Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:175
And recite to them, [O Muhammad], the news of him to whom we gave [knowledge of] Our signs, but he detached himself from them; so Satan pursued him, and he became of the deviators.
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.
Concerning the explanation of His word: وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ الَّذِي آتَيْنَاهُ آيَاتِنَا فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْهَا فَأَتْبَعَهُ الشَّيْطَانُ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ (175) (And recite to them the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them, whereupon Satan followed him and he became one of those who went astray.) (175)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: "Recite," O Muḥammad, to your people = "the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs," that is to say: his story and his history.
* * *
The signs of Allah which Allah had given him were, according to what is said: the Greatest Name of Allah (al-ism al-aʿẓam) = and it has been said: prophethood (al-nubuwwa).
* * *
The scholars of exegesis differed concerning this.
Some of them said: he was a man from the Children of Israel.
* Mention of those who said that:
15381 - Ḥumayd ibn Masʿada related to us, saying: Bishr ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh concerning this verse: (And recite to them the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them) — he said: he is Balʿam.
15382 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, the like of that.
15383 - .... he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, he said: he is Balʿam ibn Abar.
15384 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, concerning His word: (And recite to them the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs) — he said: a man from the Children of Israel called Balʿam ibn Abar.
15385 - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar and Ibn Mahdī and Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, they said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh: that he mentioned the like of that concerning this verse = but he did not say "ibn Abar".
15386 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd: (And recite to them the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them) — he said: a man from the Children of Israel called Balʿam ibn Abar.
15387 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿImrān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: he is Balʿam ibn Bāʿir.
15388 - Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, concerning His word: (And recite to them the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs) up to (and he became one of those who went astray) — he is Balʿam ibn Abar.
15389 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, the like of that = except that he said: ibn Abur, with a ḍamma on the "bāʾ".
15390 - 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, his word: (And recite to them the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them) — he said: he is a man from the city of the tyrants (al-jabbārīn) called Balʿam.
15391 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: (but who detached himself from them) — he said: Balʿām ibn Bāʿir, from the Children of Israel.
15392 - Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Abū Saʿd related to us, saying: I heard Mujāhid say, and he mentioned the like of that.
15393 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kathīr informed me, that he heard Mujāhid say, and he mentioned the like of that.
15394 - Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿIkrima, he said concerning him to whom (We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them) — he said: he is Balʿām.
15395 - And Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ghundar related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿIkrima, he said: he is Balʿam.
15396 - .... he said: ʿImrān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿIkrima, he said: he is Balʿam.
15397 - Ḥumayd ibn Masʿada related to us, saying: Bishr related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, he said: I heard ʿIkrima say: he is Balʿām.
15398 - Al-Ḥārith related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: he is Balʿam.
15399 - Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: he is Balʿam. =
And the tribe of Thaqīf said: he is Umayya ibn Abī al-Ṣalt.
* * *
And others said: this Balʿam was from the people of Yemen.
* Mention of those who said that:
15400 - 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, his word: (And recite to them the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them) — he said: he is a man named Balʿam, from the people of Yemen.
* * *
And others said: he was from the Canaanites (al-Kanʿāniyyīn).
* Mention of those who said that:
15401 - 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, his word: (And recite to them the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them) — he said: he is a man from the city of the tyrants (al-jabbārīn) called Balʿam.
* * *
And others said: he is Umayya ibn Abī al-Ṣalt.
* Mention of those who said that:
15402 - Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī related to us, saying: Saʿīd ibn al-Sāʾib related to us, on the authority of Ghuṭayf ibn Abī Sufyān, on the authority of Yaʿqūb and Nāfiʿ ibn ʿĀṣim, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, who said concerning this verse: (him to whom We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them) — he said: he is Umayya ibn Abī al-Ṣalt.
15403 - Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, saying: Shuʿba informed us, on the authority of Yaʿlā ibn ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Nāfiʿ ibn ʿĀṣim, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr said: he is your companion Umayya ibn Abī al-Ṣalt.
15404 - Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Wahb ibn Jarīr related to us, they said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Yaʿlā ibn ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Nāfiʿ ibn ʿĀṣim, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, the like of that.
15405 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, on the authority of a man, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr: وَلَكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الأَرْضِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ (But he inclined toward the earth and followed his desire) — he said: he is Umayya ibn Abī al-Ṣalt.
15406 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ghundar related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Yaʿlā ibn ʿAṭāʾ, he said: I heard Nāfiʿ ibn ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUrwa ibn Masʿūd say: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr say concerning this verse: (him to whom We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them) — he said: he is your companion = that is to say Umayya ibn Abī al-Ṣalt.
15407 - .... he said: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ḥabīb, on the authority of a man, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, he said: he is Umayya ibn Abī al-Ṣalt.
15408 - .... he said: Yazīd related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of Faḍāla =or Ibn Faḍāla= on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, he said: he is Umayya.
15409 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, he said: this verse was discussed in the great mosque of Damascus: (but who detached himself from them), and some of them said: it was revealed concerning Balʿam ibn Bāʿūrāʾ, and some of them said: it was revealed concerning the monk (al-rāhib) = then ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ came out to them, and they said: concerning whom was this revealed? He said: it was revealed concerning Umayya ibn Abī al-Ṣalt al-Thaqafī.
