Selected Verses [32-39] of Holy Quran Surah Al-A'raf 7 - Towards Understanding the Quran

 

Selected Verses [32-39] of Holy Quran Surah Al-A'raf 7

Towards Understanding the Quran

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Monday 12 Shawwal 1442 AH and 24 May 2021 CE

Reminder after Ramadaan No 10

Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah. As-Salaam Alaikum WA-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu.

Praise be to Allaah; we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (ﷺ) is His slave and Messenger.

Help us Answer the Ummah! Every second, everywhere someone needs an answer. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “A person who leads others to doing what is good will earn the same reward as those who do it.” (Muslim, 1893).

وَلَا تَهِنُواْ وَلَا تَحۡزَنُواْ وَأَنتُمُ ٱلۡأَعۡلَوۡنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤۡمِنِينَ (١٣٩)

“Do not lose hope, nor be sad. You will surely be victorious if you are true in Faith.” And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it].” [Holy Quran Chapter Al Imran Ayah 139]

 

إِن يَنصُرۡكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمۡ‌ۖ وَإِن يَخۡذُلۡكُمۡ فَمَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَنصُرُكُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِهِۦ‌ۗ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلۡيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ (١٦٠)

“If Allah should aid you, no one can overcome you; but if He should forsake you, who is there that can aid you after Him? And upon Allah let the believers rely.”

[Holy Quran Chapter Imran Ayah 160]

Preamble

This Surah Al Aaraf (The Heights) chapter seven [7] of the Holy Quran takes its name from Verses 46-47 in which mention of A'araf occurs.

We extracted from works of Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur’an [The Meaning of the Qur'an], body of commentary and explication, aimed at explaining the meanings of the Qur'an, the central religious text of Islam. Tafsir can broadly be categorized by its affiliated Islamic schools and branches and the era it was published, classic or modern for clear understanding and conviction of God's will. Principally, a Tafsir deals with the issues of linguistics, jurisprudence, and theology.

In this article we will provide Holy Quran Surah Al-A'raf 7: Verses [32-39] commentary of Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. 

However, The more I try to know, to research, to learn and develop, the more I discover my pathetic level of ignorance...
And Allah’s Aid sought against all forms of ignorance! There's no better remedy to the development of Man than his readiness to embrace knowledge. We ask Allaah to ease our affairs. Aameen.

قُلۡ مَنۡ حَرَّمَ زِينَةَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَخۡرَجَ لِعِبَادِهِۦ وَٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ مِنَ ٱلرِّزۡقِ‌ۚ قُلۡ هِىَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ فِى ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا خَالِصَةً۬ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ‌ۗ كَذَٲلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ ٱلۡأَيَـٰتِ لِقَوۡمٍ۬ يَعۡلَمُونَ (٣٢)

(7:32) Say (O Muhammad): 'Who has forbidden the adornment which Allah has brought forth for His creatures or the good things from among the means of sustenance?'²² Say: 'These are for the enjoyment of the believers in this world, and shall be exclusively theirs on the Day of Resurrection.'²³ Thus do We clearly expound Our revelations for those who have knowledge.

22. Since it is God Himself Who has created all good and pure things for man, it obviously could not have been His intent to make them unlawful. Now, if there is any religion, or any ethical or social system which forbids those things, or considers them an insurmountable barrier to man's spiritual growth, it has an intellectual orientation which itself is evident proof of its not having been prescribed by God.

This is an important argument which the Qur'an advances in refutation of false creeds. An appreciation of this argument would help one understand the Qur'anic line of argumentation as such.

