Surah al-A`raf (The Elevated Places) 7 : 147

وَٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا وَلِقَآءِ ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَٰلُهُمْ ۚ هَلْ يُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ

Translations

 
 Muhsin Khan
 Pickthall
 Yusuf Ali
Quran Project
Those who denied Our signs and the meeting of the Hereafter - their deeds have become worthless. Are they recompensed except for what they used to do?

1. Lessons/Guidance/Reflections/Gems

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Explanatory Note

The Qur’ānic statement uses a special term for the “collapse” of those people’s works. It is derived from what happens to a she-camel which eats poisonous plants causing her belly to swell before she dies. This is an apt description which fits the falsehood reiterated by those who deny God’s revelations and the certainty of the meeting in the hereafter. They give themselves airs, trying to impress people of their assumed greatness. Their falsehood leads them to ruin just like the she-camel which eats poisonous plants. But how will the works and actions of those rejecters collapse?
 
From the point of view of faith, we believe that God’s warnings will certainly come true, regardless of any contrary appearances. Whoever denies God’s revelations and the certainty that all people will be gathered to Him in the hereafter will have all his works ruined. In practice, we find that this is truly the case in human life. Those who deny the signs God has placed all over the universe or deny the revelations He has vouchsafed to His Messenger, and consequently deny the certainty of meeting God on the Day of Judgement, have gone astray. They continuously move away from the nature of the universe, because the universe submits to God’s law. They have no link with the universe and have no motivation to link themselves with the action that fulfils the purpose of universal existence. Hence, every action that such people perpetrate will certainly collapse, even though it may appear to be flourishing. This is because such action is not linked to the motives that are deeply rooted in the very basis of the universe or its goal. It is just like a little stream that gets cut off from the main spring. It will eventually dry out.
 
Those who see no close relationship between the values of faith and the movement of human history, and those who overlook God’s will which defines the destiny of everyone that denies such values are indeed the ones who continue to pay no heed to God’s signs and revelations. It is to those that God’s declaration applies. They are the ones whom God will turn away from His revelations and leave them to their inevitable destiny.
 
Those who admire the apparent success achieved by some unbelievers, unaware that it is only a short term success, are like those who admire the swollen belly of a she-camel that has eaten poisonous plants, thinking it to be indicative of good health, unaware that its death is so close. Past nations provide very clear examples. Those who have succeeded them should learn the lessons to be derived from their experience and watch how God’s law never fails. God’s will is certain to be done.

2. Linguistic Analysis

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Frequency of Root words in this Ayat used in this Surah *


3. Surah Overview

4. Miscellaneous Information

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5. Connected/Related Ayat

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6. Frequency of the word

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7. Period of Revelation

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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]

8. Reasons for Revelation

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9. Relevant Hadith

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10. Wiki Forum

Comments in this section are statements made by general users – these are not necessarily explanations of the Ayah – rather a place to share personal thoughts and stories…

11. Tafsir Zone

 


12. External Links

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