Surah al-A`raf (The Elevated Places) 7 : 178

Overview (Verses 178 - 180)

Sealing All Means of Perception

“He whom God guides is on the right path; whereas those whom He lets go astray are indeed losers.” (Verse 178) This verse sets out the terms very clearly. According to this law, which has already been explained in detail, whoever has God’s guidance is truly on the right path, and will surely attain his goal. He will be able to follow guidance in order to attain success and prosperity in the hereafter. Conversely, a person whom God lets go astray, in accordance with the same law, is indeed the loser, because he has lost everything and gained nothing, no matter how much he has in this life. All this accounts for nothing. We need only to remember that such a person has lost himself. What gain can such a person have after incurring such a loss?

This explanation of this verse is supported by the next verse: “We have destined for Hell many of the jinn and many human beings; they have hearts they cannot understand with, and they have eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear. They are like cattle; indeed, they are even further away from the right way. They are the truly heedless.” (Verse 179) Those large numbers of jinn and human beings are destined for hell. Why? And what for? There are two aspects to consider here. The first is that God’s perfect knowledge shows that such creatures will inevitably go to hell. For God to know this does not require that actions which earn the punishment of hell actually take place. God’s knowledge is absolute, free from the constraints of time, action and place. Nothing is added to God’s knowledge as a result of a motion or an action that takes place in our world.

The second aspect to consider is that God’s perfect knowledge does not in any way direct these creatures to go astray so as to incur the punishment of hell as a result. It is they who are just like the Qur’ānic verse describes: “They have hearts they cannot understand with, and they have eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear.” (Verse 179) It is they who have not opened their hearts and minds to learn and understand. Proofs, signs, indications and pointers of all sorts are available throughout the universe and in the divine messages, providing guidance which can easily be understood by hearts and minds that are kept open. It is they who have chosen not to open their ears to listen to God’s revelations. They have kept all these means of perception and understanding idle and unused. As a result, they live a life of wilful ignorance: “They are like cattle; indeed, they are even further away from the right way; they are the truly heedless.” (Verse 179)

Those who are heedless of the signs God has placed in the universe and in life itself, and choose not to reflect on the events that take place around them, and do not see God’s will behind them all, are indeed further astray than cattle. Animals have natural tendencies to guide them. Human beings and jinn have been given hearts, minds, eyes and ears to hear, look and understand. If they choose not to open their means of perception, and prefer instead to go about life without reflecting about its meaning and aim, and without looking at its events and what they signify, or hearing its messages, they place themselves below animals who have only been given their natural tendencies. As a result, they are destined for hell. It is God’s will that drives them there ever since He has given them their dual susceptibility and made the law of punishment and reward. God knows right at the beginning that their action and attitude will lead them to hell.

The sūrah follows this with a clear instruction to the believers to ignore those who deviate from the right path and go astray. At the time of the Prophet, those were the unbelievers who used to maintain idolatry in opposition to the Islamic message. They used to blaspheme against God’s names, twist His attributes, and assign them to some of the idols they ascribe as partners to God. “God has the finest names, so appeal to Him by these and stay away from those who blaspheme against His names. They shall be requited for all they do.” (Verse 180)

The Arabic word in this Qur’ānic verse which is translated here as ‘blaspheme against His names’ signifies also twisting and distortion. The idolaters among the Arabs distorted God’s fine names and gave them to their alleged deities. They distorted the name Allah so as to call one of their idols al-Lāt, and twisted His attribute, al-`Azīz, which means the Mighty, to call another idol, al-`Uzzā. The Qur’ānic verse states clearly that these fine names and attributes belong to God alone. It instructs the believers to call Him alone by these names, without any distortion or twisting. They are also instructed to ignore the twisters who have gone far astray, and not to bother about them. They are left to God who determines their punishment. This is a very serious warning indeed.

This instruction to ignore those who blaspheme against God is not limited to that particular occasion or to those who twist and distort God’s names and attributes, or who assign them to their alleged deities. It applies to all sorts of blasphemy, such as those who adopt a twisted or deviant concept of Godhead. These include those who claim that God has a son or those who allege that His will is subject to the laws of nature, or those who claim that His actions are similar to the actions of human beings, when there is no-one and nothing like Him. It also applies to those who claim that He is the deity in heaven who conducts the affairs of the universe and who determines people’s destiny in the hereafter, but who negate at the same time His position as the deity on earth and in human life. Such people claim that He may not legislate for human life, because people are the ones who legislate for themselves in the light of their experience and guided by their interests, as they themselves see these interests. In this respect, the people are their own deities, or some of them are the deities of others. All this is deviation and blasphemy against God, His names and attributes. Muslims are commanded to ignore all this and not to bother about it. The blasphemers and deviants are warned here that they will receive the right punishment for what they do.