al-A`raf (The Heights, The Elevated Places) at IslamAwakened.com

7:2 This is a Book sent down to you (O Messenger) – so let there be no tightness in your breast in respect of it (in conveying it to people and fearing that they may not believe in it) – that thereby you may warn (people against any deviation), and as an admonition and advice to the believers

7:3 Follow what has been sent down to you (O humankind) from your Lord, and, do not follow as confidants and guardians other than Him. How little you reflect and take heed

7:4 How many a township We have destroyed (because they did not pay heed to Our warning). Our scourge fell upon them at night or when they were taking their ease in the noontime

7:5 And there was no appeal from them when Our scourge fell upon them, except for their saying: "Indeed, we have been wrongdoers."

7:6 So We will surely question those to whom Messengers were sent (as to how they responded to them), and We will surely question those sent with Our Message (concerning their duty of conveying it and how their peoples reacted to it)

7:7 Then We will surely narrate to them (the full account of their worldly lives) with (full, accurate) knowledge; We were not absent (while they were doing their deeds and so we have a perfect record)

7:8 The weighing on that Day shall be the truth (complete and accurate), and he whose scales (of good deeds) are heavy – they will be the prosperous

7:9 And he whose scales are light (because they have no acceptable good deeds) – they will be those who have ruined their own selves because they were unjust to Our Revelations and signs (in both the universe and themselves)

7:10 Indeed, We have established you on the earth (O humankind, endowed you with great potential) and arranged for your livelihood in it. Scarcely do you give thanks

7:11 We brought you into existence, then We gave you each a form (perfectly suited to your nature), and then We said to the angels (to signify that they affirm the degree of knowledge and superiority of Adam and his deserving vicegerency, and that they will help him to perform his duty on the earth): "Prostrate before Adam!" They all prostrated, but Iblis did not; he was not of those who prostrated

7:12 He (God) said: "What prevented you from prostrating, when I commanded you to do so?" Iblis said: "I am better than he, for You have created me from fire, and him You have created from clay."

7:13 (God) said: "Then go down from it; it is not for you to act haughtily there! So be gone! Surely you are of the degraded."

7:14 (Iblis) said: "Grant me respite till the Day when they are raised from the dead."

7:15 (God) said: "You shall be among the ones (humankind) granted respite (so long as they remain on the earth)."

7:16 (Iblis) continued: "Now that You have allowed me to rebel and go astray, I will surely lie in wait for them on Your Straight Path (to lure them from it)

7:17 "Then I will come upon them from before them and from behind them, and from their right and from their left. And You will not find most of them thankful."

7:18 He (God) said: "Go away from there, disgraced and disowned! Those of them that follow you, surely I will fill Hell with you all!"

7:19 (To Adam, He said): "O Adam! Dwell, you and your spouse, in the Garden, and eat (of the fruits) thereof where you desire, but do not approach this tree, or you will both be among the wrongdoers."

7:20 Then Satan made an evil suggestion to both of them that he might reveal to them their private parts that had remained hidden from them (and waken their carnal impulses), and he said: "Your Lord has forbidden you this tree only lest you should become sovereigns, or lest you should become immortals."

7:21 And he swore to them: "Truly, I am for you a sincere adviser."

7:22 Thus he led them on by delusion; and when they tasted the tree, their private parts (and all the apparently shameful, evil impulses in their creation) were revealed to them, and both began to cover themselves with leaves from the Garden. And their Lord called out to them: "Did I not prohibit you from that tree, and did I not say to you that Satan is a manifest enemy to you?"

7:23 They said (straightaway): "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and do not have mercy on us, we will surely be among those who have lost!"

7:24 He said: "Go down, (all of you,) (and henceforth you will live a life,) some of you being the enemies of the others. There shall be for you on the earth a habitation and provision until an appointed time."

7:25 He said: "You will live there, and there you will die, and from it you will be brought forth (on the Day of Resurrection)."

7:26 O children of Adam! Assuredly We have sent down on you a garment to cover your private parts, and garments for adornment. However, (remember that) the garment of piety and righteousness – it is the best of all. That is from God’s signs, that they may reflect and be mindful

7:27 Children of Adam! Never let Satan seduce you (and cause you to fail in similar trials) as he caused your (ancestral) parents to be driven out of the Garden, pulling off from them their garment and revealing to them their private parts (and the carnal impulses ingrained in them). He sees you, he and his host (see you), from where you do not see them. We have made satans the confidants and fellow-criminals of those who do not believe

7:28 And whenever they commit an indecency, they say (attempting to excuse themselves): "We found our fathers doing that (and follow in their footsteps), and this is what God has enjoined upon us." Say: "Indeed, God does not enjoin indecency. Or is it that you speak about God things you have no knowledge of?"

