قُلْ Say یٰۤاَیُّهَا O النَّاسُ mankind اِنِّیْ Indeed I am رَسُوْلُ (the) Messenger اللّٰهِ (of) Allah اِلَیْكُمْ to you جَمِیْعَا all لَّذِیْ the One لَهٗ for Whom مُلْكُ (is the) dominion السَّمٰوٰتِ (of) the heavens وَ الْاَرْضِ ۚ and the earth لَاۤ (There is) no اِلٰهَ god اِلَّا except هُوَ Him یُحْیٖ He gives life وَ یُمِیْتُ ۪ and causes death فَاٰمِنُوْا So believe بِاللّٰهِ in Allah وَ رَسُوْلِهِ and His Messenger النَّبِیِّ the Prophet الْاُمِّیِّ the unlettered الَّذِیْ the one who یُؤْمِنُ believes بِاللّٰهِ in Allah وَ كَلِمٰتِهٖ and His Words وَ اتَّبِعُوْهُ and follow him لَعَلَّكُمْ so that you may تَهْتَدُوْنَ (be) guided وَ مِنْ And among قَوْمِ (the) people مُوْسٰۤی (of) Musa اُمَّةٌ (is) a community یَّهْدُوْنَ (which) guides بِالْحَقِّ with truth وَ بِهٖ and by it یَعْدِلُوْنَ establishes justice 7. Al-A'raf Page 171 وَ قَطَّعْنٰهُمُ And We divided them اثْنَتَیْ (into) two عَشْرَةَ (and) ten [i.e. twelve] اَسْبَاطًا tribes اُمَمًا ؕ (as) communities وَ اَوْحَیْنَاۤ And We inspired اِلٰی to مُوْسٰۤی Musa اِذِ when اسْتَسْقٰىهُ asked him for water قَوْمُهٗۤ his people اَنِ [that] اضْرِبْ Strike بِّعَصَاكَ with your staff الْحَجَرَ ۚ the stone فَانْۢبَجَسَتْ Then gushed forth مِنْهُ from it اثْنَتَا two عَشْرَةَ (and) ten [i.e. twelve] عَیْنًا ؕ springs قَدْ Certainly عَلِمَ knew كُلُّ each اُنَاسٍ people مَّشْرَبَهُمْ ؕ their drinking place وَ ظَلَّلْنَا And We shaded عَلَیْهِمُ [on] them الْغَمَامَ (with) the clouds وَ اَنْزَلْنَا and We sent down عَلَیْهِمُ upon them الْمَنَّ the manna وَالسَّلْوٰی ؕ and the quails كُلُوْا Eat مِنْ from طَیِّبٰتِ (the) good things مَا which رَزَقْنٰكُمْ ؕ We have provided you وَ مَا And not ظَلَمُوْنَا they wronged Us وَ لٰكِنْ but كَانُوْۤا they were اَنْفُسَهُمْ (to) themselves یَظْلِمُوْنَ doing wrong وَ اِذْ And when قِیْلَ it was said لَهُمُ to them اسْكُنُوْا Live هٰذِهِ (in) this الْقَرْیَةَ city وَ كُلُوْا and eat مِنْهَا from it حَیْثُ wherever شِئْتُمْ you wish وَ قُوْلُوْا and say حِطَّةٌ Repentance وَّ ادْخُلُوا and enter الْبَابَ the gate سُجَّدًا prostrating نَّغْفِرْ We will forgive لَكُمْ for you خَطِیْٓـٰٔتِكُمْ ؕ your sins سَنَزِیْدُ We will increase (reward) الْمُحْسِنِیْنَ (of) the good-doers فَبَدَّلَ But changed الَّذِیْنَ those who ظَلَمُوْا wronged مِنْهُمْ among them قَوْلًا word غَیْرَ other than الَّذِیْ (that) which قِیْلَ was said لَهُمْ to them فَاَرْسَلْنَا So We sent عَلَیْهِمْ upon them رِجْزًا torment مِّنَ from السَّمَآءِ the sky بِمَا because كَانُوْا they were یَظْلِمُوْنَ۠ doing wrong
(7:158) [Say, O Muhammad]: 'O men! I am Allah's Messenger to you all - of Him to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. There is no god but He. He grants life and deals death. Have faith then, in Allah and in His Messenger, the ummi Prophet who believes in Allah and His words; and follow him so that you may be guided aright.'
