Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:83

(So We saved him and his family except...) meaning those who were specifically associated with him and followed him from among the believers, regardless of whether they were his kin or not. It has been said: [they were] his two daughters, Raytha and Yaghutha. The term "family" (ahl) has various meanings, and for every context, there is a corresponding expression. According to the Great Imam (Abu Hanifa), may Allah be pleased with him, regarding the chapter on bequests, "family" refers to the wife due to customary usage ('urf), and due to the Almighty’s saying: "He said to his family, 'Stay here,'" and "He traveled with his family." Thus, a bequest to her is valid if she is a person of the Book or a Muslim, provided the heirs approve.

According to the two Imams (Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani), a man’s family includes everyone under his care and maintenance, excluding his slaves and his heirs. Their opinion—as stated in the commentary of al-Takmilah—is based on juristic preference (istihsan). Ibn al-Kamal supported this with this very verse, arguing that "family" here cannot possibly mean "wife," because of the Almighty's saying, "except his wife." For if "family" meant "wife," then the exception ("except his wife") would be invalid. You know, however, that the discussion concerns [the term] when it is absolute and lacks a contextual indicator, not "family" in an absolute sense. The name of his wife—peace be upon him—was Wahilah.

(She was of the loiterers/those who remained behind) meaning, one of them; the masculine [plural] is used to clarify that she deserved what the perpetrators of the immorality deserved. She used to conceal disbelief and support its people, so she perished just as they perished.

It is also possible that the meaning is "she was with the remaining/doomed people," in which case there is no need for the principle of dominance (taghlib). Ghabir signifies the one who remains. From this is the saying of the Hudhalī poet: "I remained (ghabartu) after them in a life of hardship." It also comes with the meaning of the past and the departed, as in the saying of al-A’sha: "In the past (ghabir) time." It is thus an antonym (addad), as mentioned in al-Sihah and other [lexicons]. It can also mean the perishing.

There are two narrations regarding his wife among those people. The second of them is that he—peace be upon him—led her out with his family and forbade them from looking back, but she looked back, so a stone struck her and she perished. The verse here is susceptible to both meanings. Al-Hasan and Qatadah held that "remaining" (ghubur) here refers to remaining in the punishment of Allah the Almighty. A completion of this discussion will follow, God willing. The sentence is an inception (isti'naf) that serves as an answer originating from the exception; as if it were asked: "What was her condition?" So it was said: "She was of those who remained behind."