead of women; you are indeed a people transgressing beyond all bounds.

7:82. But the only response his people gave was to say: Drive them out of your city, for they are indeed people who want to keep themselves clean and pure!

7:83. So we saved him and his family, except his wife; she was one of those who stayed behind.

7:84. And We let loose upon them a shower [of stones]. So see what was the fate of the evildoers.

﴾And We also sent Loot﴿ (عليه السلام) That is, We sent him to his people to instruct them to worship Allah alone and to forbid to them the shameful deed that no one in the world had ever done before them.

﴾He said to his people: Do you commit this shameful deed﴿ that is, the deed which surpasses, in its severity and abhorrent nature, all other shameful deeds

﴾that no one in the world has ever committed before you﴿. It was one of the most repulsive of deeds, and their invention of it, thus setting the precedent for those who came after them, was also one of the most abhorrent of deeds.

Then he explained further: ﴾For you approach men with lust instead of women ﴿that is, you ignore women, whom Allah has created for you, when you could find in them pleasure to fulfil your desire in a manner that is in accordance with sound human nature, and instead you prefer anal intercourse with men, which is something utterly filthy and abhorrent, for the anus is the place from which filth emerges, that one feels embarrassed to mention, let alone touch and be close to it.

﴾you are indeed a people transgressing beyond all bounds﴿ that is, people who overstep the limits set by Allah in the most audacious manner.

﴾But the only response his people gave was to say: Drive them out of your city, for they are indeed people who want to keep themselves clean and pure!﴿ That is, they want to keep away from committing shameful deeds.

﴾Their only grievance against them was that they believed in Allah, the Almighty, the Praiseworthy.﴿ (al-Burooj 85: 8)

﴾So we saved him and his family, except his wife; she was one of those who stayed behind﴿ that is, those who remained behind and were punished. Allah instructed him to take his family and leave at night, for the punishment would come upon his people in the morning, so he took his family, except his wife, who met the same fate as they did.

﴾And We let loose upon them a shower [of stones]that is, a shower of hot stones of baked clay, and Allah turned the city upside down.

﴾So see what was the fate of the evildoers﴿, namely destruction and eternal disgrace.

7:85. To Madyan We sent their brother Shu’ayb. He said: O my people, worship Allah; you have no god but He. There has come to you a clear sign from your Lord. Give full measure and weight, and do not undermine people’s rights and dues, and do not spreadmischief in the land after it has been put in order. That will be best for you, if you are [truly] believers.

7:86. Do not lie in wait on every path, making threats and barring from the path of Allah those who believe in Him, and seeking to make it appear crooked. Remember how you were few and He made you many, and see what was the fate of those who spread mischief.

7:87. And if there are some among you who believe in the message with which I have been sent, and others who do not believe, then be patient until Allah judges between us, for He is the best of judges.

﴾To Madyan﴿, who were a well-known tribe We sent their brother﴿ in lineage «[Shu‘ayb﴿, to call them to worship Allah alone, with no partner or associate, and to instruct them to give full measure and weight, and not to undermine people’s rights and dues, or strive to spread mischief in the land (cf. II: 85) by committing a lot of sins. Hence he said: ?fand do not spread mischief in the land after it has been put in order. That will be best for you, if you are [truly] believers﴿. For giving up sin in obedience to the command of Allah and seeking to draw close to Him is better and more beneficial for a person than committing sin that incurs the wrath of the Almighty and the punishment of hell.

﴾Do not lie in wait﴿ for people ﴾on every path﴿ that is, on any road where there is a great deal of traffic, warning people off, ﴾making threats﴿ to those who travel that road,

(﴾and barring from the path of Allah﴿ those who want to follow it and be guided,

﴾and seeking to make it appear crooked﴿ that is, wanting the path of Allah to be crooked, so you twist it in accordance with your whims and desires, when what you and others should have done was to respect and venerate the path that Allah ordained for His slaves tofollow in order to earn His pleasure and paradise, thereby destroying the greatest mercy upon them; you should have taken on the task of supporting it, calling people to it and defending it, not barring people from it and turning people away from it. This is ingratitude for the blessing of Allah and a challenge to Allah, for you are making the straightest and fairest path twisted and crooked, and you denounce anyone who follows it.

﴾Remember﴿ the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon you and ﴾how you were few and He made you many﴿ that is, He caused you to grow in number by blessing you with wives, offspring and good health, and He did not test you with epidemics or fatal diseases that would reduce your numbers, or cause your enemies to gain power over you and eradicate you, or cause you to be scattered in the land; rather He blessed you by causing you to be together, bestowing abundant provision on you and granting you numerous offspring.

﴾and see what was the fate of those who spread mischief﴿, for you will not find any among them but they are scattered, and in their land you will find nothing but desolation and sparse population. No one speaks well of them, rather they are overtaken by curses in this world and on the Day of Resurrection they will be exposed to disgrace and shame.

﴾And if there are some among you who believe in the message with which I have been sent, and others who do not believe﴿ who are the majority of them, ﴾then be patient until Allah judges between us, for He is the best of judges﴿; He will support the one who is in the right and will send punishment upon the one who is in the wrong.

7:88. The chieftains of his people who were arrogant said: O ShiTayb, we will certainly drive you and those who believe with you out of our city, unless you all return to our religion. He said: What, even if we detest it?

7:89. We would be guilty of fabricating lies against Allah if we were to return to your religion after Allah has saved us from it. There is no way we could return to it unless Allah our Lord so willed. Our Lord encompasses all things in His knowledge. In Allah we put our trust. Our Lord, judge between us and our people in truth, for You are the best of judges.

7:90. The chieftains of his people who disbelieved said: If you follow Shu'ayb, then indeed you will be losers.

7:91. So an earthquake overtook them, and morning found them lying lifeless in their homes.

7:92. Those who rejected Shu'ayb became as if they had never lived there; those who rejected Shu'ayb became themselves the losers.

7:93. So Shu'ayb left them, saying: O my people, I did indeed convey to you the messages of my Lord. I gave you sincere advice, but why should I grieve over a disbelieving people?

﴾The chieftains of his people who were arrogant﴿ that is, the nobles and prominent figures among them, who followed their whims and desires and were preoccupied with their pleasures. When thetruth came to them and they saw that it was not in accordance with their evil whims and desires, they rejected it and were too arrogant to follow it. They said to their Prophet Shu‘ayb and the oppressed believers who were with him:

﴾0 Shu'ayb, we will certainly drive you and those who believe with you out of our city, unless you all return to our religion﴿. They used their physical strength to oppose the truth and they did not pay attention to any religion, covenant or human rights; all they cared about was following their whims and desires and their foolish way of thinking that led to this corrupt idea, as they said: Either you and those who are with you should come back to our religion or we will surely expel you from our city.

Shu‘ayb (ilk) was calling them in the hope that they would believe, but now he was not safe from their evil, to such an extent that they threatened him, saying that if he did not follow them, they would banish him from his homeland, to which he had more right than they did.

Shu'ayb (عليه السلام) said to them in amazement at what they said: ﴾What, even if we detest it?﴿ That is, should we follow you in your false religion, even if we detest it because we know that it is false? Rather you should call someone to it who shows an interest in it, but in the case of someone who openly forbids it and denounces anyone who follows it, how could he be called to it?

﴾We would be guilty of fabricating lies against Allah if we were to return to your religion after Allah has saved us from it﴿ that is, bear witness against us that if we were to return to it after Allah has saved us from it and from its evil, then we would be liars fabricating lies against Allah, because we know that there is no fabrication worse than that of one who ascribes partners to Allah when He is the One and Only God, Who has no son or spouse, and no partner in His sovereignty.

﴾There is no way we could return to it﴿ that is, it is not possible for people like us to go back to it, for this is impossible. Shu‘ayb (عليه السلام)made them despair of him ever going along with them in many ways, by pointing out a number of things, such as the following:

• The believers hated and detested their religion because of what it involved of ascribing partners to Allah.

• He described what they were following as fabrications and called them to bear witness that if he and the people with him were to follow it, they would be liars and fabricators.

• They acknowledged that Allah had blessed them because He had saved them from it.

• It was impossible for them to return to it after Allah had guided them, because of their current state and what they had in their hearts of veneration for Allah and acknowledgement of their servitude to Him, and their belief that He alone is God and none should be worshipped but Him alone, with no partner or associate, and that the gods of the polytheists were the falsest of falsehoods and the most impossible to be true.

As Allah had blessed them with reason, they were able by means of it to recognise what was true and what was false, what constituted guidance what constituted misguidance.

However, within the context of the divine will and Allah’s decree that inevitably comes to pass for His creation, and no one can escape it, even if means were made available and all forces got together to achieve that, they cannot decide concerning themselves that they will be able to do something or give up something for certain. Therefore, Shu'ayb made an exception here, as he said: ﴾There is no way we could return to it unless Allah our Lord so willed﴿ that is, neither we nor anyone else can act independently or rebel against His will that is connected to His knowledge and wisdom. ﴾Our Lord encompasses all things in His knowledge﴿ that is. He knows what is good for His slaves and in what direction He will steer them﴾In Allah we put our trust﴿ that is, we trust that He will keep us steadfast on the straight path and protect us from all paths that lead to hell. Whoever puts his trust in Allah, He will suffice him and make things easy for him in both his spiritual and worldly affairs.

﴾Our Lord, judge between us and our people in truth﴿ that is, support and help the one who is wronged and the one who is in the right against the stubborn wrongdoer who rejects the truth ﴾for You are the best of judges﴿.

So they asked Allah to judge between them and their people on the basis of truth and justice, and to show them His signs that would decide the matter between the two parties.

﴾The chieftains of his people who disbelieved said﴿, warning against following Shu‘ayb

﴾flf you follow Shu'ayb, then indeed you will be losersjK This is what their evil souls told them, that loss and doom would result from following true guidance. They did not realise that real loss would result from persisting in what they were following of misguidance and misguiding others, but they realised that when the punishment befell them.

﴾So an earthquake overtook them﴿; it was a severe tremor ﴾and morning found them lying lifeless in their homes﴿ that is, lying dead on the ground.

Allah says, describing them after their death: ﴾Those who rejected Shu‘ayb became as if they had never lived there﴿ that is, it was as if they had never resided in their homeland, and as if they had never enjoyed wandering about in its streets or resting in its shade or enjoyed the flow of its rivers, or never eaten the fruits of its trees. When the punishment overtook them, they moved from a state of amusement, pleasure and fun to a realm of grief, misery, punishment and hell. Hence Allah says: ﴾those who rejected Shu'ayb became themselves the losers﴿ that is, the only ones who were losers, because on theDay of Resurrection they will lose their religion, their own selves and their families; indeed that is the true loss, not what others said to them: ﴾flf you follow Shu‘ayb, then indeed you will be losers﴿ (7: 90).

When they were destroyed, their Prophet Shu'ayb turned away from them, ﴾saying﴿ by way of rebuke, addressing them after they had died: ﴾0 my people, I did indeed convey to you the messages of my Lord﴿ that is, I brought them to you and explained them so that you got the message in the best way and it could not have been any clearer.

I gave you sincere advice﴿ but you did not accept my advice and you did not follow my instructions; rather you disbelieved and transgressed ﴾but why should I grieve over a disbelieving people?﴿ That is, how can I grieve for people in whom there is nothing good? Goodness came to them and they rejected it and failed to accept it, so they deserve nothing but evil. These people do not deserve to be grieved over; rather one should rejoice at their destruction and eradication. We seek refuge in You, O Allah, from disgrace and shame. What doom and punishment could be worse than reaching the point where the most sincere of people towards them disavow them?

7:94. Whenever We sent a Prophet to a city, We afflicted its people with adversity and distress, so that they might humble themselves.

7:95. Then We changed their suffering into prosperity, until they thrived and began to say: Our fathers also underwent both hardship and ease. Then We seized them suddenly, unawares.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾Whenever We sent a Prophet to a city﴿, to call its people to worship Allah and forbid them to continue with whatever they were following of evil, and they did not submit to him, Allah tested them ﴾with adversity and distress﴿ that is, poverty, sickness and different types of calamity

﴾so that﴿, if that befell them, it might humble them, so they would beseech Allah and submit to the truth.

﴾Then﴿ if that did not succeed, and they continued in their arrogance and increased in their transgression ﴾We changed their suffering into prosperity﴿, so provision was granted abundantly to them, their bodies were healed and they were relieved of distress

﴾until they thrived﴿ that is, they increased in number, their provision increased, and they enjoyed a life of ease because of the blessings and favours of Allah, and they forgot what they had gone through of hardship.

﴾and began to say: Our fathers also underwent both hardship and ease﴿ that is, this is something normal that has been happening since the earliest generations and is still happening among the later generations: sometimes they are in a state of ease and sometimes they are faced with hardships; sometimes there is joy and sometimes there is sorrow, according to the vicissitudes of time. They think that there is no lesson or reminder to pay heed to, and that this is not happening in order to let them get carried away in sin until, when they are rejoicing in what they have been given and this world is the most important thing in their minds, the punishment overtakes them ﴾suddenly﴿ and catches them ﴾unawares﴿. In other words, it never occurs to them that they may be faced with destruction, and they think that they have full control over what Allah has granted to them and that they will never die or move on and leave it behind.

7:96. If only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would indeed have opened up for them blessings from heaven and earth. But they rejected the truth, so We punished them because of what they earned.

7:97. Do the people of the cities feel secure that Our punishment will not come upon them at night whilst they are sleeping?

7:98. Or do the people of the cities feel secure that Our punishment will not come upon them during the day whilst they are engaged in frivolous pursuits?

7:99. Or do they feel secure from the plan of Allah? No one feels secure from the plan of Allah except the people who are losers.

Having stated that those who rejected the Messengers will be tested with hardship by way of admonition and warning, and they will be tested with ease by way of letting them get carried away, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) then tells us that if the people of the cities had believed sincerely in their hearts, had faith that was confirmed by righteous deeds, and they had actually feared Allah both outwardly and inwardly, by giving up that which Allah had prohibited. He would have bestowed upon them the blessings of heaven and earth, and He would have sent rain from the heaven in abundance, and caused to grow for them from the earth that which would sustain them and their livestock and cause them tolive a life of prosperity and plenty, without any exhaustion or tiredness on their part. But they did not believe and they did not fear Him ﴾so We punished them because of what they earned﴿ by sending upon them the penalty and calamity, and by removing blessings, and sending troubles and problems. This was partial recompense for their deeds; otherwise if He were to punish them for all that they had earned. He would not have left a single living being on the face of the earth. ﴾Corruption and disorder have appeared on land and sea^{1This refers to the widespread occurrence of troubles such as drought, fires and floods, poor yield of crops, decline of fish stocks, market stagnation and difficulty in earning a living. That is because of people’s sins, including neglect and abuse of the natural environment.} because of what people’s hands have earned. Thus Allah causes them to taste the consequences of some of what they have done, so that they may turn in repentance.﴿ (ar-Room 30: 41)

﴾Do the people of the cities feel secure﴿ that is, do the people of the disbelieving cities feel secure, as is indicated by the context dthat Our punishment﴿ that is, Our severe punishment ﴾will not come upon them at night whilst they are sleeping?﴿ that is, when they are unaware and resting.

﴾Or do the people of the cities feel secure that Our punishment will not come upon them during the day whilst they are engaged in frivolous pursuits?﴿ that is, what makes them feel secure from that, when they have done that which may lead to punishment, and they have committed grave sins, some of which are enough to cause their doom?

﴾Or do they feel secure from the plan of Allah?﴿ As He may let them get carried away in order to seize them; He will give them respite, for His stratagem is sure (cf. 7:183).

﴾No one feels secure from the plan of Allah except the people who are losers﴿. For if anyone feels secure from the punishment ofAllah, then in reality he does not believe in requital for deeds and he does not believe in the Messengers in any true sense.

This verse is intended to instil a great deal of fear, so that the individual should never feel safe (from divine punishment) in spite of what he has of faith in his heart. Rather he should always be worried and anxious lest he go through trials that deprive him of what he has of faith, and he should always call upon Allah, saying: “O Controller of the hearts, make my heart adhere firmly to Your religion”, and he should strive hard to take all measures that could protect him from evil and at times of turmoil. No matter what his level of faith is, the individual should never feel secure and certain of spiritual well-being.

7:100. Is it not clear to those who inherit the earth in succession to its former inhabitants that, if We so willed, We could punish them too for their sins? But We seal up their hearts so that they cannot hear.

7:101. These are the cities, some of the stories of which We have told to you. Their Messengers indeed came to them with clear signs, but they would not believe what they had rejected before. Thus does Allah seal the hearts of the disbelievers.

7:102. And most of them We found not true to their covenant; rather We found most of them are indeed rebellious.

Here Allah draws our attention to current nations after the destruction of those nations that have passed away.

﴾Is it not clear to those who inherit the earth in succession to its former inhabitants that, if We so willed, We could punish them too for their sins?﴿ That is, is it not clear to those nations who have inherited the earth after the destruction of those who came before them for their sins, then they did the same deeds as those who were doomed?

Or do they not realise that if Allah so willed, He could punish them for their sins? For this is His way with the earlier and later generations.

﴾s(But We seal up their hearts so that they cannot hear﴿ that is, if Allah alerts them and they do not respond, and if He reminds them and they pay no heed, and if He shows them signs and they are not guided, then Allah will punish them and place a seal on their hearts, so that they will be covered with dirt and impurities until they are sealed. Then no truth or goodness can reach them and they cannot hear that which benefits them; rather they hear that which establishes proof against them.

﴾These are the cities﴿ that are mentioned above ﴾some of the stories of which We have told to you﴿, about what happened to them, as a lesson for those who reflect, a warning for those who do wrong and an exhortation for those who fear Allah.

﴾Their Messengers indeed came to them with clear signs﴿ that is, their Messengers came to these disbelievers and called them to that which could lead to their happiness, and Allah supported them with miracles and clear signs to explain the truth completely, but they did not benefit from that, and it did not avail them anything.

﴾but they would not believe what they had rejected before﴿ that is, because of their disbelief and their initial rejection of the truth, Allah would not guide them to faith, as a recompense for their rejection of the truth, as He says elsewhere:f(We will turn their hearts and eyes away [from the truth], since they refused to believe in it the first time, and We will leave them to wander blindly in their misguidance.﴿ (al-An'am 6: 110)

﴾Thus does Allah seal the hearts of the disbelievers﴿, as a punishment. And Allah does not wrong them; rather they wrong their own selves.

﴾And most of them We found not true to their covenant﴿ that is, We did not find most of the nations to whom Allah sent the Messengers to be true to the covenant; in other words, they did not adhere to it and they were not bound by the instructions that Allah enjoined upon all people, and they did not comply with the commands that He sent to them on the lips of His Messengers.

﴾rather We found most of them are indeed rebellious﴿ that is, disobedient towards Allah and following their whims and desires without any guidance from Allah. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tested His slaves by sending the Messengers and sending down the Books, and He commanded them to follow His covenant and guidance, but no one obeyed His command except a few, those who He had already decreed would be blessed.

Most people, however, turned away from guidance and were too arrogant to follow that which the Messengers brought. Hence Allah sent upon them various punishments.

Jt f T

^ (J? j-*

7:103. Then after them We sent Moosa with Our signs to Pharaoh and his chiefs, but they wrongfully rejected them. So see what was the fate of those who spread mischief.

7:104. Moosa said: O Pharaoh, verily I am a Messenger from the Lord of the worlds,

7:105. duty-bound to say nothing about Allah except the truth. I have come to you with a clear sign from your Lord, so let the Children of Israel go with me.

7:106. Pharaoh said: If you have indeed come with a clear sign, then show it to us, if you are telling the truth.

7:107. So Moosa threw down his staff, and suddenly it was a serpent, plain for all to see.

Then, after those Messengers, We sent Moosa al-Kaleem (the one to whom Allah spoke directly), the great leader and noble Messenger, to a people who were harsh and arrogant tyrants, namely Pharaoh and his chiefs from among their nobles and prominent figures. He showed them mighty signs of Allah, the like of which had never been seen, ﴾but they wrongfully rejected them﴿ and disbelieved; the one who disbelieves in such a sign is a wrongdoer, and in fact they arrogantly rejected those signs.

﴾So see what was the fate of those who spread mischief﴿, how Allah destroyed them.

﴾They were overtaken by a curse in this world, and [they will be cursed] on the Day of Resurrection; how wretched is the gift to be given!p (Hood 11: 99)

This is a brief outline; then Allah explains further:

﴾Moosa said﴿ when he came to Pharaoh to call him to faith

Pharaoh, verily I am a Messenger from the Lord of the worlds﴿ that is, I am a Messenger sent by One Who is great; He is the Lord of the worlds, which includes both the upper and lower realms. He is in charge of His creation of all types, and He is taking care of them, which means that He does not leave them without guidance; rather He sends to them Messengers as bringers of glad tidings and as warners. He is the One Whom no one may challenge or claim to be sent by Him when that is not the case.

If this is how He is, and He has chosen me and selected me to convey His message, then it is incumbent upon me not to lie about Him or to say anything about Him except the truth, for if I were to say anything other than that, then He would hasten the punishment for me and seize me with all His might and power.

This should have made them follow Moosa and submit to him, especially as he brought to them a clear sign from Allah to prove the soundness of the message of truth that he brought, that they should have complied with the goals of his message, the two main goals of which were that they should believe in him and follow him, and release the Children of Israel, the people whom Allah had favoured above all others (at that time), the children of the Prophets and the descendants of Ya‘qoob (عليه السلام), of whom Moosa was one.

But Pharaoh said to him: ﴾If you have indeed come with a clear sign, then show it to us, if you are telling the truth. So Moosa threw down his staff﴿ onto the ground ﴾and suddenly it was a serpent, plain for all to see﴿ that is, a moving snake, as they were looking on.

7:108. And he drew forth his hand, and it appeared shining white to all beholders.

7:109. The chiefs among Pharaoh’s people said: Verily this is a learned magician!

7:110. He wants to drive you out of your land. [Pharaoh said:] What do you advise then?

7:111. They said: Let him and his brother wait a while, and send heralds to the cities to gather

7:112. and bring to you all the learned magicians.

﴾And he drew forth his hand﴿ from his collar ﴾and it appeared shining white to all beholders﴿, although unharmed. These were two great signs that highlighted the truth of the message that Moosa brought, and proved that he was the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds. But those who do not believe, even if all signs come to them, they will not believe until they see the painful punishment.

Hence ﴾The chiefs among Pharaoh’s people﴿, when they were astounded by what they saw of signs, but they did not believe and they tried to find some wrong interpretation for them,

﴾said: Verily this is a learned magician!﴿ That is, one who is skilled in magic.

Then they tried to scare the weak in mind and foolish by saying: ﴾He﴿ namely Moosa, by doing this, ﴾wants to drive you out of your land﴿ that is, he wants to banish you from your homeland ﴾[Pharaoh said:] What do you advise then?﴿ The magicians consulted one another as to what they should do with Moosa and how they should ward off his harm, as they saw it, because if what he brought was not confronted with something to refute and defeat it, most people would be convinced by it. So they decided to say to Pharaoh:﴾Let him and his brother wait a while﴿ that is, detain them and gave them respite, and send people to the cities to gather your subjects; let them bring every learned magician. In other words, let them bring the skilled magicians to confront what Moosa has brought. They said: Fix a time between us and you which neither we nor you will fail to keep, at a mutually agreeable place.

﴾Moosa said: Your appointment will be on the day of the festival; let the people assemble in the forenoon. So Pharaoh withdrew and gathered his resources, then he came [for the appointment],b (Ta Ha

7:113. The magicians came to Pharaoh and said: Will we have a reward if we are the victors?

7:114. He said: Yes, and you will surely be among those who are close to me.

7:115. They said: O Moosa, either you throw first or we will be the first to throw!

7:116. Moosa said: You throw first. So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people and stuck fear into them, producing powerful magic.

7:117. We inspired Moosa: Throw your staff, and thereupon it swallowed up all their deceptions.

7:118. Thus the truth was established, and all they did was proven to be false.

7:119. Thus they were defeated there and then, and were utterly humiliated.

﴾The magicians came to Pharaoh﴿ seeking from him a reward if they were victorious. They said: ﴾)Will we have a reward if we are the victors?﴿

﴾He﴿ namely Pharaoh, ﴾said: Yes﴿ you will have a reward ﴾and you will surely be among those who are close to me﴿. He promised them the reward and that they would be close to him and held in high esteem by him, so that they would try hard and do their utmost to defeat Moosa. When they met with Moosa, in the presence of a great crowd, ﴾They said﴿ by way of showing confidence and giving the impression that they were not worried about what Moosa had brought:

Moosa, either you throw first﴿ whatever you have with you, ﴾or we will be the first to throw﴿.

﴾Moosa said: You throw first﴿ so that the people would see what they had with them, and what Moosa had with him.

﴾So when they threw﴿ their ropes and sticks, which by their magic became like moving snakes, ﴾they bewitched the eyes of the people and stuck fear into them, producing powerful magic﴿ such as had never been produced before.

﴾We inspired Moosa: Throw your staff﴿ and he threw it, tfand thereupon it﴿ turned into a moving snake, which ﴾swallowed up all their deceptions﴿ that is, their fabrications and illusions.

﴾Thus the truth was established﴿ and became clear and visible before that gathering﴾and all they did was proven to be false. Thus they were defeated there and then﴿ in that place

﴾and were utterly humiliated﴿ that is, defeated; their falsehood had vanished and their magic was diminished, and they did not attain the goal they thought they could reach.

The people for whom truth becomes clearest are the people of magic who know all types of magic and the details thereof, which other people do not know. Hence they realised that this was a great sign, one of the signs of Allah that no human could produce.

7:120. The magicians fell down in prostration

7:121. and said: We believe in the Lord of the worlds,

7:122. The Lord of Moosa and Haroon.

That is, we believe in the clear signs with which Moosa was sent.

7:123. Pharaoh said: How dare you believe in Him before I give you permission! Surely this is a plot that you hatched in this city in order to drive out its people. But you will soon know the consequences.

7:124. I will certainly cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, then I will certainly crucify you all.

﴾Pharaoh said﴿ to them, threatening them for believing ﴾How dare you believe in Him before I give you permission!﴿ The evil one was a tyrannical ruler who wanted to control people’s actions and words; it was well established in his view and theirs that he was to be obeyed and his instructions were to be carried out; no one could go against his word or his rule.

When people reach that degree of obedience, nations begin to decline; they lose their reason and they lose power, and become unable to defend their rights. Hence Allah says elsewhere concerning Pharaoh:

﴾Thus he made fools of his people and they obeyed him...﴿(az-Zukhruf 43: 54)

And Allah tells us here that he said: ﴾How dare you believe in Him before I give you permission!﴿ That is, this is bad manners on your part and is a challenge to me. Then he tried to deceive his people and said: ﴾Surely this is a plot that you hatched in this city in order to drive out its people﴿ that is, Moosa, who is your leader, is the one who taught you magic, so you hatched a plot together, you and him, that you would be defeated by him and he would prevail, so you would follow him, then the people, or the majority of them, would follow you and thus you would drive the people out of the city.

But this was a lie. He and anyone who understood the situation was well aware that Moosa had never met any one of them; they were summoned and selected by Pharaoh and his envoys; what Moosa brought was a sign from Allah; and the magicians did their utmost to defeat Moosa, but they failed. Thus the truth became clear to them, and they followed it.

Then Pharaoh threatened them by saying: ﴾But you will soon know the consequences﴿ and what will happen to you by way of punishment.

﴾I will certainly cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides﴿. The evil one claimed that they were spreading mischief in the land, so he was going to do to them what is usually done to those who spread mischief, which is cutting off hands and feet on opposite sides, that is, the right hand and the left foot.

﴾then I will certainly crucify you﴿ on the trunks of palm trees so as to disgrace you - according to his claim

﴾all﴿ that is, I will not do this to some of you and not others; rather all of you will taste this punishment.

7:125. They said: It is to our Lord that we will surely return.

7:126. The only grievance you have against us is that we believed in the signs of our Lord when they came to us. Our Lord, grant us abundance of patience and cause us to die as Muslims, submitting to You.

The magicians who believed said to Pharaoh, when he threatened them: ﴾It is to our Lord that we will surely return﴿ that is, we do not care about your punishment, for Allah is better and more lasting, so do whatever you want.

﴾The only grievance you have against us﴿ that is, what fault do you find in us, for which you are denouncing and warning us? We have done no wrong, except ﴾that we believed in the signs of ourLord when they came to us﴿. If this is a fault for which we are to be rebuked and deserve punishment, then so be it.

Then they called upon Allah, asking Him to make them steadfast and patient, as they said: ﴾Our Lord, grant us﴿ that is, bestow upon us ﴾abundance of patience﴿ that is, great patience, as is indicated by use of the indefinite form in the original Arabic. This was a great trial that would lead to loss of life, for which a great deal of patience is required to remain steadfast and confident in faith, and to dispel panic. ﴾fand cause us to die as Muslims, submitting to You﴿ that is, complying with Your command and following Your Messenger. It seems that he carried out his threat to them, and Allah made them steadfast in faith.

7:127. The chiefs among Pharaoh’s people said: Are you going to let Moosa and his people spread mischief in the land, and abandon you and your gods? He said: We will slaughter their sons and spare their women, for we have absolute power over them!

7:128. Moosa said to his people: Seek help from Allah and be patient and steadfast, for verily the land belongs to Allah and He grants it as an inheritance to whomever He will among His slaves; and the best outcome is for those who fear Allah.

7:129. They said: We were oppressed both before you came to us and since you came to us. He said: It may well be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, so that He may see how you will do.

Moreover, Pharaoh and his chiefs, and the common folk who followed the chiefs, were too arrogant to accept the signs of Allah and rejected them by way of transgression and arrogance. They said to Pharaoh, inciting him to punish Moosa, and claiming that what he brought was false and corrupt:

﴾Are you going to let Moosa and his people spread mischief in the land﴿ by calling people to Allah and to noble characteristics and good deeds, which was spreading righteousness in the land, at the time when what they were following was mischief and corruption, but the wrongdoers do not care what they say.

﴾fand abandon you and your gods﴿ that is, he is forsaking you and your gods, forbidding people to follow you and barring people from doing so.

﴾He﴿ namely Pharaoh ﴾said﴿ in response to them that he would leave the Children of Israel with Moosa in such a state that they could not grow in numbers, thus Pharaoh and his people would be safer - or so he claimed - from their harm:

﴾)We will slaughter their sons and spare their women﴿ that is, we will let the women live and not kill them, and if we do that we will be safe from their increasing in numbers, and we will be able to use those who are still alive and force them to do whatever we want, tf for we have absolute power over them﴿ and they have no way and no means to escape our rule over them. This was the utmost tyranny, arrogance and hardheartedness on the part of Pharaoh.

﴾Moosa said to his people﴿, advising them in this situation - in which they were unable to do anything or offer any resistance - to seek divine help and aid:﴾Seek help from Allah﴿ that is, rely on Him to bring that which will benefit you and ward off that which will harm you; put your trust in Allah and have faith that He will help you to reach your goals ﴾and be patient and steadfast﴿ that is, adhere to patience in bearing that which has befallen you, and wait for relief.

﴾for verily the land belongs to Allah﴿ and not to Pharaoh or his people, such that they can control it as they want ﴾and He grants it as an inheritance to whomever He will among His slaves﴿ that is, He alternates it among people according to His will and wisdom, but the best outcome is for the pious, for even if they are tested for a while, by Allah’s wisdom, victory will ultimately be theirs ﴾and the best outcome is for those who fear Allah﴿.

This is what the individual should do: when he is able to take measures towards warding off the harm of others, he should do as much as he can; but if he is not able to do so, then he must be patient, seek the help of Allah and wait for relief.

﴾They said﴿ to Moosa, complaining about the persecution and harm they had endured at the hands of Pharaoh ﴾We were oppressed both before you came to us﴿, for they subjected us to grievous torment, slaughtering our sons and letting our womenfolk live, ﴾and since you came to us﴿ it has continued in like manner.

Moosa said to them, giving them hope of relief and deliverance from their calamity: e﴾lt may well be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land﴿ that is, give you power therein and put you in control of it

﴾so that He may see how you will do﴿ - will you be grateful or ungrateful? This is a promise that Allah fulfilled when the time came as He willed.

7:130. Verily We afflicted the people of Pharaoh with years of drought and scarcity of crops, so that they might pay heed.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) explains how He dealt with the people of Pharaoh during this final period; it was in accordance with His usual way of dealing with the nations: by afflicting its people with adversity and distress, so that they might humble themselves, and so on (see 7. 94 and onwards).

﴾Verily We afflicted the people of Pharaoh with years of drought﴿ that is, drought and famine

﴾and scarcity of crops, so that they might pay heed﴿ that is, so that they might understand that what has befallen them is a rebuke from Allah, so that they might give up their disbelief. But that was to no avail; rather they persisted in wrongdoing and mischief.

7:131. Whenever good fortune came their way, they said: This is our due. But when bad fortune befell them, they ascribed it to the evil auspices of Moosa and those who were with him. Surely, whatever befalls them has been decreed only by Allah, but most of them do not understand.

7:132. They said: Whatever signs you bring us, to bewitch us therewith, we will never believe in you.

7:133. So We sent against them floods, locusts, lice, frogs and blood, distinct signs, but they showed arrogance and were wicked people.

7:134. When the punishment befell them, they said: O Moosa, call upon your Lord for us, on the strength of the covenant He has made with you; if you remove the punishment from us, we will surely believe in you and we will let the Children of Israel go with you.

7:135. But when We removed the punishment from them until an appointed term which they were bound to reach, they immediately broke their promise.

﴾Whenever good fortune﴿ that is, fertility and abundance of provision

﴾came their way, they said: This is our due﴿ that is, we deserve it, but they did not give thanks to Allah for it

﴾But when bad fortune﴿ that is, famine and drought

﴾befell them, they ascribed it to the evil auspices of Moosa and those who were with him﴿ that is, they said: This has only happened to us because of Moosa’s coming and because of the Children of Israel following him.

But Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said: ﴾Surely, whatever befalls them has been decreed only by Allah﴿ that is, by His will and decree. It is not as they said; rather it is their sins and disbelief that are the cause of that. ﴾but most of them do not understand﴿, hence they said what they said.

tfThey said﴿, explaining to Moosa that they would persist in their falsehood and never give it up

﴾Whatever signs you bring us, to bewitch us therewith, we will never believe in you﴿ that is, it is established in our minds that you are a magician, so whatever sign you bring, we are certain that it is magic, therefore we do not believe in you and we do not believe what you say. This was the utmost stubbornness, when the disbelievers reached such a point that whatever happened was all the same to them, regardless of whether signs came down to them or not.

﴾So We sent against them floods﴿ that is, huge volumes of water that swamped their trees and crops, and caused them a great deal of harm

﴾flocusts﴿ that ate their fruits, crops and plants

﴾lice﴿ it was suggested that these were small locusts, but the apparent meaning is that they were ordinary lice

﴾ffrogs﴿ that filled their vessels and caused them annoyance and a great deal of harm dand blood﴿ this was either nosebleeds or, as many of the commentators said, the water that they drank turned into blood, so they had nothing to drink except blood and nothing to cook with except blood, ﴾distinct signs﴿ that is, evidence and proof that they were lying and doing wrong, and that what Moosa had brought was the truth, ﴾but they showed arrogance﴿ when they saw the signs ﴾fand were﴿ and had been, before they saw the signs, ﴾wicked people﴿. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) punished them by causing them to remain misguided and astray.

﴾When the punishment befell them﴿ - it may be that what is meant by the punishment is the plague, as many of the commentatorssuggested, or it may be that what is meant is the signs mentioned above, namely the flood, locusts, lice, frogs and blood, which came as punishments. Every time one of them befell the people, dthey said: O Moosa, call upon your Lord for us, on the strength of the covenant He has made with you ji that is, they sought the intercession of Moosa on the strength of the covenant that Allah had made with him ﴾if you remove the punishment from us, we will surely believe in you and we will let the Children of Israel go with you﴿ but they were lying when they said that, because their only intention was to get relief from the punishment that had befallen them; they thought that if it was lifted, no other punishment would befall them.

﴾But when We removed the punishment from them until an appointed term which they were bound to reach p that is, until a time until which Allah had decreed that they should remain. It was not permanent relief; rather it was only temporary ﴾they immediately broke their promise﴿ that they had made to Moosa, when they pledged to believe in him and let the Children of Israel go. So they did not believe in him and they did not let the Children of Israel go with him; rather they persisted in their disbelief, wandering blindly, and they persisted in persecuting the Children of Israel.

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7:136. So We exacted retribution upon them: We drowned them in the sea, because they rejected Our signs and paid them no heed.

7:137. And We caused the people who had been oppressed to inherit the eastern and western parts of the land that We had blessed. The good word of your Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel because of their patience and steadfastness, and We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people had wrought, and what they had built.

﴾So We exacted retribution upon them﴿ that is, when the time came for their destruction, Allah instructed Moosa to take the Children of Israel and leave by night, and He informed him that Pharaoh and his troops would pursue them.

﴾So Pharaoh sent heralds to the cities [to mobilize troops].)﴿ (ash-

- to rally the people to pursue the Israelites. They said to them:

These are but a small band, and they have enraged us, but we are all well-prepared. Thus did We cause them to leave their gardens and springs, and their treasures and fine dwellings. And so it was; and We caused the Children of Israel to inherit such things. Then [the Egyptians] caught up with them at sunrise. When the two groups came within sight of one another, the companions of Moosa said: We are sure to be overtaken. Moosa said: No indeed! Verily, my Lord is with me and He will guide me. Then We inspired Moosa: Strike the sea with your staff. So it parted, and every part became like a huge mountain.^{1The waters parted, opening up twelve dry passages by which the Israelites could cross, and where the parting waters gathered, in each part the water was drawn up and became like a huge mountain.} We brought the other group closer to that place. We saved Moosa and all those who were with him, then We drowned the

Here (7: 136) Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾We drowned them in the sea, because they rejected Our signs and paid them no heed﴿ that is.because of their rejection of the signs of Allah and their turning away from the truth to which they pointed.

﴾)And We caused the people who had been oppressed﴿ in the land, namely the Children of Israel who had been servants to the people of Pharaoh, who had subjected them to grievous torment. Allah caused them ﴾to inherit the eastern and western parts of the land﴿. What is meant by the land here is the land of Egypt in which they had been oppressed and humiliated. Allah give them power over all of it ﴾that We had blessed. The good word of your Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel because of their patience and steadfastness﴿ when Moosa said to them: ﴾Seek help from Allah and be patient and steadfast, for verily the land belongs to Allah and He grants it as an inheritance to whomever He will among His slaves; and the best outcome is for those who fear Allah﴿ (7:128).

﴾and We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people had wrought﴿ of huge buildings and beautiful dwellings f-fand what they had built﴿. ﴾Now their houses lie desolate, because of their wrongdoing. Verily, in that is a sign for people who have knowledge.﴿ (an-Naml 27: 52)

7:138. We brought the Children of Israel across the sea, then they came upon a people who were devoted to some idols of theirs. They said: O Moosa, make for us a god like the gods they have. He said: Verily you are ignorant people.

7:139. The way these people follow is bound to lead to destruction, and what they do is in vain.

7:140. He said: Shall I seek for you a god other than Allah, when He has favoured you above all other nations?

﴾We brought the Children of Israel across the sea﴿ after Allah had saved them from their enemy. Pharaoh and his people, and He destroyed them whilst the Children of Israel were looking on.

﴾then they came upon﴿ that is, passed by ﴾a people who were devoted to some idols of theirs﴿ that is, they stayed near them, seeking blessing from them and worshipping them. ﴾They said﴿ in their ignorance and folly, to their Prophet Moosa, after Allah had shown them His signs: ﴾O Moosa, make for us a god like the gods they have﴿ that is, prescribe for us to take idols as gods, as these people have done f(He﴿ that is, Moosa (عليه السلام) ﴾said: Verily you are ignorant people﴿. What ignorance could be greater than the ignorance of one who is ignorant of his Lord and Creator, and wants to make others equal with Him that do not possess any power to bring benefit or cause harm, or to cause death or bring life or bring about resurrection?

Hence Moosa said to them: ﴾The way these people follow is bound to lead to destruction, and what they do is in vain﴿ because their calling upon them (their false gods) was in vain, and they are false in and of themselves. So the deed was in vain and the aim was in vain.

t-﴾He said: Shall I seek for you a god other than Allah?﴿ That is, should I seek for you a god other than Allah, the only One Who is rightfully worshipped, perfect in His essence, His attributes and His actions?

﴾when He has favoured you above all other nations﴿, for this requires you to respond to His blessing and favouring of you with gratitude, which means worshipping Him alone and disbelieving in all those other than Him who are called upon.

7:141. And [remember] when We delivered you from the people of Pharaoh, who were subjecting you to grievous torment, slaughtering your sons and letting your womenfolk live; in that was a great trial from your Lord.

Then Allah reminds them of the blessings that He bestowed upon them:

﴾And [remember] when We delivered you from the people of Pharaoh﴿ that is, from Pharaoh and his people ﴾who were subjecting you to grievous torment﴿ that is, they were subjecting you to the worst torment, which was that they were ﴾slaughtering your sons and letting your womenfolk live; in that﴿ that is, in deliverance from their torment ﴾was a great trial from your Lord﴿ - the word bald ’, translated here as ﴾trial﴿, may also mean blessing, hence what is meant here is a great blessing from your Lord. Or it may be that what is meant is a great trial, namely the torment to which Pharaoh and his people subjected them. When Moosa reminded and admonished them, they stopped their outrageous request.

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7:142. We appointed for Moosa thirty nights, and completed [the period] with ten [more]; thus the term of forty nights set by His Lord was completed. Moosa said to his brother Haroon: Take my place amongst my people in my absence, do what is right, and do not follow the way of those who spread mischief.

7:143. When Moosa came at the time appointed by Us, and his Lord spoke to him, he said: O my Lord, show Yourself to me, so that I may look upon You. Allah said: You cannot see Me. But look at the mountain; if it remains firm in its place, then you will see Me. But when his Lord appeared to the mountain. He caused it to crumble, and Moosa fell down unconscious. When he recovered, he said: Glory be to You! I repent to You and I am the first to believe.

7:144. Allah said: O Moosa, I have chosen you above others, by giving you My messages and speaking to you. Hold fast to what I have given you, and be among those who are grateful.

7:145. And We inscribed for him in the Tablets all manner of admonition and an explanation of all things. [We said:] Hold fast to them and enjoin your people to follow the best thereof, and I will show you the fate of the evildoers.

7:146. I will turn away from My signs those who behave arrogantly on earth without justification. Even if they see all the signs, they will not believe in them; if they see the path of guidance, they will not follow it, but if they see the path of error, they will take it as their way, for they have rejected Our signs and paid them no heed.

7:147. As for those who reject Our signs and disbelieve in the meeting of the hereafter, their deeds will come to nothing. Should they be requited for anything other than what they used to do?

When Allah completed His blessing upon them by delivering them from their enemy and establishing them in the land, He wanted to perfect His blessings upon them by sending down the Book containing religious rulings and sound beliefs. So He set an appointed time for Moosa of thirty nights, and completed it by adding ten, so the total number was forty nights. That was so that Moosa might prepare himself and get ready for this appointment with Allah, and so that when the Book came down, it would have a great impact on them and they would be longing for it to come down.

When Moosa went to the place appointed by his Lord, at the time appointed, he said to Haroon, leaving him in charge of the Israelites because of his concern and kindness towards them:

﴾Take my place amongst my people in my absence﴿ that is, be my deputy among them and deal with them as I have been dealing with them

﴾do what is right﴿ that is, follow the path that maintains order and peace

﴾and do not follow the way of those who spread mischief﴿ namely, those who commit sin.

When Moosa came at the time appointed by Us﴿, which was the time appointed for the sending down of the Book ﴾and his Lord spoke to him﴿, with the words of His revelations, commands and prohibitions, Moosa longed to see Allah, a longing that was bom out of love for his Lord and a desire to see Him.

﴾he said: O my Lord, show Yourself to me, so that I may look upon You. Allah said: You cannot see Me﴿ that is, you are not able now to see Me. For Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has created people in this realm in such a way that they cannot do that; they are not able to withstand seeing Allah. But that does not mean that they will not see Him in paradise.

The Qur’anic texts and prophetic hadiths indicate that the people of paradise will see their Lord (سبحانه وتعالى) and will have the joy of gazing upon His noble Countenance, and that He will create them in a perfect form, in which they will be able to see Allah Ofe).

Hence Allah stipulated a condition in this verse connected to seeing Him: that would only happen if the mountain remained in place. He said, explaining to Moosa why He would not answer his request to see Him: ﴾But look at the mountain; if it remains firm in its placed when Allah manifested Himself to it, ﴾then you will see Me﴿.

﴾But when his Lord appeared to the mountain﴿ which was solid rock ﴾He caused it to crumbled that is, it collapsed like dust, unable to bear seeing Allah and unable to stand firm

﴾and Moosa fell down unconscious﴿ when he saw what he saw.

Thus it became clear to him that if the mountain could not withstand seeing Allah, then he would be even less able to withstand it, so he asked his Lord to forgive him for his request, which had not been appropriate. Hence he said:

﴾Glory be to You﴿ that is, I declare You to be above all shortcomings, and reject anything that is not befitting to Your Majesty,

﴾l repent to You﴿ from all sins and from my poor etiquette towards You,﴾and I am the first to believe﴿ that is, he renewed his faith because Allah perfected his faith for him by making him aware of that which he had not known before. When Allah did not allow him to see Him - after he had longed for that - He bestowed much good upon him, and said:

﴾fO Moosa, I have chosen you above others﴿ that is, I have chosen you, selected you and favoured you, and I have singled you out for great blessings and virtues

﴾fby giving you My messages﴿ which I bestow upon, and single out for, none but the best of people.

﴾and speaking to you﴿ without any intermediary. These are the virtues for which Moosa al-Kaleem (the one to whom Allah spoke directly) was singled out and for which he is known among his fellow Messengers.

﴾Hold fast to what I have given you﴿ of blessings, and take what I have given you of commands and prohibitions with an open heart; accept it and submit to it dand be among those who are grateful﴿ to Allah for His having singled you out and blessed you.

And We inscribed for him in the Tablets all manner of admonition﴿ that people need, encouraging them to do good deeds and warning them against evil deeds

﴾and an explanation of all things﴿ namely rulings, beliefs, morals and etiquette.

﴾Hold fast to them﴿ that is, strive hard to establish them fjand enjoin your people to follow the best thereof)*. These instructions include matters that are both obligatory and encouraged, for they are the best of them. This indicates that the commands of Allah - in all laws - are perfect, just and good.

﴾and I will show you the fate of the evildoers﴿ after Allah destroyed them and left their houses as a lesson to those who came after them, so that the believers who are guided and humble may learn from them.

As for others, Allah says concerning them: ﴾I will turn away from My signs﴿ that is, I will turn away from learning from the signs in the universe and in their own selves, and from understanding the verses of the Book

﴾those who behave arrogantly on earth without justification﴿ that is, those who show arrogance toward the slaves of Allah, towards the truth and towards the one who brought it. Whoever is like this, Allah will deprive him of a great deal of good; He will forsake him and he will not understand from the signs of Allah that which may benefit him. Rather he will be confused about the facts and will see evil as good.

﴾Even if they see all the signs, they will not believe in them﴿ because they turn away from them and object to them, and they oppose Allah and His Messenger

﴾fif they see the path of guidance﴿ that is the path of righteousness, which is the path that leads to Allah and to His paradise ﴾they will not follow itj﴿ and will show no interest in it;

﴾but if they see the path of error﴿ that is, misguidance which leads to hell

﴾they will take it as their way﴿. The reason why they deviate to such an extent is because ﴾they have rejected Our signs and paid them no heed﴿. It is their rejection of the signs of Allah, paying no heed to the message, and their scorning thereof, that cause them to choose the path of error and to forsake the path of guidance.

﴾As for those who reject Our signs﴿ that is, Our great signs that point to the truth of that with which We sent Our Messengers ffand disbelieve in the meeting of the hereafter, their deeds will come to nothing﴿ because they have no basis and they have failed to meet the conditions of acceptance, namely belief in the signs of Allah and in the recompense.

﴾Should they be requited﴿ as a result of the rejection of their deeds and their getting the opposite of what they sought﴾for anything other than what they used to do?﴿ For the deeds of one who does not believe in the Last Day there is no hope of reward, and they have no purpose; therefore they are diminished and rendered invalid.

7:148. In his absence, the people of Moosa took for worship a calf made from their jewellery, an effigy that made a lowing sound. Did they not see that it could not speak to them or guide them in any way? They took it for worship and thus became transgressors.

7:149. When they became remorseful and realised that they had gone astray, they said: If our Lord does not have mercy on us and forgive us, we will surely be among the losers.

﴾ln his absence, the people of Moosa took for worship a calf made from their jewellery, an effigy﴿ that was made by as-Samiri, who threw into it a handful [of dust] from the hoof print of the messenger JibreePs horse (cf. 20: 96) and it ﴾made a lowing sound﴿. They worshipped it and took it as a god.

He (as-Samiri) said:

.. .This is your god, and the god of Moosa, but he has forgotten.﴿

- and he has gone to look for it. This was due to their foolishness and lack of understanding; how could they have confused the Lord of the earth and the heavens with a calf, which is one of the lowest of creatures?

Hence Allah says, explaining that the calf had none of the characteristics or actions that might imply divinity: ﴾Did they not see that it could not speak to them﴿ that is, lack of speech is a major shortcoming; they are better off than this animal or inanimate object that could not speak

﴾or guide them in any way﴿ that is, it cannot show them any religious path or bring them any worldly benefit. It is well established, according to reason and common sense, that taking as a god something that cannot speak or bring any benefit or do any harm is the falsest of falsehoods and the silliest of foolishness. Hence Allah said: ﴾They took it for worship and thus became transgressors﴿, as they directed their worship inappropriately, and they ascribed partners to Allah for which He sent down no authority. This indicates that whoever denies that Allah speaks, has denied one of the divine characteristics of Allah, because Allah stated that not speaking indicates that the one who does not speak is not fit to be regarded as divine.

﴾When﴿ Moosa returned to his people and found them in this state, and he told them that they had been misguided, they regretted it and ﴾became remorseful﴿ that is, they were filled with grief and sorrow for what they had done, and they ﴾realised that they had gone astray﴿. So they turned to Allah, humbly beseeching Him, and ﴾they said: If our Lord does not have mercy on us﴿ and guide us to Himself, enable us to worship Him and help us to do righteous deeds,

﴾and forgive us﴿ for what we did of worshipping the calf,

﴾we will surely be among the losers﴿ who lose out in this world and the hereafter.

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7:150. When Moosa returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said: What an evil thing you have done in my absence! Could you not patiently wait for the promise of your Lord? He threw down the Tablets, seized his brother by his hair and pulled him towards him. Haroon said: O son of my mother, the people overpowered me and almost killed me. Do not give my enemies cause to rejoice in my misfortune or count me among the evildoers.

7:151. Moosa said: O my Lord, forgive me and my brother and admit us to Your mercy, for You are the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.

7:152. As for those who took the calf for worship, wrath from their Lord and disgrace will indeed overtake them in this world; thus do We requite those who invent falsehood.

7:153. As for those who do bad deeds, then repent after that and believe, verily your Lord is thereafter Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

7:154. When Moosa’s anger had subsided, he picked up the Tablets; in their inscription there was guidance and mercy for all those who fear their Lord.

﴾When Moosa returned to his people, angry and grieved﴿ that is, he was filled with anger and rage towards them, because he cared so much for them and was sincere and compassionate towards them﴾he said: What an evil thing you have done in my absence!﴿ That is, what a terrible thing you have done after I left you, for it is something that leads to eternal doom and everlasting misery.

﴾Could you not patiently wait for the promise of your Lord?﴿ For He promised you that He would send down the Book, but you hastened - on the basis of your corrupt argument - to commit this abhorrent deed.

﴾He threw down the Tablets﴿ in anger, ﴾seized his brother﴿ Haroon ﴾by his hair﴿ and beard, ﴾and pulled him towards him﴿. He said to him:

﴾...what prevented you, when you saw that they had gone astray from following me? Did you then disobey my command?﴿ (Td Hd

- when I had told you: ﴾Take my place amongst my people in my absence, do what is right, and do not follow the way of those who spread mischief﴿ (7: 142).

﴾Haroon said: O son of my mother, do not seize me by my beard, or by my head! Verily, I was afraid that you would say: You have caused division among the Children of Israel, and you did not pay heed to

And here Allah tells us that he said: ﴾O son of my mother﴿ - he said this to soften his brother’s heart, by mentioning their mother on her own; in fact they were full brothers, with the same mother and father

﴾the people overpowered me﴿ that is, they scorned me when I said to them:

((...0 my people, you are being tested with it. Verily, your Lord is the Most Gracious, so follow me and obey my command.﴿ (Td Ha 20: 90) ﴾and almost killed me﴿ that is, so do not think that I fell short.﴾Do not give my enemies cause to rejoice in my misfortune﴿ by rebuking me or hurting me, for my enemies are very keen to find any reason to pick on me or to see me make a mistake ﴾for count me among the evildoers﴿ and treat me like them.

Then Moosa (عليه السلام) regretted his hasty actions towards his brother, before finding out his point of view, and thinking that he had fallen short. He said:

﴾0 my Lord, forgive me and my brother﴿ Haroon ﴾fand admit us to Your mercy﴿ that is, encompass us with it on all sides, for it is a strong fortress that protects against all evils, and it is all blessings and good ﴾for You are the Most Merciful of those who show mercy﴿ that is, You are more merciful towards us than any other; You are more merciful towards us than our fathers, our mothers, our children and our own selves.

Allah says explaining the state of the people who worshipped the calf: ﴾As for those who took the calf for worship﴿ that is, they took it as a god,

﴾wrath from their Lord and disgrace will indeed overtake them in this world﴿ as they angered their Lord and took His command lightly.

﴾thus do We requite those who invent falsehood﴿. Every inventor of falsehood against Allah, who tells lies about His religion, attributing words to Him that He did not say, is subject to a share of the divine wrath and humiliation in the life of this world. They incurred the wrath of Allah, when Moosa ordered them to kill (the guilty ones) among them (cf. 2: 54;,^{1This was a punishment for having taken the calf for worship.} and told them that Allah would not accept anything other than that.

So some of them killed others (the guilty ones among them) and that resulted in a large number of slain. Then Allah accepted their repentance after that. Hence He mentions here a general ruling that is applicable to them and others, as He says:

As for those who do bad deeds'﴿ and commit sins both major and minor, ﴾then repent after that﴿ by regretting what they have done, giving it up and resolving not to go back to it

﴾fand believe﴿ in Allah and in what Allah has enjoined them to believe in, for faith is not complete without both belief in the heart and sound intention, and outward actions that stem from faith

﴾verily your Lord is thereafter﴿ that is, after repentance from bad deeds and coming back to acts of obedience

﴾Oft-Forgiving﴿ He forgives bad deeds and erases them, even if they were so many as to fill the earth

﴾Most Merciful﴿, as He accepts repentance, enables one to do good deeds and accepts them.

﴾ When Moosa’s anger had subsided﴿ that is, when he had calmed down and began to think of the situation he was in and to focus on what was most important

﴾he picked up the Tablets﴿ that he had thrown down; these Tablets were of great value and importance

﴾in their inscription﴿ that is, contained in them

﴾there was guidance and mercy﴿ that is, they contained guidance away from error and explanation of truth as distinct from falsehood, good deeds as distinct from evil deeds, guidance to the best of deeds, morals and etiquette, and mercy and blessings for those who acted upon them and understood their rulings and meanings. But not everyone accepts the guidance and mercy of Allah; rather those who accept it and comply with it are those who ﴾fear their Lord﴿.

But as for those who do not fear Allah or the standing before Him, it only increases them in arrogance and aversion, and the proof of Allah is thereby established against them.

7:155. Moosa chose seventy men from among his people to come at the time appointed by Us. Then when the earthquake overtook them, he said: O my Lord, if it had been Your will, You could have destroyed them before, and me too; will You destroy us because of what the foolish among us have done?^{1That action was their taking the calf for worship, or their audacious demand to see Allah with their own eyes. (an-Nisa’4:153)} That was nothing but a trial from You, by which You caused to go astray whomever You willed and You guided whomever You willed. You are our Protector, so forgive us and have mercy on us, for You are the best of those who forgive.

7:156. Ordain good for us in this world and in the hereafter, for we have indeed turned to You in repentance. Allah said: I afflict with My punishment whomever I will, but My mercy encompasses all things; I shall ordain it for those who fear Me, and give zakah, and those who believe in Our revelations.

7:157. those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own [scriptures], in the Torah and the Gospel. He enjoins them to do that which is right and forbidsthem to do that which is wrong; he makes good things lawful to them and bad things unlawful; he relieves them of their burden, and of the shackles that were upon them. So those who believe in him, honour him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him - it is they who will prosper.

When the Children of Israel repented and came back to their senses, ﴾Moosa chose seventy men﴿ from among the best of them, to offer their apology on behalf of their people before their Lord. Allah appointed a time and place for them to attend, but when they attended, they said: O Moosa,

﴾f...Let us see Allah with our own eyes...﴿ (cm-Nisa’4: 153)

Thus they showed great audacity and poor etiquette towards Allah, therefore ﴾the earthquake overtook them﴿ and they fell down and were destroyed.

Moosa (عليه السلام) kept beseeching Allah and praying, saying: ﴾0 my Lord, if it had been Your will. You could have destroyed them before﴿ that is, before they came here to offer an apology on behalf of their people, then they themselves became transgressors.

﴾will You destroy us because of what the foolish﴿ that is, the weak-minded and silly ones ﴾among us have done?﴿ So he beseeched Allah, giving an apology on the basis that those who had made this audacious request of Allah were immature in thinking and lacked the reasoning that could have prevented them from what they had said and done, for they had been subjected to a trial in which there was a risk of losing one’s faith. Hence he said:

﴾That was nothing but a trial from You, by which You caused to go astray whomever You willed and You guided whomever You willed. You are our Protector, so forgive us and have mercy on us, for You are the best of those who forgive﴿ that is, You are the best to forgive and most deserving to show mercy, the most generous of those who give. It is as if Moosa (عليه السلام) was saying: The main aim of all of us.O Lord, is to adhere to obedience and faith in You. Whoever is wise and mature, and guided by You, still adheres to the straight path; as for those who are weak-minded and foolish, and were influenced by the trial, they did what they did. Nevertheless, You are the most merciful of those who show mercy and the best to forgive, so forgive us and have mercy on us.

So Allah answered his request and brought them back to life, and He forgave them their sins. Moosa said at the end of his supplication: ﴾Ordain good for us in this world﴿ namely beneficial knowledge, abundant provision and righteous deeds

﴾fand in the hereafter﴿ also ordain good for us, which is what Allah has prepared for His righteous close friends of reward.

﴾for we have indeed turned to You in repentance﴿ that is, we acknowledge our shortcomings and we turn to You in all our affairs ﴾Allah said: I afflict with My punishment whomever I will﴿ of those who are doomed and follow the path that leads to that ﴾but My mercy encompasses all things﴿ of the upper and lower realms, righteous and evildoer, believer and disbeliever. There is no created being who is not touched by the mercy of Allah or encompassed by His bounty and kindness. But the special mercy that leads to blessing in this world and the hereafter is not for everyone. Hence Allah says concerning it:

﴾I shall ordain it for those who fear Me﴿ and avoid sin, both minor and major.

﴾and give zakah﴿, which is obligatory, to those who are entitled to it ﴾and those who believe in Our revelations﴿. Part of perfect faith and belief in the revelations of Allah is to understand their meanings and act accordingly. That includes following the Prophet (ﷺ) both outwardly and inwardly, in both fundamental and minor issues of religion.

﴾those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet﴿, as distinct from all the other Prophets. The one referred to here is Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib (ﷺ).

The context here has to do with the Children of Israel; believing in the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is a condition of their becoming believers, and those who believe in him and follow him are the people of mercy, which Allah has ordained for them. He is described as unlettered because he was one of the Arabs, the unlettered nation who did not read or write, and before the Qur’an they had no scripture.

﴾whom they find mentioned in their own [scriptures], in the Torah and the Gospel﴿ by name, with a description of his characteristics, the most significant of which is what he promotes and forbids, for he ﴾enjoins them to do that which is right﴿, which is everything that is known to be good, sound and beneficial

﴾and forbids them to do that which is wrong﴿, which is everything that is known to be abhorrent on the basis of rational thinking and common sense. So he enjoins them to pray, give zakah, fast, go on pilgrimage (Hajj), uphold ties of kinship, honour their parents, treat neighbours and slaves kindly, be kind to all creatures, be honest, chaste, righteous and sincere, and so on. And he forbids them to ascribe partners to Allah, kill any soul unlawfully, commit fornication or adultery, drink or consume intoxicants, mistreat any creature, tell lies, commit immoral actions, and so on.

The greatest evidence that proves that he is the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is what he calls people to, what he enjoins and forbids, and what he permits and prohibits, for he ﴾makes good things lawful to them﴿ with regard to food, drink, and sexual matters ﴾and [he makes] bad things unlawful﴿ with regard to food, drink, sexual matters, words and deeds.

﴾he relieves them of their burden, and of the shackles that were upon them﴿ that is, one of his characteristics is that his religion is easy and tolerant; it is not burdensome and there is no hardship in it or any heavy and strict rules and regulations.

﴾So those who believe in him, honour him﴿ that is, they respect and venerate him﴾help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him ﴿, which is the Qur’an; it illuminates the darkness of doubt and ignorance and is to be followed if there are conflicting views.

﴾it is they who will prosper﴿ and will attain good in this world and the hereafter, and be saved from the evil of both realms, because they took the greatest measures that lead to prosperity.

As for those who do not believe in this unlettered Prophet (ﷺ), and do not venerate him or support him, or follow the light that was sent down with him, it is they who will be the losers.

As the preceding verse calls the people of the Torah, the Israelites, to follow the Prophet (ﷺ), and one may think that believing in him was enjoined only upon them, the subsequent verse indicates that following him is enjoined upon everyone:

7:158. Say [O Muhammad]: O people, I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, of Him to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; there is no god but He; He gives life and causes death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, who believes in Allah and in His words, and follow him so that you may be rightly guided.

﴾Say [O Muhammad]: O people, I am the Messenger of Allah to you all﴿ that is, to the Arabs among you and the non-Arabs, to the People of the Book among you, and others.﴾of Him to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earthy - He controls them by means of His universal laws and His religious laws, part of which is that He has sent to you a great Messenger (ﷺ), to call you to Allah and to His paradise, and to warn you against everything that distances you from Him and from His paradise.

﴾there is no god but He﴿ that is, none is rightfully worshipped except Allah alone, with no partner or associate, and the way to worship Him is known only through His Messengers ﴾He gives life and causes death﴿ that is, part of His control of the universe is the giving of life and the causing of death, in which no one has a share with Him. He has made death a bridge and a crossing point to the eternal realm; whoever believes in it has definitely believed in the message of Muhammad (ﷺ).

﴾So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered Prophet﴿, with faith in the heart that requires sound beliefs and physical actions. ﴾who believes in Allah and in His words﴿ that is, they believe in this Messenger (ﷺ) who is sound in his beliefs and actions.

﴾and follow him so that you may be rightly guided﴿ to the best way with regard to both religious and worldly affairs, for if you do not follow him you will go far astray.

7:159. Among the people of Moosa there are some who guide others in the way of truth and establish justice therewith.

7:160. We divided them into twelve tribes, distinct clans, and We inspired Moosa, when his people asked him for water: Strike the rock with your staff. There gushed forth from it twelve springs, and each group knew its own drinking place. We shaded them with clouds and sent down to them manna and quails, [saying]: Eat of the good things We have provided for you. Yet they could do Us no wrong, but they certainly wronged themselves.

﴾Among the people of Moosa there are some who guide others in the way of truth and establish justice therewith﴿ that is, they guide people in the way of truth by teaching it to them, issuing edicts to them and establishing justice among them when judging between them with regard to their affairs. This is like the verse in which Allah says:

﴾We made some of them leaders, guiding people by Our command, because they were patient and steadfast, and they believed with certainty in Our revelations.﴿ (as-Sajdah 32: 24)

This points to the virtue of the nation of Moosa (HO, and tells us that Allah created among them people who were guided and guided others by His command.

It is as if this verse is aimed at avoiding a wrong impression that may arise from the previous verses, in which Allah had mentioned a number of the faults of the Israelites, that were contrary to perfection and guidance. Some may think that this referred to all of them, therefore Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) stated that among them was a group of upright people who were guided and who guided others.

﴾We divided them into twelve tribes, distinct clansj﴿ that is, twelve tribes who were in harmony with one another; the descendants of each of the sons of Ya'qoob formed a tribe.

﴾fand We inspired Moosa, when his people asked him for water﴿ that is, they asked him to pray to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to give them water fromwhich they could drink and from which their flocks could drink, because they - and Allah knows best - were in a place where there was little water.

So Allah inspired Moosa, in response to their request: ﴾Strike the rock with your staff>. It may be that this was a specific rock, or it may be that this is a generic word which refers to any rock. So he struck it, and ﴾There gushed forth from it﴿ that is, there flowed from that rock ﴾twelve springs﴿, flowing on the surface.

﴾fand each group knew its own drinking place﴿ that had been allocated to each of those twelve tribes. Each of them was given a spring, which they knew. Thus they felt reassured and were given a break from pushing, shoving and arguing. This was a perfect blessing from Allah to them.

﴾We shaded them with clouds﴿ that sheltered them from the heat ofthe sun

﴾fand sent down to them manna﴿ which is sweet ﴾and quails﴿ which are a kind of bird; they are one of the best types of birds, with the most delicious meat. So Allah bestowed upon them shade, drink, and good food composed of something sweet and meat, by way of comfort and reassurance.

It was said to them: ﴾Eat of the good things We have provided for you. Yet they could do Us no wrong﴿ when they did not give thanks to Allah or do that which Allah had made obligatory for them ﴾but they certainly wronged themselves﴿ when they caused themselves to miss out on much good and exposed themselves to evil and divine wrath. This was the case throughout their sojourn in the wilderness.

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7:161. And [remember] when it was said to them: Dwell in this town and eat freely from it wherever you may wish, and say: Relieve us [from the burden of our sins], and enter the gate bowing down [with humility]. We will forgive you your sins and increase [the reward] of those who do good.

7:162. But the wrongdoers among them changed the word to something other than what they had been told; so We sent down upon the wrongdoers a plague from heaven, because of their wrongdoing.

﴾And [remember] when it was said to them: Dwell in this town﴿ enter it so that it may become a homeland and place of dwelling for you. That town was Aelia (Jerusalem)

﴾and eat freely from it wherever you may wish﴿. It was a city where there were many trees, abundant fruit and a life of ease and prosperity. Hence Allah instructed them to eat from it wherever they may wish ﴾and say﴿ when you enter the gate: ﴾Relieve us [from the burden of our sins])i that is, forgive us our sins and pardon us.

﴾fand enter the gate bowing down [with humility]﴿ that is, showing humility towards your Lord, submitting to His might and showing gratitude for His blessing. Thus He instructed them to humble themselves and ask for forgiveness, and He promised them in return for that forgiveness of their sins and reward in this world and the hereafter, so He said: ﴾We will forgive you your sins and increase [the reward] of those who do good﴿ in this world and the hereafter.

But they did not comply with this divine command; rather ﴾the wrongdoers among them changed the word﴿ that is, they disobeyed Allah and took His command lightly.﴾changed the word to something other than what they had been told﴿ so - instead of asking for forgiveness and saying hittatun (translated here as ﴾Relieve us [from the burden of our sins])?) - they said habbah fee sha'eerah (a grain of barley). If they changed the word, even though it was easy to say, then they were even more likely to change their actions. Hence they entered the gate shuffling on their rear ends.

﴾so We sent down upon the wrongdoers﴿, when they went against the command of Allah and disobeyed Him

﴾a plague from heaven﴿ that is, a severe punishment, either the plague or some other kind of divine punishment.

Allah did not wrong them by sending His punishment upon them; rather that was ﴾because of their wrongdoing﴿ that is, they failed to obey Allah and chose to disobey Him, without there being anything to compel them or motivate them to do that, except for the evil that was hidden in their hearts.

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7:163. Ask them about the town which was by the sea and how they broke the Sabbath. Their fish would come to them on their Sabbath, appearing on the surface of the water, but when it was not their Sabbath, they did not appear. Thus We tried them, because of their defiant disobedience.

﴾Ask them﴿ that is, ask the Children of Israel ﴾about the town which was by the sea﴿ that is, on the coast, when they transgressed and how Allah punished them.

tfand how they broke the Sabbath﴿. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) had commanded them to venerate and respect the Sabbath and not to fish on that day. Then He tried and tested them. Their fish used to come to them ﴾on their Sabbath, appearing on the surface of the water﴿ that is, appearing in great numbers on the surface of the sea ﴾but when it was not their Sabbath﴿ that is, on other days ﴾they did not appear﴿ that is, the fish disappeared into the sea and the people did not see any of them.

﴾Thus We tried them, because of their defiant disobedience﴿ so it was their defiant disobedience that made it inevitable that Allah would test them, and that they would face this trial. If they had not been defiantly disobedient, Allah would have spared them and would not have exposed them to this trial and evil. So they tried to use tricks to get around this ruling. They would dig ditches for the fish, and set up nets, and on the Sabbath the fish would come and fall into those ditches and nets, but the people would not take the nets on that day, but on Sunday they would take them. This was a common occurrence among them, and the people were divided into three groups with regard to this matter.

7:164. When some of them said: Why are you admonishing people whom Allah will destroy or punish severely? they said: To discharge our duty before your Lord, and in the hope that they may [pay heed and] fear Allah.

7:165. When they ignored the admonishment they had been given, We saved those who forbade evil, and We afflicted the wrongdoers with a dreadful punishment, because of their defiant disobedience.

7:166. When they insolently persisted in doing what they had been forbidden to do, We said to them: Be apes, despised and rejected.

Most of them transgressed in a blatant and audacious manner. Some of them openly tried to stop them and denounced them for that. And (a third group) thought that the objections of the other people were sufficient, and they said to them:

﴾Why are you admonishing people whom Allah will destroy or punish severely?﴿. It is as if they were saying to them: There is no point in admonishing those who have transgressed the sacred limits of Allah and never listened to any sincere adviser, and rather persist in their transgression, for Allah will inevitably requite them, either by destroying them or sending a severe punishment upon them.

But the admonishing group said: We admonish them and tell them not to do that, ﴾To discharge our duty before your Lord﴿, so that we will not be blamed

﴾and in the hope that they may [pay heed and] fear Allah﴿ that is, perhaps they will give up the sin that they are committing. So we will not despair of their being guided; perhaps our admonition may be effective and our censure may have some impact on them.

The main aim behind objecting to and denouncing evil is so as to discharge one’s duty and establish proof against the one to whom it is addressed, in the hope that Allah may guide him, so that he will then comply with what is enjoined or forbidden.

﴾When they ignored the admonishment they had been given﴿ that is, when they failed to do what they were reminded of, and they persisted in their misguidance and transgression,﴾We saved﴿ from the punishment ﴾those who forbade evil﴿. This is the way of Allah in dealing with His slaves: when the punishment comes down, He saves from it those who enjoined what is right and forbade what is wrong.

﴾and We afflicted the wrongdoers﴿ namely those who broke the Sabbath

﴾with a dreadful﴿ that is, severe ﴾punishment, because of their defiant disobedience﴿.

As for the other group, who had said to those who told them not to commit that sin: ﴾Why are you admonishing people whom Allah will destroy or punish severely?﴿ (7: 164), the commentators differed as to whether they were saved or not. It seems that they were among those who were saved, because Allah mentioned doom only for the wrongdoers, and He did not say that these people were wrongdoers.

This indicates that the punishment was only for the Sabbath-breakers. Moreover, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong is a communal duty; if some people undertake it, then it is waived for the others. So they were content with the actions of the others (who did speak out against them), and they also (implicitly) denounced them by saying: ﴾Why are you admonishing people whom Allah will destroy or punish severely?﴿. Thus they expressed their disapproval of them, which implies that they hated them because of their deeds, and believed that Allah would punish them severely.

﴾When they insolently persisted in doing what they had been forbidden to do)﴿ that is, they grew hard-hearted and did not pay heed or learn a lesson f)We said to them﴿ by way of decree

﴾Be apes, despised and rejected﴿, so they turned into apes, by Allah’s leave, and Allah cast them far away from His mercy. Then He tells us how those who were left were humiliated and brought low:

7:167. And [remember] when your Lord declared that He would certainly send against them, until the Day of Resurrection, people who would subject them to grievous torment. Your Lord is indeed swift in punishment, but He is also Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

7:168. So We scattered them in communities throughout the earth. Among them are some who are righteous and some who are otherwise. And We tested them with both prosperity and adversity, so that they might turn in repentance.

7:169. Then they were succeeded by an evil generation who inherited the scripture, but they seized the fleeting gains of this world, saying: We will be forgiven. Yet if similar fleeting gains came their way again, they would again seize them. Are they not bound by the covenant mentioned in the scripture, that they would not say of Allah anything but the truth? And they have studied its contents well. But the life of the hereafter is better for those who fear Allah. Will you not then understand?

7:170. As for those who hold fast to the scripture and establish prayer. We will not cause the reward of those who do righteous deeds to be lost.

﴾And [remember] when your Lord declared﴿ that is, announced and proclaimed

﴾that He would certainly send against them, until the Day of Resurrection, people who would subject them to grievous torment﴿ that is, humiliate them and bring them low.

4Your Lord is indeed swift in punishment﴿ for the one who disobeys Him, so that He hastens the punishment for him in this world ﴾but He is also Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ to the one who repents to Him and turns to Him; He forgives him his sins and conceals his faults, and He shows mercy to him by accepting his acts of worship and rewarding him for them in various ways. Allah did to them what He threatened them with; they are still humiliated and subjected to the rule of others, and they will never rise or be victorious.

﴾So We scattered them in communities throughout the earth﴿ that is, divided and dispersed throughout the earth, after they had been together.

﴾Among them are some who are righteous﴿, carrying out their duties towards Allah and towards His slaves ﴾and some who are otherwise﴿ that is, not righteous, either because they are half-hearted or they are wrongdoers.

﴾And We tested them﴿ as is Our way ﴾with both prosperity and adversity﴿ that is, hardship and ease ﴾so that they might turn in repentance﴿ and give up their bad ways, and adhere to the guidance for which they were created. But they continued in this manner, some of them righteous, some evil, and some in between, until there came a generation whose evil increased and they ﴾inherited the scripture﴿ after them. They became the reference point for people with regard to the scripture, but they started to interpret it according to their whims and desires. Money was given to them to issue unlawful rulings, and bribery became widespread among them.

﴾but they seized the fleeting gains of this world, saying﴿ and admitting that it was a sin and that they were wrongdoers:

﴾We will be forgiven﴿. These words meant nothing, because they were not seeking forgiveness in any true sense. If that had been the case, they would have regretted what they were doing and they would have resolved not to go back to it, but - if any other fleeting gain or bribe came their way - they would seize it.

They sold the revelations of Allah for a small price (9: 9) and exchanged that which is better for that which is inferior (2: 61).

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said, denouncing them and highlighting their audacity: ﴾Are they not bound by the covenant mentioned in the scripture, that they would not say of Allah anything but the truth?﴿ Why do they say about Allah something that is not true, following their whims and desires?

﴾And﴿ in fact ﴾they have studied its contents well﴿, so they have no problem in understanding it. But they did what they did deliberately, aware of what they were doing, and this is a greater sin and more blameworthy, and deserves a more severe punishment. This was due to their lack of reasoning and foolishness, because they preferred the life of this world to the hereafter. Hence Allah says: ﴾But the life of the hereafter is better for those who fear Allah﴿and avoid that which Allah has prohibited to them, of meals to which they are invited and they eat by way of a bribe for issuing a ruling contrary to that which Allah revealed, and other types of prohibited things.

﴾ Will you not then understand?﴿ That is, do you not have reason with which to know what should be your first priority and what should be secondary to that, or what you should give precedence to and what should be of lesser concern, because one of the main benefits of reason is to understand consequences. As for the one who looks at what is immediate, insignificant and temporary at the expense of missing out on great and lasting blessings, how could such a one be rational and wise?

Those who are truly rational and wise are those whom Allah describes as ﴾those who hold fast to the scripture and establish prayer﴿. That is, they adhere to it in terms of knowledge and practice; they know what it contains of rulings and stories, knowledge of which is the noblest of knowledge.

They also know what it contains of commands which lead to joy and happiness, and well-being in this world and the hereafter.

One of the most important commands which must be adhered to is establishing prayer, both outwardly and inwardly. Hence Allah singles it out for mention, because of its virtue, and because it is the measure of faith and establishing it leads to establishing other acts of worship.

As their deeds are all righteous, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾We will not cause the reward of those who do righteous deeds to be lost﴿ that is, their words and deeds, and their efforts to adhere to righteousness themselves and call others to do likewise.

This and similar verses indicate that Allah sent His Messengers to establish righteousness and well-being, not to spread mischief, and to promote benefit and not harm. They were sent to promote well-being in this world and the hereafter, so the more righteous a person is, the closer he is to following them.

7:171. And [remember] when We raised the Mount above them, as if it were a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall on them. [We said:] Hold fast to what We have given you and bear in mind what is in it, so that you may fear Allah.

﴾And [remember] when We raised the Mount above them﴿ when they refused to accept what was in the Torah.

Allah obliged them to accept it and act upon it, and He raised the mountain above their heads so that it towered above them ﴾as if it were a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall on them﴿. And it was said to them ﴾Hold fast to what We have given you﴿ that is, and adhere firmly to it.

﴾and bear in mind what is in it﴿ by studying it, discussing it and applying it

﴾fso that you may fear Allah﴿ if you do that.

7:172. And [remember] when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam - from their loins - their offspring, and made them testify concerning themselves, [saying]: Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes indeed; we testify. That was lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: Verily, we were unaware of this.

7:173. Or lest you should say: It was our forefathers before us who ascribed partners to Allah, and we are only the offspring who came after them. Will You then destroy us because of the deeds of those who invented falsehood?

7:174. Thus We explain the revelations in detail, so that they may turn in repentance.

﴾And [remember] when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam - from their loins - their offspring﴿ and made them reproduce, generation after generation.

When He brought them forth from the wombs of their mothers and the loins of their fathers, He ﴾made them testify concerning themselves, [saying]: Am I not your Lord?﴿ That is, He asked them to affirm that He was their Lord, on the basis of what He instilled in their innate nature, that He is their Lord, Creator and Sovereign. ﴾They said: Yes indeed﴿, we affirm that, because Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) created His slaves with a natural inclination towards the right way of monotheism.

Therefore everyone has this natural inclination, but that inclination may change and be altered because of corrupt beliefs by which it may be influenced. Hence ﴾They said: Yes indeed; we testify. That was lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: Verily, we were unaware of this﴿.

That is, We tested you by asking you this question, in order to make you affirm that which was instilled in your innate nature, that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is your Lord, lest you deny that on the Day of Resurrection and therefore you do not affirm any of it, and you claim that the proof of Allah was not established against you and you have no knowledge of it; rather you were heedless and distracted from it.

But today you have no excuses left, and the ultimate proof of Allah is established against you.

Or lest you offer another excuse and say: ﴾It was our forefathers before us who ascribed partners to Allah, and we are only the offspring who came after them﴿, so we followed in their footsteps and followed them in their falsehood. Will You then destroy us because of the deeds of those who invented falsehood?﴿.

Allah has instilled in your nature that which could tell you that what your forefathers followed was falsehood, and that the truth iswhat was brought by the Messengers, and that truth should stand up to the ways you found your forefathers following and prevail over it.

Yes, a person may grow up learning the views and corrupt ways of his misguided forefathers, which he thinks are true, but that is only because he is turning away from the proof and evidence of Allah, and His signs in the universe and in himself, so he is turning away from the truth and focusing on what those who invented falsehood say may be the reason why he ended up on a path where he prefers falsehood to truth. This is the correct interpretation of this verse.

According to another view, this refers to the day on which Allah made a covenant with the progeny of Adam, when He brought them forth from his loins and made them testify concerning themselves, and they gave that testimony. Thus He used the testimony that they gave at that time to prove that they have no excuse for their disbelief and stubbornness in this world and the hereafter. But there is nothing in the verse to indicate this, and it is not appropriate or in accordance with the wisdom of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and reality proves that.

This covenant that they mentioned, and said that it occurred when Allah brought forth the progeny of Adam from his loins, in the realm of our prior existence, is something that no one mentioned and it never crossed anyone’s mind. How could Allah use as evidence against them something of which they have no recollection and that left no trace or impact?

Hence, because this is something that is very clear, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾Thus We explain the revelations in detail﴿ and make them expressly clear

﴾fso that they may turn in repentance﴿ and turn back to that which Allah has instilled in their innate nature and to that which they pledged to Allah, so that they may refrain from evil.

7:175. Recount to them the story of the man to whom We gave knowledge of Our revelations, but he discarded it, then Shaytan caught up with him and he became one of the misguided.

7:176. If it had been Our will. We would have honoured him thereby, but he clung to this earthly life and followed his desires. His likeness is that of a dog: if you chase him away, he pants with his tongue lolling, and if you leave him alone, he still pants with his tongue lolling. Such is the likeness of those who reject Our revelations. Therefore tell them the stories, so that they may reflect.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says to His Prophet (ﷺ):

﴾Recount to them the story of the man to whom We gave knowledge of Our revelations﴿ that is. We taught him knowledge of the Book of Allah, so he became a great and prominent scholar.

﴾but he discarded it, then Shaytan caught up with him﴿ that is, he shunned the attributes that are expected of one who has knowledge of the revelations of Allah, because knowledge thereof should make a person acquire the noblest of characteristics, do the best of deeds and be elevated to the highest of levels and most sublime of statuses. But this man threw the Book of Allah behind his back and cast asidethe manners and conduct enjoined by the Book, like one would shed his clothes; when he discarded it, the Shaytan caught up with him and gained power over him when he departed from that strong fortress, and enticed him to sin. Thus he became the lowest of the low ﴾and he became one of the misguided )?, after he had been one of those who were guided and guided others. That is because Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) forsook him and left him to his own devices.

Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: If it had been Our will. We would have honoured him thereby﴿, by enabling him to act upon it and rise in status in this world and the hereafter, thus he would be protected from his enemies.

﴾but﴿ he did that which led to him being deprived of divine help, so he clung to the earth, that is, to base desires and worldly aims

﴾and followed his desires﴿, and he stopped obeying his Lord.

﴾His likeness﴿ in terms of his eagerness for worldly gain and his total devotion to it

﴾fis that of a dog: if you chase him away, he pants with his tongue lolling, and if you leave him alone, he still pants with his tongue lolling﴿ that is, he remains with his tongue lolling out in all situations, and this person remains at all times eager for worldly gain, and no gains he makes can satisfy his desire.

﴾Such is the likeness of those who reject Our revelations﴿ after Allah made them available to them. They did not submit; rather they disbelieved in them and rejected them because of their insignificance before Allah, and because of their following of their whims and desires without guidance from Allah.

﴾Therefore tell them the stories, so that they may reflect﴿ on these likenesses and these lessons and signs, for if they think they will learn, and if they learn they will act.

7:177. How vile is the likeness of people who rejected Our revelations; rather it is themselves they have wronged.

