Al-A'raf 7:73–146

Then Allah sent to the tribe of Thamūd their brother Ṣāliḥ, to call them to belief in the Oneness of Allah and to worship Him alone. Ṣāliḥ said: 'O People! Believe in Allah alone, you have no other God worthy of being worshipped. I have come to you with a sign proving the truth of what I have brought you: namely a camel which will come out of a rock. It has an allocated time to drink from the water, and for you a seperate time to drink. Allow her to eat within Allah’s land and do not harm her in any way, or a painful punishment would befall you.'

'Praise Allah for making you representatives on the earth after the destruction of the people of ‘Ād who had persevered in disbelief, and thank Him for establishing you in the land so that you could enjoy it and satisfy your desires. You build palaces in the plains and carve houses for yourselves out of the mountains. Remember Allah’s blessings upon you and thank Him for them, and do not to put your efforts into causing corruption on earth and leave off your disbelief in Allah and your disobedience to Him.

The leaders and important people, who looked down in pride at the people who had faith, those they considered to be weak, asked them: 'Do you really know that Ṣāliḥ is a messenger from Allah?' The believers replied: 'We have sure faith in him, and we act in agreement with what he has brought us.'

The arrogant among his people said: 'Indeed we dibelieve in what you have faith in, O believers, and we will not have faith in it nor act in agreement with its sacred laws.'

So they killed the camel which they had been forbidden to harmfully touch, too proud to follow Allah’s command. Doubting what Ṣāliḥ had promised would happen, they mocked him saying: 'O Salih! Bring the painful punishment you have told us would afflict us, If you really are a messenger from Allah!'

When the punishment the disbelievers had asked for arrived, and they were taken by a great earthquake, so that in the morning they lay fallen, their faces and knees on the earth, none of them escaping from the destruction.

Ṣāliḥ (peace be upon him) turned away from his people, having given up all hope for them. He said: 'O people, I had delivered what Allah had instructed me to deliver to you, and had advised you well, encouraging and warning you, but you were a people who did not have any love for sincere advisers who wanted to lead you to goodness and distance you from evil.

Allah sent Lot to his people to call them to belief in the Oneness of Allah and to stop them from rebelling against Him. He said: 'Do you commit such a forbidden and shameful act as sodomy, when no one before you has committed such a crime!'

'Do you go to men to satisfy your lust instead of women, who you were supposed to go to?! Then in that case you have not followed sense or any sound report or even what is natural! Rather you have gone beyond the limits of Allah, overstepping the bounds of moderation, good sense and the natural nobility of humankind.

His people, who committed this shameless wrong which they had been forbidden from doing, only responded by turning away from the truth, saying: 'Drive Lot and his followers out of your city. They are a people who have kept away from this action of ours, so it is not befitting that they stay living here among us.'

So Allah saved Lot and his family by instructing them to leave the city by night. His family were saved except for his wife, who remained behind in the city and suffered the same punishment as the rest.

Allah brought down upon them a great rain of rocks of baked clay, overturning the city and turning it upside down. So consider what the end of the sinful people of Lot was. Their end was ruin and eternal disgrace.

To the tribe of Midian Allah sent their brother Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him). He said: 'O people! Worship Allah alone for you have no God worthy of worship other than Him. A clear proof from Allah has come to you confirming what I bring to you from your Lord is the truth. Give people their rights, by measuring and weighing things correctly, not short-changing people by saying bad things about their goods, or by cheating them, and do not to cause corruption on earth through disbelief and disobedience after things have been set right through the sending of prophets. All of this is better for you and more beneficial if you are believers, because then you would leave disobedience, and draw close to Allah by doing what He has commanded.'

'Do not sit in wait on every road, threatening the people travelling there in order to steal their possessions, and preventing those who want to be guided from the path of Allah, wanting the path of Allah to be crooked so that people would not follow it. Remember the blessings of Allah upon you so that you might be thankful, for you had been few in the land and He increased your numbers. Reflect on what had been the end of those who caused corruption in the earth before you, since their end had been destruction and ruin!'