23. All the clean and beautiful things created by God are meant, in principle, for the believers even in this world, for they are God's faithful subjects, and it is fidelity to God that makes one deserve enjoyment of the things which are God's. However, all men are under a test in this world. Hence even those who are disloyal to God have been granted respite to mend their ways and are, therefore, not denied His worldly bounties. In fact with a view to testing those disloyal to God these bounties are at times lavished upon them even more abundantly than on God's faithful servants. But the character of the Next Life will be totally different. For one's station there will be determined entirely by one's righteousness and justice. God's bounties in the Next Life, therefore, will be for the faithful alone. As for the unfaithful, those who were disloyal to God even though every fibre of their being was nourished by the sustenance provided by Him, they will have no share whatsoever of those bounties in the Next Life.

قُلۡ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّىَ ٱلۡفَوَٲحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنۡہَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَٱلۡإِثۡمَ وَٱلۡبَغۡىَ بِغَيۡرِ ٱلۡحَقِّ وَأَن تُشۡرِكُواْ بِٱللَّهِ مَا لَمۡ يُنَزِّلۡ بِهِۦ سُلۡطَـٰنً۬ا وَأَن تَقُولُواْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ (٣٣)

(7:33) Tell them (O Muhammad): 'My Lord has only forbidden indecent acts, whether overt or hidden;²⁴ all manner of sin;²⁵ wrongful transgression;²⁶ and [He has forbidden] that you associate with Allah in His divinity that for which He has sent down no sanction; and that you ascribe to Allah things of which you have no sure knowledge that they are from Him.'

24. For an elaboration of hidden and overt indecencies see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. 11,( Quran al-An'am, 6: nn. 128 and 131, pp. 290-2).

25. The word ithm denotes negligence, dereliction of duty. Athimah signifies the she-camel which, though capable of running at a fast pace, deliberately moves slowly. The meaning of the word, therefore, carries the idea of sin. Viewed in the context of man, the word convey's the sense of man's deliberate neglect of his duty to God, his failure to pursue God's good pleasure despite his having the capacity to obey and follow Him.

26. To exceed the limits set by God and to enter an area which has been declared out of bounds for man constitute rebellion and transgression. According to this definition of baghy, the charge of rebellion will apply to all those who act according to their whims rather than in accordance with the directives of God. It is applicable to those who behave as though they are the true masters of God's Kingdom, claiming for themselves the prerogatives of God. It also applies to all those who usurp the rights of others.

وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلٌ۬‌ۖ فَإِذَا جَآءَ أَجَلُهُمۡ لَا يَسۡتَأۡخِرُونَ سَاعَةً۬‌ۖ وَلَا يَسۡتَقۡدِمُونَ (٣٤)

(7:34) For every community there is an appointed term; and when its term arrives, they cannot tarry behind a moment, nor can they get ahead.²⁷

27. The expression 'fixed term' used in the verse should not give rise to the misconception that the term of a nation expires on a definite day, month or year. What the statement really means is that God has laid down a minimum proportion between the good and evil deeds of a nation. As long as that nation is able to maintain that minimum proportion, its existence is tolerated in order that it might be able to show its performance. Once a nation crosses that minimum limit, it is denied any further respite. (For further explication of this point see (Quran Nuh 71: 4-10 and 12.)

يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ إِمَّا يَأۡتِيَنَّكُمۡ رُسُلٌ۬ مِّنكُمۡ يَقُصُّونَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ ءَايَـٰتِى‌ۙ فَمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰ وَأَصۡلَحَ فَلَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَيۡہِمۡ وَلَا هُمۡ يَحۡزَنُونَ (٣٥)

(7:35) Children of Adam! If Messengers come to you from amongst yourselves who rehearse to you My signs, then those who shun disobedience and mend their ways shall have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve.

وَٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَٱسۡتَكۡبَرُواْ عَنۡہَآ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ‌ۖ هُمۡ فِيہَا خَـٰلِدُونَ (٣٦)

(7:36) And those who reject Our revelations as false and turn away from them in arrogance, they shall be the inmates of Hell; and there shall they abide.²⁸

28. Reference to the continuous unremitting punishment of the unbelievers occurs invariably on occasions where the Qur'an narrates the coming down of Adam and Eve from Paradise. See (Quran al-Baqarah 2: 38-9 ); (Quran Ta Ha 20: 123-4.) What has been said here should be considered in relation to the fact that at the very start of man's earthly life he was informed of the evil results of unbelief. (See Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. 1, (Quran AI 'Imran 3: n.69, pp.268-9 - Ed.)

