Surah al-A`raf (The Elevated Places) 7 : 168

Explanatory Note

The Qur’ānic account follows the historical events after Moses. It refers to succeeding generations up to the Jewish generation that lived in Madinah at the time when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) established the first Muslim community there.

These verses, revealed in Madinah and added to this Makkan sūrah, serve as a complement to the history of the Children of Israel after the Prophet Moses had passed away. The Jews were dispersed across the earth, divided into groups of varying concepts and different schools, trends and leanings. Some of them were righteous indeed, while others were not. In His wisdom, God continued to set them one test after another, trying them at times with ease and comfort, and at others with affliction and misfortune. All these tests were meant to help them see things in the right perspective and choose the path of righteousness: “We tried them with blessings and misfortunes, so that they might mend their ways.” (Verse 168) It is an act of divine mercy that God puts His servants to one test after another, because these tests serve as reminders to them so that forgetfulness will not let them think too highly of themselves. Such thoughts can easily lead people to self-condemnation.