15410 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Kalbī: (him to whom We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them) — he said: he is Umayya ibn Abī al-Ṣalt. And Qatāda said: he is doubtful about it, some of them say: Balʿam, and some of them say: Umayya ibn Abī al-Ṣalt.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: the scholars of exegesis differed concerning the signs that were given to him, of which the Exalted, whose praise is sublime, said: (We gave him Our signs).
Some of them said: it was the Greatest Name of Allah (al-ism al-aʿẓam).
* Mention of those who said that:
15411 - Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, he said: when the forty years had elapsed = that is to say those concerning which Allah said: فَإِنَّهَا مُحَرَّمَةٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً (Truly, it is forbidden to them for forty years) [Surah Al-Māʾida: 26] — Allah sent Yūshaʿ ibn Nūn as a prophet, and he summoned the Children of Israel, and informed them that he was a prophet, and that Allah had commanded him to fight the tyrants (al-jabbārīn). Then they gave him the pledge of allegiance and believed him. And a man from the Children of Israel, named Balʿam, departed; he was a scholar who knew the hidden Greatest Name, but he fell into unbelief (kufr) and came to the tyrants and said: do not fear the Children of Israel, for when you go out to fight them, I will make a supplication against them so that they perish! And he possessed among them whatever he wished of worldly things, except that he could not approach the women because of their size, and so he mated with a she-donkey that he owned. And he is the one concerning whom Allah says: (And recite to them the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them) — that is to say: he had insight, but he detached himself from it, up to His word: وَلَكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الأَرْضِ (But he inclined toward the earth).
15412 - 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 recite to them the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs) — he said: he is a man named Balʿam, and he knew the Greatest Name of Allah.
15413 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: (And recite to them the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them) — he said: he asked Allah for nothing but that He gave it to him.
* * *
And others said: no, the signs that were given to him were one of the books of Allah.
* Mention of those who said that:
15414 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Tumayla related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥamza, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Mujāhid, and ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: there was among the Children of Israel Balʿām ibn Bāʿir, to whom a book had been given. And others said: no, prophethood (al-nubuwwa) had been given to him.
* Mention of those who said that:
15415 - Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Abū Saʿd related to us, on the authority of someone other than him = al-Ḥārith said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz said: that is to say: on the authority of someone other than himself = on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: he is a prophet among the Children of Israel, that is to say Balʿam; prophethood had been given to him, but his people bribed him to remain silent, and he did so, and he left them in the state in which they were.
15416 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: al-Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān related to us, on the authority of his father, that he was asked about the verse: (And recite to them the tidings of him to whom We gave Our signs, but who detached himself from them), and he related on the authority of Sayyār that he was a man called Balʿām, and prophethood had been given to him, and his supplication was answered.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: the correct view concerning this is that one says: that Allah, the Exalted whose mention is sublime, commanded His prophet ﷺ to recite to his people the tidings of a man to whom Allah had given His proofs and His indications, and these are "the signs".
And we have already pointed out earlier that the meaning of "the signs" is the proofs and the indications, with what exempts us from repeating it. =
And it is possible that the one to whom Allah had given that was Balʿam = and it is possible that it was Umayya. And likewise "the signs": if these have the meaning of the proof that is part of the books of Allah which He sent down upon one of His prophets, which the one whom Allah mentions and intends in this verse had learned — then it is possible that the one to whom these were given was Balʿam = and it is possible that it was Umayya, for Umayya had, according to what is said, read from the books of the People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb).
And if these have the meaning of a book that Allah sent down upon the one whose tidings Allah's prophet, the blessing and peace be upon him, was commanded to recite to his people = or the meaning of the Greatest Name of Allah = or the meaning of prophethood = then it is not possible that Umayya is intended thereby; for concerning Umayya the community does not differ that none of all that had been given to him. And there is no report concerning what of all that is intended, and which of the two men is intended, that yields a binding proof, nor is there in reason an indication of which of them is intended over the other. The correct thing, then, is that one says concerning it what Allah said, and that we acknowledge the literal meaning of the revelation according to what the revelation (al-waḥy) of Allah has brought.
* * *
As for His word: (but who detached himself from them) — this means: he went out from the signs that Allah had given him, and dissociated himself from them.
And in similar terms spoke the scholars of exegesis.
* Mention of those who said that:
15417 - 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: when Mūsā, peace be upon him, descended .... = that is to say upon the tyrants = and those who were with him, there came to him = that is to say to Balʿam = his cousins and his people, and said: truly, Mūsā is a sharp man, and with him is a great army, and if he prevails over us he destroys us. So supplicate to Allah that He turn away Mūsā and those who are with him from us. He said: truly, if I supplicate to Allah that He turn away Mūsā and those who are with him, then my world and my hereafter are lost! But they did not cease pressing him until he made a supplication against them, and Allah stripped from him what he possessed. That is His word: (but who detached himself from them, whereupon Satan followed him and he became one of those who went astray).
15418 - 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, he said: Allah had given him His signs, but he let them go.
15419 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, saying: Ibn Jurayj said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: (but who detached himself from them) — he said: the knowledge was taken away from him.
* * *
And His word: (whereupon Satan followed him) — this says: he made him a follower of himself, who obeys his command in disobedience to Allah, and contradicts the command of his Lord in disobedience toward Satan and obedience to the Most Merciful.
* * *
And His word: (and he became one of those who went astray) — this says: he became one of the lost, because of his straying and his contradicting of the command of his Lord, and his obedience to Satan.