That is, how vile is the likeness of those who disbelieve in the revelations of Allah and wrong themselves by committing all kinds of sins, for their likeness is truly vile. This may refer to a specific individual to whom Allah made available His revelations and he rejected them, then what Allah mentions happened to him, so Allah tells his story as a warning to others; or it may be that this is a generic case and includes everyone to whom Allah makes available His revelations and he rejects them.

In these verses we find encouragement to act upon knowledge, for that raises one in status before Allah and protects him against the Shaytan. At the same time, there is a warning against not acting upon knowledge, for that will take one to the lowest of levels and will give the Shaytan power over him. This also shows us that following whims and desires and being preoccupied with such matters will lead to Allah forsaking him.

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7:178. Whomever Allah guides is truly guided; whomever He causes to go astray, it is they who are the losers.

Then Allah explains that He alone has control over guidance and misguidance.

﴾Whomever Allah guides﴿ by enabling him to do good deeds and protecting him from error, and teaching him that which he did not know

﴾fis truly guided﴿, because he gives precedence to Allah’s guidance. ﴾whomever He causes to go astray﴿ by forsaking him and not enabling him to do good

﴾it is they who are the losers﴿, for they will lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection, and that is, indeed, a loss beyond compare (22: II).

7:179. We have surely created for hell many of the jinn and humankind. They have hearts with which they do not understand, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they do not hear. They are like cattle; nay, they are even more astray, for it is they who are heedless.

Here Allah explains why so many people go astray and follow the accursed Iblees.

﴾We have surely created for hell many of the jinn and humankind﴿, so the animals are better off than them.

﴾They have hearts with which they do not understand﴿ that is, no understanding or knowledge reaches them, except for the purpose of establishing proof against them.﴾eyes with which they do not see﴿ that which may benefit them; rather they miss out on any benefit their eyes may bring them ﴾and ears with which they do not hear﴿ anything in such a way that the meaning could reach their hearts.

﴾They﴿ namely those who have these negative characteristics ﴾are like cattle﴿ that is, animals that have no reason, for these people give precedence to that which is transient over that which is eternal, therefore they are devoid of reason.

﴾nay, they are even more astray﴿ than animals, for cattle function in accordance with the purpose for which they were created, and they have instincts, by which they know what is harmful or good for them; hence they are better off than these people.

﴾for it is they who are heedless﴿ and unaware of the most beneficial things. They are heedless of faith in Allah, and obedience to Him and remembrance of Him.

Their hearts, hearing and sight were created to help them to obey the commands of Allah and fulfil their duties towards Him, but they use them for the opposite purpose.

Therefore these people deserve to be among those whom Allah created for hell and its fire, so they do the deeds of its people.

As for those who use these faculties in order to worship Allah, and whose hearts are filled with faith in Allah and love for him, and they are not heedless of Allah, these are the people of paradise and they do the deeds of its people.

7:180. To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call on Him by them, and keep away from those who profane His names. They will be requited for what they do.

This is indicative of the greatness of His glory and attributes, for to Him belong the most beautiful names. In other words, all good names are His. What this refers to is every name that is indicative of an attribute of perfection and greatness. This is why they are called beautiful, because if they did not refer to an attribute, and were merely information, they would not be beautiful. Similarly, if they referred to attributes of imperfection or attributes that may be praiseworthy or otherwise, then they would not be beautiful. Each of His names points to the meaning of that attribute in the most complete and comprehensive manner, and includes all its shades of meaning.

For example, the name al- ‘Aleem (the All-Knowing) indicates that He has all-encompassing knowledge of all things, so nothing, not even the weight of an atom on earth or in heaven, is beyond His knowledge.

The name ar-Raheem (the Most Merciful) indicates that He is possessed of great mercy that encompasses all things.

The name al-Qadeer (the Omnipotent, All-Powerful) indicates that He is possessed of all-encompassing power and nothing is beyond His power, and so on.

Another aspect of the beauty of these names is that He cannot be called except by these names. Hence He says: ﴾so call on Him by them﴿. This includes the supplication of worship and the supplication of asking. So He is to be called upon for everything that is needed, in a manner that is appropriate to the need in question. So the one who calls upon Him may say, for example: O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me, for You are the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful. Accept my repentance, O Accepter of repentance. Grant me provision, O Provider. Show me kindness, O Most Kind - and so on.

﴾and keep away from those who profane His names. They will be requited for what they do﴿ that is, as a penalty and punishment for profaning His names. What that means is misusing the name and calling by these names those who do not deserve them, as the polytheists do when naming their false gods; or denying their meanings and distorting them, giving meanings that were not intended by Allah or His Messenger (ﷺ); or likening the divine attributes to the attributes of some created being. What one must do is beware of profaning these names and beware of those who profane them. It is proven in aṣ-Ṣaheeh that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

«Allah has ninety-nine names; whoever leams them by heart will enter paradise.» (Bukhari, Muslim, at-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah)

7:181. Among those whom We have created there is a group who guide others in the way of truth and establish justice therewith.

That is, among those whom We have created there is a virtuous nation, perfect in and of itself, striving to perfect others, guiding themselves and others on the basis of truth. Hence they learn the truth, act upon it, teach it, call others to it and call them to act upon it. ﴾and establish justice therewith﴿ among people in their rulings, if they rule concerning matters of property, killing, people’s rights over one another, the views and ideas of others, and so on. These people are the leaders of guidance and lights in the darkness. They are the ones whom Allah has blessed with faith, righteous deeds, mutual enjoining of truth and mutual enjoining of steadfastness; they are the strong and true in faith, whose status is second only to that of the Messengers. Among themselves they are of varying status, each according to his situation.Glory be to the One Who singles out for His mercy whomever He will, and Allah is the Possessor of abundant grace.

7:182. As for those who reject Our signs, We will lead them step by step to their ruin, without their even realising it.

7:183. I will give them respite, for My stratagem is sure.

7:184. Have they not reflected? There is no madness in their companion; he is but a clear warner.

7:185. Have they not considered [Allah’s] mighty dominion over the heavens and the earth, and all that Allah has created, and [realised] that their own appointed time may be near? In what message after this will they then believe?

7:186. Whoever Allah causes to go astray, none can guide him; He will leave them to wander blindly in their misguidance.

This refers to those who disbelieved in the signs of Allah that highlight the truth of the message of guidance brought by Muhammad (ﷺ), so they rejected it and did not accept it.

﴾We will lead them step by step to their ruin, without their even realising it﴿, by sending them abundant provision.

﴾I will give them respite﴿ that is, I will give them respite so that they will think that they will never be taken to task or be punished;hence they will increase in disbelief and transgression, and will add evil to their evil. Thus their punishment will increase and be multiplied, and they will harm themselves without realising it. Hence Allah says: ﴾for My stratagem is sure﴿ that is, strong and effective.

(﴾Have they not reflected? There is no madness in their companion﴿, namely Muhammad (ﷺ). In other words, did they not think or wonder whether their companion - who they know well, and nothing of his character is hidden from them - was in fact insane? Let them look at his character, attitude, behaviour and attributes; let them look at that to which he is calling them. They will find nothing in it but the most perfect of characteristics, and he surpassed all others in reason and wisdom. He does not call to anything but that which is good, and he does not prohibit anything but that which is evil.

Do you think, O people of reason, that such a man would have any madness in him? Is he not the great leader and sincerest adviser, honourable and noble, compassionate and kind?

Hence Allah says: ﴾fhe is but a clear warner﴿ that is, he calls people to that which will save them from punishment and cause them to attain reward.

﴾Have they not considered [Allah’s] mighty dominion over the heavens and the earth p for if they look at them, they will find clear evidence of the oneness of their Lord, and of His perfect attributes ﴾fand﴿, likewise, let them look at ﴾all that Allah has created﴿, for all parts of the universe offer the greatest evidence of Allah’s knowledge, power, wisdom, abundant mercy and kindness, and demonstrate that His will is always done, and point to other great divine attributes. It highlights that He alone is the Creator and Controller, which means that He is the only One Who is deserving of worship, praise, glorification, love and affirmation of His oneness.

﴾fand [realised] that their own appointed time may be near﴿ that is, let them look at their own situation and look at their own selvesbefore their time comes and death takes them unawares whilst they are in a state of heedlessness, for at that time they will not be able to make up for their negligence.

﴾In what message after this will they then believe?﴿ That is, if they do not believe in this great Book, then in what message will they believe? Will they believe in books of lies and misguidance, or in the message of every fabricator and charlatan?

Nothing will succeed in bringing this misguided one to true guidance. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: t﴾ Whoever Allah causes to go astray, none can guide him; He will leave them to wander blindly in their misguidance﴿ that is, confused and hesitant, and never emerging from it; they will never be guided to the truth.

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7:187. They ask you about the Hour: When will it come to pass? Say: The knowledge thereof is with my Lord [alone]. None but He can disclose when its time will come. It will weigh heavily on the heavens and the earth; it will not come upon you but suddenly. They ask you as if you were well-informed of it. Say: The knowledge thereof is with Allah [alone], but most people do not realise.

7:188. Say: I have no power either to benefit or harm myself, except as Allah wills. If I had knowledge of the unseen, I would have acquired much good, and no harm would have touched me. Iam but a warner and a bringer of glad tidings to people who believe.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says to His Messenger Muhammad ﴾They﴿ that is, those who stubbornly disbelieve in you ﴾ask you about the Hour: when will it come to pass?﴿ That is, when will it come and when will it befall people?

﴾Say: The knowledge thereof is with my Lord [alone]﴿ that is, He alone has knowledge of it

﴾None but He can disclose when its time will come﴿ that is, no one can disclose its time when He has decreed it will begin, except He.

﴾It will weigh heavily on the heavens and the earth﴿ that is, the knowledge thereof is concealed from the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, and they feel very worried concerning it; they are concerned about the Hour.

﴾it will not come upon you but suddenly﴿ that is, when you do not realise, and you have not prepared for it and are not ready for it to begin.

﴾They ask you as if you were well-informed of it﴿ that is, they are keen to ask you about the Hour, as if you have knowledge of it. They do not realise that you - because of your perfect knowledge of your Lord and because you know that there is no benefit in asking about it, are not concerned about this question and you are not very keen to find out about it, so why do they not follow your example and refrain from thinking too much about this matter that serves no purpose and is difficult to find out about? For no Prophet who was sent, and no angel who is close to Allah, knows about it; it is one of the matters that Allah has concealed from His creation in accordance with His perfect wisdom and abundant knowledge.

﴾Say: The knowledge thereof is with Allah [alone], but most people do not realise﴿ hence they are keen to find out about something they should not be so keen to know, especially people such as these.who fail to ask about what is more important and ignore that which they should learn, then they focus on something which no one could ever find out and that they are not required to know about.

﴾Say: I have no power either to benefit or harm myself﴿ for I am helpless and under His control; nothing good comes to me except from Allah, nothing bad is warded off from me except by Him, and I have no knowledge except what Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has taught me.

﴾flf I had knowledge of the unseen, I would have acquired much good, and no harm would have touched me﴿ that is, I would have taken the measures that I knew would serve my interests and bring me benefits, and I would have avoided everything that could lead to negative consequences and harm, because I would have known things before they happened and what they would lead to. But - because I have no knowledge - bad things may befall me and I may miss out on worldly benefits and interests. This is the clearest evidence that I have no knowledge of the unseen.

﴾5(I am but a warner﴿ -1 warn of punishments in this world and the hereafter, and I explain the deeds that lead to that and warn against them.

﴾and a bringer of glad tidings﴿ of reward in this world and the hereafter, and I explain the deeds that lead to that and encourage people to do them. But not everyone accepts these glad tidings and warnings; rather the only ones who benefit from that and accept it are the believers. These verses highlight the ignorance of those who go to the grave of the Prophet (ﷺ) and call upon him to bring benefits or ward off harm, for he has no control over anything. He cannot benefit anyone whom Allah does not want to benefit and he cannot ward off harm from anyone from whom Allah does not want to ward off harm. He has no knowledge except that which Allah has taught him. Rather he benefits those who accept the glad tidings and warning with which he was sent, and act accordingly. This is the benefit one may get from him, which supersedes the benefit one may get fromfathers and mothers, friends and brothers; what this refers to is his encouragement to do all that is good and his warning against all that is evil, as he explained to them in the clearest terms.

7:189. It is He Who created you from a single soul, and created from it its mate, so that he might find comfort in her. When he has covered her, she bears a light burden and carries it about with ease. Then when she grows heavy, they both call upon Allah, their Lord, [saying]: If You give us a healthy child, we will certainly be among those who are grateful.

7:190. But when He gives them a healthy child, they ascribe partners to Him in that which He has given to them. Exalted be Allah far above the partners they ascribe to Him.

7:191. Do they ascribe to Him as partners those who cannot create anything, but are themselves created?

7:192. They have no power to help them, nor can they help themselves.

7:193. If you call them to guidance, they will not follow you. It is the same for you whether you call them or remain silent.

﴾lt is He Who created you﴿, O men and women who are scattered throughout the earth in large numbers of different groups﴾from a single soul﴿ namely Adam (عليه السلام), the father of humanity. ﴾fand created from it its mate﴿ that is, He created from Adam his wife Hawwa’, so that he might find comfort in her, because she came from him and therefore there was compatibility and harmony between them that led to them finding comfort in one another; thus each was attracted physically to the other

﴾When he has covered her﴿ that is had intercourse with her. The Creator has decreed that offspring should result from that desire and intercourse. Thereupon ﴾she bears a light burden and carries it about with ease﴿. This refers to the beginning of pregnancy, when the female is unaware of it and it is not burdensome for her.

﴾Then﴿ as the pregnancy continues ﴾when she grows heavy﴿, as the foetus in her womb grows bigger, then the parents begin to feel concern about the birth and hope that the infant will emerge alive, healthy and sound, with no defects. So they both call upon ﴾Allah, their Lord, [saying]: IfYou give us a healthy child﴿ that is, physically sound and complete, with nothing missing ﴾we will certainly be among those who are grateful﴿.

﴾But when He gives them a healthy child﴿, according to their request, and He completes the blessing upon them ﴾they ascribe partners to Him in that which He has given to them﴿s that is, they ascribe partners to Allah with regard to that child - whom only Allah brought into being and blessed them with, thus bringing joy to his parents - by giving him a name suggesting that he is a slave (‘abd) of something other than Allah, such as ‘Abdul-Harith, ‘Abdul-‘Uzza, ‘Abdul-Ka‘bah, and so on, or they join others with Allah in worship, after Allah bestowed upon them blessings such as no one could enumerate.

This verse moves from something specific to something general. The beginning of the verse speaks of Adam and Hawwa’, then moves on to speaking of people in general. Undoubtedly this is something that happens often among the progeny of Adam. HenceAllah proved to them the falseness of their ascription of partners to Him, and highlighted the fact that they commit a grave wrong thereby, whether that ascription of partners to Him is in word or in deed. For Allah is the One Who created them from a single soul, from which He created its spouse, and He gave them partners from among themselves; then He created love and compassion between them, whereby they find comfort and harmony with one another, as well as physical pleasure; then He guided them to the means of fulfilling that desire and producing offspring. Then He created the offspring in the wombs of the mothers during a brief period in which they long for the child and pray to Allah to bring him forth safe and sound, and Allah completes His blessing to them and grants them their request.

Does He not deserve that they should worship Him alone and not ascribe any partner to Him in their worship, and devote their worship solely to Him? But they did the opposite and ascribed as partners to Allah those who ﴾cannot create anything, but are themselves created. They have no power to help them﴿ namely their worshippers ﴾nor can they help themselves﴿.

If they do not create anything, not even an atom’s weight, but are themselves created, and they cannot ward off any harm from those who worship them, or even from themselves, then how can they be taken as gods alongside Allah? This is the worst of wrongdoing and foolishness. If you, O polytheists, call these gods whom you worship besides Allah, ﴾fto guidance, they will not follow you. It is the same for you whether you call them or remain silent﴿. So human beings are better off than the idols, because the idols cannot hear or see, or guide or be guided. If the smart, rational person thinks about all this in a fair-minded manner, he will be certain of the falseness of their gods and the folly of those who worship them.

7:194. Verily those on whom you call besides Allah are slaves like you; call upon them and let them answer you, if you are truthful.

7:195. Do they have feet with which to walk, or hands with which to strike, or eyes with which to see, or ears with which to hear? Say [O Muhammad]: Call upon those partners whom you ascribe to Allah, then scheme against me and give me no respite!

7:196. Verily my Protector is Allah, Who sent down the Book, for it is He Who protects the righteous.

This is in the nature of a challenge to the polytheists who worship the idols. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾Verily those on whom you call besides Allah are slaves like you﴿ that is, there is no difference between you and them, for you are all slaves of Allah, under His control. If what you claim is true, that they are deserving of worship, then ﴾call upon them and let them answer you﴿. If they answer you and you get what you want, (then you have proved your point), otherwise it will become clear that this claim of yours is false and you are fabricating the worst of lies against Allah.

This needs no further explanation. If you look at the idols, you will see that they are mere images, which indicates that they can do nothing of benefit. They have no legs with which to walk, no hands with which to strike, no eyes with which to see, and no ears with which to hear. They are lacking all faculties and capabilities that man has.

Because they do not respond when you call upon them, and they are slaves like you - and in fact you are better and stronger than them in many ways - then why do you worship them?

﴾Say [O Muhammad]: Call upon those partners whom you ascribe to Allah, then scheme against me and give me no respite! ﴿ That is, get together, you and your so-called partners, to do me harm without any delay or respite. But you will never be able to cause me any harm, because my Protector is Allah, Who protects me, brings me benefits and wards off harm from me.

﴾Who sent down the Book﴿ In which is guidance, healing and light. He is the One Whom I have taken as my ally, and I adhere to the teachings that He has ordained for His slaves.

﴾f for it is He Who protects the righteous﴿, those whose intentions, deeds and words are sound, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere: ﴾Allah is the Protector of those who have faith; from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light...﴿ (al-Baqarah 2: 257) Because the righteous believers take their Lord as their ally, believing in Him and fearing Him, and they do not take as an ally anyone other than Him who can do no benefit or harm, Allah protects them and helps them to do that which is good for them and in their best interests in both spiritual and worldly terms, and by virtue of their faith He wards off from them all harm, as Allah says:

﴾Verily, Allah will defend those who believe... jj (al-Hajj 22: 38)

7:197. Whereas those you call upon besides Him can neither help you nor even help themselves.

7:198. If you call them to guidance, they do not hear, and you see them looking at you but they do not see.

This also explains why these idols whom they worship besides Allah do not deserve any worship at all, because they cannot do anything to help themselves or to help their worshippers; they have no ability to think or respond. If you were to call them to guidance, they would not be guided. They are mere images with no spark of life in them.

You see them looking at you, but they do not really see, because they gave them the images of animate beings, human or otherwise, and they gave them eyes and limbs, so when you see them you might say that they are alive. But if you think about them, you will realise that they are inanimate and cannot move, and there is no life in them. So on what basis do the polytheists take them as gods besides Allah? For what purpose or benefit do they devote themselves to them and seek to draw close to them with all kinds of acts of worship?

Once this is understood, one will realise that even if the polytheists and the gods whom they worship were to come together and wanted to plot against the one whose protector is the Creator of the earth and the heavens. Who takes care of His righteous slaves, they would never be able to do him even an atom’s weight of harm, because they and their gods are completely incapable, whereas the strength and power of Allah is perfect and so is the power of the one who seeks His protection and puts his trust in Him.

It was also suggested with regard to the meaning of the verse ﴾and you see them looking at you but they do not see﴿ is that the pronoun ﴾they﴿ refers to the polytheists who disbelieved in the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Thus the meaning would be: do you think that they are looking at you, O Messenger of Allah with the understandingto differentiate one who is truthful and one who is lying? But they do not see you as you really are, for they cannot see the beauty, perfection and sincerity in you.

7:199. Make allowances for people’s nature, enjoin what is right and turn away from the ignorant.

This verse is a comprehensive summary that tells one, in a concise way, how to interact with people in the best manner; he should take people as they appear to be and adopt an easy-going approach, by accepting them as they are, with whatever they have to offer of deeds and characteristics. He should not expect more from them than they are able to do; rather he should appreciate whatever he sees of good words and deeds, and whatever is less than that, and overlook their shortcomings. He should not look down on the minor because he is young, or on one who is lacking in reason for his shortcomings, or on one who is poor because of his poverty. Rather he should treat everyone with kindness and respond kindly to each person as is appropriate to his nature and situation, with an open heart and mind.

﴾enjoin what is right﴿ that is, enjoin all good words, good deeds and good attitudes, addressed to close associates and strangers alike; ensure that whatever reaches people from you is either: teaching knowledge; encouraging good, such as upholding ties of kinship or honouring parents; reconciling people; beneficial advice; sound opinions; help in righteousness and piety; discouraging abhorrent deeds; or guiding to that which will attain some good purpose, be it spiritual or worldly.

As it is not possible to avoid the harm of the ignorant, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructs us to turn away from the ignorant one and not to respond to his ignorance; whoever harms you in word or deed, do not harm him in response; do not deprive the one who deprives you; whoever cuts you off, uphold ties with him; and whoever wrongs you, be fair towards him.

However, with regard to how one should interact with the devils among humankind and the jinn, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

7:200. And if a prompting from Shaytan stirs you up, seek refuge with Allah, for He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

7:201. Verily those who fear Allah, when an evil suggestion comes to them from Shaytan, remember and immediately begin to see clearly.

7:202. Whereas the devils support and encourage their [human] brothers in sin, and never cease.

At any time, and in any situation, ﴾if a prompting from Shaytan stirs you up﴿ that is, you feel his whispering and discouragement from doing good, or encouragement and prompting to do evil,

﴾seek refuge with Allah﴿that is, turn to Allah and seek protection with Him, for He is ﴾A11-Hearing﴿ and hears what you say ﴾All-Knowing﴿ - He knows your intention and your weakness, and how eager you are to turn to Him, so He will protect you from confusion and from the whispers of the Shaytan, as He says elsewhere:﴾Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of humankind.﴿ (an-Nas 114:1)

Because it is inevitable that one will occasionally be heedless and the Shaytan, who is always lying in wait, will find an opportunity to exploit, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) mentions the sign that distinguishes the pious from the heedless: the pious person, if he commits a sin by responding to devilish prompting to do something that is prohibited or to omit something that is obligatory, will remember how the Shaytan got to him and will take note of that weak point. He will remember what Allah has enjoined upon him and what he must do of adhering to faith. So he will come back to his senses, ask Allah to forgive him and make up for his negligence by repenting sincerely and doing many good deeds. Thus he will repel the despised Shaytan and spoil everything he has achieved.

As for the brothers and allies of the devils, if they fall into sin, their devils continue to encourage them in sin, time after time, without ceasing. The devils never stop tempting them, because they got their hopes up when they saw that they were easily led, and they never cease doing evil.

7:203. When you do not bring them a miracle, they say: Why do you not improvise one? Say: 1 only follow that which is revealed to me from my Lord. This [Qur’an] contains clear proofs from your Lord, and is a guidance and a mercy for people who believe.

These disbelievers persist in their stubborn rejection, even if you bring them signs that point to true guidance. If you bring them any signs that point to your truthfulness, they will not submit.

﴾When you do not bring them a miracle﴿ such as they suggest and specify tfthey say: Why do you not improvise one?﴿ That is, why do you not choose a particular miracle or sign, as if you are the one who brings down the signs and controls all of creation. They do not realise that you have no control over the matter at all. Or it may be that what is meant is: why do you not make something up on your own initiative?

﴾Say: 1 only follow that which is revealed to me from my Lord﴿ - I am a slave under orders, and it is Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) Who sends down the signs in accordance with His great wisdom. If you want a sign that does not diminish with the passage of time, or proof that never becomes obsolete, then look at this great Qur’an, the wise reminder, for it ﴾contains clear proofs from your Lord﴿, through which you will find guidance with regard to all divine commands and whatever humans may seek of good. It is a guide and a proof, so whoever reflects upon it and contemplates it will realise that it is a revelation from One who is Most Wise, Praiseworthy, and no falsehood can approach it from before it or from behind it (cf. 41:42). By means of it proof is established against everyone it reaches, but most people do not believe. For those who do believe, however, it is f(a guidance﴿ away from error and ﴾a mercy﴿ that saves them from doom. The believer is guided by the Qur’an and follows it, and he will be blessed in this world and the hereafter.

As for the one who does not believe in it, he is misguided and doomed in this world and the hereafter.

7:204. When the Qur’an is recited, listen attentively and remain silent, so that you may be shown mercy.

This command is general and is applicable to everyone who hears the Book of Allah being recited. He is enjoined to listen to it and remain silent. The difference between listening and remaining silent is that remaining silent is an outward action, that requires one to stop talking or doing anything that may distract you from listening to it.

Listening, on the other hand, means lending your ears, focusing your mind and contemplating the meaning of what is heard. The one who does both of these things when the Book of Allah is recited will attain a great deal of good, abundant knowledge, renewed and ongoing faith, increasing guidance and understanding of his religion. Hence Allah has made attainment of mercy dependent on these two things. This indicates that if a person does not listen and remain silent when the Book is recited to him, he will be deprived of his share of mercy and will miss out on a great deal of good.

One of the most emphatically enjoined instructions with regard to listening to Qur’anic recitation is the requirement to listen attentively to it and remain silent during the prayers in which the recitation is done out loud. When the imam is reciting, the worshipper is instructed to remain silent. In fact the majority of scholars say that remaining silent and listening attentively to the imam is more important than reciting al-Fatihah or any other soorah.

7:205. And remember your Lord to yourself with humility and reverence, without raising your voice, in the morning and in the evening, and do not be among the heedless.

7:206. Verily those who are near your Lord [the angels] are not too proud to worship Him; they glorify Him and prostrate before Him.

Remembering Allah Og) may be done in the heart or verbally, or it may be both, which is the most perfect kind of dhikr. Allah enjoined His slave and Messenger Muhammad first of all, and others by virtue of their following him, to remember his Lord to himself that is, sincerely when he is alone ﴾with humility﴿ that is, beseeching verbally, repeating all kinds of dhikr (remembrance)

﴾and reverence﴿ in your heart, with fear of Allah and apprehension that your deed may not be accepted. The sign of fear of Allah is that one strives and does one’s utmost to perfect one’s deeds, try to improve on them and be sincere.

﴾without raising your voice﴿ that is, be moderate, neither too loud nor too quiet in your prayer, but following a middle course, ﴾in the morning﴿ at the beginning of the day ﴾and in the evening﴿ at the end of the day. The advantage and virtue of remembering Allah at these two times is greater than at others.

﴾and do not be among the heedless﴿, those who forget Allah, so He causes them to forget themselves; thus they are deprived of good in this world and the hereafter. They turn away from all blessings and success that come from remembering Him and submitting oneself in servitude to Him, and they turn to and focus on all that leads to misery and doom.

This is the etiquette to which the individual should pay proper attention, namely remembering Allah a great deal throughout the night and day, especially at the two ends of the day, sincerely, withproper focus and humility, and calmly, focusing on what one says, with proper conduct and dignity, calling upon Allah and remembering Him with full presence of mind, and not being heedless, for Allah does not answer the supplication of one who is distracted and not focused on what he is saying.

Then Allah tells us that He has slaves who persistently worship and serve Him, namely the angels. So you should understand that Allah is not seeking to have more of His creation worshipping Him because He does not have enough, or to be honoured because He is lacking in that; rather He wants what is beneficial for you and for you to gain from Him many times more than what your deeds are worth. Hence He says:

﴾Verily those who are near your Lord﴿ namely the angels who are close to Him, the bearers of the Throne and the cherubim ﴾are not too proud to worship Him﴿; rather they persist in humbly worshipping Him, submitting to the commands of their Lord ﴾they glorify Him﴿ night and day, without ceasing ﴾fand prostrate before Him﴿ alone, with no partner or associate. So let the people follow the example of these noble angels and persist in worshipping the Sovereign, the All-Knowing.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat al-A'raf.

All praise and thanks are for Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.