سُورَةُ الأَعۡرَافِ
Reading Maarif-ul-Quran by Mufti Muhammad Shafi
Ayahs 21–30 of 206
وَقَاسَمَهُمَآ إِنِّى لَكُمَا لَمِنَ ٱلنَّٰصِحِينَ
And he swore [by Allah] to them, "Indeed, I am to you from among the sincere advisors."
Commentary
The story of Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) and Iblis mentioned in the present verses has appeared in the fourth section of Surah Al-Baqarah.
Detailed comments have been given in the Tafsir of that Surah. If needed, please see Ma‘ariful-Quran, English Translation, Volume I, Pages 170-187.
فَدَلَّىٰهُمَا بِغُرُورٍۢ ۚ فَلَمَّا ذَاقَا ٱلشَّجَرَةَ بَدَتْ لَهُمَا سَوْءَٰتُهُمَا وَطَفِقَا يَخْصِفَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا مِن وَرَقِ ٱلْجَنَّةِ ۖ وَنَادَىٰهُمَا رَبُّهُمَآ أَلَمْ أَنْهَكُمَا عَن تِلْكُمَا ٱلشَّجَرَةِ وَأَقُل لَّكُمَآ إِنَّ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنَ لَكُمَا عَدُوٌّۭ مُّبِينٌۭ
So he made them fall, through deception. And when they tasted of the tree, their private parts became apparent to them, and they began to fasten together over themselves from the leaves of Paradise. And their Lord called to them, "Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you that Satan is to you a clear enemy?"
Commentary
The story of Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) and Iblis mentioned in the present verses has appeared in the fourth section of Surah Al-Baqarah.
Detailed comments have been given in the Tafsir of that Surah. If needed, please see Ma‘ariful-Quran, English Translation, Volume I, Pages 170-187.
قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَآ أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْخَٰسِرِينَ
They said, "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers."
Commentary
The story of Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) and Iblis mentioned in the present verses has appeared in the fourth section of Surah Al-Baqarah.
Detailed comments have been given in the Tafsir of that Surah. If needed, please see Ma‘ariful-Quran, English Translation, Volume I, Pages 170-187.
قَالَ ٱهْبِطُوا۟ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّۭ ۖ وَلَكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّۭ وَمَتَٰعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍۢ
[Allah] said, "Descend, being to one another enemies. And for you on the earth is a place of settlement and enjoyment for a time."
Commentary
The story of Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) and Iblis mentioned in the present verses has appeared in the fourth section of Surah Al-Baqarah.
Detailed comments have been given in the Tafsir of that Surah. If needed, please see Ma‘ariful-Quran, English Translation, Volume I, Pages 170-187.
قَالَ فِيهَا تَحْيَوْنَ وَفِيهَا تَمُوتُونَ وَمِنْهَا تُخْرَجُونَ
He said, "Therein you will live, and therein you will die, and from it you will be brought forth."
Commentary
The story of Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) and Iblis mentioned in the present verses has appeared in the fourth section of Surah Al-Baqarah.
Detailed comments have been given in the Tafsir of that Surah. If needed, please see Ma‘ariful-Quran, English Translation, Volume I, Pages 170-187.
يَٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ قَدْ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًۭا يُوَٰرِى سَوْءَٰتِكُمْ وَرِيشًۭا ۖ وَلِبَاسُ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌۭ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ ءَايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ
O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of righteousness - that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that perhaps they will remember.
Commentary
Mentioned in almost a section preceding the verses cited above was the event relating to Sayyidna 'Adam and Satan, the accursed. The first outcome of the satanic instigation was that the heavenly apparel of 'Adam and Hawwa came off leaving them coverless as a re-suit of which they began hiding their coverable body with leaves.
In the first of the present verses (26), Allah Ta` ala has addressed all children of 'Adam and told them that the dress they wear is a great blessing the worth and value of which must be recognized by them. The address here is not to Muslims alone. It is to all children of Adam. This is a sharp pointer to the fact that the act of covering the coverable parts of the body and the wearing of dress is both a human need and a natural desire. Everyone abides by it without any distinction of religion or community. Then, giving its details, three kinds of clothings were mentioned.
