Surah al-A`raf (The Elevated Places) 7 : 28

Overview (Verses 28 - 30)

When they commit a shameful deed, they say,“We found our fathers doing it,” and, “God has enjoined it upon us.” Say... Never does God enjoin what is indecent. Would you attribute to God something of which you have no knowledge? Say... My Lord has enjoined justice, and that you set your whole selves [to Him] at every time and place of prayer, and call on Him, sincere in your faith in Him alone. As it was He who brought you into being in the first instance, so also [to Him] you will return: some [of you] He will have graced with His guidance, whereas for some a straying from the right path will have become unavoidable. For, they will have taken satans for their protectors in preference to God, thinking all the while that they have found the right path. (Verses 28-30)

This is the second address to the children of Adam in this passage. It provides comments on the story of their first parents and their experience with Satan, and the scene of nakedness in which he placed them after they had forgotten their Lord’s commandment and listened to this wicked whispering. This address becomes easier to understand when we bear in mind the traditions of pagan Arabia, particularly those relating to the nudity imposed by the people of Makkah on the rest of the Arabs in ţawāf rituals. What made their action worse was that they alleged that the practices of their fathers must be part of religion and must have been ordered by God.

The first address to the children of Adam speaks of the affliction caused to their first father, and of God’s grace when He ordered human beings to wear clothes, to cover their nakedness, and gave them fine garments pleasing to the eye. In this second address there is a warning to human beings in general and most directly to the pagans whom Islam addressed at the time of its revelation. This warning makes it clear to them that they must not obey Satan in whatever laws they enact for themselves and any traditions they may observe. If they do, he will certainly seduce them just as he seduced their first parents when he caused them to be driven out of heaven and exposed their nakedness showing them what had previously been hidden. Hence revealing much of the body, which is characteristic of all ignorant societies, past and present, is the direct result of listening to Satan’s whisperings. He is a most persistent enemy who utilizes nudity to achieve his goal of seducing Adam and his offspring. This is part of the unabating battle that rages on between man and Satan. Human beings, then, should be wise enough not to allow their enemy to seduce them. For his victory means that he will cause hell to be filled with a great many of mankind.

When the Enemy is the Protector

It is a true fact that Satan is the patronizing friend of the nonbelievers, while God is the protector of believers.

The effect of this state of affairs is far-reaching, but it is mentioned here in absolute terms before the pagans are given an example of its operation in their real world. We are thus made to feel how Satan’s patronage can distort people’s concepts and ruin their lives: “When they commit a shameful deed, they say, ‘We found our fathers doing it,’ and, ‘God has enjoined it upon us.’” (Verse 28)

That was indeed what the pagan Arabs used to do and say. They performed ţawāf around God’s sacred house in the nude, accompanying their women. This they claimed God had ordered them to do, just as He had ordered their fathers: in other words, they inherited the practice from them. Despite their paganism, the Arabs did not make boastful claims similar to those used by people of latter day ignorance who wonder why religion should interfere with human life. They claim that they are the only ones who have any authority to enact laws, develop values and standards, and endorse habits and traditions while the pagan Arabs used to make their false inventions and claim that God ordered them to do so. That may be a more sly and cunning method because it deceives those who still maintain some religious sentiment to the extent that they imagine that their practices are acceptable to God. Nevertheless, it is less impudent than the attitude of those who claim that they have the right to enact legislation in preference to God’s.

God commands the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to make it clear to them that their inventions are false and that their claims to have God’s endorsement are insupportable. He is further ordered to declare that God’s law is incompatible with indecency. God would not command anything that is indecent: “Say: ‘Never does God enjoin what is indecent. Would you attribute to God something of which you have no knowledge?’” (Verse 28)

The word `indecency’ refers to any act which goes beyond the limits of what is acceptable. Nudity is one such act. Hence, God does not enjoin it, for how would He enjoin the transgression of the limits He laid down, and the violation of His orders to cover one’s nakedness and to be always modest and God-fearing? Besides, who told them that God enjoined that? What God orders and enjoins cannot be the subject of unsupported claims. These are contained in the Books He has revealed to His messengers. There is simply no other source from which to learn what God says and enjoins. No one can describe any matter as belonging to divine law unless he can rely on a statement in the divine book or by God’s Messenger. This is the only way to know for certain what God enjoins. If everyone claims that whatever he sees fit belongs to God’s law, then humanity will end up in endless chaos.

Jāhiliyyah is a state of ignorance that always maintains its essential characteristics. Every time people revert to jāhiliyyah, they make similar allegations and uphold similar concepts despite the great differences in time and place.

In the jāhiliyyah of our contemporary times, we find that every now and then a liar comes up with whatever whims he has and claims that they belong to God’s law. Time after time, a shameless impudent person, stands up to deny the clearly stated divine orders and commandments, claiming that divine religion could not order this or that. He has no justification for his claim other than his own prejudices. Hence the rhetorical question: “Would you attribute to God something of which you have no knowledge?” (Verse 28)

At this point they are given a reminder and a warning. They should always remember that they will return to God after they have finished their present life which is meant as a test for them. When they return to God they will be in two groups: those who followed God’s commandments and those who followed Satan: “As it was He who brought you into being in the first instance, so also [to Him] you will return: some [of you] He will have graced with His guidance, whereas for some a straying from the right path will have become unavoidable. For, they will have taken satans for their protectors in preference to God, thinking all the while that they have found the right path.” (Verses 29-30)

This is a remarkable picture showing the starting point and the finishing line in the great journey of life: “As it was He who brought you into being in the first instance, so also [to Him] you will return.” (Verse 29)

When they started the journey, they were in two groups: Adam and his wife in one group, and Satan and his tribe in the other. They will return in the same classification: the obedient will return together with their father, Adam, and their mother, Eve, who were both believers, submitting themselves to God, and following His commandments. In the other group, the disobedient will return together with Satan and his tribe and they will fill Hell because of their mutual patronage of Satan. What is singular is that these people always think that they follow the right path.

God guides whoever seeks His patronage, and He leaves anyone who takes Satan for patron to go astray. In the end they come back to their different destinations: “some [of you] He will have graced with His guidance, whereas for some a straying from the right path will have become unavoidable. For, they will have taken satans for their protectors in preference to God, thinking all the while that they have found the right path.” (Verse 30)