Surah 7. Al-A'raf

Said [Moses]: "O my Sustainer! Grant Thou forgiveness unto me¹¹⁸ and my brother, and admit us unto Thy grace: for Thou art the most merciful of the merciful!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "for my anger and my harshness" (Razi).

At this Musa said: "O Rabb! Forgive me and my brother! And admit us to Your mercy, for You are the Most Merciful of all."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: My Lord! Have mercy on me and on my brother; bring us into Thy mercy, Thou the Most Merciful of all who show mercy.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And to Aaron he said:] "Verily, as for those who have taken to worshipping the [golden] calf - their Sustainer's condemnation will overtake them, and ignominy [will be their lot] in the life of this world!" For thus do We requite all who invent [such] falsehood.¹¹⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Throughout the Qur'an, this expression is used to describe (a) the attribution of divine qualities to any concrete or imaginary object or person, and (b) the making of false statements about God, His attributes, or the contents of His messages. In the above context it refers to any false imagery which deflects man from the worship of the One God.

Those who worshipped the calf have indeed incurred the wrath of their Rabb and disgrace in this life; thus do We recompense those who invent falsehoods.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! those who chose the calf (for worship), terror from their Lord and humiliation will come upon them in the life of the world. Thus do We requite those who invent a lie.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But as for those who do bad deeds and afterwards repent and [truly] believe - verily, after such repentance¹²⁰ thy Sustainer is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "after it".

As for those who do evil deeds, then repent and become true believers thereafter, your Rabb is most surely the Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But those who do ill deeds and afterward repent and believe--lo! for them, afterward, Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And when Moses' wrath was stilled, he took up the tablets, in the writing whereof there was guidance and grace for all who stood in awe of their Sustainer.¹²¹

  - Mohammad Asad

According to the Bible (Exodus xxxii, 19), Moses broke the tablets when he threw them down in anger; the Qur'anic narrative, however, shows them as having remained intact.

When Musa's anger calmed down he took up the Holy Tablets in whose writing there was guidance and mercy for those that fear their Rabb.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then, when the anger of Moses abated, he took up the tablets, and in their inscription there was guidance and mercy for all those who fear their Lord.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And Moses chose out of his people seventy men to come [and pray for forgiveness] at a time set by Us. Then, when violent trembling seized them,¹²² he prayed: "O my Sustainer! Hadst Thou so willed, Thou wouldst have destroyed them ere this, and me [with them]. Wilt Thou destroy us for what the weak-minded among us have done? [All] this is but a trial from Thee, whereby Thou allowest to go astray whom Thou willest, and guidest aright whom Thou willest. Thou art near unto us: grant us, then, forgiveness and have mercy on us - for Thou art the best of all forgivers!

  - Mohammad Asad

Most of the commentators take rajfah to mean here "earthquake", as it evidently does in other places in the Qur'an (e.g., in verses {78} and {91} of this surah). However, it should be remembered that this noun denotes any "violent commotion" or "trembling", from whatever cause; and since there is no reason to suppose that in this context an earthquake is meant, we may assume that the violent trembling which seized the seventy elders was caused by their intense regret and fear of God's punishment.

Musa chose seventy men from his nation to accompany him to Our place of meeting. On their way when they were seized by a violent earthquake, he prayed: "O my Rabb! Had it been Your will, You could have destroyed them long ago, and myself too. Would You destroy us for the offence committed by some fools among us? That trail was ordained by You, to confound whom You willed and to guide whom You pleased. You are our Guardian, therefore, forgive us and have mercy on us; for You are the best of all forgivers!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Moses chose of his people seventy men for Our appointed tryst and, when the trembling came on them, he said: My Lord! If thou hadst willed Thou hadst destroyed them long before, and me with them. Wilt thou destroy us for that which the ignorant among us did? It is but Thy trial (of us). Thou sendest whom Thou wilt astray and guidest whom Thou wilt. Thou art our Protecting Friend, therefore forgive us and have mercy on us, Thou, the Best of all who show forgiveness.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And ordain Thou for us what is good in this world as well as in the life to come: behold, unto Thee have we turned in repentance!" [God] answered: "With My chastisement do I afflict whom I will - but My grace overspreads everything:¹²³ and so I shall confer it on those who are conscious of Me and spend in charity, and who believe in Our messages -

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 6:12 (and the corresponding note [10]), as well as 6:54 .

O Allah ordain for us what is good in this life and in the Hereafter, surely we have turned to You." He replied: "I will inflict My punishment upon whom I please; yet My mercy encompasses everything. I will ordain special mercy for those who do righteous deeds, pay Zakah and believe in Our revelations."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And ordain for us in, this world that which is good, and in the Hereafter (that which is good), Lo! We have turned unto Thee. He said: I smite with My punishment whom I will, and My mercy embraceth all things, therefore I shall ordain It for those who ward off (evil) and pay the poor due, and those who believe Our revelations;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

those who shall follow the [last] Apostle, the unlettered Prophet whom they shall find described in the Torah that is with them, and [later on] in the Gospel:¹²⁴ [the Prophet] who will enjoin upon them the doing of what is right and forbid them the doing of what is wrong, and make lawful to them the good things of life and forbid them the bad things, and lift from them their burdens and the shackles that were upon them [aforetime].¹²⁵ Those, therefore, who shall believe in him, and honour him, and succour him, and follow the light that has been bestowed from on high through him - it is they that shall attain to a happy state."

  - Mohammad Asad

The interpolation of the words "later on" before the reference to the Gospel is necessitated by the fact that the whole of this passage is addressed to Moses and the children of Israel, that is, long before the Gospel (in the Qur'anic sense of this term - cf. surah {3}, note [4]) was revealed to Jesus. The stories of some of the earlier prophets given in this surah - beginning with the story of Noah and ending with that of Moses and the children of Israel - constitute a kind of introduction to this command to follow the "unlettered Prophet", Muhammad. The stress on his having been "unlettered" (ummi), i.e., unable to read and write, serves to bring out the fact that all his knowledge of the earlier prophets and of the messages transmitted by them was due to divine inspiration alone, and not to a familiarity with the Bible as such. For the Old Testament predictions of the advent of the Prophet Muhammad (especially in Deuteronomy xviii, 15 and 18), see surah {2}, note [33]; for the New Testament prophecies to the same effect, see 61:6 and the corresponding note [6].

A reference to the many severe rituals and obligations laid down in Mosaic Law, as well as to the tendency towards asceticism evident in the teachings of the Gospels. Thus the Qur'an implies that those "burdens and shackles", intended as means of spiritual discipline for particular communities and particular stages of man's development, will become unnecessary as soon as God's message to man shall have achieved its final, universal character in the teachings of the Last Prophet, Muhammad.

Now, special mercy is assigned to those who follow the Rasool, the unlettered Prophet (Muhammad) - whom they shall find described in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel). Who enjoins them what is good and forbids what is evil; makes pure things Halal (lawful) for them and impure things Haram (unlawful); relieves them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that were around their necks. Therefore, those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the Light which is sent down with him will be the ones who will be successful in this life and the hereafter".

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who follow the messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them. He will enjoin on them that which is right and forbid them that which is wrong. He will make lawful for them all good things and prohibit for them only the foul; and he will relieve them of their burden and the fetters that they used to wear. Then those who believe in him, and honor him and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they are the successful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say [O Muhammad]: "O mankind! Verily, I am an apostle of God to all of you,¹²⁶ [sent by Him] unto whom the dominion over the heavens and the earth belongs! There is no deity save Him; He [alone] grants life and deals death!" Believe, then, in God and His Apostle - the unlettered Prophet who believes in God and His words - and follow him, so that you might find guidance!

  - Mohammad Asad

This verse, placed parenthetically in the midst of the story of Moses and the children of Israel, is meant to elucidate the preceding passage. Each of the earlier prophets was sent to his, and only his, community: thus, the Old Testament addresses itself only to the children of Israel; and even Jesus, whose message had a wider bearing, speaks of himself as "sent only unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew xv, 24). In contrast, the message of the Qur'an is universal - that is, addressed to mankind as a whole - and is neither time-bound nor confined to any particular cultural environment. It is for this reason that Muhammad, through whom this message was revealed, is described in the Qur'an 21:107 as an evidence of "[God's] grace towards all the worlds" (i.e. towards all mankind), and as "the Seal of all Prophets" ( 33:40 ) - in other words, the last of them.

O Muhammad, say: "O mankind! I am the Rasool of Allah towards all of you from He to whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity but Him. He brings to life and causes to die. Therefore, believe in Allah and His Rasool, the unlettered Prophet (Muhammad) who believes in Allah and His Word. Follow him so that you may be rightly guided."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say (O Muhammad): O mankind! Lo! I am the messenger of Allah to you all--(the messenger of) Him unto whom belongeth the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. There is no God save Him. He quickeneth and He giveth death. So believe in Allah and His messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, who believeth in Allah and in His words and follow him that haply ye may be led aright.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND AMONG the folk of Moses there have been people who would guide [others] in the way of the truth and act justly in its light.¹²⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., people like those spoken of in {3:113-115}. With this verse, the discourse returns to the moral history of the children of Israel. The stress on the fact that there have always been righteous people among them is meant to contrast this righteousness with the rebellious sinfulness which most of them displayed throughout their Biblical history. It provides, at the same time, an indication that, although the wrongdoing of some of its members may sometimes plunge whole communities into suffering, God judges men individually, and not in groups.

In the nation of Musa (Moses) there were some who guided others with the truth and thereby established justice.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And of Moses' folk there is a community who lead with truth and establish justice therewith.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And We divided them into twelve tribes, [or] communities. And when his people asked Moses for water, We inspired him, "Strike the rock with thy staff!" - whereupon twelve springs gushed forth from it, so that all the people knew whence to drink. And We caused the clouds to comfort them with their shade, and We sent down unto them manna and quails, [saying:] "Partake of the good things which We have provided for you as sustenance." And [by all their sinning] they did no harm unto Us - but [only] against their own selves did they sin.

  - Mohammad Asad

We divided them into twelve tribes, as nations; and when his thirsty people asked him for water, We revealed to Musa: "Strike the rock with your staff." Thereupon twelve springs gushed out from the rock, each tribe was specified its drinking place. We caused the clouds to cast shadow over them and sent down to them manna and salva for their food, saying: "Eat of the pure things We have provided for you," but they rebelled and by doing so they did not harm Us but they did injustice to their own souls.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We divided them into twelve tribes, nations; and We inspired Moses, when his people asked him for water, saying: Smite with thy staff the rock! And there gushed forth therefrom twelve springs, so that each tribe knew their drinking place. And we caused the white cloud to overshadow them and sent down for them the manna and the quails (saying): Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you. They wronged Us not, but they were wont to wrong themselves.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [remember] when you were told: "Dwell in this land and eat of its food as you may desire; but say, 'Remove Thou from us the burden of our sins,' and enter the gate humbly - [whereupon] We shall forgive you your sins [and] shall amply reward the doers of good."

  - Mohammad Asad

When it was said to them: "Reside in this town and eat therein whatever you please and say 'Hittatun' (forgive us) and enter the gate in a posture of humility; We will forgive you your sins and increase all the more the reward for such righteous people."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when it was said unto them: Dwell in this township and eat therefrom whence ye will, and say "Repentance," and enter the gate prostrate; We shall forgive you your sins; We shall increase (reward) for the right-doers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But those among them who were bent on wrongdoing substituted another saying for that which they had been given: and so We let loose against them a plague from heaven in requital of all their evil doings¹²⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of this and the preceding verse, see {2:58-59}, and the corresponding notes.

But the wicked among them changed that word which was said to them, as a result We sent down a scourge upon them from heaven for their wrong doings.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But those of them who did wrong changed the word which had been told them for another saying, and We sent down upon them wrath from heaven for their wrongdoing.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And ask them about that town which stood by the sea: how its people would profane the Sabbath whenever their fish came to them, breaking the water's surface, on a day on which they ought to have kept Sabbath - because they would not come to them on other than Sabbath-days!¹²⁹ Thus did We try them by means of their [own] iniquitous doings.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "on a day when they did not keep Sabbath". Under Mosaic Law, they were obliged to refrain from all work - and, therefore, also from fishing - on Sabbath-days, with the result that the fish were more plentiful and would come closer to the shore on those days: and the inhabitants of the town took this as an excuse to break the Sabbath-law. Since the Qur'an does not mention the name of the town nor give any indication as to the historical period in which those offences were committed, it may be assumed that the story of the Sabbath-breakers (alluded to in several places in the Qur'an) is a general illustration of the tendency, so often manifested by the children of Israel, to offend against their religious laws in pursuit of their passions or for the sake of worldly gain. Although, according to the teachings of Islam, the Mosaic dispensation has since been abrogated, the Qur'an frequently points out its great role in the history of man's monotheistic beliefs, and stresses again and again its (time-bound) importance as a means of enforcing spiritual discipline on the children of Israel. Their repeated, deliberate breaches of the Mosaic Law are shown as evidence of their rebellious attitude towards that discipline and, thus, towards God's commandments in general.

Ask them, about the town which was situated on the sea shore, what happened when they transgressed in the matter of Sabbath. On the day of their Sabbath the fish appeared before them on the surface of the water but on the days other than their Sabbath they never came near them; thus did We tempt them because they transgressed.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Ask them (O Muhammad) of the township that was by the sea, how they did break the sabbath, how their big fish came unto them visibly upon their sabbath day and on a day when they did not keep sabbath came they not unto them. Thus did We try them for that they were evil-livers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And whenever some people¹³⁰ among them asked [those who tried to restrain the Sabbath-breakers], "Why do you preach to people whom God is about to destroy or [at least] to chastise with suffering severe?" - the pious ones¹³¹ would answer, "In order to be free from blame before your Sustainer, and that these [transgressors, too,] might become conscious of Him."

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "a community" - obviously people who, while not actively protesting against the impiety of their environment, did not themselves participate in this profanation of the Sabbath.

Lit., "they" - an allusion to the really pious among them, such as are described in verse {159} above.

Also remind them about the conversation among some of them, when some of them asked: "Why do you admonish a people whom Allah will destroy or sternly punish?" They replied: "To be able to offer an excuse before our Rabb, that we did discharge our duty, and also in the hope that they may refrain from His disobedience."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when a community among them said: Why preach ye to a folk whom Allah is about to destroy and punish with an awful doom, they said: In order to be free from guilt before your Lord, and that haply they may ward off (evil).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And thereupon, when those [sinners] had forgotten all that they had been told to take to heart, We saved those who had tried to prevent the doing of evil,¹³² and overwhelmed those who had been bent on evildoing with dreadful suffering for all their iniquity;

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "who were forbidding the evil".

However, when they disregarded the reminder, We delivered those who forbade evil and We overtook those who were wrongdoers with stern punishment because of their transgression.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when they forgot that whereof they had been reminded, We rescued those who forbade wrong, and visited those who did wrong with dreadful punishment because they were evil livers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall