7. Al-A'raaf

Said in the sixth verse (49) is: أَهَـٰؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمْتُمْ لَا يَنَالُهُمُ اللَّـهُ بِرَ‌حْمَةٍ ۚ ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَا أَنتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ ﴿49﴾ (Is it these for whom you swore that Allah would not reach them with mercy?" - "Enter the Paradise; there is no fear on you, nor shall you grieve).

Explaining this, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ says: When the questions and answers between the people of A` raf and the people of Paradise and Hell both will be over, that will be the time when the Lord of all the worlds will address the people of Hell and tell them about the people of A` raf that they swore that the people of A` raf will not be forgiven their sins and mercy will not be shown to them. Then, there comes an immediate declaration of His mercy when the people of A` raf will be told: Go and enter the Paradise. You should have no fear of what had happened in the past nor should you have any anxiety about the future. (Ibn Kathir)

Said in the sixth verse (49) is: أَهَـٰؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمْتُمْ لَا يَنَالُهُمُ اللَّـهُ بِرَ‌حْمَةٍ ۚ ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَا أَنتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ ﴿49﴾ (Is it these for whom you swore that Allah would not reach them with mercy?" - "Enter the Paradise; there is no fear on you, nor shall you grieve).

Explaining this, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ says: When the questions and answers between the people of A` raf and the people of Paradise and Hell both will be over, that will be the time when the Lord of all the worlds will address the people of Hell and tell them about the people of A` raf that they swore that the people of A` raf will not be forgiven their sins and mercy will not be shown to them. Then, there comes an immediate declaration of His mercy when the people of A` raf will be told: Go and enter the Paradise. You should have no fear of what had happened in the past nor should you have any anxiety about the future. (Ibn Kathir)

Commentary

Verse 54 begins with the statement that Allah has created the heavens and the earth and the planets and the stars and that they perform their functions under a firmly established system. The statement releases an inevitable suggestion that the maker of this system has the most perfect power conceivable. This, in turn, invites every reasonable human being to think. Here is the most sacred Being who is capable of bringing this great universe from non-being to the state of being and who can keep it functioning through the wisest of systems. Why would it be difficult for him to undo everything and recreate it once again on the day of Qiyamah? For human beings, the best course is to stop denying the Qiyamah and turn to the same Being as their Rabb who is their Master and Nurturer. From Him they should seek what they need and Him alone they should worship. Let them come out of the quagmire of worshiping their own kind and recognize the truth. Said herein was: ` Surely, your Lord is Allah - Who created the heavens and the earth in six days.'

The Creation of the Heavens and the Earth: Why in Six Days?

A question arises here. We know that Allah Ta` ala has great power. He is capable of creating the whole universe in a single moment. The Holy Qur'an itself says so time and again. For instance, in Surah Al-Qamar, it is said: وَمَا أَمْرُ‌نَا إِلَّا وَاحِدَةٌ كَلَمْحٍ بِالْبَصَرِ‌ ﴿50﴾ (And Our Command is but a single Word, - like the twinkling of an eye - 54:50). Again, in Surah Ya Sin, إِذَا أَرَ‌ادَ شَيْئًا أَن يَقُولَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ (when [ Allah ] intends [ to create ] a thing it is said: “ Be” and it comes to be - 36:82). Why, then, would six days be spent in creating the universe?

Commentator of the Qur'an, Sayyidna Said ibn Jubayr رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ has given an answer by saying that Allah is certainly capable of creating everything there is in a single moment, but Divine wisdom so demanded that the creation of our universe take six days so that human beings could be taught the lesson of graduation and perfection in run-ning the universal system. This is supported by a Hadith in which the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: Working with deliberation, dignity and graduation is from Allah Ta` ala and hastening, from Shaytan. (Mazhari, with reference to Shu'ab al-'iman by Al-Baihaqi)

The implication is that the attitude of rushing into doing things is not good for human beings. One cannot give due thought to and take into consideration all aspects of an issue at hand if driven by haste. An action taken in haste spoils what is done and brings remorse in the end. So, whatever is done with proper advance thinking and functional ease brings Barakah (blessing from Allah which enhances the efficiency and outcome of the Endeavour).