First of all, it was said: لِبَاسًا يُوَارِ‌ي سَوْآتِكُمْ (clothing that covers your shame). Here, the word: يُوَارِ‌ي (yuwari) is a derivation from: مُوَارَات (muwarat) which means to cover, hide or conceal. And the word: سَواٰۃ (sau'at) is the plural form of: سَوۃُ (sau'ah). This is applied to body parts the uncovering of which is taken, by nature, as bad and shameful by all human beings. The sense of the statement is that Allah has sent down for people dress with which they could cover their body parts the exposing of which is a matter of shame.
After that, it was said: رِ‌يشًا (wa risha). The dress one uses for adornment and decency is called: رَیُش (Rish). The meaning is that just to cover up the cover-worthy body parts, even a simple set of clothing is enough. But, Allah has provided for you much more than simply clothing, He blessed you with dresses which make you look handsome, or decent, neat and civilized.
At this place, the word used by the Holy Qur'an is: اَنزَلنَا (anzalna: We have sent down). It means to bestow or bless with. It is not necessary that it be sent down from the heavens ready to wear. This is like an-other expression: اَنزَلنَا حدِید (57:25). It means: ` We sent down the iron,' which is dug out of the earth as everyone can see. However, at both these places, by saying: اَنزَلنَا (anzalna : We have sent down), it was indicated that the way no human planning or artifice operates as active agent in what ` descends from the heavens,' so it is with the essential mother element of dress, cotton or wool etc., where human ingenuity has no role to play. That is simply a gift from the great creative power of Allah Ta` ala. But, human artifice does work in efforts to make out of these materials dresses to individual taste, temperament, and the need to stay safe against heat or chill. Even the way to that artifice is shown by Allah Ta` ala. Therefore, eyes that see reality see all this as nothing but Divine gift sent from the heavens.
Two Uses of Dress
Identified here are two uses of dress: (1) To cover the cover-worthy parts of the body سَتَر (satr), and (2) protection from hot and cold weather, and decor of the body. The first use has been placed first which indicates that the real purpose of human dress is to be …
يَٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ لَا يَفْتِنَنَّكُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ كَمَآ أَخْرَجَ أَبَوَيْكُم مِّنَ ٱلْجَنَّةِ يَنزِعُ عَنْهُمَا لِبَاسَهُمَا لِيُرِيَهُمَا سَوْءَٰتِهِمَآ ۗ إِنَّهُۥ يَرَىٰكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُۥ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَرَوْنَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا ٱلشَّيَٰطِينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
O children of Adam, let not Satan tempt you as he removed your parents from Paradise, stripping them of their clothing to show them their private parts. Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you do not see them. Indeed, We have made the devils allies to those who do not believe.
In the second verse (27), the address reverts to all children of Adam (علیہ السلام) and the admonition given is that they should keep guarding against the deception of Shaytan in everything they do under whatever circumstance they are - lest, Shaytan puts them on another trial as he did with their parents, 'Adam and Eve. He made them leave Paradise, caused them to shed their dress and render their essential cover to be uncovered. He was their eternal enemy. His enmity was something, they were never to lose sight of.
At the end of the verse, it was said:
إِنَّهُ يَرَ‌اكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَرَوْنَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا الشَّيَاطِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Indeed, he sees you - he and his company - from where you do not see them. Surely, We have made the satans friends forthose who do not believe - (27).
Here, the word: قَبِیل (qabil) means company or group. A joined family group is called: Qabilah or tribe. Common groups are known as qabil. The sense of the verse is: For you the Satan is a kind of enemy that he and his accomplices do see you but you do not see them. Therefore, the chances that you would fall a victim to their deception are fairly strong.
But, in other verses, it has also been clarified that people who keep turning to Allah Ta` ala and maintain their guard against the deception of Shaytan, for them, the wily web of Shaytan is much too weak.
Then, what has been said at the end of this verse - that ` We have made the satans friends and guardians of those who do not believe' - also indicates that those who believe should not find staying away from their web of deception at all difficult.
Some righteous elders have said that the defence against the enemy who sees us but we cannot see him is simple. Let us come under the protection of Allah Ta` ala. He sees these satans, watches how they move and act - but they cannot see Him.
