Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:175-176

{And recite to them the news of him to whom We gave Our signs} He was a scholar among the scholars of the Children of Israel—though it is said he was a Canaanite—named Bal‘am ibn Bā‘ūrā’. He was granted knowledge of some of the Books of Allah.

{But he stripped himself from them} He stripped himself of the signs by disbelieving in them and casting them behind his back.

{So Satan pursued him} Satan caught up with him, overtook him, and became his companion. Or, he followed his footsteps. It is also read as fa-atba‘ahu (meaning: he followed him).

{And he became of the straying} He became one of the misguided disbelievers. It is narrated that his people begged him to curse Moses and those with him. He refused, saying, "How can I curse those who have angels with them?" They persisted until he finally did it.

{And if We had willed, We could have elevated him thereby} We would have magnified him and raised him to the ranks of the righteous among the scholars who possess those signs.

{But he adhered to the earth} He inclined toward the worldly life and desired it. It is also said: he inclined toward baseness.

If you ask: How did He make his elevation dependent upon the will of Allah, rather than upon his own action which would merit such elevation? I say: The meaning is: "If he had adhered to acting upon the signs and had not stripped himself of them, We would have elevated him by them." Allah’s will to elevate him is contingent upon his adherence to the signs; thus, the will is mentioned. The intent is that which is consequential and caused by it, as if it were said: "If he had adhered to them, We would have elevated him." Do you not see His saying: {But he adhered to the earth}? He corrected the mention of the will with his "adherence," which is his own action. Therefore, {If We had willed} must be in the meaning of that which is his own action. If the speech were taken literally, it would have been necessary to say: "If We had willed, We would have elevated him, but We did not will it."

{So his example is like that of the dog} His description—which is an example of baseness and ignominy—is like the description of a dog in its most base and wretched state: the state of constant panting, whether you attack it (i.e., press upon it and agitate it so it runs) or leave it alone without attacking it. Other animals do not pant unless they are agitated and stirred; otherwise, they do not pant. But the dog’s panting continues in both states.

The proper phrasing would have been: "If We had willed, We would have elevated him by them, but he adhered to the earth, so We brought him down and lowered his status." Thus, placing {So his example is like that of the dog} in the place of "We brought him down" is a more eloquent form of debasement, for likening him to a dog in its most wretched state carries the meaning of that debasement.

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The dog is of a broken heart; it pants whether you attack it or not." It is also said: "The meaning is that if you preach to him, he is misguided, and if you do not preach to him, he is misguided—like a dog: if you chase it, it runs and pants, and if you leave it in its state, it pants."

If you ask: What is the grammatical position of the conditional sentence? I say: It is in the accusative as a state (ḥāl), as if it were said: "Like a dog, humiliated, constantly humiliated, panting in both states." It is said that when Bal‘am cursed Moses (peace be upon him), his tongue fell out onto his chest, and he began to pant just as a dog pants.

{That is the example of the people who denied Our signs} From among the Jews, after they had read the description of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in the Torah, mentioned the miraculous Qur’an and what it contained, and gave glad tidings to the people of his imminent mission, and used to seek victory through him.

{So relate the stories} Relate the stories of Bal‘am, which are similar to their stories.

{That perhaps they will give thought} So that they may beware of a consequence like his, if they follow his path and deviate as he deviated. And so they may know that you learned this through revelation, thereby increasing their certainty in you and making the argument more binding upon them.

{How evil is the example of the people who denied Our signs and were to their own selves unjust}