وَ سْـَٔلْهُمْ And ask them عَنِ about الْقَرْیَةِ the town الَّتِیْ which كَانَتْ was حَاضِرَةَ situated الْبَحْرِ ۘ (by) the sea اِذْ when یَعْدُوْنَ they transgressed فِی in السَّبْتِ the (matter of) Sabbath اِذْ when تَاْتِیْهِمْ came to them حِیْتَانُهُمْ their fish یَوْمَ (on the) day سَبْتِهِمْ (of) their Sabbath شُرَّعًا visibly وَّ یَوْمَ and (on the) day لَا not یَسْبِتُوْنَ ۙ they had Sabbath لَا (they did) not تَاْتِیْهِمْ ۛۚ come to them كَذٰلِكَ ۛۚ Thus نَبْلُوْهُمْ We test them بِمَا because كَانُوْا they were یَفْسُقُوْنَ defiantly disobeying 7. Al-A'raf Page 172 وَ اِذْ And when قَالَتْ said اُمَّةٌ a community مِّنْهُمْ among them لِمَ Why تَعِظُوْنَ (do) you preach قَوْمَا ۙ a people للّٰهُ (whom) Allah مُهْلِكُهُمْ (is going to) destroy them اَوْ or مُعَذِّبُهُمْ punish them عَذَابًا (with) a punishment شَدِیْدًا ؕ severe قَالُوْا They said مَعْذِرَةً To be absolved اِلٰی before رَبِّكُمْ your Lord وَ لَعَلَّهُمْ and that they may یَتَّقُوْنَ become righteous فَلَمَّا So when نَسُوْا they forgot مَا what ذُكِّرُوْا they had been reminded بِهٖۤ with [it] اَنْجَیْنَا We saved الَّذِیْنَ those who یَنْهَوْنَ forbade عَنِ [from] السُّوْٓءِ the evil وَ اَخَذْنَا and We seized الَّذِیْنَ those who ظَلَمُوْا wronged بِعَذَابٍۭ with a punishment بَىِٕیْسٍۭ wretched بِمَا because كَانُوْا they were یَفْسُقُوْنَ defiantly disobeying فَلَمَّا So when عَتَوْا they exceeded all bounds عَنْ about مَّا what نُهُوْا they were forbidden عَنْهُ from it قُلْنَا We said لَهُمْ to them كُوْنُوْا Be قِرَدَةً apes خٰسِىِٕیْنَ despised وَ اِذْ And when تَاَذَّنَ declared رَبُّكَ your Lord لَیَبْعَثَنَّ that He would surely send عَلَیْهِمْ upon them اِلٰی till یَوْمِ (the) Day الْقِیٰمَةِ (of) the Resurrection مَنْ (those) who یَّسُوْمُهُمْ would afflict them سُوْٓءَ (with) a grievous الْعَذَابِ ؕ [the] punishment اِنَّ Indeed رَبَّكَ your Lord لَسَرِیْعُ (is) surely swift الْعِقَابِ ۖۚ (in) the retribution وَ اِنَّهٗ but indeed He لَغَفُوْرٌ (is) surely Oft-Forgiving رَّحِیْمٌ Most Merciful وَ قَطَّعْنٰهُمْ And We divided them فِی in الْاَرْضِ the earth اُمَمًا ۚ (as) nations مِنْهُمُ Among them الصّٰلِحُوْنَ (are) the righteous وَ مِنْهُمْ and among them دُوْنَ (are) other than ذٰلِكَ ؗ that وَ بَلَوْنٰهُمْ And We tested them بِالْحَسَنٰتِ with the good وَ السَّیِّاٰتِ and the bad لَعَلَّهُمْ so that they may یَرْجِعُوْنَ return فَخَلَفَ Then succeeded مِنْۢ from بَعْدِهِمْ after them خَلْفٌ successors وَّرِثُوا (who) inherited الْكِتٰبَ the Book یَاْخُذُوْنَ taking عَرَضَ goods هٰذَا (of) this الْاَدْنٰی the lower (life) وَ یَقُوْلُوْنَ and they say سَیُغْفَرُ It will be forgiven لَنَا ۚ for us وَ اِنْ And if یَّاْتِهِمْ comes to them عَرَضٌ goods مِّثْلُهٗ similar to it یَاْخُذُوْهُ ؕ they will take it اَلَمْ Was not یُؤْخَذْ taken عَلَیْهِمْ on them مِّیْثَاقُ Covenant الْكِتٰبِ (of) the Book اَنْ that لَّا not یَقُوْلُوْا they will say عَلَی about اللّٰهِ Allah اِلَّا except الْحَقَّ the truth وَ دَرَسُوْا while they studied مَا what فِیْهِ ؕ (is) in it وَ الدَّارُ And the home الْاٰخِرَةُ (of) the Hereafter خَیْرٌ (is) better لِّلَّذِیْنَ for those who یَتَّقُوْنَ ؕ fear Allah اَفَلَا So will not تَعْقِلُوْنَ you use intellect وَ الَّذِیْنَ And those who یُمَسِّكُوْنَ hold fast بِالْكِتٰبِ to the Book وَ اَقَامُوا and establish الصَّلٰوةَ ؕ the prayer اِنَّا indeed We لَا (will) not نُضِیْعُ [We] let go waste اَجْرَ (the) reward الْمُصْلِحِیْنَ (of) the reformers 7. Al-A'raf Page 173 وَ اِذْ And when نَتَقْنَا We raised الْجَبَلَ the mountain فَوْقَهُمْ above them كَاَنَّهٗ as if it was ظُلَّةٌ a canopy وَّ ظَنُّوْۤا and they thought اَنَّهٗ that it وَاقِعٌۢ (would) fall بِهِمْ ۚ upon them خُذُوْا (We said) Take مَاۤ what اٰتَیْنٰكُمْ We have given you بِقُوَّةٍ with strength وَّ اذْكُرُوْا and remember مَا what فِیْهِ (is) in it لَعَلَّكُمْ so that you may تَتَّقُوْنَ۠ fear Allah
(7:163) And ask the people of Moses concerning the town situated along the sea122 how its people profaned the Sabbath when fish came to them breaking the water's surface on Sabbath days,123 and would not come to them on other than Sabbath-days. Thus did We try them because of their disobedience.124
(7:164) And recall when a party of them said: 'Why do you admonish a people whom Allah is about to destroy or punish severely?' They said: 'We admonish them in order to be able to offer an excuse before Your Lord, and in the hope that they will guard against disobedience.'
(7:165) Then, when they forgot what they had been exhorted, We delivered those who forbade evil and afflicted the wrong-doers with a grievous chastisement125 because of their evildoing.
(7:166) And when they persisted in pursuing that which had been forbidden We said: 'Become despised apes.'126
(7:167) And recall when Your Lord proclaimed127 that 'He would continually set in authority over them, till the Day of Judgement, those who would ruthless oppress thern.'128 Surely, your Lord is swift in chastising; and yet He is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful.
(7:168) And We dispersed them through the earth in communities - some were righteous, others were not -and We tested them with prosperity and adversity that they may turn back (to righteousness).
(7:169) Then others succeeded them who inherited the scriptures, and yet kept themselves occupied in acquiring the goods of this world and kept saying: 'We shall be forgiven.' And when there comes to them an opportunity for acquiring more of those goods, they seize it.129 Was not the covenant of the Book taken from them that they would not ascribe to Allah anything but the truth? And they have read what is in the Book130 and know that the abode of the Hereafter is better for the God-fearing.131 Do you not understand?
(7:170) Those who hold fast to the Book and establish Prayer - We shall not allow the reward of such righteous men to go to waste.
(7:171) And recall when We shook the mountain over them as though it were a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall over them; and We said: 'Hold firmly to that which We have given you, and remember what is in it, that you may guard against evil.132
122. Most scholars identify this place with Eilat, Eilath or Eloth. (Cf. Encyclopaedia Britannica, XV edition, 'Macropaedia', vol. 3, art. 'Elat' -Ed.) The seaport called Elat which has been built by the present state of Israel (which is close to the Jordanian seaport, Aqaba), stands on the same site. It lies at the end of that long inlet of the Red Sea situated between the eastern part of the Sinai peninsula and the western part of Arabia. It was a major trading centre in the time of Israelite ascendancy. The Prophet Solomon took this city as the chief port for his fleet in the Red Sea.
The event referred to in the above verse is not reported in Jewish Scriptures. Nor do historical accounts shed any light on it. Nonetheless, it appears from the way it has been mentioned in the above verse and in al-Baqarah that the Jews of the early days of Islam were quite familiar with the event. (See Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. 1, (al-Baqarah 2: 65 and n.83, pp. 81-2 - Ed)). This view is further corroborated by the fact that even the Madinan Jews who spared no opportunity to criticize the Prophet (peace be on him) did not raise any objection against this (Qur'anic account.
123. 'Sabbath', which means Saturday, was declared for the Israelites as the holi day of the week. God declared the Sabbath as a sign of the perpetual covenant between God and Israel. (Exodus 31: 12-16.) The Israelites were required to strictly keep the Sabbath which meant that they may not engage in any worldly activity; they may not cook, nor make their slaves or cattle serve them. Those who violated these rules were to be put to death. The Israelites, however, publicly violated these rules. In the days of the Prophet Jeremiah (between 628 and 586 B.C.), the Israelites carried their merchandise through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day itself. Jeremiah, therefore, warned them that if they persisted in their flagrant violation of the Law, Jerusalem would be set on fire. (Jererniah 17: 21-7.) The same complaint is voiced in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel (595-536 B.C.) who referred to their violation of the Sabbath rules as their major sin. (Ezekiel 20: 12-24.) In view of these Scriptural references it seems plausible that the event mentioned in the above Qur'anic verse is related to the same period.
124. Men are tested by God in a variety of ways. When a person or group of people begin to turn away from God and incline themselves towards disobedience, God provides abundant opportunities for them to disobey. This is done in order that the full potential for disobedience, which had remained hidden because of lack of such an opportunity, might come to the surface.
125. This shows that the people in that town were of three categories. One, those who flagrantly violated God's commands. Two, those who were silent spectators to such violations and discouraged those who admonished the criminals, pleading that their efforts were fruitless. Three, those who, moved by their religious commitment, actively enjoined good and forbade evil so that the evil-doers might make amends. In so doing, they were prompted by, a sense of duty, to bring back the evil-doers to the right path, and if the latter did not respond to their call, they would at least be able to establish before their Lord that for their part they had fulfilled their duty to admonish the evil-doers. So, when the town was struck by God's punishment, only the people belonging to the last category were spared for they had displayed God-consciousness and performed the duties incumbent upon them. As for the people of the other two categories, they were reckoned as transgressors and were punished in proportion to their crimes.
Some commentators on the Qur'an are of the opinion that whereas the Qur'an specifically, describes the fate of the people belonging to the first and third categories, it is silent about the treatment meted out to the people of the second category. It cannot be said, therefore, with certainty, whether they were spared or punished. It is reported that Ibn 'Abba's initially believed that God's punishment included the second category as well. It is believed that later his disciple Ikramah convinced him that only the people of the second category would be delivered in the same manner as the people of the third category.
A closer study of the Qur'anic account, however, shows that Ibn 'Abba's earlier viewpoint is sound. It is evident that the people of the town would inevitably have been grouped into two categories on the eve of God's punishment: those who were spared and those who were not. Since the Qur'an states that the people of the third category, had been spared, it may be legitimately assumed that the people belonging to both the first and the second categories were punished. This view is also corroborated by the preceding verse:
Also recall when a party of them said: 'Why do you admonish a people whom Allah is about to destroy or punish severely? They said: 'We admonish them in order to he able to offer an excuse before your Lord, and in the hope that they will guard against disobedience.' (Verse 164).
