7. Sūrat al-Aʾrāf (5/5)

٧۔ سُورَةُ الأعرَاف ص ٥

The Heights (Meccan)

quran:7:201

Indeed, those who fear Allah - when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember ˹Him˺ and at once they have insight.  

Truly the God-fearing, when a visitation from Satan touches them, befalls them (tayfun: a variant reading has tā’ifun), that is, ˹when˺ something ˹of the sort˺ overcomes them, they remember, God’s punishment and His reward, and then see clearly, ˹distinguishing˺ the truth from what is other than it, and so they return ˹to God˺.
القرآن:٧:٢٠١

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَائِفٌ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ تَذَكَّرُوا فَإِذَا هُمْ مُبْصِرُونَ  

{إن الذين اتقوا إذا مسَّهم} أصابهم {طيفٌ} وفي قراءة طائف أي شيء ألَّم بهم {من الشيطان تذكَّروا} عقاب الله وثوابه {فإذا هم مبصرون} الحق من غيره فيرجعون.
quran:7:202

But their brothers - the devils increase them in error; then they do not stop short.  

And their brothers, that is, the brothers of devils from among the disbelievers, they, the devils, lead them further into error, and, they, do not stop short, ˹do not˺ desist from it, by seeing clearly, in the way that those who are God-fearing come to see clearly.
القرآن:٧:٢٠٢

وَإِخْوَانُهُمْ يَمُدُّونَهُمْ فِي الْغَيِّ ثُمَّ لَا يُقْصِرُونَ  

{وإخوانهم} أي إخوان الشياطين من الكفار {يَمدُّونَهُمْ} أي الشياطين {في الغي ثم} هم {لا يُقْصِرُونَ} يكفون عنه بالتبصر كما تبصَّر المتقون.
quran:7:203

And when you, ˹O Muhammad˺, do not bring them a sign, they say, "Why have you not contrived it?" Say, "I only follow what is revealed to me from my Lord. This ˹Qur'an˺ is enlightenment from your Lord and guidance and mercy for a people who believe."  

And when you do not bring them, that is, the people of Mecca, a sign, from among those which they request, they say, ‘Why have you not chosen one?’, ˹why have you not˺ produced one ˹all by˺ yourself? Say, to them: ‘I follow only that which is revealed to me from my Lord, and it is not for me to bring anything from myself; this, Qur’ān, is insight, proofs, from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe’.
القرآن:٧:٢٠٣

وَإِذَا لَمْ تَأْتِهِمْ بِآيَةٍ قَالُوا لَوْلَا اجْتَبَيْتَهَا ۚ قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَتَّبِعُ مَا يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ مِنْ رَبِّي ۚ هَٰذَا بَصَائِرُ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ  

{وإذا لم تأتهم} أي أهل مكة {بآية} مما اقترحوا {قالوا لولا} هلا {اجتبيتها} أنشأتها من قبل نفسك {قل} لهم {إنَّما أتَّبع ما يوحى إلي من ربي} وليس لي أن آتي من عند نفسي بشيء {هذا} القرآن {بصائر} حجج {من ربِّكم وهدى ورحمة لقوم يؤمنون}.
quran:7:204

So when the Qur'an is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy.  

And when the Qur’ān is recited, listen to it and pay heed, ˹refraining˺ from speech, so that you might find mercy: this was revealed regarding ˹the requirement of˺ refraining from speech during the ˹mosque˺ sermon, which here has been expressed by ˹the recital of˺ ‘the Qur’ān’, because it ˹the sermon˺ comprises it; others say that it was revealed regarding the ˹requirement of silence and attention during the˺ recitation of the Qur’ān in general.
القرآن:٧:٢٠٤

وَإِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَأَنْصِتُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ  

{وإذا قُرئ القرآن فاستمعوا له وأنصتوا} عن الكلام {لعلكم ترحمون} نزلت في ترك الكلام في الخطبة وعبَّر عنها بالقرآن لاشتمالها عليه، وقيل في قراءة القرآن مطلقا.
quran:7:205

And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and in fear without being apparent in speech - in the mornings and the evenings. And do not be among the heedless.  

And remember your Lord within yourself, that is, secretly, humbly, submissively, and fearfully, in awe of Him, and, louder than ˹speaking˺ in secret, more quietly than speaking out loud, that is, a middle way between the two, at morning and evening, at the beginning of the day and at its end. And do not be among the heedless, of God’s remembrance.
القرآن:٧:٢٠٥

وَاذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعًا وَخِيفَةً وَدُونَ الْجَهْرِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ وَلَا تَكُنْ مِنَ الْغَافِلِينَ  

{واذكر ربَّك في نفسك} أي سرا {تضرُّعا} تدللا {وخيفة} خوفا منه {و} فوق السر {دون الجهر من القول} أي قصدا بينهما {بالغدو والآصال} أوائل النهار وأواخره {ولا تكن من الغافلين} عن ذكر الله.
quran:7:206

Indeed, those who are near your Lord are not prevented by arrogance from His worship, and they exalt Him, and to Him they prostrate.  

Surely those who are with your Lord, namely, the angels, are not too proud, they do ˹not˺ disdain, to worship Him; they glorify Him, exalting Him as being transcendent above what does not befit Him, and to Him they prostrate, that is, they devote their submission and worship exclusively to Him: so be like them! Medinese, except for verses 30 to 36 inclusive, which are Meccan; it consists of 75 or 77 verses, and was revealed after ˹sūrat˺ al-Baqara. The Muslims fell into dispute over the spoils of ˹the battle of˺ Badr. The young men said, ‘These ˹spoils˺ should be ours because we hastened to join the fighting’, while the old men said, ‘We were your support, holding up the banners behind you; had you been exposed, you would have come back to us, so do not claim it as yours exclusively.’ Thus the following was revealed:
القرآن:٧:٢٠٦

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَيُسَبِّحُونَهُ وَلَهُ يَسْجُدُونَ ۩  

{إن الذين عند ربك} أي الملائكة {لا يستكبرون} يتكبَّرون {عن عبادته ويسبِّحونه} ينزهوِّنه عما لا يليق به {وله يسجدون} أي يخصونه بالخضوع والعبادة فكونوا مثلهم.