فَمَنۡ أَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنِ ٱفۡتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَوۡ كَذَّبَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِهِۦۤ‌ۚ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ يَنَالُهُمۡ نَصِيبُہُم مِّنَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ‌ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءَتۡہُمۡ رُسُلُنَا يَتَوَفَّوۡنَہُمۡ قَالُوٓاْ أَيۡنَ مَا كُنتُمۡ تَدۡعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۖ قَالُواْ ضَلُّواْ عَنَّا وَشَہِدُواْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِہِمۡ أَنَّہُمۡ كَانُواْ كَـٰفِرِينَ (٣٧)

(7:37) Who is more unjust then he who invents a falsehood, ascribing it to Allah, or who rejects His revelation as false? Their full portion of God's Decree shall reach them,²⁹ until Our deputed angels come to them to take charge of their souls, and say: 'Where are the deities now, those whom you invoked besides Allah?' They will say: 'They are all gone away from us.' And they shall bear witness against themselves that they were unbelievers.

29, All men, whether good or bad, have been granted a definite term in this world which they will spend and obtain their share of worldly happiness and misery.

قَالَ ٱدۡخُلُواْ فِىٓ أُمَمٍ۬ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ مِن قَبۡلِڪُم مِّنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ وَٱلۡإِنسِ فِى ٱلنَّارِ‌ۖ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَتۡ أُمَّةٌ۬ لَّعَنَتۡ أُخۡتَہَا‌ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا ٱدَّارَڪُواْ فِيہَا جَمِيعً۬ا قَالَتۡ أُخۡرَٮٰهُمۡ لِأُولَٮٰهُمۡ رَبَّنَا هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ أَضَلُّونَا فَـَٔاتِہِمۡ عَذَابً۬ا ضِعۡفً۬ا مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ‌ۖ قَالَ لِكُلٍّ۬ ضِعۡفٌ۬ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تَعۡلَمُونَ (٣٨)

(7:38) Allah will say: 'Enter the fire of Hell and join the nations of jinn and men that have gone before You.' As a nation enters Hill, it will curse the one that went before it, and when all are gathered there, the last of them shall say of the first: 'Our Lord! These are the ones who led us astray. Let their torment be doubled in Hell-Fire.' He will answer: 'Each will have a doubled torment; although you do not know.'³⁰

30. As it is, each group of people is followed, even as it is preceded, by others. A group which inherits an error of outlook and conduct from its predecessors passes on the same, in turn, to future generations. In addition, whereas a group owes its wrong-doing partly to the wrong-doing of its predecessors, it will also be held responsible for leaving behind an evil legacy for the future generations. The Qur'an, therefore, pronounces a double punishment on such a group: it will incur punishment for its own misdeeds and also for leaving behind such a legacy for the coming generations. A number of traditions elucidate this point. According to one such tradition the Prophet (peace be on him) said: 'He who introduces a misleading innovation which does not please God and His Messenger shall be held guilty for the sins of all those who follow that innovation without lessening in the least the burden [of sins] of those who followed the innovation,' (Cf. Ibn Majah, Muqaddimat Bab Man Ahya Sunnah qad umitat, where the words are slightly different - Ed.) According to another tradition, he said: 'The responsibility for all the murders committed in the world is shared by the first son of Adam [i.e. Cain] for he was the first to have innovated murder.' (See Bukhari, Kitab al-Jana'iz, Bab Qawlih 'alay al-Salam Yu'addhab al-Mayyit bi Ba'd Buka'i ahlih 'alayh - Ed.)

