Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:93
And he turned away from them and said, "O my people, I had certainly conveyed to you the messages of my Lord and advised you, so how could I grieve for a disbelieving people?"
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: فَتَوَلَّى عَنْهُمْ وَقَالَ يَا قَوْمِ لَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ رِسَالاتِ رَبِّي وَنَصَحْتُ لَكُمْ فَكَيْفَ آسَى عَلَى قَوْمٍ كَافِرِينَ (93) (So he turned away from them and said: O my people, I have indeed conveyed to you the messages of my Lord and given you counsel; so how could I grieve over a disbelieving people?) (7:93)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: Then Shuʿayb turned his back on them, departing from their midst when the punishment (ʿadhāb) of Allah befell them. And he said, when he had certainty about the descent of Allah's vengeance upon his people who had denied him, out of grief for them: ( يَا قَوْمِ لَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ رِسَالاتِ رَبِّي ) (O my people, I have indeed conveyed to you the messages of my Lord), and I have delivered to you that with which He sent me to you — to warn you against His wrath over your persistence in disbelief in Him and over the injustice you did to the people regarding their possessions — ( وَنَصَحْتُ لَكُمْ ) (and I have given you counsel), with my command to you to obey Allah and my prohibition against disobeying Him — ( فَكَيْفَ آسَى ) (so how could I grieve), that is to say: how could I grieve over a people who denied the oneness of Allah and gave the lie to His messenger, and be sorrowful over their destruction?
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes of the Qurʾān have spoken.
* Mention of who said this:
14869 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: ( فَكَيْفَ آسَى ) (so how could I grieve), that is to say: how could I be sorrowful?
14870 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: ( فَكَيْفَ آسَى ) (so how could I grieve), that means: how could I be sorrowful?
14871 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, saying: Shuʿayb was struck by grief over his people because of the vengeance of Allah which he saw coming upon them. Then he spoke, to console himself, as Allah has mentioned concerning him: ( يَا قَوْمِ لَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ رِسَالاتِ رَبِّي وَنَصَحْتُ لَكُمْ فَكَيْفَ آسَى عَلَى قَوْمٍ كَافِرِينَ ) (O my people, I have indeed conveyed to you the messages of my Lord and given you counsel; so how could I grieve over a disbelieving people?).