How were Days and Nights identified before the Creation of Earth, Heavens and Planets?

The second question is: The presence of the day and night is recognized through the movement of the sun. But, before the birth of the earth and the heavens, when there was no sun and moon, on what basis comes the count of six days?

For this reason, some commentators have said that six days means a time duration equal to six days and …

Commentary

Mentioned in previous verses were particular manifestations of the perfect power of Allah Ta` ala, and His major blessings. The present verses lead us to consider: When He is the Master of perfect power, the sender of all blessings, and the Lord of all the worlds, it naturally follows that He should be the One to be called upon and prayed to under all circumstances, whether in distress or in need. The attitude of by-passing Him and turning towards some other direction is ignorance and failure.

Along with it, identified in these verses are some rules of etiquette to be followed when making Du'a' (prayer, supplication). If due consideration is given to these rules, the hope that a prayer will be answered increases.

The Meaning and Etiquette of Du` a and Dhikr

The word: دُعَاء (Du'a' ), in the Arabic language, means to call upon someone to remove one's need. It is also used to remember in the absolute sense. Both meanings can be taken here. The verse says: اُدعُوا رَبَّکُم (Supplicate to your Lord) that is, call your Rabb for your needs, or remember your Rabb and worship Him.

In the first case, it would mean: Ask Allah alone for what you need. In the second case, the sense would be: Do your Dhikr and ` Ibadah for Him alone. Both these explanations have been reported from Tafsir authorities among the early righteous elders.

After that, it was said: تَضَرُّ‌عًا وَخُفْيَةً (humbly and secretly). The word: تَضَرُّ‌عً (tadarru`) means realization of inability, humility, and submission in a refined spirit of self-abasement (not found in the English language and its modern, secular, cultural context). And the word: خُفْيَةً (khufyah) means secret, secluded, or private (as opposed to open and public - as used in English too, but with no relevance to the dominant sense of secret in English bearing on the mysterious, the occult, and the whole field of espionage).

In the frame of these two words, described there are two important rules of etiquette which govern Du` a' and Dhikr. First of all, in order that Du'a' be answered, it is necessary that one appears before Allah Ta` ala as weak, helpless and simply unable to hold on his own, modest and humble, and submits to Him with a total negation of what is supposed to be pride, dignity, honour, ego, or self-view - and then makes Du'a'. Du'a' is a thing of the soul which requires that its words match the feebleness and humbleness of the maker of Du` a', that the manner of saying it remains a mirror of modesty, and that this overall humility should ooze forth from the very physical approach to this making of Du'a'. Given this anatomy and profile of Du'a', the common practice of making Du` a' these days cannot really be called the making of Du'a'. It would, rather, be the reading of it. What happens most of the time is that we do not know what we are saying and it has become a routine as we notice in common Masajid. Imams would usually say, rather read, some words of Du` a' in the Arabic language which they have memorized and do this at the end of Salah. Most of the time, in some areas, the Imams themselves do not know the meaning and sense of what they say - and even if they do know it, at …

In the second verse (56), it was said: وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَاحِهَا (And do no mischief on the earth after it has been set in order). Two antonyms have appeared here: صَلَاح (salah) and: فَسَاد (fasad). 'Salah' means the state of being good, correct, right, proper or set in order as in the translation. Then, Fasad refers to the state of evil, corruption, mischief, disorder. Imam Raghib al-Isfahan has said in his Mufradat al-Qur'an that Fasad refers to something going beyond the limits of moderation, whether this crossing over is insignificant or enormous, and the measure of an increase or decrease in every Fasad depends on this crossing of the limits of moderation. The farther the limits are crossed, Fasad will increase. Fasad means to make things bad and Islah means to correct, reform or put into order. Therefore, the verse: وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَاحِهَا means: ` do not make things bad on the earth after that Allah has made it good and proper.'