7:29 Say: "My Lord enjoins right and justice." Turn toward Him your faces (i.e. your whole being) whenever you rise to perform the Prayer, and call upon Him, sincere in your faith in Him and practising the Religion for His sake. As He initiated you (in existence), so to Him you are returning

7:30 A party He has guided (to the right way), and for another party straying in error is their just due: they have taken satans, rather than God, for confidants, supporters, and guardians, yet they suppose that they are rightly-guided

7:31 O children of Adam! Dress cleanly and beautifully for every act of worship; and (without making unlawful the things God has made lawful to you) eat and drink, but do not be wasteful (by over-eating or consuming in unnecessary ways): indeed, He does not love the wasteful

7:32 Say: "Who is there to make unlawful the beautiful things (obtained from plants, animals and minerals) that God has brought forth for His servants, and the pure, wholesome things from among the means of sustenance?" Say: "They are for (the enjoyment of) the believers in the life of the world (without excluding others), and will be exclusively theirs on the Day of Resurrection." Thus We set out in detail Our signs (showing Our way) and Revelations for a people seeking knowledge

7:33 Say: "My Lord has made unlawful only indecent, shameful deeds (like fornication, adultery, prostitution, and homosexuality), whether those of them that are apparent and committed openly or those that are committed secretly; and any act explicitly sinful; and insolence and offenses (against the Religion, life, personal property, others’ chastity, and mental and bodily health), which is openly unjustified; and (it is also forbidden) that you associate partners with God for which He has sent no authority at all, and that you speak against God the things about which you have no sure knowledge

7:34 And (know that) for every community there is a term appointed (by God considering their free will); and when the end of the term falls, they can neither delay it by a single moment, nor can they hasten it

7:35 O children of Adam! (As to your earthly life, the term of which has already been appointed, We have decreed): Whenever there come to you Messengers from among yourselves, relating to you My Revelations, then whoever keeps from disobedience to Me and them so as to deserve My protection and mends his ways, thus acting for the general peace in the community, they will have no fear, nor will they grieve

7:36 But those who deny Our Revelations and turn arrogantly from them, they are the companions of the Fire, and therein they will abide

7:37 Who is more in wrong than he who fabricates falsehood in attribution to God and denies His Revelations and signs (in the universe and their selves)? Their full portion of God’s decree (concerning life and providence) will reach them, until Our envoys (angels assigned for this duty) come to them to take their souls, and say: "Where, now, are those beings whom you have deified and invoked apart from God?" They say: "They have failed us," and thus bear witness against themselves that they were (always) unbelievers

7:38 He (God) says: "Enter in company with the communities of jinn and humankind that went before you into the Fire!" Every time a community enters the Fire, it curses its fellow-community (that went before it) – so much so that, when they all have gathered there one after another, those who came later say of those who came earlier: "Our Lord! Those are the ones who led us astray: give them, therefore, double suffering through fire!" He (God) says: "For each is double (since those who went earlier both strayed themselves and led others astray, and those who came later both strayed themselves and imitated the others blindly), but you do not know."

7:39 Then the preceding ones among them say to the succeeding ones: "You are in no wise superior to us, so taste the punishment for all (the sins) that you were busy earning (through your belief and deeds)!"

7:40 Those who deny Our Revelations and turn arrogantly from them – for them, the gates of Heaven will indeed not be opened (i.e. God will not accept even their good deeds) and they will enter Paradise no further than a camel can pass through the eye of a needle. Thus do We recompense the disbelieving criminals

7:41 For them is a bed of Hellfire and, over them, is a covering (of the same fire). Thus do We recompense the wrongdoers

7:42 But those who believe and do good, righteous deeds – We do not burden any soul beyond its capacity – they are the companions of Paradise; and therein they will abide

7:43 We will strip away whatever is in their bosoms of rancor and any jealousy (they may have felt against other believers while in the world). Rivers flowing beneath them (and themselves overflowing with gratitude), they say: "All praise and gratitude are for God, Who has guided us to this (prosperity as a result of the guidance with which He favored us in the world). If God had not guided us, we would certainly not have found the right way. The Messengers of our Lord did indeed come with the truth." And a voice calls to them: "That is the Paradise that you have been made to inherit in return for what you used to do (in the world)."

7:44 And the companions of Paradise call out to the companions of the Fire: "Now we have found what our Lord promised us to be true. Have you (also) found true what your Lord promised you?" They say, "Yes!" And an announcer announces among them: "God’s curse (rejection and condemnation) is the due of all wrongdoers!"

7:45 (The wrongdoers are) those who bar people from God’s way and seek to make it crooked; and they are persistent unbelievers in the Hereafter

7:46 And between the two there is a barrier, and on the Heights (between Paradise and Hell) are some men, recognizing each by their countenances. They – not yet entering Paradise, but longing for it – call out to the companions of Paradise: "Peace be upon you!"

7:47 And when their eyes are turned towards the companions of Hell, they say (in dread of that state): "Our Lord! Do not include us among the people of the wrongdoing!"

7:48 The people of the Heights call out to some men (who were the leaders of unbelief in the world, and) whom they recognize by their marks (on their countenances), saying: "(Now you see that) neither your numbers and the wealth you amassed nor your growing arrogance and vanity have availed you!"

7:49 (Pointing to the companions of Paradise, they continue): "Are those not the ones of whom you swore that God would not favor them with mercy?" (For now it is they who have been told:) "Enter Paradise; you will have no fear, nor will you grieve."

7:50 And the companions of the Fire call out to the companions of Paradise: "Pour out some water upon us, or something of what God has provided for you!" They say: "Indeed God has forbidden both to the unbelievers."

