Surah al-A`raf (The Elevated Places) 7 : 186
Translations
Pickthall
Yusuf Ali
Qur'an Dictionary
Click word/image to view Qur'an Dictionary | ||
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Word | Arabic word | |
(7:186:1) |
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(7:186:2) yuḍ'lili (is) let astray |
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(7:186:3) l-lahu (by) Allah |
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(7:186:4) |
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(7:186:5) hādiya guide |
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(7:186:6) |
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(7:186:7) wayadharuhum And He leaves them |
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(7:186:8) |
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(7:186:9) ṭugh'yānihim their transgression |
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(7:186:10) yaʿmahūna wandering blindly |
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Explanatory Note
This last touch on the unknown end that may come suddenly shakes the human heart violently, so that it may wake up, think and reflect. God, who has revealed the
This is a reference to the astronaut sent on the second Soviet manned space mission, when the Soviet authorities made a fuss about this statement. It is noted that the author refers to scientific socialism as the epitome of atheism. This was the trend when he was writing, particularly in Egypt which adopted such policies in the early 1960s. — Editor’s note.
Qur’ān and created man, knows that this emphasis is bound to re-awaken every heart and open every mind. Yet some people may still choose to deliberately deny the truth: “In what other message after this will they, then, believe?” (Verse 185) This message is the final one, and there will not be any following message to soften the hearts of those who choose to disbelieve.
We note how a single verse uses several ways and means to show us that when the Qur’ān addresses human nature, it does not leave any aspect of it untouched. It does not present a cold, logical argument, nor does it ignore the human intellect either. Indeed, it ensures that the mind is awakened just as the Qur’ān puts its message to the whole human being. When the human mind has been reawakened, it is invited to think, consider and reflect as life begins to send messages to it. This must remain the method of those who advocate faith. Human beings remain in their human status. They have not evolved into a different species. The Qur’ān remains the eternal work of God. God’s address to man remains the same, even though human knowledge may have developed and greatly increased.
Now, the sūrah takes a short pause to restate God’s law that is concerned with guidance and error. God has willed to provide guidance to everyone who seeks it and works for it. On the other hand, anyone who turns away from guidance and closes his mind and heart to the pointers to faith will be left alone to go astray. This law is restated here in connection with the situation of those people who were the first to be addressed by the Qur’ān. As we have seen, the Qur’ān makes use of a single case or a particular example in order to state a consistent law.
“Those whom God lets go astray will have no guide; and He leaves them in their overweening arrogance to stumble along blindly.” (Verse 186) Those who go astray do so because they choose not to consider and reflect. When people turn their minds away from the signs placed by God in the universe, they will be left to go astray. They will have none to guide them after that: “Those whom God lets go astray will have no guide.” (Verse 186) And whoever is so left alone in accordance with God’s law that we have explained will continue with his arrogance and will, therefore, be left to stumble along blindly. There is no injustice in that. Those people have chosen to keep their eyes and hearts shut, and not to reflect on the miraculous aspects of creation and the secrets of the universe. They have decided not to listen to the testimony of everything that God has created. Wherever one looks in the universe, one is bound to find a sign or a telling message pointing one in the right direction. Whatever man looks at, either within himself, or in the world around him, he is bound to recognize God’s hand and His inimitable way of creation. If he chooses to remain blind to all this, he is left in his blindness. If he chooses to adopt an attitude of arrogance and to ignore the truth, he is left to his own devices, until he finally lands himself in ruin: “He leaves them in their overweening arrogance to stumble along blindly.” (Verse 186)
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 186 - 187) A Question That Needs No Answer Now, the sūrah takes a short pause to restate God’s law that is concerned with guidance and error. God has willed to provide guidance to everyone who seeks it and works for it. On the other hand, anyone who turns away from guidance and closes his mind and heart to the pointers to faith will be left alone to go astray. This law is restated here in connection with the situation of those people who were the first to be addressed by the Qur’ān. As we have seen, the Qur’ān makes use of a single case or a particular example in order to state a consistent law. “Those whom God lets go astray will have no guide; and He leaves them in their overweening arrogance to stumble along blindly.” (Verse 186) Those who go astray do so because they choose not to consider and reflect. When people turn their minds away from the signs placed by God in the universe, they will be left to go astray. They will have none to guide them after that: “Those whom God lets go astray will have no guide.” (Verse 186) And whoever is so left alone in accordance with God’s law that we have explained will continue with his arrogance and will, therefore, be left to stumble along blindly. There is no injustice in that. Those people have chosen to keep their eyes and hearts shut, and not to reflect on the miraculous aspects of creation and the secrets of the universe. They have decided not to listen to the testimony of everything that God has created. Wherever one looks in the universe, one is bound to find a sign or a telling message pointing one in the right direction. Whatever man looks at, either within himself, or in the world around him, he is bound to recognize God’s hand and His inimitable way of creation. If he chooses to remain blind to all this, he is left in his blindness. If he chooses to adopt an attitude of arrogance and to ignore the truth, he is left to his own devices, until he finally lands himself in ruin: “He leaves them in their overweening arrogance to stumble along blindly.” (Verse 186) Some of those arrogant, misguided and blind people who prefer not to see what is around them, questioned the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the final Hour, the timing of which God has chosen not to reveal. They are the same as the one who does not see what is under his feet but wants to see what lies beyond the horizon. Hence, their questioning: “They ask you about the Last Hour: ‘When will it come to pass?’ Say: ‘Knowledge of it rests with my Lord alone. None but He will reveal it at its appointed time. It will weigh heavily on the heavens and the earth; and it will not fall on you except suddenly’. They will ask you further as if you yourself persistently enquire about it. Say: Knowledge of it rests with God alone, though most people remain unaware.” (Verse 187) The call to believe in the hereafter and its related concept of punishment and reward came as a complete surprise to the idolatrous Arabs. Although this concept is fundamental to Abraham’s faith, the grandfather of those idolatrous people, and also to the faith of their noble father, Ishmael, their links with the faith of submission to God preached by Abraham and Ishmael were completely severed. The concept of the hereafter had been erased from their minds and they received it again with total amazement and complete surprise. They wondered at the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) because he told them about life after death, resurrection, reckoning, punishment and reward. This is stated clearly in the Qur’ān: “The unbelievers would say: ‘Shall we point out to you a man who will tell you that [after your death,] when you will have been scattered in countless fragments, you shall be in a new act of creation? Does he attribute his own lying inventions to God, or is he a mad man?’ Truly, those who deny the life to come are doomed, for they have gone far astray.” (34: 7-8) God knows that no community may be able to assume the leadership of mankind and bear testimony against them, as is the task of the Muslim community, unless the concept of the hereafter is clear in their minds, deeply entrenched in their consciences. To think of life as only this limited period confined to this world will not raise such a community to assume such a task. To believe in the hereafter provides broadness of concept and vision as well as a wider perspective. It also opens up life to make it go beyond this limited world. This is necessary for the formation of the human self so that it is fit to assume its great role. It is also necessary to enable human beings to control their desires and narrow ambitions. Moreover, it gives human beings the sense of broadness they need to overcome the feeling of despair when they encounter short-term adverse results, or when they have to make painful sacrifices. If believers were to despair, they would not be able to continue with the propagation of the truth and all its goodness, or to lead mankind to all that is good. All such qualities are necessary to fulfil man’s great task. Believing in the hereafter is the dividing line between the broadness and narrowness of vision and perspective. Their broadness is natural to man, while their narrowness results from concentrating only on the physical and the carnal. Adopting an animal perspective can never be suitable for assuming the leadership of humanity, or the fulfilment of God’s trust given to man as the creature God has placed in charge of the earth. For all this, strong emphasis has been laid on believing in the hereafter in all divine religions. This is brought to its climax in Islam which gives such belief in the hereafter its greatest clarity, broadness and depth. This is what makes the sense of the hereafter much stronger among the Muslim community than its sense of this world in which we actually live. That is indeed what makes the Muslim community fit to lead mankind and to make its leadership characterized by wisdom and right guidance. The Hour That Will Come to Pass At this point in the sūrah we look at the scene of the unbelievers’ surprise, wonder and incredulousness towards the concept of the hereafter. This is all seen in their questioning that is given in overtones of ridicule and derision: “They ask you about the Last Hour: `When will it come to pass?” (Verse 187) That Hour is part of a store of knowledge that God has kept to Himself and revealed to no creature. But the unbelievers questioned the Prophet about it either to test his knowledge, or to express their surprise and amusement, or to portray their contempt and derision. They ask about the time when it will take place: “When will it come to pass?” (Verse 187) But the Prophet (peace be upon him) is a human being who never made any claim to know anything that lies beyond the reach of human perception. He is instructed to leave that to the Lord, and to tell people that its knowledge is part of the attributes of Godhead. As a human being, he does not make any claim to anything that goes beyond the limits of humanity. He knows only what his Lord has vouchsafed to him of divine revelations. “Say: ‘Knowledge of it rests with my Lord alone. None but He will reveal it at its appointed time.’” (Verse 187) God, who alone knows the Hour and its timing, will not reveal it until its appointed time. No one else can say anything about it with any degree of certitude. Their attentions are turned away from asking about its time to consider its nature and to reflect on its seriousness. It is certainly a matter of great importance, and its burden is heavy indeed. Its weight is felt in the heavens and the earth. Besides, it comes suddenly when people who do not pay attention to it are still unaware of its approach: “It will weigh heavily on the heavens and the earth; and it will not fall on you except suddenly.” (Verse 187) Therefore, it is only wise to be prepared for it before it comes suddenly, when no precaution will be of use. Preparations and precautions must be taken well in advance, when time is ample and people still expect to live longer. No one knows when it will exactly arrive. Therefore, everyone should prepare for it now, without losing a moment or an hour, because it may come at any time. The sūrah wonders at those who question the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the Hour. They do not understand the nature of the divine message or the Messenger, and they do not know the nature of Godhead, and the attribute of humility the Prophet adopts towards his Lord. “They will ask you further as if you yourself persistently enquire about it.” (Verse 187) They always ask about it, as if you are required to disclose its time. But God’s Messenger does not ask his Lord about something when he is aware that God has chosen to keep it to Himself: “Say: ‘Knowledge of it rests with my Lord alone.’” (Verse 187) He has chosen to keep that information to Himself and not to reveal it to any of His creatures, “though most people remain unaware.” (Verse 187) But this does not apply to knowledge of the Hour only. It applies to everything in the realm which lies beyond the reach of human perception. It is God alone who knows all that there is in that realm. He does not give knowledge of any of it, except to someone He chooses, at the time and in the measure He determines. Hence, people do not have the ability to cause themselves any benefit or harm. They may do something which they hope to be beneficial to them, but they soon discover its consequences to be very harmful. Or they may take an initiative to remove some harm but they do not reckon with its adverse results. Or they may do something reluctantly, because they are forced to do it, and then discover it to be very beneficial for them. Alternatively, they may approach something with enthusiasm, only to discover that it results in their own suffering: “It may well be that you hate a thing although it is good for you, and love a thing although it is bad for you.” (2: 216) This is summed up by an Arab poet who says: “Would that someone shows me my destination before I start my journey! How could that be when one has to complete a journey to get to one’s destination.” This is the human position in relation to what lies beyond human perception. Human beings may achieve great progress, but when it comes to what God has chosen to keep away from them, they will remain confined to the limitation of their human 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
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Overview (Verses 186 - 187) A Question That Needs No Answer Now, the sūrah takes a short pause to restate God’s law that is concerned with guidance and error. God has willed to provide guidance to everyone who seeks it and works for it. On the other hand, anyone who turns away from guidance and closes his mind and heart to the pointers to faith will be left alone to go astray. This law is restated here in connection with the situation of those people who were the first to be addressed by the Qur’ān. As we have seen, the Qur’ān makes use of a single case or a particular example in order to state a consistent law. “Those whom God lets go astray will have no guide; and He leaves them in their overweening arrogance to stumble along blindly.” (Verse 186) Those who go astray do so because they choose not to consider and reflect. When people turn their minds away from the signs placed by God in the universe, they will be left to go astray. They will have none to guide them after that: “Those whom God lets go astray will have no guide.” (Verse 186) And whoever is so left alone in accordance with God’s law that we have explained will continue with his arrogance and will, therefore, be left to stumble along blindly. There is no injustice in that. Those people have chosen to keep their eyes and hearts shut, and not to reflect on the miraculous aspects of creation and the secrets of the universe. They have decided not to listen to the testimony of everything that God has created. Wherever one looks in the universe, one is bound to find a sign or a telling message pointing one in the right direction. Whatever man looks at, either within himself, or in the world around him, he is bound to recognize God’s hand and His inimitable way of creation. If he chooses to remain blind to all this, he is left in his blindness. If he chooses to adopt an attitude of arrogance and to ignore the truth, he is left to his own devices, until he finally lands himself in ruin: “He leaves them in their overweening arrogance to stumble along blindly.” (Verse 186) Some of those arrogant, misguided and blind people who prefer not to see what is around them, questioned the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the final Hour, the timing of which God has chosen not to reveal. They are the same as the one who does not see what is under his feet but wants to see what lies beyond the horizon. Hence, their questioning: “They ask you about the Last Hour: ‘When will it come to pass?’ Say: ‘Knowledge of it rests with my Lord alone. None but He will reveal it at its appointed time. It will weigh heavily on the heavens and the earth; and it will not fall on you except suddenly’. They will ask you further as if you yourself persistently enquire about it. Say: Knowledge of it rests with God alone, though most people remain unaware.” (Verse 187) The call to believe in the hereafter and its related concept of punishment and reward came as a complete surprise to the idolatrous Arabs. Although this concept is fundamental to Abraham’s faith, the grandfather of those idolatrous people, and also to the faith of their noble father, Ishmael, their links with the faith of submission to God preached by Abraham and Ishmael were completely severed. The concept of the hereafter had been erased from their minds and they received it again with total amazement and complete surprise. They wondered at the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) because he told them about life after death, resurrection, reckoning, punishment and reward. This is stated clearly in the Qur’ān: “The unbelievers would say: ‘Shall we point out to you a man who will tell you that [after your death,] when you will have been scattered in countless fragments, you shall be in a new act of creation? Does he attribute his own lying inventions to God, or is he a mad man?’ Truly, those who deny the life to come are doomed, for they have gone far astray.” (34: 7-8) God knows that no community may be able to assume the leadership of mankind and bear testimony against them, as is the task of the Muslim community, unless the concept of the hereafter is clear in their minds, deeply entrenched in their consciences. To think of life as only this limited period confined to this world will not raise such a community to assume such a task. To believe in the hereafter provides broadness of concept and vision as well as a wider perspective. It also opens up life to make it go beyond this limited world. This is necessary for the formation of the human self so that it is fit to assume its great role. It is also necessary to enable human beings to control their desires and narrow ambitions. Moreover, it gives human beings the sense of broadness they need to overcome the feeling of despair when they encounter short-term adverse results, or when they have to make painful sacrifices. If believers were to despair, they would not be able to continue with the propagation of the truth and all its goodness, or to lead mankind to all that is good. All such qualities are necessary to fulfil man’s great task. Believing in the hereafter is the dividing line between the broadness and narrowness of vision and perspective. Their broadness is natural to man, while their narrowness results from concentrating only on the physical and the