And the statement, that human beings cannot see Shaytan, is in terms of general conditions and habit. If a human being were to see them contra-habitually, that would not be considered contrary to it - as is the case of Jinns coming to the Holy Prophet ﷺ who asked questions and embraced Islam, which appears in authentic narrations of Hadith. (Ruh al-Ma'ani)
وَإِذَا فَعَلُوا۟ فَٰحِشَةًۭ قَالُوا۟ وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهَآ ءَابَآءَنَا وَٱللَّهُ أَمَرَنَا بِهَا ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْفَحْشَآءِ ۖ أَتَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
And when they commit an immorality, they say, "We found our fathers doing it, and Allah has ordered us to do it." Say, "Indeed, Allah does not order immorality. Do you say about Allah that which you do not know?"
Commentary
Before Islam, one of the many shameful and absurd customs Shaytan had made the people of ` Arab Jahiliyyah follow was that no one, other than the Quraysh, could make the Tawaf of Ka'bah in one's own clothes. Instead of that, the requirement was to borrow a dress from a Qurayshi, otherwise, make the Tawaf naked.
Mmmm50
As obvious, the Quraysh could not provide clothes to the whole people of Arabia, therefore, the consequence was that these people would make Tawaf mostly naked, men and women, both, with women usually doing their Tawaf in the darkness of the night. Then, they would explain the satanic expediency of this act by saying: The clothes wearing which we have committed sins are clothes in which making the Tawaf of the Ka'bah is contrary to etiquette (so devoid of commonsense they were that it did not occur to them that making their Tawaf naked was far more contrary to etiquette, and still more so, contrary to human dignity itself) and the only exception to this rule was the tribe of Quraysh which, because they were the servants of the sacred Haram, was not bound to follow this law of nudity.'
The first verse among those cited above has been revealed to identify and eliminate this absurd custom. It was said in the verse that on occasions when they did something shameful and people told them not to do so, their answer to them would be that their forefathers and elders have been doing so all along, and now for them, to forsake their practice was a matter of shame. Then, they also said that this was what Allah had told them to do. (Ibn Kathir)
In this verse, 'al-faihsha,' according to most commentators means this very naked Tawaf. In fact, fuhsh, fahsha and fahishah refer to every evil act the evil of which reaches the farthest limits and is all too loud and clear in terms of commonsense and sound taste (Mazhari). Then, that its good and bad becomes quite rational too, is something which stands established universally. (Rub al-Ma'ani)
Then, come the two arguments they advanced in support of the continuance of this absurd custom. One of these was the need to follow ancestral customs, that is, maintaining these was good in itself. The answer to this proposition was fairly clear as the blind following of ancestral customs was not something reasonable. Even a person of average commonsense can understand that a method cannot be justified on the basis that one's forefathers used to do so. If the methods used by forefathers were to be taken to be sufficient to justify the legitimacy of an action, then, the fact is that forefathers of different peoples of the world used to act differently, even contradictorily. This argument will, then, render all erroneous methods of the whole world to be correct and permissible. In short, this argument advanced by these ignorant people did not deserve attention. Therefore, the Qur'an has not considered it necessary to answer this question here. Though, in some Hadith narrations, it has been answered by saying that an act of ignorance which may have been committed by one's forefathers could hardly be worth following by any stretch of imagination.
