Surah Al-A'raf 7:163-171 - Quran Translation Commentary

163. And ask them about the township situated by the sea,²⁴⁹ (where) they used to break the Sabbath²⁵⁰: when on the Sabbath Day their fish appeared before them floating on the water, and when there was no Sabbath, they did not appear. Thus we were putting them to test because they were transgressors,²⁵¹

164. And when a group among them said “(to the admonishers): “Why do you exhort to a people whom Allah is to destroy or is to punish with a severe punishment?” They replied: “To plead before your Lord and so that they may refrain from sins.”²⁵²

165. Then when they forgot the admonition that was given to them, we rescued those who forbade evil, and seized the wrongdoers with dreadful punishment because they were disobedient²⁵³.

166. So when they persisted in unabashedly doing what they were forbidden to do, We said (to them); “Be you apes, abjected and dishonoured.”²⁵⁴

167. And (recall) when your Lord proclaimed that He will set over them, till the Day of Resurrection, those who would subject them to cruel suffering²⁵⁵. Verily, your Lord is Swift in Retribution, and verily He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

168. And we divided them in the earth as (separate) Communities²⁵⁶. Some among them were righteous and others among them were not; and we tested them with prosperity and adversity so that they might return (to right path).

169. Then after them succeeded (an unworthy generation) who inherited the Book, who grasp the goods of this low life and say: “We will be forgiven.” “And if there came to them similar worldly goods they take it,²⁵⁷ was not the Covenant of the, Book taken from them that they would not ascribe to Allah anything but the Truth²⁵⁸? And they have studied what is therein²⁵⁹: And the abode of the Hereafter is better for those who fear Allah²⁶⁰. Do not you understand²⁶¹?

170. And those who hold fast to Divine Book and establish salat (prayers), – surely, we shall not waste the rewards of the reformers²⁶².

171. And (Recall) when we had lifted the mountain over them as if it was a canopy, and they supposed that it was about to fall upon them.²⁶³ (we had then commanded): “Hold fast to that which we are giving you and bear in mind what it contains so that you may be pious.”

Commentary

249. The township referred to here is, according to a group of commentators, Ailah city, situated on the banks of the Gulf of Aqba. Here a section of Bani Israil had their habitation. Its modern name is Aqba. The event mentioned here occurred after the passing away of Prophet Moosa.

250. Sabbath, that is Saturday, was made sacred for the Bani Israil. They were forbidden from doing any work on that day, including any kind of hunting. As if this day was reserved for worship. Very severe commands were given to the Jews for observing Sabbath. In the Torah, it is stated:

“And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Say to the people of Israel, you shall keep my sabbaths, --- --------- you shall keep the sabbath, because it is holy for you; every one who profanes it shall be put to death; whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.” (Exodus 31: 12 to 14)

251. When a section of the people is inclined to commit a particular sin, Allah provides it opportunities for doing so, in order that their insincerity may be manifested and their guilty mentality may come out in the open. It is the demand of that wisdom which requires man to pass through tests and trials designed by God.

When the inclination to break the sanctity of the Sabbath increased among the section of the people living near the sea, Allah subjected them to severe test so much so that on the Sabbath only the fishes appeared before them on the surface of the water, and on other days they did not appear at all. Those whose. only concern was to earn by any means, they hunted for the fish on the Sabbath, without caring whether they were breaking a rule of Shariah. In this way, the Sabbath was dishonoured and broken collectively.

252. Although the population was bent on indulging in transgression, there was a group among them that had the fear of God in their hearts and that avoided breaking the Sabbath. Among the righteous people were also men who were of the opinion that it was useless to preach and admonish the Sabbath breakers, because they had lost all hopes about them because of their unabashed persistence in sinning, However, among the righteous there were quite a few who were alive to their responsibilities, and these people continued to preach, admonish and warn them till the last.

253. This verse clarifies that the punishment overtook only those who were disobedient, and the people who forbade them from committing evil were not struck by the punishment. As for those people who considered it useless to preach and admonish the transgressors, whether they were spared from being punished: there is a difference of opinion among the commentators. But because of the arguments mentioned below, we feel that they were among those who escaped the punishment:

(1) They had said that it was useless to preach to those whom Allah was about to destroy or to punish severely; it shows that they were persons who feared God. Then how can the fate of the people who feared God be like the people who were transgressors?

(2) What they had said does not mean that they had not raised their voice against evil or that they did not want the evil to be stopped, but actually the butt of their words were the ‘evil– doers. Their pessimism shows that attempts to prevent the evil-doers from further committing sins were made but they had proved futile, and therefore, they felt that further attempts were of no use. But those who were more duty–conscious, persisted in their work of admonition and preaching till the last. From this the difference between the ranks of the two became clear, but how can it be said that those who were pessimists were totally unmindful of their responsibilities, and they had not expressed their disapproval of evil?

(3) The expression of disappointment by them itself shows that they despised evil severely, and those severely despise evil cannot be counted among the tolerators of evil. Whatever they said to the preachers was an expression of their dislike against evil, therefore, it is not proper to consider them as mere onlookers of the evil acts.

(4) Quran says that only those persons were subjected to punishment who were evil– doers. Those who expressed disappointment or the pessimists were neither wicked nor evil– doers, but they were righteous as is clear from the words uttered by them. Besides, if they would have been evil-doers. the preachers whom they advised not to admonish the evil–doers would have preached and admonished them first. But the admonishers did not admonish them, but told them that they were admonishing them so that they might be able to fulfil their own responsibilities before Allah and that the evil– doers might refrain from further sinning. Since those who expressed disappointment were neither wicked nor evil- doers, then how can they be considered liable to receive that punishment which was reserved for the wicked and the evildoers.

(5) Ibn Jarir Tabri has quoted a narrative from Ikramah that Ibn Abbas was uncertain about the correct interpretation of this verse, and that he shed tears for the possibility of punishment being meted out to those who had expressed disappointment at the reform of the wrong–doers referred to in this verse. On this occasion Ikramah, who was his disciple, proffered the argument that these people who had said that Allah is about to destroy them and is about to subject them to punishment clearly showed that they despised evil and were among those who forbade evil. This argument satisfied and pleased Ibn Abbas and he gave a suit of clothing to Ikramah as a present.

254. The first punishment might have been a disease in an epidemic form, and when even this punishment did not make them change their ways, their faces were subsequently disfigured and they were converted into apes.

As regards. the point as to how man can be converted into an ape, the simple explanation is that the God who creates man from dust why can He not convert him into an ape? If such an event does not take place generally, it does not mean that such an event did not or cannot take place at any time. The main thing is Allah’s will and His power, He has imprinted this lesson of punishment on the pages of human history so that the coming generations may remember it.

It may be noted that this event does not provide any kind of support to the theory of transmigration of soul, because according to this theory not only a man’s body is changed but his soul is also transferred, while in this event those who were converted into apes had not suffered any change of souls, and it is supported by this argument, as stated by Quran, that they were disgraced and dishonoured. It is obvious that the pangs of disgrace and dishonour can be felt only when the being has a human soul in his body. Had their souls been changed in those of the ape’s, how could they feel the pain of this disgrace that they were first humans and subsequently converted into apes. It is human soul alone that feels the pain of disgrace, the apes are unable to do so. The second point is that on Doomsday they will also be raised from their graves as other human beings will be raised, and they will also have to appear before God and answer for their acts, on the other hand the theory of transmigration of souls negates man’s resurrection, his appearance before God and the final reward or punishment for good or bad acts.

255. That is: Allah had informed Bani Israil that if they would assume the role of a covenantbreaking and transgressor people, as a nation, then their power and grandeur would turn to dust, and Allah would be raising against them nations who would be subjecting them to cruel torments and humiliation. Accordingly, the history of the last two thousand years is a witness that the Jews had been at the receiving end of immense suffering from the hands of one people or the other. As for the present state of Israel, it is the forerunner of a great destruction. At the time of the revelation of Quran, there were tribal jewish states around Madina, and their subsequent fate is known to all.

256. That is: The unity of Bani Israil was shattered to pieces. The unity and consolidation they enjoyed till the time of prophet Sulaiman (King Solomon) in palestine had gone and the fall of Jerusalem had dispersed them so badly that their centrality was destroyed, and they were compelled to take refuge in different parts of the world. Their colonies in Khyber. Madina and Yemen, etc., were the outcome of their dispersal.

257. Refers to the moral corruption of the Jews that they felt no hesitation in crossing the limits of religion and Shariah for meagre profits of the lowly world, there remained no distinction for them between halal and haram. They became so much greedy of collecting the worldly wealth that they did not let any opportunity to pass by them without grasping it at whatever moral cost. whenever they felt that they were doing something undesirable or whenever any person brought it to their notice, they used to satisfy themselves by saying that they were sure to be forgiven by God because they belonged to a superior race or nation or that they had faith in particular honoured devotees of God and they would be forgiven through their intercession. Thereafter if they get a chance to pollute themselves by committing another forbidden act, they do it unhesitatingly. In this way their professional and social life, in fact whole life has become totally unrelated to religion.

It is a great pity that today Muslims also resemble them, and they have been emboldened, ‘from the presumption of their receiving salvation and forgiveness through the intercession of some saint, to commit sins openly and unabashedly.

258. These are their invented and imaginary thoughts. They have no relation to the Divine Scriptures. To add anything by oneself or to invent anything in religion is to ascribe falsehood to Allah, and it amounts to breaking the Covenant which was taken from them:

“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain .” (Exodus 20:7)

“Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to it or take from it .” (Duet. 12:32)

259. That is: when they have studied properly the teachings and commands in the Divine Book, why do they not act on them, and is the Divine Book merely for recitation and committing to memory? This was the condition of the Jews. But today the condition of Muslims is not different. They consider mere recitation, reading and committing to memory the verses of the Quran as acts of virtue, and remain miles away from acting on them.

260. Those who do not go after the world, but make the Hereafter their goal, do not cross the limits of the Shariah in deriving benefits from the world, and lead the life of righteousness.

261. It shows that the Divine Book is for understanding and acting on its teachings and not for merely reading without understanding.

262. Refers to that group of the people of the Book who was following sincerely the Divine Book without being influenced by the general corruption around them, and was trying to reform the people. when the message of Quran came before them. they accepted it willingly.

263. This has been explained in Note No.88 of Surah Baqarah. This event is described in the Bible as follows:

“And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke. because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln. and the whole mountain quaked greatly”. (Exodus 19: 18)

But Quran very clearly states that the mountain was lifted over them. However, if the peak of the mountain was suspended over them with the earthquake, there is nothing strange in it. since Allah is the Master and Lord of the world of cause and effect. If and when His wisdom wills an event to happen. it just happens. however extraordinary it may be. and which event goes to prove that there is definitely someone ruling over the entire universe which is not running by itself. He can effect changes in its system whenever He likes. As Bani lsrail was not a developed nation intellectually, tangible signs of Allah’s power ‘and greatness were made manifest for their guidance.