Section Al A’raf – Part 55

In our study of section Araf (cognizant) we last looked into some verses that mentioned prophet Moses and the children of Israel. Their stories are scattered in many places in the Quran each used for specific purposes for my learning so that I will apply that learning to my living. The following few verses continue to give their examples where I have to see how I fit in, i.e. how does the message apply to me in my life right now. The following few verses are extremely relevant to our practical life where it shows that the one who created me, knows me, knows my human qualities. He sends the necessary guidance accordingly, custom fit to my human needs. This guidance can only be from one who knows me deeply within my own existence. We will look into the following verse as it relates to me:

وَسْـَٔلْهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ ٱلَّتِى كَانَتْ حَاضِرَةَ ٱلْبَحْرِ إِذْ يَعْدُونَ فِى ٱلسَّبْتِ إِذْ تَأْتِيهِمْ حِيتَانُهُمْ يَوْمَ سَبْتِهِمْ شُرَّعًۭا وَيَوْمَ لَا يَسْبِتُونَ ۙ لَا تَأْتِيهِمْ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نَبْلُوهُم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَفْسُقُونَ

7:163 And ask them about the town that was by the sea, when they transgressed the Sabbath. Their fish would come to them, surfacing on the day of their Sabbath but on the day when they did not observe the Sabbath, they would not come to them. Thus, We gave them a test (for teaching), because of their disobedience.

The Sabbath is well known in the Judaic tradition to worship God and abstain from business and worldly activities. It is somewhat similar to Fridays for Muslims and Sundays for Christians as designated days for worshiping God. What would I learn from this verse besides knowing that some historical event may have happened by a certain group of people? I may not be following the Judaic tradition so why bother telling me this? We will put the historical side of the verse on the side and make it practical for ourselves here and now.

Let’s start by looking into the phrase “عَنِ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ ٱلَّتِى كَانَتْ حَاضِرَةَ ٱلْبَحْرِ” which is translated as “the town that was by the sea”. The mentioning of the sea means that the people were fishermen getting fish as sustenance. This is an example for me to relate to where I have to see my means of sustenance. My town by the sea is where my life is and whatever work that I am involved with, either having a shop, doing some job, or working for a company in order to get sustenance which is my fish.

The phrase “يَعْدُونَ فِى ٱلسَّبْتِ” translated as “transgressing the Sabbath” is when I ignore my worship of God. The last phrase mentions “نَبْلُوهُم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَفْسُقُونَ” translated as “We gave them a test (to train them) for their disobedience”. This test is given to educate human beings that their disobedience is serious and costly to their humanity. How am I trained for this disobedience? 

The phrase “إِذْ تَأْتِيهِمْ حِيتَانُهُمْ يَوْمَ سَبْتِهِمْ” translated as “Their fish would come to them, surfacing on the day of their Sabbath” means that good things, sustenance would come to me while I try to obey God’s command. For example, when the prayer time comes, I stand up for prayers, spare some time to study the Quran or join some group discussion to understand and share God’s message. When I intend to give to charity (zakat) from what my God has given me then I think that my wealth will decrease and I start thinking about the taxes I need to pay, the investments I can participate in, purchases that I should be making, all these “fishes” start surfacing in front of me, tempting me to spoil my “Sabbath”, diverting me away from my worship of God. 

When I acknowledge the superiority of my Creator, I forget about this transient world, forget about the worldly concerns. However, practically when I try to study the Quran, all the worldly affairs come to surface; we are trained in this way to see how serious we are to worship God. When there is no other alternative in front of us, it is easy to join the discussion, to study the Quran. The test comes up when I intend to worship God and the different alternatives come up.

For example, if someone invites me to a discussion on the Quran that lasts 2 hours, I could have the attitude, “2 hours are too long, it can get boring”. Whereas, I may watch a movie that is 2 hours long and I don’t mind that, don’t find it boring. I may be spending hours with my friends playing games, discussing current events and don’t get bored. However, when it comes to learning something that has to do with my humanity, my purpose of existence, my real responsibility in this world that has to do with my eternal world, I feel bored. Another example is I may purchase a newly released device spending over a thousand dollars but when it comes to giving to “sadaqa” charity, it becomes difficult to even give twenty dollars as I start to think on the different things I need to take care, many expenses start coming to my mind. 

I have to be determined to give priority to my God that He is my object of worship, that He is my Lord, my Owner, I should do my due responsibility. Otherwise I would fall into what this verse is saying about being disobedient. I have to give priority to practicing belief, worshiping God, otherwise, I would be subject to a hard test as this verse teaches me. I have to watch out to not fall into “fisq” (disobedience), i.e. not being determined to give priority to worshiping God. It is not because I am a denier or disobedient but I am not determined, I take worshiping God lightly. When I have time, I would do a few things. If something comes up as an alternative then my priority changes to the worldly things.

I have to see what kind of activities I give priority to. For example, I may want to take my family to a picnic so that my children can play and enjoy, which is legitimate and even may be necessary. If there is an option to join some religious activity, studying the Quran, inviting people to communicate some of my thoughts on religion, I am faced with options. Now, I have to prioritize. Whenever I intend to do something good, the alternatives present themselves to divert me away from that good. The phrase “ وَيَوْمَ لَا يَسْبِتُونَ ۙ لَا تَأْتِيهِمْ” translated as “when they did not observe the Sabbath, the fish would not come to them”. The alternatives don’t come to me when I am enjoying  bodily or worldly entertainments. For example, when I am engaged in watching a movie, I don’t usually get distracted by “fish” surfacing, other alternatives calling for my attention. However, if I intend to study the Quran for an hour, after a few minutes of study, things may start to come to my mind as alternatives to move me away from that concentrated study.

This verse is teaching me that I have to be determined to give priority to my eternal life rather than giving priority to the temporary artificial things in one’s life. I will be faced with many alternatives as diversions which will try to take me away from my intention of worshiping God. If I am not decisive in worshiping God, I will be defeated by the alternatives. I should be careful to prioritize what is beneficial to my human side, to my relationship with my Creator, to my eternal life. 

وَإِذْ قَالَتْ أُمَّةٌۭ مِّنْهُمْ لِمَ تَعِظُونَ قَوْمًا ۙ ٱللَّهُ مُهْلِكُهُمْ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُهُمْ عَذَابًۭا شَدِيدًۭا ۖ قَالُوا۟ مَعْذِرَةً إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ

7:164 When some of them asked [their preachers], ‘Why do you bother preaching to people God will destroy, or at least punish severely?’ [the preachers] answered, ‘In order to be free from your Lord’s blame, and that they too may become conscious of Him.’

Seemingly the subject is changing in this verse but it is not. The previous verse described people giving priority to worldly affairs. If I find myself with a group of people whose priorities are worldly centered, I would think that they are not going to listen to reality and become aware of God. In this verse,  لِمَ تَعِظُونَ قَوْمًا ۙ ٱللَّهُ مُهْلِكُهُمْ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُهُمْ عَذَابًۭا شَدِيدًۭا ۖ” is translated as “why do you bother preaching to people whom God will destroy, or at least punish severely?” Why do I bother to teach, remind someone who will not be worshiping God, whom God will severely punish? They are not showing any interest, why should I bother to teach them so that they become conscious of God? The word “taizu”, translated as “preaching” should be understood as giving advice, to remind and make remarks about the truth.

It is not that God decided to destroy the worldly-minded people but because they don’t take notice of God which results in their destruction. Whatever I choose, God creates accordingly. God creates, decides, according to my choices, not arbitrarily. We will understand this phrase of destruction of people as the people who deserve to be destroyed by God because they are choosing a way that needs to be destroyed. 

Are we not going to give advice to the worldly oriented people then?

The answer is in the phrase “قَالُوا۟ مَعْذِرَةً إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ”, translated as “In order to be free from your Lord’s blame, and that they too may become conscious of Him.” Their responsibility is whether to confirm the truth or not, to get to know their creator or not. My responsibility is to convey to them, remind them in a kind and peaceful way. When my creator decides to take me away from this world, I would say that I benefited from your message and shared it with others, I fulfilled my responsibility. I tried to practice the prophetic message and also shared it with others.

The most important practice (sunnah) of the prophet was to convey the message of God to others which is called “Tableegh” or “Dawah”. Did I kindly, respectfully, wisely remind people who are unaware of the truth or did I make excuses, ignoring my responsibility? We should not confuse between people’s responsibility of accepting and my responsibility of conveying the message. I should invite some of them to my house, start a conversation, and have a pleasant relationship with them. Try to draw their attention without hurting their feelings, or taking a superior religious position by looking down at them. I should approach the people in order to fulfill my responsibility. God will ask me “What did you do with the trust “guidance” that I gave you?” I should try my best to relate the message to at least the people that I have some connection with so that they may become conscious of God.

My aim is not to impose myself on others, be an official preacher, my aim is to remind them of their God to remind them who they are and what their purpose of existence is in this world. Make them realize who their Lord is and what is their responsibility to their Lord. What is the purpose of this life, what is the end result of this life? No one can say that I will be happy forever if I continue to work for this world as death is there, no one can deny that. This world is created in such a way that I cannot ignore the purpose of my life here. Everyone knows that everything we have in this world will be left behind at the end. I will not have the job that I do, the career that I hold, the wealth and property that I enjoy, the connections I have will all leave me.

فَلَمَّا نَسُوا۟ مَا ذُكِّرُوا۟ بِهِۦٓ أَنجَيْنَا ٱلَّذِينَ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلسُّوٓءِ وَأَخَذْنَا ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ بِعَذَابٍۭ بَـِٔيسٍۭ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَفْسُقُونَ

7:165 When they ignored [the warning] they were given, We saved those who forbade evil, and punished the wrongdoers severely because of their disobedience.

We have to learn how to speak in a reasonable and consistent way. When I take care of my responsibility, do my mission perfectly, then I will be saved. The verse says “أَنجَيْنَا ٱلَّذِينَ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلسُّوٓءِ”, translated as “We saved those who forbade evil”. If others don’t take notice of our warnings which are presented nicely, wisely and in a reasonable way, they will be punished severely because of their disobedience. The same word “fasiq” is used here as in the earlier verse. The word “Fasiq” can be understood as not being consistent in one’s worship of God, not being serious to have the awareness of God in practical life, i.e. just having a claim that “my heart is pure, I believe in God”. For example, I may say something, but when the challenge comes in then I am unable to keep the promises. Those who are not consistent in keeping their claims and not consistent within themselves will be among the “fasiq”. I have to acknowledge God while living my life according to the purpose of my creation. I have to take care of my responsibility and ensure that I have done my duty responsibly and reasonably which is how I will be saved.

فَلَمَّا عَتَوْا۟ عَن مَّا نُهُوا۟ عَنْهُ قُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا۟ قِرَدَةً خَـٰسِـِٔينَ

7:166 When, in their arrogance, they persisted in doing what they had been forbidden to do, We said to them, ‘Be as despicable apes!’

As in all cultures, monkeys and apes are representative of blind imitators. This is a description of human psychology as to those who did not observe Sabbath and did not listen to the advice calling to acknowledge God. If they don’t believe in God they will believe in whatever is prized in this world, what everyone is running after, the fashion that is in the civilization that one may follow blindly. Without realizing they would find themselves worshiping the values of society, following the flow of society like a sheep in a herd, a fashion leader, rather than following the path of God. If one is arrogant, persists in doing what is forbidden, they would be worshiping the values of their society.

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكَ لَيَبْعَثَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ مَن يَسُومُهُمْ سُوٓءَ ٱلْعَذَابِ ۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَسَرِيعُ ٱلْعِقَابِ ۖ وَإِنَّهُۥ لَغَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ

7:167 And then your Lord declared that, until the Day of Resurrection, He would send people against them to inflict terrible suffering on them. Your Lord is swift in punishment but [remember] He is most forgiving and merciful [repent to Him]

Who are those people that would suffer, the “fasiq”, the undecided people that don’t take the priority of worshiping God but the worldly life that will pass them by. If I don’t follow the prophetic example, there will be some trendsetter or influencer in civilization that would lead me to hell. I will be suffering from this evil fashion. The fashion influencers will make me work for years, keeping me busy with artificial life, earn money and spend it on unnecessary things. If I follow the trends blindly, because everyone does it, I will be suffering along with these people. I have to use beneficial sources to learn and establish my relation with God on a sound basis, otherwise I would be suffering the punishment.

The phrase “إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَسَرِيعُ ٱلْعِقَابِ ۖ وَإِنَّهُۥ لَغَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ”, translated as “You Lord is swift in punishment but He is most forgiving and merciful.” God creates whatever I choose, if I choose to follow the fashion then that gets created for me and I will suffer by worshiping false idols. Those idols and values are unrelated to the real purpose of my existence. At the same time, immediately after warning the disobedient people, God invites them not to give up hope but repent and by saying,  “but He is most forgiving and merciful.” When I repent sincerely and follow the path of God, He promises that He will forgive me because He is most forgiving and merciful.