Surah al-A`raf (The Elevated Places) 7 : 130
Translations
Pickthall
Yusuf Ali
Qur'an Dictionary
Click word/image to view Qur'an Dictionary | ||
---|---|---|
Word | Arabic word | |
(7:130:1) |
||
(7:130:2) akhadhnā We seized |
||
(7:130:3) āla (the) people |
||
(7:130:4) |
||
(7:130:5) bil-sinīna with years (of famine) |
||
(7:130:6) wanaqṣin and a deficit |
||
(7:130:7) |
||
(7:130:8) l-thamarāti [the] fruits |
||
(7:130:9) |
||
(7:130:10) yadhakkarūna receive admonition |
Explanatory Note
The shift in the sequence of the story suggests that Pharaoh and his group actually put their warnings into effect, killing men and sparing women. Moses and his followers where patient when this adversity befell them, proving that they were true believers hoping for intervention by God to lift their affliction. Thus, the whole situation was clearly identified: faith versus rejection of God’s message, tyranny against steadfastness, and human force opposing God.
At this stage in the conflict, the Supreme Power intervenes to settle the issue between the two camps. “We afflicted Pharaoh’s people with drought and poor harvests, so that they might take heed.” (Verse 130) This was a first warning given in the form of drought and poor harvests. In the richly fertile land of Egypt, this was a highly worrying situation that called for reflection and reconsideration. But the tyrants, and those who are fooled by tyrants because of their own transgression, do not wish to reflect or reconsider. They simply do not accept that poor harvests and drought came in fulfilment of God’s warnings. They do not wish to admit the close relationship between the values of faith and practical life, because that relationship belongs to the realm that lies beyond human perception. They have been too hardened in their ignorant ways to be able to see anything beyond the material world. When they see some aspect of a world beyond, they cannot recognize God’s hand in it, or His free will. They attribute everything to blind coincidence.
Similarly, Pharaoh’s people preferred to overlook the early signs that should have awakened them as they pointed to the fact that God’s mercy is bestowed on people, even when they continue to disbelieve in Him. Paganism and its superstitions had corrupted their nature, so that they could not recognize or understand the elaborate laws maintaining the fine order of the universe and influencing human life. These are only recognized and appreciated by true believers; for they realize that the universe has not been created in vain, and that it is governed by strict and well-defined laws. This is indeed the correct scientific mentality, which does not deny what lies beyond our perception, because there is simply no conflict between scientific facts and such a world beyond. Nor does it deny the relationship between the values of faith and practical life, because these have been set by God Himself who wants His servants to believe in Him and to build human life on earth. He lays down for them laws that are in harmony with those operating in the universe so that there is no conflict between their existence and their world.
So, Pharaoh’s people did not see the connection between their transgression and the oppression they wreaked on God’s servant on the one hand, and their affliction with drought and poor harvests in the richly fertile land of Egypt on the other. It was a gesture of God’s mercy to raise this fact before their very eyes, so that they could reflect. They should have remembered that the land of Egypt could always feed its people, except at times when God decided to try them with poor harvests after they had transgressed.