7:51 (The unbelievers are) those who took their Religion (the one appointed for them by God) for a play and pastime (and have made play and fun their own religion), and present, worldly life deluded them. So We are oblivious of them today (concerning forgiveness and favoring), as they were oblivious of the encounter of this Day of theirs, and were obstinately rejecting Our Revelations

7:52 Assuredly We have brought them a Book (the meaning and commandments of) which We set out in detail with knowledge, as guidance and mercy for people who will believe and who have already believed

7:53 Are they waiting but for the final end of the call to that Book? On the Day when this end comes, those, who until then have been oblivious of it, say: "The Messengers of our Lord assuredly came with the truth (but we did not pay heed.) Have we, then, any intercessors who will now intercede on our behalf? Or can we be returned (to the world) that we might do otherwise than we used to do (when we were in the world)? They have certainly ruined their selves and what they fabricated (of false deities) has failed them

7:54 Indeed your Lord is God, Who has created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He has established Himself on the Supreme Throne, covering the day with the night, each pursuing the other swiftly, with the sun, the moon, and the stars obedient to His command. Know well that His is the creation and His is the command. Blessed and Supreme is God, the Lord of the worlds

7:55 Call upon your Lord (O humankind) with humility and in the secrecy of your hearts. Indeed your Lord does not love those who exceed the bounds

7:56 (Keep within the bounds He has decreed:) Do not cause disorder and corruption on the earth seeing that it has been so well ordered, and call upon Him with fear (of His punishment) and longing (for His forgiveness and mercy). God’s mercy is indeed near to those devoted to doing good, aware that God is seeing them

7:57 And He it is Who sends forth the merciful winds as glad tidings in advance of His mercy – so that, when they carry heavy clouds, We drive them towards a dead land, then We cause thereby water to descend, and bring forth thereby fruits (crops) of every kind. Even so We make the dead come forth (on Judgment Day), that you may reflect and be mindful

7:58 And the good, pure land: its vegetation comes forth in abundance by its Lord’s leave, whereas from the bad, corrupt land, it comes forth but poorly (like thorny bushes). Thus do We in diverse ways set out the signs (of God’s Existence and Unity and other truths of faith) for the people who give thanks (from the heart and in speech, and in action by fulfilling God’s commandments)

7:59 Indeed We sent Noah to his people as Messenger (to convey Our message to them), and he said: "O my people! Worship God alone: you have no deity other than Him. Indeed I fear for you the punishment of an awesome day!"

7:60 The leading ones among his people said: "We see that you are surely lost in obvious error."

7:61 He (Noah) said: "O my people! There is no error in me. Rather, I am a Messenger from the Lord of the worlds

7:62 "I convey to you the messages of my Lord, give you sincere advice, and I know from God that which you do not know

7:63 "Why, do you deem it strange that a reminder (a message and guidance) from your Lord should have come to you through a man from among yourselves that he may warn you (against the consequences of your way of life), and that you may guard against His punishment, and so that you may be favored with His grace and mercy?"

7:64 And yet they (instead of paying heed to Noah’s warning) denied him. And so We saved him and those who were with him in the Ark, and caused to drown those who denied Our Revelations and signs (of Our Existence and Unity). They were indeed a blind people

7:65 And to the (people of) ‘Ad We sent their brother Hud. He said: "O my people! Worship God alone: you have no deity other than Him. Will you not, then, keep from disobedience to Him and deserve His protection?"

7:66 The leading ones among his people who were persisting in unbelief said: "We see you to be indeed foolish and weak-minded, and we are certain that you are a liar."

7:67 He (Hud) said: "O my people! There is no folly and weak-mindedness in me, rather I am a Messenger from the Lord of the worlds

7:68 "I convey to you the messages of my Lord, and I am a trustworthy counselor to you

7:69 "Why, do you deem it strange that a reminder (a message and guidance) from your Lord should have come to you through a man from among you that he may warn you (against the consequences of your way)? Remember and be mindful that He has made you successors (on the earth) after Noah’s people and increased you in stature and power. Remember and be mindful, then, of God’s bounties, that you may prosper (in both worlds, and attain your goals)."

7:70 They said: "Have you come to us (with the command) that we should worship God alone and forsake what our forefathers used to worship? Then bring about what you have threatened us with, if you are truthful!"

7:71 He (Hud) said: "Already abhorrence and anger (i.e. idol-worship in blind imitation of your forefathers) from your Lord have befallen you. What, do you dispute with me about mere designations which you and your forefathers invented and for which God has not sent down any authority? (If that is the case) then wait, as indeed I too am among those who wait."

7:72 Then, through mercy from Us, We saved him and those who were in his company, while we uprooted those who denied Our signs and Revelations and were not believers

7:73 And to (the people of) Thamud (We sent) their brother Salih. He said (conveying the same message): "O my people! Worship God alone: you have no deity other than Him. Assuredly a manifest proof has come to you from your Lord: this is a she-camel from God as a sign for you (of the truth of my Messengership). So leave her to pasture on God’s earth, and touch her with no harm lest a painful punishment should seize you

7:74 "And remember and be mindful that He made you successors of the people of ‘Ad and established you securely on the earth so that you build castles on its plains and hew out dwellings in the mountains. Remember, then, and be mindful of God’s bounties, and do not go about acting wickedly in the land, causing disorder and corruption."

7:75 The leading ones among his people, who were arrogant and oppressed the others, said to those that they scorned, to those among them who were believers: "Do you really know and consider Salih as one sent by His Lord with a message?" They replied: "We do indeed believe in what he has been sent with."

7:76 Those who were arrogant said: "What you have come to believe in we indeed disbelieve."

7:77 Then (without enduring any longer to see her as evidence of the truth of Salih’s message), they cruelly slaughtered the she-camel, and disdainfully disobeyed the command of their Lord, and said: "O Salih! Bring upon us that (punishment) with which you have threatened us, if you are of those sent (by God with the truth)!"