(7:159) Among the people of Moses'116 there was a party who guided others in the way of the truth and established justice in its light. 117
(7:160) And We divided them into twelve tribes, forming them into communities.118 When his people asked Moses for water We directed him: 'Smite the rock with your rod.' Then twelve springs gushed forth from the rock and every people knew their drinking-places. And We caused thick clouds to provide them shade, and We sent down upon them manna and quails,119 saying: 'Eat of the clean things that We have provided you.' They wronged not Us, but it was themselves that they wronged.
(7:161) And recall120 when it was said to them: 'Dwell in this town and eat plentifully of whatever you please, and say: "Repentance", and enter the gate prostrate. We shall forgive you your sins and shall bestow further favours on those who do good.'
(7:162) Then the wrong-doers among them substituted another word in place of the one told them. So We sent upon them a scourge from the heaven as a punishment for their Wrong-doing. 121
116. This marks the resumption of the main theme of the discourse which had been interrupted by the parenthesis see (verses 157-8)calling people to affirm the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be on him).
117. The translators generally render the verse as the following:
Of the people of Moses there is a section who guide and do justice in the light of truth. (Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.)
They do so because, in their view, the present verse describes the moral and intellectual state of the Israelites at the time when the Qur'an was revealed. However, the context seems to indicate that the above account refers to the state of the Israelites at the time of the Prophet Moses. Thus, the purpose of the verse is to emphasize that even in the days of their calf-worship when God rebuked them, all members of Israel were not corrupt; that a sizeable section of them was righteous.
118. This refers to the organization of the people of Israel which has been mentioned in the Qur'an in (al-Ma'idah 5:12 )and also described, at length, in the Bible in Numbers. According to these sources, in compliance with God's command the Prophet Moses first conducted the census of the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai. He registered their twelve tribes, ten of whom were descendants of the Prophet Jacob, and the remaining two descendants of the Prophet Joseph, as separate and distinct tribes. He appointed a chief for each tribe and assigned to him the duty to maintain moral, religious, social and military discipline within each tribe and to enforce the Law. The Levites, who were descendants of the Prophets Moses and Aaron, however, were organized as a distinct group entrusted with the task of providing religious guidance to all tribes.
119. This organization was one of the numerous favours which God had bestowed upon the Israelites. Mention is made of three other favours bestowed upon them. First, an extraordinary arrangement for their water supply was made in the otherwise arid Sinai peninsula. Second, the sky was covered with clouds such that they were protected from the scorching heat of the sun. Third, a unique meal, consisting of manna and quails was sent down on them. Had this Divine arrangement, catering as it did for the millions of wandering Israelites' basic necessities of life, not been made, they would certainly have perished.
On visiting that land even today it is difficult to visualize how such an arrangement providing shelter, food and water for millions of people was made. The population of this peninsula standseven today at a paltry, 55,000 people. (it may be noted that this statement was made in the fifties of the present century. However, the present population of the Sinai is 200,000 - Ed.) If a five or six hundred thousand strong army, were to camp there today, it would be quite a task for those at the helm to provide the necessary supplies for the army. Little wonder, then, that many scholars who belive neither in the Scripture nor in miracles, rule out the historical accuracy of the event. For them, the people of Israel camped in an area lying south of Palestine and north of Arabia. In view of the physical and economic geography of the Sinai peninsula, they consider it totally incredible that such a large population could have stayed there for years. What has made these scholars even more sceptical about the event is the fact that the Israelites were not then in a position to procure supplies from either the Egyptians or the 'Amaliqah' who inhabited respectively the eastern and northern parts of the peninsula, since both groups were hostile to them. It is against this background that one may appreciate the immense importance of the favours God conferred on the Israelites. Likewise, it also gives one some idea of the blatant ingratitude of the people of Israel since they consistently defied and betrayed God even though they had witnessed a great many divine signs. (See Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. 1, (al-Baqarah 2: nn. 72-3 and 76, pp. 76-7 - Ed.)
120. This alludes to their constant defiance and rebellion in face of God' favours which eventually brought about their destruction.
121. For details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. 1, (al-Baqarah 2: nn. 74-5, pp. 76-7).