Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:168
And We divided them throughout the earth into nations. Of them some were righteous, and of them some were otherwise. And We tested them with good [times] and bad that perhaps they would return [to obedience].
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 the saying of Allah: "And We divided them throughout the earth into communities: among them were the righteous, and among them were those less than that. And We tested them with good and with bad things, that perhaps they would return." (7:168)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted be His remembrance, says: And We scattered the Children of Israel throughout the earth — "into communities (umaman)," that is to say: into dispersed, scattered groups. As in:—
15311 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Isḥāq ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, on the authority of Yaʿqūb, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "And We divided them throughout the earth into communities," he said: in every land they enter there is a group of the Jews.
15312 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "And We divided them throughout the earth into communities," he said: the Jews.
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And His saying: "among them were the righteous," he says: among these people whom Allah has described from the Children of Israel were "the righteous," that is to say: those who believe in Allah and His messengers — "and among them were those less than that," that is to say: less than the righteous one. And Allah, exalted be His praise, has described them as being thus only before their apostasy from their religion and before their disbelief in their Lord, and that was before ʿĪsā the son of Maryam, Allah's blessings be upon him, was sent among them.
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And His saying: "And We tested them with good and with bad things, that perhaps they would return," he says: and We tried them with prosperity in provision, ease and comfort in this world, and abundance in provision — and these are "the good things (al-ḥasanāt)" which He, exalted be His praise, has mentioned. And by "the bad things (al-sayyiʾāt)" He means: hardship in provision, scarcity therein, and calamities and losses in possessions — "that perhaps they would return," he says: that perhaps they would return to obedience to their Lord and turn toward it, and repent of their disobediences to Him.