Imam Raghib has also said: There are several forms in which Allah Ta` ala makes something right, correct and proper. Firstly, He began by creating them right, correct and proper, as in: وَ اَصلَحَ بَالَھُم ' (He will improve their condition - 47:2). Secondly, removed was the corruption that had entered into something, as in: یُصلِح لَکُم اَعمَالَکُمُ (That He may make your deeds good and right - 33:71). Thirdly, that a command is given to put things in order. This verse carries a command of abstention from mischief on the earth after it has been set in order. Here, the ordering of the earth may be taken in two senses. Firstly, the outward propriety that it was made arable and capable of growing trees with rains made to come from clouds resulting in flowers and fruits as gifts from plants and trees - and that the earth was made the source of life support for human beings and animals.

The second sense is that Allah Ta'ala set things right on the earth inwardly and spiritually - by sending His messengers and Books and instructions and purifying it from Kufr and Shirk and error. It is quite possible that the verse means both inward and outward order in a total way. Thus, the verse would now mean that Allah Ta'-al-a has put the earth in proper order both physically and spiritually and now you should not create disorder or engineer evil in there through your acts of sin and disobedience.

What is Order or Disorder on the Earth and at have Sins of People to do with it?

The way there are two aspects of order (Islah), the outward and the inward, or the physical and the spiritual, in the same way, there are two aspects of disorder (Fasad) also. As for the outward or physical order of the earth is concerned, that it be right and proper, it will be realized that Allah Ta'ala has made it to be a mass or body which is neither liquid as water making it difficult to settle down upon it, nor is it hard as rock or iron which could not be dug up. It has been created to be in a middle state so that human beings could make it soft and smooth lending itself to being farmed and become capable of growing plants and trees and flowers and fruits. Then, they could also dig it up …

Commentary

In previous verses, Allah Ta` ala has mentioned some of His major and particular blessings. By pointing out to the creation of the heavens and the earth, the day and night, and the sun, moon and stars and how they serve human beings, the lesson driven home is that there is no power other than the sacred Being of Allah Ta` ala to take care of our needs and comforts, then, it becomes necessary that we should pray to none but Him for everything we need and take this turning to Him as the key of our success.

Mmmm48

Also mentioned in the first of the present verses are some other important blessings of this nature on which depends the existence and survival of human beings and the entire creation of the earth, for example, the rains and the trees, and farmlands and its produce. The difference is that the previous verses mentioned blessings relating to the upper domain while the present ones belong to the lower. (A1-Bahr Al-Muhit)

Something special has been identified in the second verse where it is said that these great Divine blessings are, though common to all parts of the earth - as rains, when they come, fall on rivers and mountains and on good and bad lands alike - but, what grows from the earth grows only from the land which has the quality to make it grow. Rocky and sandy lands do not derive benefit from these rains.

The conclusion drawn from the first verse is that the sacred Being which enables dead land to live again should have no problems in making human beings who once lived, then died, come to life once again. The conclusion so drawn is very clear. Then, there is another conclusion drawn from the second verse. It tells us that the guidance coming from Allah Ta` ala, the revealed Books, the blessed prophets, and the teachings and training undertaken by their deputies, the ` Ulama' and Mashaikh are like the rains, common to every human being. But, the way every land does not derive benefit from the mercy of rains, very similarly, the benefit of this spiritual rain is derived by those who have the ability to absorb it. As for those whose hearts are like rocky and sandy land not having the ability to absorb it and make growth possible, they would keep sticking to their ways of error despite clear guidance and signs and scriptures.

The conclusion thus drawn comes from the last sentence of the second verse which says: كَذَٰلِكَ نُصَرِّ‌فُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَشْكُرُ‌ونَ (Thus We alternate the verses for a people who pay gratitude). The sense is that the statement made was, though for everyone, yet, in the ultimate consequence, it proved beneficial only for those who had the capacity for it and realized its worth and value. Thus, the two verses quoted here cover the subject of human origin and return. Now, we can go to a fuller explanation of these two verses. The first verse begins by saying: وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُرْ‌سِلُ الرِّ‌يَاحَ بُشْرً‌ا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ رَ‌حْمَتِهِ (And He is the One who sends the winds carrying good news before His blessings). Here, the word: رِیح (ar-riyah) is the plural form of rih which means the wind, and ` bushran' means good news or glad tidings, and ` rahmat' refers to the rain of mercy, that is, it …

Stated in the second verse (58) is: وَالْبَلَدُ الطَّيِّبُ يَخْرُ‌جُ نَبَاتُهُ بِإِذْنِ رَ‌بِّهِ ۖ وَالَّذِي خَبُثَ لَا يَخْرُ‌جُ إِلَّا نَكِدًا (As for the good land, its vegetation comes out with the permission of its Lord. And that which is bad does not grow except what is bad). The word: نَكِد (nakid) refers to something useless and scanty both. The sense of the verse is that the mercy of rain, when it comes, is common to every town and land, but lands are of two kinds in terms of their yield and outcome. First, there is good land which helps growth. From it come flowers and fruits and many other benefits. Then, there is the hard, barren or saline land which lacks the ability to grow plants. First of all, not much grows on such a land, and if something does grow there, its quantity remains insignificant, and even this quantity is useless and bad.

At the end of the verse, it was said: كَذَٰلِكَ نُخْرِ‌جُ الْمَوْتَىٰ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُ‌ونَ (Thus We alternate the verses for a people who pay gratitude).

The hint given here is: Though the open blessing of Allah's guidance and His clear 'Ayat is open and common to all human beings very much like the general mercy of rain, but every land does not derive benefit from the rain and, similarly, every human being does not de-rive benefit from Divine guidance. Rather, the benefit is derived by only those who are grateful for what they receive and recognize its real worth and value.

Commentary

Described from the beginning of Surah al-A` raf upto this point were the subjects of Tauhid, Risalah and 'Akhirah, the basic principles of Islam. These were proved and affirmed in different ways, people were persuaded to follow them and warned against taking opposing stands. Then, as a corollary, the guiles of Satan which make people go astray were mentioned. Now, from the eighth Ruku` (section) to almost the end of the Surah, there is a description of some prophets, may peace be upon them, and of their communities. The subject dealt with here consists of the commonly pursued principles of Tauhid, Risalah and 'Akhirah. They all invited their respective communities towards these universal principles, gave them the good news of rewards for those who believed in them, and warned them of punishments for refusing to believe and the sad end they would have for doing so. This description takes about fourteen sections, where hundreds of basic and subsidiary rulings appear as a corollary. Thus, the present communities were given an opportunity to learn a lesson from the sad end of past communities - and, for the Holy Prophet ﷺ this became a source of comfort that this was how things have been with all other prophets.

The verses appearing above take a whole Ruku` of Surah al-A` raf. It describes the mission of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) and the state of the community to which he was sent.

Though, in the chain of prophets, the first prophet is Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) ، but his was not the time for confrontation against disbelief and error. In the religious code given to him, most of the injunctions were related to habitation of the land and management of human needs. Disbelief and disbelievers just did not exist. The confrontation against Kufr (disbelief) and Shirk (associating partners in the Divinity of Allah) began with Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) . He is, in terms of the mission of prophethood and a code of religious laws, the first rasul of Allah. In addition to that, people who survived after the drowning of the whole world during the great flood or deluge, were Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) and those with him in the Ark. It was through him that the new world was populated. Therefore, he is also referred to as the junior Adam. This is the reason why he appears first in this story of prophets which has a description of his nine hundred and fifty year long prophetic struggle in contrast to the crooked ways of the majority in his community, as a result of which, all except a few believers were drowned. Details follow.

The first verse begins with the words: لَقَدْ أَرْ‌سَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ (Surely We sent Nuh to his people).

Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) is in the eighth generation of Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) . According to a narration of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ appearing in Mustadrak of Hakim, there is an interval of ten Qarn between Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) and Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) . The same has been reported by Tabarani as based on a Hadith of the Holy Prophet ﷺ narrated by Sayyidna Abu Dharr ؓ (Tafsir Mazhari). A Qarn generally means one hundred years. Therefore, the interval of time between these two comes to …

In reply, his people said: إِنَّا لَنَرَ‌اكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ ("Indeed we see you in an obvious error" ). The word: مَلَاء (mala' ) is used for chiefs, headmen and empowered elders of a community or group. The sense of what his people said in response to his call was to tell him that he was actually trying to wean them away from their ancestral faith and that all these ideas of rising on some last day and being rewarded or punished were nothing but superstition.