Thus it clearly emerges from the above discussion that all the people of the place where evil deeds are publicly committed stand guilty, One cannot be absolved merely on the basis that one had not committed any evil. One may be acquitted only, in the event that one made every possible effort to bring about reform and actively worked in the cause of the truth. This constitutes the divine law pertaining to collective evil as is evident from the teachings of the Qur'an and Hadith. The Qur'an says:
And guard against the mischief that will not only bring punishment to the wrong-doers among you. Know well that Allah is severe in punishment (Al-Anfal 8: 15).
Explaining the above verse the Prophet (peace be on him) remarked: 'God does not punish the generality of a people for the evil committed by a particular section of that people until they observe others committing evil and do not denounce it even though they are in a position to do so. And when they do that, God punishes all, the evil-doers and the people in general.' (Ahmad b. Hanbal. Musnad, vol. 4, p. 192 - Ed.)
Moreover. the verse in question seems to suggest that God's punishment afflicted the town concerned in two stages. The first stage is referred to as 'grevious chastisement', for in the next stage they were turned into apes. We may, therefore, hold that people belonging to both the first and the second categories were subjected to punishment. But the punishment of transforming the persistent evil-doers into apes was confined only to the people of the second category. (God knows best. If I am right that is from God. If I err, that is from me alone. God is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful.)
126. For details see Towards Understanding the Q ur'an, vol. 1, (al-Baqarah 2: n. 83, pp. 81-2),
127. The Qur'anic expression 'ta'adhdhana' means almost the same 'he warned; he proclaimed'.
128. Since the 8th century B.C. the Israelites were warned consistently. This is borne out by the contents of the Books of the Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and their successors. Jesus too administered the same warning which is borne out by many of his orations in the New Testament, This was also later confirmed by the Qur'an. History bears out the veracity of the statement made both in the Qur'an and the earlier scriptures. For throughout history, since the time the Jews were warned, they have continually been subjected to abject persecution in one part of the world or another.
129. The Jews knowingly commit sins in the belief that being God's chosen people they will necessarily be pardoned and spared God's punishment. As a result of this misconception, they neither repent nor refrain from committing sins. How unfortunate the Jews are! They received the Scriptures which could have made them leaders of all mankind. But they were so petty-minded that they aspired to nothing higher than paltry worldly benefits. Thus even though they had the potential of becoming the upholders of justice and righteousness across the world they ended up merely as worshippers of this world.
130. The people of Israel know well that the Torah does not unconditionally assure them salvation. They have never been promised by God or any of His Prophets that they will attain deliverance no matter what they do. Therefore they have absolutely no right to ascribe to God something which He never told them. What makes their crime even worse is that their claim to unconditional salvation constitutes a sacrilege of their covenant with God whereby they pledged never to attribute any false statement to God.
131. The above verse has two renderings. It may be either translated as above or it may be rendered thus: 'For the righteous, only the home in the Hereafter is the best.' Going by the first rendering, the verse means that salvation is not the exclusive privilege of a particular person or a family. It is absolutely out of the question that one will attain deliverance even if one commits sins, simply on account of being a Jew. A little reflection will help one realize that only the righteous and God-fearing will be rewarded in the Hereafter. In the light of the second rendering, only the unrighteous prefer worldly, gains to reward in the Hereafter. As for the righteous, they are conscious of the importance of the Hereafter and hence forego worldly benefits for the sake of reward in the Next World.
132. The allusion here is to the event which took place when Moses proclaimed God's Divine Law at the foot of Mount Sinai.
Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 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: 17-18.)
This awesome atmosphere was created by God at the time when He made the people of Israel enter into a covenant with Him in order to impress upon them the gravity of the event and the supreme importance of the covenant. It should not be mistakenly assumed, however, that the people of Israel, who were reluctant to make the covenant, were forced to enter into it. In fact they were all believers and had gone to the Mount merely to make the covenant. The extraordinary conditions which God created were such as to make the Israelites realize that making a covenant with God was not an ordinary matter. They were rather made to feel that they were entering into a covenant with none other than Almighty God and that violating it could spell their disaster.
This concludes the discourse especially addressed to the Israelites. From here on the discourse is directed to all mankind, and particularly to the people whom the Prophet (peace be on him) addressed directly.