Anwar Al-Quran

Verses 160–163

7. Al-A'raaf · The Heights

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وَقَطَّعْنَٰهُمُ ٱثْنَتَىْ عَشْرَةَ أَسْبَاطًا أُمَمًۭا ۚ وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱسْتَسْقَىٰهُ قَوْمُهُۥٓ أَنِ ٱضْرِب بِّعَصَاكَ ٱلْحَجَرَ ۖ فَٱنۢبَجَسَتْ مِنْهُ ٱثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ عَيْنًۭا ۖ قَدْ عَلِمَ كُلُّ أُنَاسٍۢ مَّشْرَبَهُمْ ۚ وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْغَمَٰمَ وَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْمَنَّ وَٱلسَّلْوَىٰ ۖ كُلُوا۟ مِن طَيِّبَٰتِ مَا رَزَقْنَٰكُمْ ۚ وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا وَلَٰكِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ

7:160We split them up into twelve tribal communities, and We revealed to Moses, when his people asked him for water, [saying], ‘Strike the rock with your staff,’ whereat twelve fountains gushed forth from it. Every tribe came to know its drinking-place. And We shaded them with clouds, and We sent down to them manna and quails: ‘Eat of the good things We have provided you.’ And they did not wrong Us, but they used to wrong [only] themselves.1

وَإِذْ قِيلَ لَهُمُ ٱسْكُنُوا۟ هَٰذِهِ ٱلْقَرْيَةَ وَكُلُوا۟ مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ وَقُولُوا۟ حِطَّةٌۭ وَٱدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْبَابَ سُجَّدًۭا نَّغْفِرْ لَكُمْ خَطِيٓـَٰٔتِكُمْ ۚ سَنَزِيدُ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ

7:161And when they were told, ‘Settle in this town and eat thereof whence you wish; and say, ‘‘Relieve [us of the burden of our sins],’’ and enter prostrating at the gate, that We may forgive your iniquities, and soon We shall enhance the virtuous.’2

فَبَدَّلَ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ قَوْلًا غَيْرَ ٱلَّذِى قِيلَ لَهُمْ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِجْزًۭا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَظْلِمُونَ

7:162But the wrongdoers changed the saying with other than what they had been told. So We sent against them a plague from the sky because of the wrongs they used to commit.*

وَسْـَٔلْهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ ٱلَّتِى كَانَتْ حَاضِرَةَ ٱلْبَحْرِ إِذْ يَعْدُونَ فِى ٱلسَّبْتِ إِذْ تَأْتِيهِمْ حِيتَانُهُمْ يَوْمَ سَبْتِهِمْ شُرَّعًۭا وَيَوْمَ لَا يَسْبِتُونَ ۙ لَا تَأْتِيهِمْ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نَبْلُوهُم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَفْسُقُونَ

7:163Ask them about the town that was situated on the seaside, when they violated the Sabbath, when their fish would come to them on the Sabbath day, visibly on the shore, but on days when they were not keeping Sabbath they would not come to them. Thus did We test them because of the transgressions they used to commit.3

Tafsir

Commentary on this passage

Verse 160

1.Opposition to Allah’s commands is injustice on the Lord of thee worlds. But in the ayat attention is called to another point that the mischievous people are aware that we are oppressing. And in this way they announce their conquests. Although they had oppressed themselves and not Allah and they do not have any idea of this because if they had they would never have commited it.

Verse 163

2.When Allah made fishing unlawful on Saturday for the people of the town, they dug a moat along the coast in which fishes collected on Saturday and they caught them on Sunday. Allah interpreted this act as unjust and cause of punishment. The philosophy of asking the people of town was that Jews can determine that they themselves were not well informed of that history. We know that history and we inform you so that you do not doubt our prophethood as that would be illogical and we have also clarified all these arguments and proofs. After this to harbour any doubt is nothing but ignorance and dishonesty.

Footnotes

Explanations of words and phrases in these verses

  1. Benefit

    Please note that here the ayat says Fanjabast while in Surah Baqarah the word that is used is Fanfajarat. The basic difference between the two is that the former term denotes the coming out of water- slowly while the latter denotes gushing out of water spring. Thus initially the springs flew slowly but gradually the water gushed out with more intensity so that the people may not be terrified.

  2. 1

    Sibt generally denotes son of the daughter and Hafeed is the son of the son, but from the Lexical point of view the word sibt is common. Bani Israel are related to the children of the twelve sons of Yaqoob (a.s.) and thus they are referred to as the seven groups of Asbat (Plural of sibt).

  3. 2

    It denotes Baitul Maqdas or Qariya Ariha where you have to follow a procedure for respect before entering however the unjust people made Hitta into Hanta.

  4. Benefit

    Crime is called injustice in the 162nd ayat and in Surah Baqarah it is called transgression. That is this from the aspect of Allah it was a disobedience and from the aspect of oneself, it was injustice.

  5. 3

    It refers to the settlement of Madin on the Red Sea coast where people resorted to extremism regarding Saturday (Sabbath).