carnal. Adopting an animal perspective can never be suitable for assuming the leadership of humanity, or the fulfilment of God’s trust given to man as the creature God has placed in charge of the earth. For all this, strong emphasis has been laid on believing in the hereafter in all divine religions. This is brought to its climax in Islam which gives such belief in the hereafter its greatest clarity, broadness and depth. This is what makes the sense of the hereafter much stronger among the Muslim community than its sense of this world in which we actually live. That is indeed what makes the Muslim community fit to lead mankind and to make its leadership characterized by wisdom and right guidance. The Hour That Will Come to Pass At this point in the sūrah we look at the scene of the unbelievers’ surprise, wonder and incredulousness towards the concept of the hereafter. This is all seen in their questioning that is given in overtones of ridicule and derision: “They ask you about the Last Hour: `When will it come to pass?” (Verse 187) That Hour is part of a store of knowledge that God has kept to Himself and revealed to no creature. But the unbelievers questioned the Prophet about it either to test his knowledge, or to express their surprise and amusement, or to portray their contempt and derision. They ask about the time when it will take place: “When will it come to pass?” (Verse 187) But the Prophet (peace be upon him) is a human being who never made any claim to know anything that lies beyond the reach of human perception. He is instructed to leave that to the Lord, and to tell people that its knowledge is part of the attributes of Godhead. As a human being, he does not make any claim to anything that goes beyond the limits of humanity. He knows only what his Lord has vouchsafed to him of divine revelations. “Say: ‘Knowledge of it rests with my Lord alone. None but He will reveal it at its appointed time.’” (Verse 187) God, who alone knows the Hour and its timing, will not reveal it until its appointed time. No one else can say anything about it with any degree of certitude. Their attentions are turned away from asking about its time to consider its nature and to reflect on its seriousness. It is certainly a matter of great importance, and its burden is heavy indeed. Its weight is felt in the heavens and the earth. Besides, it comes suddenly when people who do not pay attention to it are still unaware of its approach: “It will weigh heavily on the heavens and the earth; and it will not fall on you except suddenly.” (Verse 187) Therefore, it is only wise to be prepared for it before it comes suddenly, when no precaution will be of use. Preparations and precautions must be taken well in advance, when time is ample and people still expect to live longer. No one knows when it will exactly arrive. Therefore, everyone should prepare for it now, without losing a moment or an hour, because it may come at any time. The sūrah wonders at those who question the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the Hour. They do not understand the nature of the divine message or the Messenger, and they do not know the nature of Godhead, and the attribute of humility the Prophet adopts towards his Lord. “They will ask you further as if you yourself persistently enquire about it.” (Verse 187) They always ask about it, as if you are required to disclose its time. But God’s Messenger does not ask his Lord about something when he is aware that God has chosen to keep it to Himself: “Say: ‘Knowledge of it rests with my Lord alone.’” (Verse 187) He has chosen to keep that information to Himself and not to reveal it to any of His creatures, “though most people remain unaware.” (Verse 187) But this does not apply to knowledge of the Hour only. It applies to everything in the realm which lies beyond the reach of human perception. It is God alone who knows all that there is in that realm. He does not give knowledge of any of it, except to someone He chooses, at the time and in the measure He determines. Hence, people do not have the ability to cause themselves any benefit or harm. They may do something which they hope to be beneficial to them, but they soon discover its consequences to be very harmful. Or they may take an initiative to remove some harm but they do not reckon with its adverse results. Or they may do something reluctantly, because they are forced to do it, and then discover it to be very beneficial for them. Alternatively, they may approach something with enthusiasm, only to discover that it results in their own suffering: “It may well be that you hate a thing although it is good for you, and love a thing although it is bad for you.” (2: 216) This is summed up by an Arab poet who says: “Would that someone shows me my destination before I start my journey! How could that be when one has to complete a journey to get to one’s destination.” This is the human position in relation to what lies beyond human perception. Human beings may achieve great progress, but when it comes to what God has chosen to keep away from them, they will remain confined to the limitation of their human knowledge. |