7:78 Then a shocking catastrophe seized them, so that they lay prostrate and lifeless in their very dwellings

7:79 And Salih left them, saying: "O my people! I conveyed to you the message of my Lord and gave you good counsel; but you have no love for good counselors."

7:80 And (remember) Lot (Lut), when he said to his people : "Do you commit an indecency such as no people in all the world have ever done before you

7:81 "You come to men with lust in place of women. You are a people committing excesses and wasteful (of your God-given faculties)."

7:82 But his people’s response was only that they said (to one another): "Banish them from your settlement, for they are a few persons who make themselves out to be pure!"

7:83 Then We saved Lot and his household (who left the land upon Our command) except his wife, who was among those who stayed behind

7:84 And We rained a destructive rain (of stones) upon them (those who stayed behind). Then, look, how was the outcome for the criminals committed to accumulating sins

7:85 And to (the people of) Midian (We sent) their brother Shu‘ayb as Messenger. He (conveying the same message) said: "O my people! Worship God alone: you have no deity other than Him. A manifest proof has assuredly come to you from your Lord. So give full measure and weight (in all your dealings), and do not wrong people by depriving them of what is rightfully theirs, and do not cause disorder and corruption in the land seeing that it has been so well ordered. That is for your own good, if you are (to be) true believers

7:86 "And do not lurk in ambush by every pathway, seeking to overawe and bar from God’s way one who believes in Him, and seeking to make it appear crooked. And remember how you were once few (and weak), and then He increased you in number (and strength). And look, how was the outcome for those who cause disorder and corruption (on the earth)

7:87 "If there are a party among you who have come to believe in the message with which I have been sent, while another party do not believe, then persevere and be patient until God judges between us. He is the best in judging."

7:88 The leading ones among his people who were arrogant and oppressed the others said: "We will surely banish you, O Shu‘ayb, and those who believe in your company from our township, or else you will return to our way (of faith and life)." He (Shu‘ayb) said: "What? Even though we abhor it

7:89 "Should we return to your way after God has saved us from it, then most certainly we would be fabricating lies in attribution to God. It is not for us to turn back to it, unless God, our Lord, should so will. Our Lord embraces all things within His Knowledge. In God do we put our trust. Our Lord! Judge between us and our people, making the truth manifest, for You are the Best in judging to make the truth manifest."

7:90 The leading ones who persisted in unbelief said (so as to put pressure upon the others among his people): "Should you follow Shu‘ayb, you will then surely be the losers!"

7:91 Then a shocking catastrophe seized them, so that they lay prostrate and lifeless in their very dwellings –

7:92 Those who denied Shu‘ayb – as though they had not lived there in abundance – those who denied Shu‘ayb (and threatened the believers with loss and ruin), it was they who were the losers

7:93 And Shu‘ayb left them, saying: "O my people! I conveyed to you the messages of my Lord and gave you good counsel. How, then, could I mourn for a people ungrateful and persistent in unbelief?"

7:94 And We did not send a Prophet to a township but We seized its people with distress and hardship so that they might (wake from heedlessness and) be humble (invoking Us for forgiveness and turning to the truth.

7:95 Then (after this phase of trial and training) We changed the affliction into good (ease of life) until they increased (in numbers and wealth, and indulged in comforts) and said (without taking any lesson from it): "Sometimes distress and sometimes happiness visited our forefathers (whereas we are living an easy life". So We seized them all of a sudden without their being aware (of what was coming)

7:96 If the peoples of those townships had but believed and, in order to deserve His protection, had kept from disobedience to God in reverence for Him and piety, We would surely have opened up for them blessings from heaven and earth; but they denied (the Messengers and the Divine Message they brought), and so We seized them for what they habitually earned (through their deeds)

7:97 Did the peoples of the townships feel secure that Our mighty punishment would not come upon them at night while they are sleeping

7:98 Or did the peoples of the townships feel secure that Our mighty punishment would not come upon them in the daytime while they have indulged in worldly play

7:99 Or did they feel secure from God’s designing (against them some unexpected affliction)? But none feels secure from God’s designing (against them some unexpected affliction) save the people of loss and self-ruin

7:100 Has it not, then, become clear to those who have inherited the earth in the wake of former generations that, if We so willed, We could strike them for their sins? But (they are unresponsive to the meaning of events because, in consequence of their wrongdoing, their misguided attitudes and arrogance, and the grave sins they commit) We impress their hearts with a seal so that they cannot hear (the revealed truths and any admonition)

7:101 Those townships – We relate to you some tidings of them by way of exemplary histories (to teach you this): assuredly the Messengers came to them (chosen by God) from among themselves with clear proofs of the truth but they did not believe in that which they used to deny before. Thus does God impress the hearts of the unbelievers with a seal (that shuts them off from the affects of admonition)

7:102 We did not find in most of them any (faithfulness to) covenant; indeed We found most of them to be transgressors

7:103 Then, after them (those early Messengers) We sent Moses to the Pharaoh and his chiefs with Our Revelations and signs (miracles to support him), but they treated them wrongfully. So look, how was the outcome for those causing disorder and corruption

7:104 And Moses said: "Pharaoh! I am a Messenger from the Lord of the worlds

7:105 "Bound in truth to say nothing about God except the truth. I have surely come to you with a clear proof from your Lord (Who creates, nourishes, and sustains you). So, let the Children of Israel go with me!"