3. Surah Overview
A study of its contents clearly shows that the period of its revelation is about the same as that of Surah 6: al-An’am (The Grazing Livestock), i.e. the last year of the Prophet's life at Makkah, but it cannot be asserted with certainty which of these two were sent down earlier. The manner of its admonition clearly indicates that it belongs to the same period. [Ref: Mawdudi]
It is considered the longest surah revealed during the Makkan period. Some consider this surah to have been revealed after Surah 38: Sad. [Ref: Tafsir al-Maudheei, Dr. Mustafah Muslim, vol. 3, p. 2]
10. Wiki Forum
11. Tafsir Zone
Overview (Verses 130 - 131) Who Brings Bad Omen We afflicted Pharaoh’s people with drought and poor harvests, so that they might take heed. Whenever something fine came their way, they would say: “This is our due”, but whenever affliction befell them, they attributed their ill omen to Moses and those who followed him. Surely, whatever befalls them has been decreed by God, though most of them do not know it. (Verses 130-131) Here we have another scene in the story whereby Pharaoh and his people begin to taste the fruits of injustice and tyranny, while the promises Moses has given to his people, based on his trust in his Lord, come true. The warnings, stressed in the entire sūrah and endorsed throughout the story, are also seen to be true. The scene starts on a quiet note, but we can feel the storm gathering slowly. When the curtains are about to fall, the storm is at its highest, wreaking destruction and wiping the tyrants out. We also learn that the Children of Israel have been well rewarded for their steadfastness, while Pharaoh and his people were punished for their transgression. Both God’s promises and warnings have come true. The law of nature which He has established, sentencing unbelievers to destruction after testing them with hardship and affluence, has also operated in full: The shift in the sequence of the story suggests that Pharaoh and his group actually put their warnings into effect, killing men and sparing women. Moses and his followers where patient when this adversity befell them, proving that they were true believers hoping for intervention by God to lift their affliction. Thus, the whole situation was clearly identified: faith versus rejection of God’s message, tyranny against steadfastness, and human force opposing God. At this stage in the conflict, the Supreme Power intervenes to settle the issue between the two camps. “We afflicted Pharaoh’s people with drought and poor harvests, so that they might take heed.” (Verse 130) This was a first warning given in the form of drought and poor harvests. In the richly fertile land of Egypt, this was a highly worrying situation that called for reflection and reconsideration. But the tyrants, and those who are fooled by tyrants because of their own transgression, do not wish to reflect or reconsider. They simply do not accept that poor harvests and drought came in fulfilment of God’s warnings. They do not wish to admit the close relationship between the values of faith and practical life, because that relationship belongs to the realm that lies beyond human perception. They have been too hardened in their ignorant ways to be able to see anything beyond the material world. When they see some aspect of a world beyond, they cannot recognize God’s hand in it, or His free will. They attribute everything to blind coincidence. Similarly, Pharaoh’s people preferred to overlook the early signs that should have awakened them as they pointed to the fact that God’s mercy is bestowed on people, even when they continue to disbelieve in Him. Paganism and its superstitions had corrupted their nature, so that they could not recognize or understand the elaborate laws maintaining the fine order of the universe and influencing human life. These are only recognized and appreciated by true believers; for they realize that the universe has not been created in vain, and that it is governed by strict and well-defined laws. This is indeed the correct scientific mentality, which does not deny what lies beyond our perception, because there is simply no conflict between scientific facts and such a world beyond. Nor does it deny the relationship between the values of faith and practical life, because these have been set by God Himself who wants His servants to believe in Him and to build human life on earth. He lays down for them laws that are in harmony with those operating in the universe so that there is no conflict between their existence and their world. So, Pharaoh’s people did not see the connection between their transgression and the oppression they wreaked on God’s servant on the one hand, and their affliction with drought and poor harvests in the richly fertile land of Egypt on the other. It was a gesture of God’s mercy to raise this fact before their very eyes, so that they could reflect. They should have remembered that the land of Egypt could always feed its people, except at times when God decided to try them with poor harvests after they had transgressed. Pharaoh’s people considered every good fortune that came their way as their due. Affliction and poor harvests were attributed to Moses and his followers as people who brought bad omen: “Whenever something fine came their way, they would say: ‘This is our due’, but whenever affliction befell them, they attributed their ill omen to Moses and those who followed him.” (Verse 131) When human nature turns away from faith, it cannot see God’s hand conducting its affairs, or His will initiating events. At this stage, it loses all its appreciation of the constant laws of the universe. It starts to give events isolated, disjointed interpretations and accepts all sorts of superstition, which lack even the slightest degree of coherence. A simple example is the statement made by Khrushchev, the advocate of scientific socialism, explaining poor harvests in the Soviet Union as the opposition of nature to the socialists. Those who try to explain events in allegedly `scientific’ terms, while denying God’s will, provide another example. What is singular is that some of them still claim to be Muslims when they deny the foundations of faith altogether. It was in the same vein that Pharaoh and his people interpreted events. Good fortune was their due, and it came to them because they deserved it, while affliction was the ill-omen Moses and his followers brought about. The word used here for “ill- omen” has the same root as a “flying bird”. The connection originates from an Arabian pagan practice. When an Arab wanted to choose a course of action, he came to a bird’s nest and frightened the bird inside. If the bird flew to the right, the man felt that was a good omen and he followed his chosen line of action. If the bird flew to the left, the man considered that a bad omen and he stopped short. Islam stopped all this superstition and replaced it by a truly scientific line of thinking. It attributed matters to the laws God operates in the universe, and to God’s will ensuring the operation of all these laws. Events are valued on a scientific basis, which takes note of man’s intention, action and effort. All these are placed within the context of God’s free will: “Surely, whatever befalls them has been decreed by God, though most of them do not know it.” (Verse 131) Whatever happens to human beings has the same source, because it is decreed by God. It is to this source that their trial with affliction is attributed, as well as their trial with affluence: “We test you all with evil and good by way of trial. To Us you all must return.” (21: 35) The same source causes their punishment when they are punished for their misdeeds. But most of them do not recognize this. These ancient unbelievers were the same as those who in our present day claim for themselves `scientific pragmatism’ in order to justify their denial of God’s will and His control of what lies beyond our world. Similar to them are those ‘scientific socialists’ who attribute their poor harvests to an antagonistic nature! All of them are ignorant, devoid of knowledge. |
Ibn Kathir (English)
Sayyid Qutb
Sha'rawi
Al Jalalain
Mawdudi
الطبري - جامع البيان
ابن كثير - تفسير القرآن العظيم
القرطبي - الجامع لأحكام
البغوي - معالم التنزيل
ابن أبي حاتم الرازي - تفسير القرآن
ابن عاشور - التحرير والتنوير
ابن القيم - تفسير ابن قيّم
السيوطي - الدر المنثور
الشنقيطي - أضواء البيان
ابن الجوزي - زاد المسير
الآلوسي - روح المعاني
ابن عطية - المحرر الوجيز
الرازي - مفاتيح الغيب
أبو السعود - إرشاد العقل السليم
الزمخشري - الكشاف
البقاعي - نظم الدرر
الهداية إلى بلوغ النهاية — مكي ابن أبي طالب
القاسمي - محاسن التأويل
الماوردي - النكت والعيون
السعدي - تيسير الكريم الرحمن
عبد الرحمن الثعالبي - الجواهر الحسان
السمرقندي - بحر العلوم
أبو إسحاق الثعلبي - الكشف والبيان
الشوكاني - فتح القدير
النيسابوري - التفسير البسيط
أبو حيان - البحر المحيط
البيضاوي - أنوار التنزيل
النسفي - مدارك التنزيل
ابن جُزَيّ - التسهيل لعلوم التنزيل
علي الواحدي النيسابوري - الوجيز
السيوطي - تفسير الجلالين
المختصر في التفسير — مركز تفسير
|
Overview (Verses 130 - 131) Who Brings Bad Omen We afflicted Pharaoh’s people with drought and poor harvests, so that they might take heed. Whenever something fine came their way, they would say: “This is our due”, but whenever affliction befell them, they attributed their ill omen to Moses and those who followed him. Surely, whatever befalls them has been decreed by God, though most of them do not know it. (Verses 130-131) Here we have another scene in the story whereby Pharaoh and his people begin to taste the fruits of injustice and tyranny, while the promises Moses has given to his people, based on his trust in his Lord, come true. The warnings, stressed in the entire sūrah and endorsed throughout the story, are also seen to be true. The scene starts on a quiet note, but we can feel the storm gathering slowly. When the curtains are about to fall, the storm is at its highest, wreaking destruction and wiping the tyrants out. We also learn that the Children of Israel have been well rewarded for their steadfastness, while Pharaoh and his people were punished for their transgression. Both God’s promises and warnings have come true. The law of nature which He has established, sentencing unbelievers to destruction after testing them with hardship and affluence, has also operated in full: The shift in the sequence of the story suggests that Pharaoh and his group actually put their warnings into effect, killing men and sparing women. Moses and his followers where patient when this adversity befell them, proving that they were true believers hoping for intervention by God to lift their affliction. Thus, the whole situation was clearly identified: faith versus rejection of God’s message, tyranny against steadfastness, and human force opposing God. At this stage in the conflict, the Supreme Power intervenes to settle the issue between the two camps. “We afflicted Pharaoh’s people with drought and poor harvests, so that they might take heed.” (Verse 130) This was a first warning given in the form of drought and poor harvests. In the richly fertile land of Egypt, this was a highly worrying situation that called for reflection and reconsideration. But the tyrants, and those who are fooled by tyrants because of their own transgression, do not wish to reflect or reconsider. They simply do not accept that poor harvests and drought came in fulfilment of God’s warnings. They do not wish to admit the close relationship between the values of faith and practical life, because that relationship belongs to the realm that lies beyond human perception. They have been too hardened in their ignorant ways to be able to see anything beyond the material world. When they see some aspect of a world beyond, they cannot recognize God’s hand in it, or His free will. They attribute everything to blind coincidence. Similarly, Pharaoh’s people preferred to overlook the early signs that should have awakened them as they pointed to the fact that God’s mercy is bestowed on people, even when they continue to disbelieve in Him. Paganism and its superstitions had corrupted their nature, so that they could not recognize or understand the elaborate laws maintaining the fine order of the universe and influencing human life. These are only recognized and appreciated by true believers; for they realize that the universe has not been created in vain, and that it is governed by strict and well-defined laws. This is indeed the correct scientific mentality, which does not deny what lies beyond our perception, because there is simply no conflict between scientific facts and such a world beyond. Nor does it deny the relationship between the values of faith and practical life, because these have been set by God Himself who wants His servants to believe in Him and to build human life on earth. He lays down for them laws that are in harmony with those operating in the universe so that there is no conflict between their existence and their world. So, Pharaoh’s people did not see the connection between their transgression and the oppression they wreaked on God’s servant on the one hand, and their affliction with drought and poor harvests in the richly fertile land of Egypt on the other. It was a gesture of God’s mercy to raise this fact before their very eyes, so that they could reflect. They should have remembered that the land of Egypt could always feed its people, except at times when God decided to try them with poor harvests after they had transgressed. Pharaoh’s people considered every good fortune that came their way as their due. Affliction and poor harvests were attributed to Moses and his followers as people who brought bad omen: “Whenever something fine came their way, they would say: ‘This is our due’, but whenever affliction befell them, they attributed their ill omen to Moses and those who followed him.” (Verse 131) When human nature turns away from faith, it cannot see God’s hand conducting its affairs, or His will initiating events. At this stage, it loses all its appreciation of the constant laws of the universe. It starts to give events isolated, disjointed interpretations and accepts all sorts of superstition, which lack even the slightest degree of coherence. A simple example is the statement made by Khrushchev, the advocate of scientific socialism, explaining poor harvests in the Soviet Union as the opposition of nature to the socialists. Those who try to explain events in allegedly `scientific’ terms, while denying God’s will, provide another example. What is singular is that some of them still claim to be Muslims when they deny the foundations of faith altogether. It was in the same vein that Pharaoh and his people interpreted events. Good fortune was their due, and it came to them because they deserved it, while affliction was the ill-omen Moses and his followers brought about. The word used here for “ill- omen” has the same root as a “flying bird”. The connection originates from an Arabian pagan practice. When an Arab wanted to choose a course of action, he came to a bird’s nest and frightened the bird inside. If the bird flew to the right, the man felt that was a good omen and he followed his chosen line of action. If the bird flew to the left, the man considered that a bad omen and he stopped short. Islam stopped all this superstition and replaced it by a truly scientific line of thinking. It attributed matters to the laws God operates in the universe, and to God’s will ensuring the operation of all these laws. Events are valued on a scientific basis, which takes note of man’s intention, action and effort. All these are placed within the context of God’s free will: “Surely, whatever befalls them has been decreed by God, though most of them do not know it.” (Verse 131) Whatever happens to human beings has the same source, because it is decreed by God. It is to this source that their trial with affliction is attributed, as well as their trial with affluence: “We test you all with evil and good by way of trial. To Us you all must return.” (21: 35) The same source causes their punishment when they are punished for their misdeeds. But most of them do not recognize this. These ancient unbelievers were the same as those who in our present day claim for themselves `scientific pragmatism’ in order to justify their denial of God’s will and His control of what lies beyond our world. Similar to them are those ‘scientific socialists’ who attribute their poor harvests to an antagonistic nature! All of them are ignorant, devoid of knowledge. |