'And if there is a group among you who believe in what I have brought from my Lord, and another group who did not believe in it, then you, O deniers, should wait to see how Allah judges between the two groups. It would then become clear who stood for the truth and who were liars; and that those who stand for the truth will be saved, while those who are liars will be destroyed.'

The leaders and important people who were proud among the people of Shu’ayb (peace be upon him) said: 'We will drive you out of our city O Shu'ayb, you and those with you who believe you, unless you and they return back to your old way of life and worship. Shu‘ayb said in astonishment: 'Should we return to a way of life and religion that we hate because we know what falsehood it is based on?!'

'If we follow what you believe of disbelief and polytheism after we have been saved from it by Allah’s grace, we would have invented a lie against Him. It would not be appropriate or right for us to return to your false religion unless Allah wills us to do so – as we will do whatever He wills. Allah surrounds everything in knowledge, and so He knows what is right for His slaves. Nothing is hidden from Him. We put our trust in Allah alone, so He will make us firm on the right path and protect us from the ways leading to Hell. O our Lord! Judge between us and these disbelieving people with the truth, and help those who hold to the truth and those who are wronged against those who are wrongdoers. You O Lord are the best of Judges.'.

The important people and leaders of his people who refused the call to believe in the Oneness of Allah, warned people against Shu’ayb and his faith, saying: 'O people, if you follow Shu’ayb’s path, leaving the way of life of our ancestors, you would certainly find ruin through doing so.'

So a great earthquake took them; and in the morning they were dead in their homes, fallen on their knees and faces.

Those who rejected Shu’ayb were all destroyed, and it was as if they had never lived in their homes or found enjoyment there.Those who rejected Shu’ayb were the losers, losing themselves and their possessions, whereas those who had faith did not fail in the least, contrary to what those who disbelieved claimed.

Then their prophet Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) turned from them when they were destroyed saying: 'O people! Indeed I had delivered what my Lord had instructed me to deliver to you, and I had given you good advice; but you had not taken my advice, nor followed my guidance, so how then can I grieve for a people who disbelieved in Allah and insisted on disbelief?'

God did not send a prophet to any city, the people of which denied and rejected the truth, except that He tried them with suffering and poverty and illness so that they might humble themselves before God, and leave their pride and disbelief. This was a warning for Quraysh and for all peoples who disbelieve and reject the way of God.

After trying them with suffering and illness Allah improved their situation and turned their suffering into well-being and safety, until they became many and their wealth increased, and they said that the bad and good that they had experienced was a normal part of life and that the same thing had happened to their ancestors before them. They did not recognise that there was a lesson to be learned in the difficulties that occurred to them and that there was a test for them in the good that they were given. Then Allah overtook them suddenly with the punishment, while they were unaware of it and did not expect it.

If the people of the towns and cities which Allah sent His messengers to had believed in what their messengers brought them, and had been mindful of their Lord, leaving their disbelief and disobedience and following His commands, then Allah would have opened the doors of goodness upon them in every way; but they did not believe and were not mindful of Him. Instead they rejected what their prophets came with. So Allah overtook them with the punishment suddenly because of what they had earned through their sins and disobedience.

So do the people who reject the truth in these cities feel safe from the punishment of Allah overcoming them in the night while they are sleeping?

Or do they feel safe from the punishment of Allah overcoming them during the day, mid- morning, while they are amusing themselves forgetfully, busy with the life of this world?

Look at the blessings Allah has given them of strength and abundance, how He gave them as a means of testing them. Do these people who reject the truth among the people of these cities feel safe from Allah’s plan and His faultless arrangement of things? No one feels safe from Allah’s plan except a people who are lost. Yet those who are successful fear His Planning. They do not become amazed and proud because of what Allah has given to them, but rather see His Generosity to them and are thankful to Him.

Is it not clear to those who inherit the earth after the peoples before them were destroyed because of their sins – a people that they do not learn from, but actually copy in behaviour – that if Allah wanted to overcome them for their disobedience He would do so, as He often does, sealing their hearts so that they do not listen to the lesson and are not benefitted by being reminding of such a warning?

These previous nations, of the peoples of Noah, Hūd, Sāliḥ, Lot and Shu’ayb- I relate their narrative to you O Messenger, concerning their rejection of the truth and their stubbornness, and the destruction that befell them, to serve as an example for those who reflect, and a warning for those who take advice. Messengers came to the people of these cities with clear signs of the truth of what they brought, but Allah did not guide them to the truth because of their rejection of it the first time, a just recompense for their rejection despite seeing the clear signs and proofs. In the same way that Allah closed the hearts of the peoples of these cities who rejected their prophets, Allah closes the hearts of those who reject Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him), so that they are not guided to faith. In the same way that God sealed the hearts of the peoples of these towns which rejected their prophets, God seals the hearts of those who reject Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, so that they are not guided to faith.

Allah did not find most of the peoples who were sent messengers to be firm and constant in what He commanded – most of them rebelling against Him.

Then Allah sent the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), after these messengers, to Pharaoh and his people with clear miracles showing the truth of what he came with. Yet they only rejected these miracles and disbelieved them. So reflect on what the end of Pharaoh and his people was as a result of their rejection: Allah destroyed them by drowning them, condemning them in this world and in the Afterlife.

And Moses said when Allah sent him to Pharaoh: 'O Pharaoh! I have been sent from the Creator of all creation, the Owner and Sustainer of everything.'

Moses said: 'Since I have been sent from Allah it is only appropriate for me to say the truth about Him. I have brought you a clear proof showing the truth of what I say, proving that I am sent from Allah to you. Release the Children of Israel from the slavery and miserable treatment they have suffered and let them leave with me.'

Pharaoh said: 'If you have brought a sign, as you claim, then show it to me, if you are telling the truth.

So Moses threw his stick and it changed into a great snake, clear for all to see.

Then he drew out his hand from his shirt, near to his chest or under his arm, and it appeared completely white, not because of illness, but radiating brilliantly to all who saw it because of its extreme whiteness.

The notables and leaders said once they witnessed the transformation of the stick and the whiteness of his hand: 'Moses is nothing but a skilled and masterful magician.'

'He intends by this to drive you all out from Egypt through his magic.' So Pharaoh asked his chiefs what they advise him to do.

They said: 'Delay their case, Moses and his brother Aaron, and send people to the cities of Egypt to call all the magicians.'

'They will bring to you every skillful and powerful magician.'

So Pharaoh sent people to call the magicians, and when they came to Pharaoh they asked him if they would have a reward if they were the winners and overcame Moses with their magic.

Pharaoh replied: 'Yes Indeed! You will be given a reward and you would be brought near to me and of those given important positions.'

Due to their pride, they were certain that they would win against Moses. They asked him: 'Choose O Moses if you want to be the first to throw, or if you want us to throw first.'

Trusting in Allah that he would overcome them, Moses was not worried about them. He told them to throw their ropes and sticks. When they threw them they cast a mighty spell over the eyes of the people watching the spectacle, so that things looked different to reality, and the people became awed and frightened.

Allah then inspired Prophet Moses (peace be upon him): 'Throw your stick O Moses!' So he threw it and the stick changed into a snake and swallowed the ropes and sticks the magicians were using instead of real snakes; destroying for the people the illusion that these were crawling snakes.

In this way the truth became clear: proving the truth of what Moses was saying, and showing the falsehood of what the magicians had done.

The magicians were defeated and humiliated by Moses in the assembly.

When the magicians saw the greatness of the power of Allah, and his clear signs, they could only fall down, prostrating to Him.

The magicians exclaimed: 'We believe in the Lord of all of creation.'

He is the Lord of Moses and Aaron (peace be upon them), alone worthy of worship for all people, and the false gods are not worthy of worship.

Pharaoh said threatening them because of their faith in Allah: 'Do you believe in Allah before I have given you permission to do so. This is only a trick you were deceiving people with, and a plot that you and Moses have planned to drive out the people of the city. But soon you will know what the consequences are and what an example I will make of you!'

'I will cut off the right hand and left foot or the left hand and right foot of each of you, and would then crucify you on palm trunks, making an example of you to frighten whoever sees you.'

The magicians replied: 'Indeed we will return to our Lord alone, so we are not scared of what you threaten us with.'

'You are only finding fault in us because we had faith in the signs of our Lord when they came to us through Moses. If this is our crime, then we stand firmly by it.' Then they turned to Allah in prayer: 'O our Lord! Pour upon us patience so that we will be able to stand firmly for the truth and let us die in a state of surrendering in devotion to You, doing as You command, and following Your Messenger.'

The leaders and notables people among Pharaoh’s people urged Pharaoh, provoking him to act against Moses and the believers who were with him. They said: 'Will you leave Moses and his people to spread corruption in the land, abandoning you and your gods, and calling to the worship of Allah alone?' Pharaoh said: 'We will kill the sons of the Children of Israel, and let their women live to serve us, and we have complete power over them.'

Moses advised his people: 'O people, ask for the help of Allah alone to remove hardship from you and to bring good, and be patient with the trial we have being given. For indeed the earth belongs to Allah alone, and it does not belong to Pharaoh or anyone else to do as they please in it. Rather, Allah, according to His will, gives turns to different people to have authority in the land, but the good end on earth is for those who have faith, follow the commands of their Lord and stay away from what He has prohibited – they will achieve the good end despite the tests and trials they are given.'

The Children of Israel said to Moses (peace be upon him): 'We suffered at the hands of Pharaoh before you came to us and after you have come, with Pharaoh killing our sons and letting our women live.' Moses (peace be upon him) advised them giving them hope of release from their trial: 'It may be that Allah might destroy your enemy, Pharaoh and his people, and establish you on the earth after them, seeing whether you behave with thankfulness or ingratitude.'

And indeed I gave the people of Pharaoh a number of years of drought and famine, testing them with a shortage of fruits and crops, so that they might reflect and realise that this was a punishment from Allah because of their disbelief, and so they might repent to Him.

Whenever the people of Pharaoh experienced wealth, healthy yields, and a thriving economy, they said: 'We have been given this because we deserve it.' But if a misfortune came upon them, such as a drought or famine, diseases, and other hardships, they would blame their bad fortune on Moses and the Children of Israel who were with him. However, the misfortunes happened to them by the decree and permission of Allah, and neither they nor Moses (peace be upon him) had any part in the affair, apart from Moses's supplications against them. But most of them do not know, saying what happens is due to other things, rather than Allah’s decree.

The people of Pharaoh said to Moses (peace be upon them), out of their stubbornness against the truth: 'Whatever sign or evidence you bring to us and whatever proof of the falsehood of own beliefs you show us, we will not believe you. '

As a punishment for their rejection and stubbornness, I sent floods of water that destroyed their crops and fruits; locusts and weevils that ate their crops and harvests;frogs which filled their dishes and containers, ruining their food, and disturbing their sleep; and turning the water in their wells and rivers into blood. All these were sent as clear and distinct signs, one after another. Despite all of these torments, they were too proud to have faith in Allah or to believe in what Moses (peace be upon him) brought. They were a people who committed wrongs, who would not give up falsehood, and would not be guided to the truth.

When these torments came upon them, they asked Moses (peace be upon him): 'O Moses, call upon your Lord, because of what He has given you of prophethood and Allah’s promise to you that He will remove the torment for our turning to Him, to remove from us the torment, for then we will certainly believe in you, and will send the Children of Israel with you, releasing them from captivity.'

But when Allah removed the torment from them for a set time – before they were destroyed through drowning – they went back on their word and did not believe him or send the Israelites with him, remaining firm on their disbelief, and not allowing the Israelites to go with Moses (peace be upon him).

So when the appointed time came for their destruction, I unleashed My punishment on them and drowned them in the sea because of their rejection of the signs of Allah and because they turned away from the truth about which there was no doubt.

I made the Children of Israel, who had been humiliated by Pharaoh and his people, inherit the eastern areas of the land and the western areas of it (the lands of the Levant). Allah blessed this land, making it produce the best crops and fruits. So the good word of your Lord was fulfilled O Messenger where Allah says, ‘I wished to favour those who were weak in the earth, and to make them leaders and inheritors’ (Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ: 5). So God established them in the land because of their patience in the face of the harm they had suffered from Pharaoh and his people, and God destroyed the agriculture and buildings of Pharaoh, and the palaces they had constructed.

And I made the Children of Israel cross the sea when Moses hit it with his stick and it parted. They passed a people who were worshipping idols, which they worshipped instead of Allah. The Children of Israel said to Moses (peace be upon him): 'O Moses, make us an idol to worship as these people have idols to worship.' Moses said: 'You are a people who are ignorant of the rights that are due to Allah alone concerning the belief in His Oneness and what is due to Him of reverence, and what is inappropriate to ascribe to Him of polytheism and the like.'

'These people who are worshipping idols are ruined, and all of their works and devotion is false and worthless because they are worshipping other than Allah.'

Moses said: 'How can I seek for you a god other than the one true God for you to worship, when you have already seen His great signs, and when He has preferred you over all the nations of your time, granting you the destruction of your enemy, and making you leaders in the land and establishing you in it?'

And remember O Children of Israel, when I saved you from the humiliation of Pharaoh and his people, who were making you suffer greatly, killing your sons and letting your women live to serve them. Being saved from Pharaoh and his people was a great test from your Lord, to see if you would be thankful.

And Allah appointed for Moses a place of meeting of thirty nights in order to speak with him, and then He perfected it by adding ten more, so that there were forty nights all together. Moses told his brother Aaron, when he was leaving for this retreat alone with His Lord: 'O Aaron, take my place as leader among my people, and do what is right, governing them wisely and treating them kindly, and not following the path of those who cause corruption, nor committing disobedience, nor helping the wrongdoers.'

When Moses came to meet his Lord for the appointment he had been assigned, which was a full forty nights, and his Lord spoke to him giving him instructions and prohibitions and so on, Moses desired to see his Lord, so he asked to see Him. Allah the Exalted replied: 'You will not see Me in the life of this world, because you will not be able to endure that, but look instead at the mountain when I reveal Myself to it, if it remains in its place and is not affected then You will be able to see Me; but if it becomes flattened, then you will not be able to see Me in the life of this world.' Then when Allah revealed Himself to the mountain it crumbled to dust, and Moses fell down unconscious. When he recovered from his unconsciousness, he said: 'I declare Your Perfection O Lord, and that You are far above any deficiency being ascribed to You, and I turn to You asking for forgiveness for having asked to see You in this world, and I am the first of my people to believe.'

Allah told Moses: 'O Moses, I have chosen you and preferred you over other people through the message which I have sent you with, and by My speaking to you directly. Take then the great honour which I have given you, and be among those who are thankful to Allah for such a great gift.'

Allah wrote for Moses in the Tablets everything that the Israelites would need for their spiritual and worldly affairs – instruction for those who would be instructed and an explanation of laws that needed explanation. He told Moses to take hold of them firmly and with determination, and to instruct his people, the Israelites, to take hold of the most excellent instructions that they contained, with the promise of the greatest reward for doing what they were instructed in the most perfect way, and to do so with patience and forgiveness. Allah told Moses that He would show them the destiny of those who went against His commands and who disobeyed Him, and the ruin and loss that they would receive as a result.

Those who are unjustly proud towards the servants of Allah and the truth will be turned away by Allah from thinking about His signs on the horizons and within themselves and from understanding His verses even if they see every sign, they will not believe in them, because of their rejection of these signs and their turning away from them, and for opposing Allah and His Messenger. If they see the path of truth which leads to the pleasure of Allah, they do not follow it, and do not like it; and if they see the way of misguidance and error leading to Allah’s displeasure, they follow it. This only happens to them because they rejected the great signs and verses of Allah proving the truth of what the messengers came with, and did not pay any attention to them.