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Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:168-169

Surah Al-A'raf 7:168

ﲊ ﲋ ﲌ ﲍ ﲎ ﲏ ﲐ ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ ﲘ ﲙ

And We divided them throughout the earth into nations. Of them some were righteous, and of them some were otherwise. And We tested them with good [times] and bad that perhaps they would return [to obedience].

Tafsir

Al-Kashshaf

Verse range: 7:168-169

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{ وَقَطَّعْنَاهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ أُمَمًا } We divided them in the land into nations, meaning We dispersed them therein, such that there is hardly a land devoid of a group of them.

{ مِنْهُمُ الصَّالِحُونَ } Among them are the righteous, those who believed among them in Medina, or those beyond China.

{ وَمِنْهُمُ دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ } And among them are people below that description, degraded from it; they are the disbelievers and the wicked.

If you ask: What is the grammatical position of dūna dhālika? I say: It is in the nominative case, acting as an adjective for an omitted noun. Its meaning is: "Among them are people degraded from righteousness." Similar is the verse: { وَمَا مِنَّا إِلَّا لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ } (As-Saffat: 164), meaning: "There is no one among us but has a known station."

{ وَبَلَوْنَاهُم بِالْحَسَنَاتِ وَالسَّيِّئَاتِ } We tested them with blessings and calamities.

{ لَّعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ } So that they might desist and repent.

{ فَخَلَفَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ } Then there succeeded after those mentioned a generation, namely those who lived during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

{ وَرِثُوا الْكِتَابَ } They inherited the Scripture (the Torah), which remained in their hands after their predecessors. They would read it and observe what was in it regarding commands, prohibitions, what is lawful, and what is forbidden, yet they would not act upon it.

{ يَأْخُذُونَ عَرَضَ هَٰذَا الْأَدْنَىٰ } They take the debris of this lower thing, meaning the worldly life and what is enjoyed of it. In the phrase { hādhā al-adnā }, there is an implication of degradation and contempt. *Al-adnā* (the lower/nearer) is derived either from *dunuww* (nearness), because it is immediate and close, or from the lowliness of its state, its insignificance, and its scarcity. The intent is the bribes they would take in legal judgments by distorting the words to make things easier for the common people.

{ وَيَقُولُونَ سَيُغْفَرُ لَنَا } They say: "Allah will not hold us accountable for what we have taken." The subject of { sayughfaru } is the prepositional phrase { lanā }. It is also possible that the subject is the "taking" (*al-akhdh*) which is the verbal noun of { ya'khudhūn }.

{ وَإِن يَأْتِهِمْ عَرَضٌ مِّثْلُهُ يَأْخُذُوهُ } The *waw* is for the state (*ḥāl*), meaning: they hope for forgiveness while they are persistent, returning to the same actions without repentance. Forgiveness of sins is not valid except through repentance, and the persistent sinner has no forgiveness.

{ أَلَمْ يُؤْخَذْ عَلَيْهِم مِّيثَاقُ الْكِتَابِ } Meaning what was stated in the Torah: that whoever commits a grave sin is not forgiven except through repentance.

{ وَدَرَسُوا مَا فِيهِ } They studied what was in the Scripture regarding the condition of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. What the *Mujbira* (determinists) hold is the very same doctrine of the Jews, as you can see.

Malik ibn Dinar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "A time will come upon people when, if they fall short of what they were commanded, they will say: 'We will be forgiven, for we did not associate anything with Allah.' All their affairs are based on greed, and their best are those who practice hypocrisy." These people of this nation are like those whom Allah mentioned. He then recited the verse.

{ وَالدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ } The Hereafter is better than that base debris for those who fear bribes and the prohibitions of Allah.

Note on variants: Warithū al-kitāb and illā taqūlū are read with the tā (second person). Adārasū is read with the meaning of tadārasū (they studied together). Afalā taʿqilūn is read with both the yā and the tā.

If you ask: What is the position of the phrase { أَن لَّا يَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْحَقَّ }? I say: It is an explanatory apposition (ʿaṭf bayān) to "the covenant of the Scripture." The meaning of "the covenant of the Scripture" is the covenant mentioned in the Scripture. It contains the fact that affirming forgiveness without repentance is a departure from the covenant of the Scripture and a fabrication against Allah, saying about Him what is not true. If "the covenant of the Scripture" is interpreted as mentioned previously, then { an lā yaqūlū } is the object for which the action was done (mafʿūl lahu), meaning: "so that they would not say." It is also possible that { an } is explanatory and { lā taqūlū } is a prohibition, as if it were said: "Was it not said to them: Do not say about Allah except the truth?"

If you ask: To what is the phrase { وَدَرَسُوا مَا فِيهِ } conjoined? I say: To { أَلَمْ يُؤْخَذْ عَلَيْهِم }, because it is a confirmation. It is as if it were said: "The covenant of the Scripture was taken from them, and they studied what was in it."

{ وَالَّذِينَ يُمَسِّكُونَ بِالْكِتَابِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُصْلِحِينَ }