Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:156
And decree for us in this world [that which is] good and [also] in the Hereafter; indeed, we have turned back to You." [Allah] said, "My punishment - I afflict with it whom I will, but My mercy encompasses all things." So I will decree it [especially] for those who fear Me and give zakah and those who believe in Our verses -
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: وَاكْتُبْ لَنَا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ إِنَّا هُدْنَا إِلَيْكَ (And ordain for us good in this world and in the Hereafter; indeed, we have turned unto You.) (7:156)
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah, exalted be His mention, says — reporting about the supplication of His prophet Mūsā, peace be upon him, that he said therein: "And ordain for us", that is to say: make us among those for whom You have ordained = "good in this world", and that is the righteous deeds = "and in the Hereafter", among those for whom You have ordained forgiveness of their sins, as in: -
15176 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning His word: "And ordain for us good in this world", he said: forgiveness.
* * *
And His word: "indeed, we have turned unto You (hudnā ilayk)", He says: indeed, we have repented unto You (tubnā ilayk).
* * *
And in accordance with that the people of exegesis have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
15177 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr and Ibn Faḍīl and ʿImrān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr = and ʿImrān said: on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās = "indeed, we have turned unto You", he said: we have repented unto You.
15178 - He said: Zayd ibn Ḥubāb related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Salama, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said: we have repented unto You.
15179 - .... He said: Jābir ibn Nūḥ related to us, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: we have repented unto You.
15180 - .... He said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Bakr related to us, on the authority of Ḥātim ibn Abī Ṣaghīra, on the authority of Simāk: that Ibn ʿAbbās said about this verse: "indeed, we have turned unto You", he said: we have repented unto You.
15181 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr = he said: I think it is on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "indeed, we have turned unto You", he said: we have repented unto You.
15182 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "indeed, we have turned unto You", he says: we have repented unto You.
15183 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd related to me, saying: Sufyān related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aṣbahānī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His word: "indeed, we have turned unto You", he said: we have repented unto You.
15184 - .... He said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Wakīʿ ibn al-Jarrāḥ related to us, they said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aṣbahānī, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, in the same manner.
15185 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to me, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn al-Aṣbahānī, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, in the same manner.
15186 - .... He said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, he said: we have repented unto You.
15187 - .... He said: Muḥammad ibn Yazīd related to us, on the authority of al-ʿAwwām, on the authority of Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, he said: we have repented unto You.
15187m - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of al-ʿAwwām, on the authority of Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, in the same manner.
15188 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "indeed, we have turned unto You", that is to say: indeed, we have repented unto You.
15189 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "we have turned unto You", he said: we have repented.
15190 - Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "indeed, we have turned unto You", he says: we have repented unto You.
15191 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "indeed, we have turned unto You", he says: we have repented unto You.
15192 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, in the same manner.
15193 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya, he said: "we have turned unto You", he said: we have repented unto You.
15194 - ... He said: my father related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥujayr, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, he said: we have repented unto You.
15195 - .... He said: al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, he said: we have repented unto You.
15196 - And it was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying, and he mentioned it in the same manner.
15197 - ... He said: my father and ʿUbayd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: we have repented unto You.
15198 - ... He said: Ḥabbūya Abū Yazīd related to us, on the authority of Yaʿqūb, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, in the same manner.
15199 - ... He said: my father related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā, on the authority of ʿAlī, peace be upon him, he said: They were called "the Jews (al-yahūd)" only because they said: "we have turned unto You (hudnā ilayk)".
15200 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "indeed, we have turned unto You", that means: we have repented unto You.
15201 - Ibn al-Barqī related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: I heard a man ask Saʿīd: "indeed, we have turned unto You", he said: indeed, we have turned unto You.
* * *
And we have already set forth its meaning with its proofs earlier, in a manner that makes repetition unnecessary.
* * *
The explanation of His word: قَالَ عَذَابِي أُصِيبُ بِهِ مَنْ أَشَاءُ وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ بِآيَاتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونَ (156) (He said: My punishment — I afflict with it whom I will, and My mercy encompasses all things; and I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing and give the zakāh, and for those who believe in Our signs.) (7:156)
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah, exalted be His mention, says: Allah said to Mūsā: This with which I have afflicted your people, namely the earthquake (al-rajfa), is My punishment with which I afflict whom I will of My creatures, just as I afflicted with it these of your people whom I afflicted with it = "and My mercy encompasses all things", He says: and My mercy has encompassed all My creatures.
* * *
And the people of exegesis differ concerning its interpretation.
Some of them said: Its wording is general, but its meaning is specific, and what is meant by it is: and My mercy has encompassed the believers in Me from the community of Muḥammad, the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him. And they cite as evidence for that what follows these words, namely His word: "and I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing", the verse.
* Mention of who said that:
15202 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Salama al-Minqarī related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Salama related to us, saying: ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib informed us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: that he recited: "and My mercy encompasses all things; and I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing". He said: Allah has designated it for this community.
15203 - ʿAbd al-Karīm related to me, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Sufyān said: Abū Bakr al-Hudhalī said: When it was revealed: "and My mercy encompasses all things", Iblīs said: I am among "the things"! Then Allah took it away from Iblīs, He said: (And I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing and give the zakāh, and for those who believe in Our signs). Then the Jews said: We are God-fearing, give the zakāh, and believe in the signs of our Lord! Then Allah took it away from the Jews and said: الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الأُمِّيَّ (those who follow the messenger, the unlettered prophet). He said: Allah took it away from Iblīs and from the Jews, and designated it for this community.
15204 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: When it was revealed: "and My mercy encompasses all things", Iblīs said: I am among "all things"! Allah said: (And I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing and give the zakāh, and for those who believe in Our signs), the verse. Then the Jews said: And we are God-fearing and give the zakāh! Then Allah revealed: الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الأُمِّيَّ (those who follow the messenger, the unlettered prophet). He said: Allah took it away from Iblīs and from the Jews, and designated it for the community of Muḥammad: I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing of your people.
15205 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "My punishment — I afflict with it whom I will, and My mercy encompasses all things", then Iblīs said: I am among that "thing"! Then Allah revealed: "and I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing" against disobedience to Allah = "and for those who believe in Our signs". Then the Jews and the Christians coveted it, whereupon Allah revealed a firm, clear condition, and said: الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الأُمِّيَّ (those who follow the messenger, the unlettered prophet). That, then, is your prophet; he was unlettered (ummī), he did not write, the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.
15206 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāʾ informed us, on the authority of Anīs ibn Abī al-ʿUryān, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: وَاكْتُبْ لَنَا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ إِنَّا هُدْنَا إِلَيْكَ (And ordain for us good in this world and in the Hereafter; indeed, we have turned unto You), he said: This was not granted to him, for He said: "My punishment — I afflict with it whom I will, and My mercy encompasses all things; and I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing", up to His word: الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الأُمِّيَّ (the messenger, the unlettered prophet).
15207 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya and ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, on the authority of Khālid, on the authority of Anīs Abū al-ʿUryān = ʿAbd al-Aʿlā said: on the authority of Anīs Abū al-ʿUryān = and he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: وَاكْتُبْ لَنَا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ إِنَّا هُدْنَا إِلَيْكَ (And ordain for us good in this world and in the Hereafter; indeed, we have turned unto You), he said: This was not granted to Mūsā, He said: "My punishment — I afflict with it whom I will, and My mercy encompasses all things; and I shall ordain it", to the end of the verse.
15208 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: Allah had written on the tablets (al-alwāḥ) the mention of Muḥammad and the mention of his community, and what He has preserved for them with Himself, and what He has made easy for them in their religion, and what He has amply permitted them of that which He has permitted them, and He said: "My punishment — I afflict with it whom I will, and My mercy encompasses all things; and I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing" = that is to say: with regard to shirk (associating partners with Allah) = the verse.
* * *
And others said: Rather, that is general with regard to this world, and specific with regard to the Hereafter.
* Mention of who said that:
15209 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan and Qatāda, concerning His word: "and My mercy encompasses all things", they both said: It has encompassed in this world the pious and the sinner, but on the Day of Resurrection it belongs specifically to those who are God-fearing.
* * *
And others said: It is general, and it is repentance (al-tawba).
* Mention of who said that:
15210 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: أَنْتَ وَلِيُّنَا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الْغَافِرِينَ * وَاكْتُبْ لَنَا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ إِنَّا هُدْنَا إِلَيْكَ (You are our Protector, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, and You are the best of those who forgive * And ordain for us good in this world and in the Hereafter; indeed, we have turned unto You), he said: Mūsā asked for this, whereupon Allah said: "My punishment — I afflict with it whom I will" = the punishment which He mentioned = "and My mercy", that is repentance = (encompasses all things; and I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing). He said: His mercy, then, is the repentance which Mūsā, peace be upon him, asked for; Allah has ordained it for us.
* * *
And as for His word: "and I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing", He says: I shall ordain My mercy which has encompassed all things = and the meaning of "I ordain (aktub)" in this place is: I write upon the tablet upon which the Torah was written "for those who are God-fearing", He says: for the people who fear Allah and dread His punishment for disbelief in Him and disobedience to Him in His command and prohibition, and who therefore fulfill His obligations and avoid His transgressions. And the people of exegesis differ concerning the meaning by which Allah has described this people as being God-fearing toward Him. Some of them said: It is shirk.
* Mention of who said that:
15211 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "and I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing", that means shirk.
* * *
And others said: Rather, it is all transgressions.
* Mention of who said that:
15212 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "and I shall ordain it for those who are God-fearing", the transgressions against Allah.
* * *
And as for "the zakāh and the giving of it", we have already set forth its description earlier, in a manner that makes repetition unnecessary.
* * *
And it has been related from Ibn ʿAbbās in this place that he said about it what: -
15213 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "and give the zakāh", he said: they obey Allah and His messenger.
* * *
It is thus as if Ibn ʿAbbās interpreted that in the meaning that it is the performance of that which purifies the soul and cleanses it, namely the righteous deeds.
* * *
And as for His word: "and for those who believe in Our signs", He says: and for the people who hold Our signs and Our proofs to be true and acknowledge them.