7:106 He (the Pharaoh) said: "If you have come with a sign, then bring it forth, if you are truthful!"

7:107 Then he (Moses) threw down his staff, and thereupon it was a serpent manifest (clear for all to see as a sign)

7:108 And he drew forth his (right) hand (from his armpit where he had put it), and thereupon it was shining white to those looking on

7:109 The chiefs among the people of the Pharaoh said, (discussing the matter among themselves): "This is indeed, (as the Pharaoh says,) a learned, skillful sorcerer

7:110 "Who seeks to drive you out from your land. Then, what do you advise (to do)?"

7:111 They said (to the Pharaoh): "Put him and his brother off for a while, and (in the meantime) send forth heralds to all citie

7:112 "To bring to your presence every learned, skillful sorcerer."

7:113 The sorcerers came to the Pharaoh and said: "We must surely have a reward, if we are the victors."

7:114 (The Pharaoh) answered: "Yes, and you will indeed be among those near-stationed to me."

7:115 They (the sorcerers) said: "Moses! Either you throw first or we will be the first to throw!"

7:116 He answered: "Throw!" And when they threw (whatever they held in their hands to make spells) they cast a spell upon the people’s eyes (i.e. overawed and deluded them), and produced a mighty sorcery

7:117 We revealed to Moses: "Throw down your staff!" and behold! it swallowed up their false devices

7:118 Thus was the truth made victorious and all that they were doing was proved false

7:119 Thus were they (the Pharaoh and his chiefs) defeated there (in front of everyone’s eyes), and brought lo

7:120 And the sorcerers threw themselves down, prostrating

7:121 And they said: "We have come to believe in the Lord of the worlds

7:122 "The Lord of Moses and Aaron."

7:123 The Pharaoh said: "What! Do you believe in Him before I give you permission? This is indeed a plot you have contrived in the city that you may drive out its (native) people from it. But you shall come to know

7:124 "I will certainly have your hands and feet cut off alternately, and then I will certainly have you crucified all together."

7:125 They responded: "Indeed, to our (true and everlasting) Lord are we bound to return

7:126 "You take vengeance on us only because we have come to believe in our Lord’s Messages when they came to us. "Our Lord! Pour out upon us persevering patience and take our souls to You as Muslims (wholly submitted to You)!"

7:127 The chiefs among the Pharaoh’s people said: "Will you (O Pharaoh) leave Moses and his people to cause disorder and corruption in the country, and forsake you and your deities?" He replied: "We will kill their sons and let live their women (to serve and satisfy our desires). And indeed we hold irresistible sway over them."

7:128 Moses said to his people: "Seek help from God and be patient, persevering. The earth belongs indeed to God, and He makes it an inheritance for whom He wills of His servants. The (final, happy) outcome is in favor of the God-revering, pious."

7:129 They (having been subjected to persecutions by the Pharaoh) said: "We suffered hurt before you came to us, and since you came to us." He (Moses) replied: "It may well be that your Lord is going to destroy your enemy and make you the inheritors of rule in (some part of) the earth: and then He will look to see how you act (when you hold power)."

7:130 And We certainly seized the family (the court and military aristocracy) of the Pharaoh with years of famine and scarcity of corps, so that they might reflect and be mindful

7:131 But whenever prosperity came their way, they would say: "This is but our due and by our deserving," and whenever evil befell them, they would attribute it to the ill augury (they alleged) of Moses and whoever was in his company. Beware! their auspice (whether evil or good) was decreed by God, but most of them did not know (being ignorant of true knowledge)

7:132 And they would say: "Whatever sign you produce before us to cast a spell on us, we are not going to believe you."

7:133 So, (in order that they might reflect and be mindful) We sent upon them floods and (plagues of) locusts and vermin, and frogs, and (water turning into) blood: distinct signs one after another. Yet they remained arrogant, and they were a criminal people committed to accumulating sins

7:134 Each time a plague befell them, they would say: "O Moses, pray for us to your Lord for the covenant He has made with you (of servanthood and Messengership with respect to His Lordship): for sure, if you remove this plague from us, we will surely believe in you, and we will surely let the Children of Israel go with you."

7:135 But when We removed the plague from them for a term in which they were to fulfill (what they promised), they then broke their promise

7:136 So We inflicted Our retribution on them (just as they deserved), and so caused them to drown in the sea, as they denied Our signs (with willful persistence) and were heedless of them

7:137 And We made the people who had been persecuted and oppressed (for centuries) inherit all the easts and wests (the whole length and breadth) of the land that We had blessed (with benefits for humankind). And your Lord’s gracious word to the Children of Israel was fulfilled, for they had endured patiently; and We obliterated what the Pharaoh and his people had produced (by art or industry), and what they had erected (of castles, palaces, gardens, and the like)

7:138 And We led the Children of Israel across the sea, and then they came upon a people who were devoted to the worship of some idols that they had (particular to themselves). They said: "O Moses! Make for us a deity even as they have deities!" He replied: "You are indeed a people given to ignorance

7:139 "As for those people – what they are engaged in (by way of religion) is bound to destruction, and false and vain is all they have been doing (by way of worship)"

7:140 He said: "What! shall I seek a deity for you other than God, when He has exalted you above all other people (through faith and the true religion with which He has favored you)?"

7:141 And (remember, O Children of Israel,) when We saved you from clan of the Pharaoh, who were afflicting you with the most evil suffering (by enslaving you to such laborious tasks as construction, transportation and farming), slaughtering your sons and letting live your womenfolk (for further humiliation and suffering). In that was a grievous trial from your Lord

7:142 And (so that you would be favored with the Torah to order your affairs) We appointed with Moses thirty nights, to which We added ten, so he completed the term of forty nights set by His Lord (for him to spend in devotion). (Before leaving his people in order to come to Our Presence) Moses had said to his brother (Aaron): "Take my place among my people (act to reform them and set things right), and do not follow the way of those who provoke disorder and corruption."

7:143 And when Moses came to Our appointed time, his Lord spoke to him. (Then, in the rapture of nearness to God arising from his being addressed by Him) he said: "My Lord, show me Yourself, so that I may look upon You!" He (God) said: "You cannot see Me (with your eyes in the world). But look at that mountain: if it remains firm in its place, then you will see Me." And the moment his Lord manifested His glorious Majesty to the mountain, He made it crumble to dust, and Moses fell down in a faint (as if struck by lightning). When he awoke, he said: "All-Glorified are You (in that You are absolutely above having any defects and any resemblance with the created)! I turn to You in repentance (for my desire to see You), and I am the first of the (true) believers (who realize that You are beyond any resemblance to any creature and beyond the grasp of any creature’s senses)

7:144 He (God) said: "O Moses! Indeed I have chosen you above people by virtue of My Messages (that I have entrusted to you) and My speaking (to you). So (without aspiring to what is not for you), hold fast to what I have granted you, and (in return, with your every word and action) be of the thankful!"

7:145 (Moses completed the term appointed by his Lord for him to be favored with the Book to order his people’s affairs.) And We recorded for him on the Tablets whatever is necessary as instruction and guidance (to follow the way to God), and as explanation for all matters. And (We said): "Hold fast to them with strength, and command your people to hold fast to the best thereof (fulfill the commandments in the best way possible). I will soon show you the (ultimate) abode of the transgressors

7:146 I will turn away from My Revelations and signs those who act with haughtiness on the earth against all right. And though they see every sign (of the truth), they do not believe in it; and though they see the way of right guidance, they do not take it as a way to follow. But if they see the way of error and rebellion against the truth, they take it as a way to follow. That is because they deny Our Revelations and are ever heedless of them

7:147 Those who deny Our Revelations and the meeting of the Hereafter – their works have wasted. Or are they to be recompensed for anything but what they used to do

7:148 The people of Moses, after he (had left them to meet with his Lord), adopted for worship a calf (in effigy, made) of their ornaments, which gave out a lowing sound. Did they not see that it neither spoke to them nor guided them to a way? They adopted it for worship and so became wrongdoers (acting contrary to all the truths of creation and Divine commandments, and thereby wronging their very selves)

7:149 When they realized in remorse that they earned nothing but ruin, and perceived that they had gone astray, they said: "If our Lord does not have mercy on us and forgive us, we will certainly be among the losers."

7:150 And when Moses (having received the Tablets and learned that his people had adopted a calf to worship) returned to his people, full of wrath and sorrow, he said: "Evil is the course you have followed after me! Have you forsaken your Lord’s commandment so hastily to hasten your destruction?" And he threw down the Tablets (to postpone enforcement of the laws therein until he put an end to this rebellion against faith in God’s absolute Oneness), and laid hold of his brother’s head, dragging him towards himself. He (Aaron) said: "Son of my mother! Indeed the people deemed me weak, and almost killed me. So let not my enemies gloat over me, and do not count me among the wrongdoing people."

7:151 He (Moses) said: "My Lord! Forgive me and my brother, and admit us in Your special Mercy, for You are the Most Compassionate of the Compassionate."

7:152 Those who adopted the calf for worship – a severe punishment and condemnation from their Lord will indeed overtake them, and humiliation in this life of the world. Thus do We recompense those who fabricate falsehood (in attribution to God)

7:153 But as for those who do evil deeds, but later turn to God in repentance and (truly) believe – after that (effort of self-reform) your Lord is assuredly All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate (especially toward His servants who turn to Him)

7:154 And so when the anger subsided from Moses, He took up the Tablets (to put them into force). Inscribed on them was guidance and mercy for those who have awe of their Lord

7:155 Moses chose of his people seventy men (to represent them) for Our appointment (on the mountain, in order to ask God for forgiveness for the calf-worship of some among them and to renew their covenant with Him). Then, when the shocking catastrophe seized them, Moses said: "My Lord! Had You so willed, You would have destroyed them before, and me (along with them). Will You now destroy us for what the fools among us have done? This is a trial from You whereby You lead whom You will astray, and whom You will You guide. You are Our Guardian (to Whom we entrust our affairs and on Whom we rely), so forgive us and have mercy on us! You are the Best in forgiving

7:156 "Ordain for us good in this world as well as in the Hereafter, for we have turned to You, following Your way." He (God) said: "My punishment – I afflict with it whom I will (and no one can escape it except that I have mercy on him), and My Mercy embraces all things; and so, (although in the world every being has a share in My Mercy, in the Hereafter) I will ordain it for those who act in reverence for Me and piety and pay their Prescribed Purifying Alms, and they are those who truly believe in all of Our Revelations and signs

7:157 They follow the (most illustrious) Messenger, the Prophet who neither reads nor writes (and has therefore remained preserved from any traces of the existing written culture and is free from any intellectual and spiritual pollution), whom they find described (with all his distinguishing features) in the Torah and the Gospel (that are) with them. He enjoins upon them what is right and good and forbids them what is evil; he makes pure, wholesome things lawful for them, and bad, corrupt things unlawful. And he relieves them of their burdens (remaining of their own Law) and the restraints that were upon them. So those who believe in him (with all sincerity), honor and support him, and help him, and follow the Light (the Qur’an) which has been sent down with him –they are those who are the prosperous."

7:158 Say (O Messenger to all humankind): "O humankind! Surely I am to you all the Messenger of God, of Him to Whom belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity but He. He gives life and causes to die." Believe, then, in God and His Messenger, the Prophet who neither writes nor reads, who believes in God and His words (all His Books, commandments, and deeds); and follow him so that you may be rightly-guided

7:159 And of the people of Moses there was a community who guided by the truth (by God’s leave) and dispensed justice by it

7:160 We divided Moses’ people into twelve tribes, forming them into communities. We revealed to Moses when his people asked him for water (on the occasion that they were left without water in the desert), saying: "Strike the rock with your staff!" And (as soon as he struck) there gushed forth from it twelve springs. Each tribe knew their drinking place. And We caused the cloud to shade them, and sent down upon them manna and quails: "Eat of the pure, wholesome things that We have provided for you." And (by disobeying Our commandments) they wronged not Us, but themselves they used to wrong

7:161 And when they were told, "Dwell in this town and eat (of the fruits) thereof as you may desire, and say words of imploring forgiveness and loyalty to Him, and enter it (not through different ways with the aim of plundering it and massacring its people, but) through its gate humbly and in utmost submission to God, so that We forgive you your misdeeds." We will increase the reward for those devoted to doing good, aware that God is seeing them

7:162 But those among them who persisted in wrongdoing changed what had been said to them (regarding humility, imploring forgiveness, submission, and loyalty) for another saying (and acted contrarily to how they had been ordered). So We sent down on them a scourge from heaven because they were persistent in wrongdoing

7:163 Ask them about the township that was by the sea: how its people were violating the Sabbath when their fish came swimming to them on the day of their Sabbath, but on the day they did not keep Sabbath, they did not come to them. Thus did We test try as they were transgressing (all bounds)

7:164 And when a community of people among them asked (others who tried to restrain the Sabbath-breakers): "Why do you preach to a people whom God will destroy or punish with a severe punishment?" They said: "So as to have an excuse before your Lord and so that they might keep from such disobedience in reverence for God."

7:165 Then, when they became heedless of all that they had been reminded of, We saved those who had tried to prevent the evil-doing, and seized the others who had been doing wrong with an evil punishment for their transgressions

7:166 Then, when they disdainfully persisted in doing what they had been forbidden to do, We said to them: "Be apes miserably slinking and rejected!"

7:167 And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed that He would, until the Day of Resurrection, send forth against them those who would afflict them with the most evil of suffering. Your Lord is indeed swift in retribution (when it is due), and He is indeed the All-Forgiving, the All-Compassionate (especially toward those who turn to Him in repentance and His believing servants)

7:168 And We have split them up on the earth as separate communities. Among them are those who are righteous, and those who are not; and We have tested them with blessings as well as with afflictions, that they might turn back (to the right way from the misleading paths they follow)

7:169 And there have succeeded after them new generations who inherited the Book, taking the gains of this low life (for which they sell it), and saying: "We will be forgiven." (Although by saying so they recognize what they do as a sin), if there comes to them the same sort of fleeting gains, they are ready to take them (instead of refraining). Was there not taken from them the promise concerning the Book that they should say of God nothing but the truth? and they (are people who) have studied and taught what is therein. But the abode of the Hereafter is better for those who keep from disobedience to God in reverence for Him and piety. Will you not, then, reason and understand

7:170 And as for those who hold fast to the Book sincerely and establish the Prayer in conformity with its conditions – indeed We do not let waste the reward of those who are ever reforming (themselves and society), and setting things right

7:171 And (remember) when We shook the Mount above them as if it were a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall on them. (We said:) Hold firmly to (the Book) that We haven given you and be mindful of (the commands and warnings) that it contains, that you may attain piety and due reverence for God, so deserving His protection (against any kind of deviancy and its consequent punishment in both this world and the Hereafter.

7:172 And (remember, O Messenger,) when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their offspring, and made them bear witness against themselves (asking them:) "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Yes, we do bear witness." (That covenant was taken) lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, "We were indeed unaware of this (fact that you are our Lord)."

7:173 Or lest you should say (in trying to excuse yourselves): "Our forefathers used to associate partners with God before us, and we were their offspring just following after them. Will You, then, ruin us for what those did who rejected Your Lordship and invented that false way (of associating partners with You)?"

7:174 And thus We set out in detail the signposts of Our way and the relevant Revelations (included in the Qur’an), so that they may turn back (from their wrong ways to Us)

7:175 Tell them (based on Our Revelation) the story of him whom We made well-informed of Our signs and Revelations, but he cast them off, and Satan overtook him, and he became of those (followers of Satan) who rebel (against God’s way) and go astray

7:176 If We had willed (to impede the way he chose by his free will), We could indeed have lifted him (toward the perfections enabled by faith) through those signs and Revelations, but (by his own free choice) he clung to the earth and followed his desires. So (in his being surrendered to greed), his likeness is that of a dog: if you move to drive it away, it pants with its tongue lolling out (still hoping to be fed more), or if you leave it, it pants with its tongue lolling out. Such is the likeness of those who deny Our signs and Revelations. So tell them this narrative so that they may (be stirred to) reflect

7:177 How evil an example are the people who deny Our signs and Revelations, and (in so doing) are ever wronging themselves

7:178 He whom God guides, he is indeed rightly guided; and he whom He leads astray – they are the losers

7:179 Surely, among the jinn and humankind are many that We have created (and destined for) Hell (knowing that they would deserve it). They have hearts with which they do not seek the essence of matters to grasp the truth, and they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. They are like cattle (following only their instincts) – rather, even more astray (from the right way and in need of being led). Those are the unmindful and heedless

7:180 To God belong the All-Beautiful Names so call and pray to Him by them. And keep aloof from those who blaspheme (and distort the meaning of) His Names. They will be recompensed for what they are doing

7:181 And of those whom We have created there are people who, (in due recognition of God with His Names,) guide by the truth (by God’s leave) and dispense justice by it

7:182 Whereas those who deny Our signs and Revelations, (as the consequence of their way,) We will step by step lead them on to perdition in ways they do not know

7:183 I grant them respite. My designing is firm and irresistible

7:184 And do they not reflect (by all that they witness in the Messenger and the Revelations coming to him) that there is no madness in their companion (the Prophet Muhammad)? He is but a plain warner

7:185 And do they never consider the inner dimension of the heavens and the earth and God’s absolute dominion over them, and what things God has created, and that the end of their appointed term may already have approached? In what other discourse than this (warning contained in the Qur’an) will they believe

7:186 Whomever God leads astray there is no one to guide him; and He leaves them wandering blindly in their rebellion

7:187 They ask you about the Hour, when it will come to anchor. Say: "It is my Lord alone Who knows it; none will disclose it in its time but He. It weighs heavily on the heavens and the earth. It does not come to you except unawares." They ask you as if you (being a Messenger required or meant that you) were well-informed of it. Say: "It is indeed God alone Who knows it, but most people have no knowledge (of this)."

7:188 Say: ""It is not within my power (to deal benefit and harm so) that unless God wills (and allows me to), I can neither bring benefit to, nor avert harm from, even myself. Had I knowledge of the Unseen, I would always be in profit (with no loss at all), and no adversity would ever touch me. I am only a warner (against the evil consequences of misguidance) and a bearer of glad tidings (of prosperity in return for faith and righteousness) for people who will believe and who have already believed."

7:189 He it is Who created you from a single human self, and made from it its mate, so that he (inclining with love towards woman) may find rest in her. And so, when he has covered her, she conceives a light burden, and continues to bear it. Then, when she grows heavy (with child), both (feel the need to) turn to God, their Lord, with prayer: "If You indeed grant us a righteous child, we will most certainly be among the thankful."

7:190 Then when He grants the couple a righteous child, they begin to associate partners with God in respect of what He has granted them. Absolutely exalted is He above their association of partners with Him and whatever they associate with Him as partners

7:191 Do they associate as partners with Him those who create nothing and themselves are created

7:192 And who have no power to give them any help, nor can help themselves

7:193 And if you call them in the direction of guidance, they do not follow you: It is the same for you whether you call to them or remain silent

7:194 Those whom you deify and invoke, apart from God, are subservient beings created by God just like yourselves. (If you think and claim otherwise) then call on them and let them answer you, if you are truthful

7:195 (How can you expect that they will answer:) have they feet on which they could walk; or have they hands with which they could grasp; or have they eyes with which they could see; or have they ears with which they could hear? Say (to them): "Call upon those you associate with God as partners, then scheme against me, and give me no respite

7:196 "Indeed, my Guardian is God Who sends down the Book in parts, and He befriends and protects the righteous

7:197 "Whereas those whom you deify and invoke, apart from Him, have no power to help you, nor can they help themselves

7:198 If you call them to the guidance, they will not hear. And you see them looking at you (and may suppose that they have the power of seeing), but they do not see (having no insight or perceptiveness)."

7:199 (Even so, O Messenger) adopt the way of forbearance and tolerance, and enjoin what is good and right, and withdraw from the ignorant ones (do not care what they say and do)

7:200 And if a prompting from Satan should cause you hurt (as you carry out your mission or during worship or in your everyday life), seek refuge in God. He is All- Hearing, All-Knowing

7:201 Those who keep from disobedience to God in reverence for Him and piety: when a suggestion from Satan touches them – they are alert and remember God, and then they have clear discernment

7:202 Whereas their brothers (the brothers of the satans in the form of human beings) – satans draw them deeper into error and do not give over relax in their efforts

7:203 When you (O Messenger) do not produce for them a sign (a miracle of the kind they desire, or Revelation temporarily ceases), they say, "Were you unable to make one up?" Say: "I only follow whatever is revealed to me from my Lord. This (the Qur’an) is the light of discernment and insight (into the truth) from your Lord, and guidance and mercy for people who will believe and who have already believed."

7:204 And so, when the Qur’an is recited, give ear to it and listen in silence so that you may be shown mercy

7:205 Remember and mention your Lord within yourself (in the depths of your heart), most humbly and in awe, not loud of voice, at morning and evening. And do not be among the neglectful