Al-A'raf: (130-131) And verily We seized...

It is known that the Almighty, after recounting Moses' saying to his people, "Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy" (Al-A'raf: 129), immediately began mentioning the afflictions He sent upon Pharaoh and his people, one after another, until the matter reached destruction. This serves as a warning to the accountable people to refrain from disbelief and persisting in rejecting the Messengers, lest these afflictions befall them.

He said: {And verily We seized the people of Pharaoh with years [of drought]} (Al-A'raf: 130).

In this verse, there are several issues:

Issue 1: The Meaning of al-Sinin (Years)

Abu Ali al-Farsi stated that al-Sannah (the singular form of al-Sinin) has two meanings:

1. It refers to the full year (al-Hawl or al-'Am).
2. It refers to drought, which is the opposite of abundance.

This verse and the Prophet's saying, "O Allah, make it for them years like the years of Joseph," and 'Umar's statement, "We do not fall into a year of drought," use it to mean drought. Since al-Sannah means drought, they derived verbs from it, just as they derive from al-Jadb (drought). They say asnatū (they experienced drought), just as they say ajdabū (they experienced drought).

A poet said:

And the men of Mecca are lean and drought-stricken.

Abu Zayd said that some Arabs say, "These are sinīn (years)" or "I saw sinīnā (years)," thus inflecting the nūn.

Al-Farrā' cited the saying of a poet:

He called me from Najd, for its years have played with us and whitened our young hair.

Al-Zajjaj said: Al-Sinin in the speech of the Arabs means drought. They say, "The year afflicted them" (musthum al-sannah), meaning the drought of the year, or the severity of the year.

Knowing this, the commentators say: {And verily We seized the people of Pharaoh} means famine and drought year after year. Thus, al-Sinin (years) applies to the desert dwellers, and {and a deficiency in the fruits} applies to the town dwellers.

Then the Almighty said: {that they may take heed} (Al-A'raf: 130). In this, there are two issues:

The apparent meaning of the verse is that the Almighty sent these hardships upon them so that they would return from their path of rebellion and obstinacy to submission and servitude. This is because times of hardship soften the heart and incline one toward what is with God. Evidence for this is His saying: {And when harm touches you at sea, lost are those whom you invoke except Him} (Al-Isra: 67), and {And when adversity touches him, he is full of wide-ranging supplication} (Fussilat: 51).

Al-Qadi [al-Fāḍil] said that this verse indicates that the Almighty did this intending that they should take heed, not intending that they should remain upon their disbelief.

Al-Wāḥidī responded to this by saying that the term ibtila' (testing/trial) and ikhtibār (examination) are mentioned in the Qur'an, not in the sense that God tests them (as that is impossible for God), but in the sense that the Almighty deals with them in a manner resembling testing and examination. Thus, it is the same here. And Allah knows best.

Then the Almighty clarified that when these hardships befell them, they resorted to actions that increased their disbelief and disobedience, saying: {But when a good came to them, they said, "This is for us"} (Al-A'raf: 131).

Ibn 'Abbas meant by al-Ḥasanah (the good) vegetation, abundance, fruits, livestock, prosperity in livelihood, health, and safety.

And {they said, "This is for us"} means: We deserve this due to the custom that has prevailed concerning the abundance of our blessings and the breadth of our provisions. They did not realize that it was from God, so they should thank Him for it and fulfill the right of the blessing therein.

And His saying: {And if a bad thing afflicted them} (Al-A'raf: 131) refers to drought, famine, illness, harm, and tribulation. {they took it as an evil omen from Moses and those with him} (Al-A'raf: 131). This means they became superstitious about him, saying that this evil befell them because of the bad omen of Moses and his people.

Tiyarah (taking an evil omen) means superstition, according to all commentators.

The word {yaṭṭayyarū} (they take an omen) is originally yataṭayyarū. The tā' is assimilated into the ṭā' because they originate from the same place in the mouth (the tip of the tongue and the roots of the incisors).

Regarding His saying: {Verily, their evil omen is with Allah} (Al-A'raf: 131), there are two opinions concerning al-Ṭā'ir (the omen/bird):

Ibn 'Abbas said it means their ill-fate is with Allah, meaning it came to them by the decree and judgment of Allah. Al-Ṭā'ir here means the ill-fate/bad omen. Similar to this is His saying concerning the people of Thamud: {They said, "We have taken an evil omen from you." He said, "Your omen is with Allah"} (An-Naml: 47).

Al-Farrā' said that the Jews in Medina became superstitious about the Prophet (peace be upon him), saying, "Prices have risen and rain has decreased since he came to us."

Al-Azhari said: Ill-fate is also called ṭā'ir, ṭayr, and ṭiyarah because the Arabs had a custom of divination by the flight of birds ('iyāfat al-ṭayr), interpreting their cries (zajr), taking omens from their passing (bāriḥ), the cawing of their crows, and taking the left-hand path (dhāt al-yisār) when they stirred them up. Thus, they named ill-fate ṭayr, ṭā'ir, and ṭiyarah due to their superstition regarding it.

Then Allah informed them through His Messenger that their superstition was false, saying: {Nay} (Al-A'raf: 132). The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to take good omens (tafā'ul) and forbade taking evil omens (ṭiyarah). The origin of al-Fa'l (good omen) is a good word. The Arabs held the same view regarding al-Fa'l and al-Ṭiyarah. The Prophet (PBUH) affirmed al-Fa'l and nullified al-Ṭiyarah.

Muhammad al-Rāzī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is necessary to mention the difference between the two categories. The closest explanation is that human souls are purer and stronger than the souls of beasts and birds. Therefore, the word spoken by a human can be used for inference, unlike the flight of birds or the movements of beasts, whose souls are weak, so nothing about future events can be inferred from them.

Abu 'Ubaydah said: {their omen is with Allah} means their portion/lot. This is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: Their ṭā'ir is only what has been decreed and destined for them. The Arabs say, "I distributed the wealth and divided it among the people, and his share flew to him," meaning he obtained that share.

Know that, according to both opinions, the meaning is that whatever befalls them, whether good or evil, is by the decree and predestination of Allah. {But most of them do not know} (Al-A'raf: 132) that everything is from Allah Almighty. This is because most people attribute events to perceptible causes and detach them from the decree and predestination of Allah. The truth is that everything is from Allah, because every existent thing is either necessarily existent by itself (wājib al-wujūd li-dhātihi) or possible by itself (mumkin li-dhātihi). The Necessary Existent is One, and everything else is possible by itself. The possible by itself cannot exist except through the creation of the Necessary Existent by itself. By this path, everything is from Allah. Therefore, attributing it to other than Allah is ignorance of the perfection of Allah Almighty.

7 < { And they said, "Whatever sign you bring us to bewitch us with, we will never believe you." * So We sent against them the flood and the locusts and the lice and the frogs and the blood, distinct signs, but they were arrogant and were a criminal people.} > 7

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