We thus know that the individual or group responsible for introducing a wrong idea or practice is not only responsible to the extent of those sins, but shares the responsibility of the sins of all those who are influenced by him. As long as the evil effects of that influence continue, their sins will be continually added to his account. This also shows that a person is not only accountable for the good or bad deeds that he commits. In fact he is also accountable for the influence of those deeds on others.

This may be illustrated by considering the case of someone who indulges in unlawful sex. All those whose bad examples, evil company, and inducements to evil caused a man to indulge in such an act have a share in the sin that he committed. The persons who influenced him in turn had been influenced by others. Were this chain of influence traced back to its ultimate origin, the blame would be fixed on the first person who demonstrated this unlawful way for satiating the sexual urge.

This does not detract from the fact that anyone who indulged in fornication is also accountable for the sin he committed. This is so because when he committed a sin he did so because he failed to make proper use of his capacity to distinguish between good and evil with which he had been endowed. He also did not pay due heed to the voice of his conscience, and mobilize the power of self-control given him. Nor did he benefit from the knowledge of good and evil transmitted to him by pious men nor was he inspired by the noble examples of the God-fearing. Nor did he learn any lesson from the evil consequences of sexual misconduct. Instead, he totally succumbed to blind sexual lust which sought gratification at all cost. This much relates to the responsibility of the person who indulged in sexual misconduct.

But there is another dimension of that person's evil conduct - his propagation of that same evil among others which ruined the lives of countless people belonging to his own generation and to the generations that follow. It is also possible that he might have been afflicted by some general disease which he then communicated to his own generation and also to the generations that followed. His sexual misconduct might also have given birth to illegitimate children, unjustly passing on the burden of their upbringing to others, and making his offspring - without any justification - co-sharers in the fortunes and even the inheritance of others. The wrong that is thus perpetrated persists for many generations. Likewise, it is also possible that the said criminal might, by his cunning, have led an innocent girl to sexually corrupt behaviour. That in turn is likely to awaken evil propensities in her which wreck the lives and homes of countless families, even generations. Also, by setting an evil example for his children, relatives, friends and the society at large a fornicator is likely to cast a bad influence on people around him and infect others with moral corruption. The evil consequences of such an act thus linger on for a long time. The moral corruption that ultimately, engulfs the society owes its origin to the person who initially introduced an evil. Justice, therefore, demands that such a culprit should also be held responsible for the subsequent evils which may be traced back to his initial act of corruption.

The same holds true for good deeds. The reward for the heritage of goodness left behind by our predecessors from the earliest times should inevitably go to the credit of those men of the past who have continually transmitted that heritage to posterity down to our own time. If our own generation takes good care of that heritage, enriches it and passes it on to the coming generation, it also deserves due reward for that. As long as our good acts leave a trace of good influence on history and continue to cast a good influence on people, mankind will reap the benefits of those acts.

This is the Qur'anic view of retribution. Every sensible person will agree that such a dispensation alone can ensure perfect justice. Appreciation of this concept should dispel the idea of those who believe that men can be fully rewarded or punished for their deeds within the confines of this worldly life. Likewise, such an appreciation should also dispel the views of those who believe that the transmigration of souls alone can ensure full justice to all men. Such people have blundered because they have neither grasped fully the nature and consequences of human acts nor the nature and requirements of perfect justice. It is obvious that the consequences of individuals' acts are not visible during their life-span - say sixty or seventy years or so. Instead, human activities, both good and evil, influence the lives of countless people belonging to countless generations. One cannot, therefore, be brought to justice during one's own lifetime, since only a small part of the consequences of those acts have yet come to the surface. Moreover, the limited possibilities available in the present world are quite inadequate for bringing people to justice. Just consider the hideous crime of someone who pushes us to a world war. As things stand, the catastrophic consequences of such a crime would affect the lives of billions of men through the ages. Is there any punishment - physical, spiritual or material - which can be deemed even remotely, proportionate to that crime? Likewise, no worldly reward, however valuable, can adequately recompense for the noble services rendered by a philanthropist which will benefit numerous people for thousands of years.

Having viewed the question from this angle. One readily, concludes that there must necessarily be life in the Hereafter such that full justice can be meted out to everyone. Here all human beings are brought together, their full records are made available, and the reckoning is made by God Himself Whose knowledge embraces literally everything. Additionally, men should be granted unlimited spans of life, and infinite possibilities should be made available for receiving compensation.

A little reflection on this will help us see how false the doctrine of the transmigration of souls is. Those who subscribe to this doctrine fail to realize that eternal life is needed to mete out recompense to people for the deeds they commit during their relatively brief spans of life. If one were to believe in the unending cycle of life and death it would become impossible to reward or punish anyone for his actions, for each span of life would go on accumulating endlessly. The arrears would never be cleared.

وَقَالَتۡ أُولَٮٰهُمۡ لِأُخۡرَٮٰهُمۡ فَمَا كَانَ لَكُمۡ عَلَيۡنَا مِن فَضۡلٍ۬ فَذُوقُواْ ٱلۡعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمۡ تَكۡسِبُونَ (٣٩)

(7:39) Then the preceding ones will say to the succeeding ones: 'You were in no way superior to us; taste, then, this torment for your deeds.' ³¹

31. In addition to the above verse, the Qur'an elsewhere recounts the mutual incriminations of the dwellers of Hell. For example, it occurs in Sarah al-Saba' in the following words: 'Could you but see when the wrong-doers will be made to stand before their Lord, throwing back the word (of blame) on one another! Those who had been abased will say to the arrogant ones: "Had it not been for you, we should certainly have been believers!" The arrogant ones will say, to those who had been abased: "Was it we who kept you back from Guidance after it reached you? Nay, rather it was you yourselves who transgressed" ' (Quran al-Saba' 34: 31-2). This means that since the misguided people themselves were not keen on receiving the right guidance, they fell victims even more to the forces of misguidance. Out of their own excessive worldliness they chose to follow their ungodly leaders. Granted that it was the forces of misguidance which had invented ideologies such as materialism, excessive worldliness, and nationalism. But when people were attracted to these false ideologies, they did so out of their own weaknesses. These forces of evil achieved success because what they offered was to the utmost liking of the people. Again, the people who were tempted to embrace counterfeit religious ideologies were themselves to blame for falling prey to them since there was an inner urge in them to accept such ideologies. Rather than submitting to the One True God and to rigorous moral discipline, they looked for deities that would help them to achieve their worldly purposes. Naturally, they invented deities of their own liking. They also desired the intercession of those who would let them grow in worldliness and godlessness, and yet who would also ensure their redemption in the Next World. As they preferred a religion that would not make their life a bit dry, permissive religious cults which did not object to any kind of self-indulgence were developed. This establishes clearly that the external forces of evil alone are not to blame. The people who succumb to evil and error equally share the blame. This neither condones the role of those who seek to mislead others, nor detracts from the responsibility of those who choose to be misled.

End of Quran Surah Al-A'raf 7: 32-39 commentaries on:

Children of Adam are warned not to fall into the trap of Shaitan like Adam and Allah never commands what is shameful

 

This surah has 39 major sections [condensed to 24] out of which verses [32-39] are selected here for us to understand Quranic teachings and explanations.

 

To be continued Reminder 12 In Shaa Allah on Verses [40-47]:

Verses [40-41] Gates of heaven shall not be opened for the disbelievers

Verses [42-43] Only believers shall enter paradise

Verses [44-47] Dialogue between the residents of paradise and the inmates of hell

 

https://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=7&verse=40

Sources

Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an [The Meaning of the Qur'an] - https://www.searchtruth.com/tafsir/tafsir.php

https://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=7&verse=32

Tafsir ibn Kathir (The Ibn Kathir Interpretation) by Ibn Kathir Ash-Shafi'i (1301—1373 CE/ 774 AH). A summary of the earlier interpretation by al-Tabari.