Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:77
So they hamstrung the she-camel and were insolent toward the command of their Lord and said, "O Salih, bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the messengers."
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 statement concerning the explanation of His words: فَعَقَرُوا النَّاقَةَ وَعَتَوْا عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقَالُوا يَا صَالِحُ ائْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَا إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ (77) (They slaughtered the she-camel and rebelled against the command of their Lord and said: "O Ṣāliḥ, bring us what you promise us, if you are among those who are sent.") (7:77)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Thamūd slaughtered the she-camel which Allah had made a sign for them. And (وعتوا عن أمر ربهم) — "and they rebelled against the command of their Lord" — He says: they were arrogant and self-willed and refused to follow Allah, and they exalted themselves above the truth, as in:
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: (وعتوا) — "and they rebelled" — they exalted themselves above the truth, they did not see.
14825 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, saying: Mujāhid said: (عتوا عن أمر ربهم) — "they rebelled against the command of their Lord" — they exalted themselves in falsehood.
14826 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Abū Saʿd related to us, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words: (وعتوا عن أمر ربهم) — "and they rebelled against the command of their Lord" — he said: they rebelled in falsehood and abandoned the truth.
14827 — 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, concerning the words of Allah: (وعتوا عن أمر ربهم) — "and they rebelled against the command of their Lord" — he said: they exalted themselves in falsehood.
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It is derived from their expression: "a rebellious tyrant" (jabbār ʿātin), when someone exalts himself in his tyranny.
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And (وقالوا يا صالح ائتنا بما تعدنا) — "and they said: O Ṣāliḥ, bring us what you promise us" — He says: they said: bring us, O Ṣāliḥ, what you promise us of chastisement (ʿadhāb) from Allah and His vengeance, thereby hastening the chastisement. And (إن كنت من المرسلين) — "if you are among those who are sent" — He says: if you are a messenger of Allah to us, then indeed Allah aids His messengers against their enemies. And so He hastened that for them just as they hastened it, and the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا فِي دَارِهِمْ جَاثِمِينَ ("Then the earthquake seized them, and in the morning they lay lifeless, fallen prostrate in their dwelling.")
