Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:128
Said Moses to his people, "Seek help through Allah and be patient. Indeed, the earth belongs to Allah. He causes to inherit it whom He wills of His servants. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His word: قَالَ مُوسَى لِقَوْمِهِ اسْتَعِينُوا بِاللَّهِ وَاصْبِرُوا إِنَّ الأَرْضَ لِلَّهِ يُورِثُهَا مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ (7:128) (Mūsā said to his people: "Seek help from Allah and be patient. Verily, the earth belongs to Allah; He gives it as an inheritance to whom He wills of His servants. And the [good] end is for the God-fearing.")
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: "Mūsā said to his people" of the Children of Israel, when Pharaoh had said to the notables of his people: "We shall kill the sons of the Children of Israel and let their women live": "Seek help from Allah" against Pharaoh and his people in that which befalls you in your affair, "and be patient" with regard to the adversity that strikes you in your own persons and in your sons because of Pharaoh. And a number of the Children of Israel had already followed Mūsā, as in the following:
14972 - ʿAbd al-Karīm related to me, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, saying: Abū Saʿd related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: When the sorcerers believed, six hundred thousand of the Children of Israel followed Mūsā.
And His word: "Verily, the earth belongs to Allah; He gives it as an inheritance to whom He wills of His servants", that is to say: verily, the earth belongs to Allah; perhaps Allah will give you — if you are patient with the adversity that strikes you in your own persons and your children because of Pharaoh, and you expect the reward for that from Allah and remain steadfast on the straight path — the land of Pharaoh and his people as an inheritance, by destroying them and appointing you as successors therein. For Allah gives His earth as an inheritance to whom He wills of His servants. "And the [good] end is for the God-fearing", that is to say: and the praiseworthy end is for whoever fears Allah and heeds Him, and so fears Him by avoiding His disobediences and fulfilling His obligations.
[Footnotes:] (31) See the explanation of "al-ʿāqiba" (the end) in what preceded earlier, p. 13, note 1, and the references there.
