English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran (2010)

by Maulana Muhammad Ali

Chapter 7: Al-Araf — The Elevated Places (Revealed at Makkah: 24 sections, 206 verses)

Section 4 (Verses 7:32–7:39): Messengers Sent for Uplift of Humanity

Translation:

قُلۡ مَنۡ حَرَّمَ زِیۡنَۃَ اللّٰہِ الَّتِیۡۤ اَخۡرَجَ لِعِبَادِہٖ وَ الطَّیِّبٰتِ مِنَ الرِّزۡقِ ؕ قُلۡ ہِیَ لِلَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا فِی الۡحَیٰوۃِ الدُّنۡیَا خَالِصَۃً یَّوۡمَ الۡقِیٰمَۃِ ؕ کَذٰلِکَ نُفَصِّلُ الۡاٰیٰتِ لِقَوۡمٍ یَّعۡلَمُوۡنَ ﴿۳۲﴾

7:32 Say: Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah,1 which He has brought forth for His servants, and the good provisions? Say: These are for the believers in the life of this world, purely (theirs) on the day of Resurrection.2 Thus do We make the messages clear for a people who know.

قُلۡ اِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّیَ الۡفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَہَرَ مِنۡہَا وَ مَا بَطَنَ وَ الۡاِثۡمَ وَ الۡبَغۡیَ بِغَیۡرِ الۡحَقِّ وَ اَنۡ تُشۡرِکُوۡا بِاللّٰہِ مَا لَمۡ یُنَزِّلۡ بِہٖ سُلۡطٰنًا وَّ اَنۡ تَقُوۡلُوۡا عَلَی اللّٰہِ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ ﴿۳۳﴾

7:33 Say: My Lord forbids only indecencies, such of them as are apparent and such as are concealed, and sin and unjust rebellion, and that you set up with Allah partners for which He has sent down no authority, and that you say of Allah what you do not know.

وَ لِکُلِّ اُمَّۃٍ اَجَلٌ ۚ فَاِذَا جَآءَ اَجَلُہُمۡ لَا یَسۡتَاۡخِرُوۡنَ سَاعَۃً وَّ لَا یَسۡتَقۡدِمُوۡنَ ﴿۳۴﴾

7:34 And every nation has a term; so when its term comes they cannot postpone it an hour, nor can they bring it forward.

یٰبَنِیۡۤ اٰدَمَ اِمَّا یَاۡتِیَنَّکُمۡ رُسُلٌ مِّنۡکُمۡ یَقُصُّوۡنَ عَلَیۡکُمۡ اٰیٰتِیۡ ۙ فَمَنِ اتَّقٰی وَ اَصۡلَحَ فَلَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَیۡہِمۡ وَ لَا ہُمۡ یَحۡزَنُوۡنَ ﴿۳۵﴾

7:35 O children of Adam, if messengers come to you from among you relating to you My messages, then whoever guards against evil and acts aright — they shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve.

وَ الَّذِیۡنَ کَذَّبُوۡا بِاٰیٰتِنَا وَ اسۡتَکۡبَرُوۡا عَنۡہَاۤ اُولٰٓئِکَ اَصۡحٰبُ النَّارِ ۚ ہُمۡ فِیۡہَا خٰلِدُوۡنَ ﴿۳۶﴾

7:36 And those who reject Our messages and turn away from them haughtily — these are the companions of the Fire; they shall abide in it.

فَمَنۡ اَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنِ افۡتَرٰی عَلَی اللّٰہِ کَذِبًا اَوۡ کَذَّبَ بِاٰیٰتِہٖ ؕ اُولٰٓئِکَ یَنَالُہُمۡ نَصِیۡبُہُمۡ مِّنَ الۡکِتٰبِ ؕ حَتّٰۤی اِذَا جَآءَتۡہُمۡ رُسُلُنَا یَتَوَفَّوۡنَہُمۡ ۙ قَالُوۡۤا اَیۡنَ مَا کُنۡتُمۡ تَدۡعُوۡنَ مِنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰہِ ؕ قَالُوۡا ضَلُّوۡا عَنَّا وَ شَہِدُوۡا عَلٰۤی اَنۡفُسِہِمۡ اَنَّہُمۡ کَانُوۡا کٰفِرِیۡنَ ﴿۳۷﴾

7:37 Who is then more unjust than he who forges a lie against Allah or rejects His messages? These — their portion of the Book shall reach them;3 until when Our messengers come to them causing them to die, they say: Where are those you used to call upon besides Allah? They would say: They are gone away from us. And they shall bear witness against themselves that they were disbelievers.

قَالَ ادۡخُلُوۡا فِیۡۤ اُمَمٍ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ مِنۡ قَبۡلِکُمۡ مِّنَ الۡجِنِّ وَ الۡاِنۡسِ فِی النَّارِ ؕ کُلَّمَا دَخَلَتۡ اُمَّۃٌ لَّعَنَتۡ اُخۡتَہَا ؕ حَتّٰۤی اِذَا ادَّارَکُوۡا فِیۡہَا جَمِیۡعًا ۙ قَالَتۡ اُخۡرٰىہُمۡ لِاُوۡلٰىہُمۡ رَبَّنَا ہٰۤؤُلَآءِ اَضَلُّوۡنَا فَاٰتِہِمۡ عَذَابًا ضِعۡفًا مِّنَ النَّارِ ۬ؕ قَالَ لِکُلٍّ ضِعۡفٌ وَّ لٰکِنۡ لَّا تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ ﴿۳۸﴾

7:38 He will say: Enter into the Fire among the nations of jinn and people that have passed away before you. Every time a nation enters, it curses its sister;4 until when they all follow one another into it, the last of them will say with regard to the first of them:5 Our Lord, these led us astray, so give them a double punishment of the Fire. He will say: Each one has double but you do not know.6

وَ قَالَتۡ اُوۡلٰىہُمۡ لِاُخۡرٰىہُمۡ فَمَا کَانَ لَکُمۡ عَلَیۡنَا مِنۡ فَضۡلٍ فَذُوۡقُوا الۡعَذَابَ بِمَا کُنۡتُمۡ تَکۡسِبُوۡنَ ﴿٪۳۹﴾

7:39 And the first of them will say to the last of them: You have no preference over us, so taste the punishment for what you earned.

Commentary:

  1. By the adornment of Allah is meant the adornment which Allah has made lawful for people to avail themselves of. ↩
  2. In the life of this world the believer and the disbeliever equally benefit by the good things, but in the life after death all good shall be exclusively for those who have accepted and acted on the right principles. ↩
  3. That is, the punishment promised in the Book will overtake them. ↩
  4. By the sister nation is meant the nation which resembles it in its deeds. ↩
  5. By the last and the first are meant here the common people and the leaders, because, though the words would bear both interpretations, i.e. the last and the first in time or the last and the first in position, the latter significance is corroborated by similar expressions in several other places, such as 2:166, 14:21, 34:31–33, 40:47, etc. ↩
  6. The common people would desire that the leaders should suffer a double torment, for their own sins as well as for having misled others. They are told that if the leaders were guilty of misleading them, they themselves deserved a double punishment for having blindly followed the leaders. ↩

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