The second argument in favour of their naked …
قُلْ أَمَرَ رَبِّى بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۖ وَأَقِيمُوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍۢ وَٱدْعُوهُ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ ۚ كَمَا بَدَأَكُمْ تَعُودُونَ
Say, [O Muhammad], "My Lord has ordered justice and that you maintain yourselves [in worship of Him] at every place [or time] of prostration, and invoke Him, sincere to Him in religion." Just as He originated you, you will return [to life] -
Said in the second verse was: قُلْ أَمَرَ رَ‌بِّي بِالْقِسْطِ (Say, "My Lord has bid-den me to do justice). Here, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been asked to tell those ignorant people, who were falsely attributing the justification of their naked Tawaf towards Allah, that Allah always commands justice. The word used here is: اَقِسط (al-qist) which essentially means justice, balance and moderation. At this place, ` al-qist' refers to a conduct which is free of excess or deficiency, that is, which neither falls short, nor exceeds the appointed limits - as is the case with all injunctions of the Shari'ah. Therefore, under this sense of qist' included there are all acts of worship and obedience as well as all general injunctions of the Shari'ah. (Ruh al-Ma'ani)
After having stated the command of justice and moderation, two injunctions of the Shari'ah relevant to their erroneous conduct have been particularly mentioned. These are: وَأَقِيمُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ (and yourself be aright at each occasion of prostration) and: وَادْعُوهُ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ (and pray to Him with pure faith in Him). The first command relates to what one does physically and outwardly. The other belongs to the heart, the spiritual dimension. In the first injunction, the word: مسجِد (Masjid), according to most commentators, appears in the sense of prostration (sajdah, sujud or ‘Ibadah) and it means that one should be aright at the time of every Salah or any other act of worship. It could also mean that one should make an effort and be particular to keep one's orientation straight towards the Qiblah. And being aright or keeping the orientation straight could also mean that one should sub-ordinate everything one says or does to what Allah has commanded, maintaining an orientation and stance that never varies, never dwindles and moves elsewhere. Given this meaning, this injunction will not remain particular for Salah only - instead, it would comprehend all acts of worship, dealings and transactions.
The second injunction means that one should worship Allah, purely and exclusively, without associating in that act anyone else in any capacity, even to the limit that such worship should also be free from, and untainted with, what is known as al-Shirk al-Khafiyy (concealed Shirk of associating others with the Divinity of Allah), that is, hypocrisy and riya' (show off).
By mentioning both injunctions together, the indication being given could be that one must correct, align and synchronize both dimensions of one's person, the outward and the inward, the physical and the spiritual, with the injunctions of the Shari'ah. Not enough is obvious obedience (Ita` ah) without sincerity (Ikhlas), nor can simple sincerity of the heart become sufficient without following the Shari` ah as visible outwardly too. Instead of that, it is binding on everyone that one should correct and align one's outward bearings in accordance with the Shari` ah and never forget to keep his or her inward state of being too reserved for Allah Ta` ala alone. This helps us see the error (dichotomy) of those who take Shari` ah (the outward or physical adherence to faith) and Tariqah (the inward or …
فَرِيقًا هَدَىٰ وَفَرِيقًا حَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلضَّلَٰلَةُ ۗ إِنَّهُمُ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ ٱلشَّيَٰطِينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَيَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ
A group [of you] He guided, and a group deserved [to be in] error. Indeed, they had taken the devils as allies instead of Allah while they thought that they were guided.
In the third verse (30), it was said that there are people Allah has guided right while there are others who have provided the proof of their erroneous conduct, because they have, bypassing Allah, made satans their comrades, and they presume that they are on the right path.
The sense is that the guidance of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta` ala was open to all, but they turned away from it and started following satans, then, on top of it, they were led to think that their sickness was health, and their error, guidance.
This verse tells us that not knowing the injunctions of the Shari` ah is no valid excuse. If someone takes to a way of error thinking it to be correct with full sincerity, he will not be considered excusable in the sight of Allah. - because Allah has given everyone reason and common-sense to use it and distinguish the true from the false. Then, man was not left to rely on his reason alone. He sent prophets and books. They made the right and wrong and the true and false all too clear.
Now someone may doubt that a person who is acting in good faith, though in error, should not have any blame coming to him. He should be excused because he is not aware of his error. The answer is that Allah Ta` ala has blessed human beings with reason and sense with the added benefit of the teachings of the noble prophets, may peace be upon them all. At least, through these, he should be able to compare his method and way with that suggested by them. There has to be some doubt or pinch or question in his mind. Now, his fault is that he did not pay any attention to what they taught and kept sticking to the way of error he had taken to.
However, a person who has striven his best in the quest of truth, yet failed to find the right path and true teaching, may be found excusable in the sight of Allah - as Imam al-Ghazali has said in his book, Al-Tafriqah Bayn al-Islam wa Al-zandaqah واللہ اَعلَم .
Commentary: Maarif-ul-Quran by Mufti Muhammad Shafi. Qur'an text and translation via AlQuran Cloud.
