Surah 7. Al-A'raf

Thus, [on Judgment Day] We shall most certainly call to account all those unto whom a [divine] message was sent, and We shall most certainly call to account the message-bearers [themselves];⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 5:109 .

On the Day of Judgement We shall question those to whom Rasools were sent and We shall also question the Rasools about Our message and its response.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We will surely question those who received messengers and We will question the messengers 'themselves'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then verily We shall question those unto whom (Our message) hath been sent, and verily We shall question the messengers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Then shall We question those to whom Our message was sent and those by whom We sent it. ⁹⁹³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In the final reckoning, the warners and teachers will give evidence of their preaching the truth, and the wicked will themselves have to acknowledge the truth. We picture it like a court scene, when the story is related, but the Judge knows all, even more than the parties can tell.

and thereupon We shall most certainly reveal unto them Our knowledge [of their doings]:⁷ for never have We been absent [from them].

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "relate to them with knowledge".

Then We shall tell their whole story as an eye witness for We were never absent at any time or from any place.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then We will give them a full account with sure knowledge- for We were never absent.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then verily We shall narrate unto them (the event) with knowledge, for verily We were not absent, (when it came to pass).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And verily We shall recount their whole story with knowledge for We were never absent (at any time or place). ⁹⁹⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Allah (being all-knowing) is never absent from any place or at any time, for Time and Place are relative conceptions for our limited natures, while He is the Absolute, independent of such relative conceptions.

And true will be the weighing on that Day: and those whose weight [of good deeds] is heavy in the balance - it is they, they who shall attain to a happy state;

  - Mohammad Asad

On that Day, the scale of justice shall be established. Those whose scale of good deeds will be heavy, they are the ones who will attain felicity,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The weighing on that Day will be just. As for those whose scale will be heavy 'with good deeds', 'only' they will be successful.

  - Mustafa Khattab

The weighing on that day is the true (weighing). As for those whose scale is heavy, they are the successful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

The balance that day will be true (to a nicety): those whose scale (of good) will be heavy will prosper.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

whereas those whose weight is light in the balance - it is they who will have squandered their own selves by their wilful rejection of Our messages.⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "for that they were wont to act wrongfully with regard to Our messages".

and those whose scale is light, they shall find themselves in loss for they had done injustice to Our revelations.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But those whose scale is light, they have doomed themselves for wrongfully denying Our signs.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And as for those whose scale is light: those are they who lose their souls because they disbelieved Our revelations.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Those whose scale will be light will find their souls in perdition for that they wrongfully treated our signs.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

YEA, INDEED, [O men,] We have given you a [bountiful] place on earth, and appointed thereon means of livelihood for you: [yet] how seldom are you grateful!

  - Mohammad Asad

We are the One Who established you on earth, and provided you means of your sustenance therein: yet little it is that you pay thanks.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We have indeed established you on earth and provided you with a means of livelihood. 'Yet' you seldom give any thanks.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And We have given you (mankind) power in the earth, and appointed for you therein a livelihood. Little give ye thanks!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

It is We who have placed you with authority on earth and provided you therein with means for the fulfillment of your life: small are the thanks that ye give! ⁹⁹⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

That is, all the material things which are necessary to sustain, beautify, and refine life, as well as all those powers, faculties, and opportunities which are instrumental in bringing up life to a higher plane and preparing man for his high destiny.

Yea, indeed, We have created you, and then formed you;⁹ and then We said unto the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam!" - whereupon they [all] prostrated themselves, save Iblis: he was not among those who prostrated themselves.¹⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

The sequence of these two statements - "We have created you [i.e., "brought you into being as living organisms"] and then formed you" [or "given you your shape", i.e., as human beings] - is meant to bring out the fact of man's gradual development, in the individual sense, from the embryonic stage to full-fledged existence, as well as of the evolution of the human race as such.

As regards God's allegorical command to the angels to "prostrate themselves" before Adam, see {2:30-34}, and the corresponding notes. The reference to all mankind which precedes the story of Adam in this surah makes it clear that his name symbolizes, in this context, the whole human race. Western scholars usually take it for granted that the name "Iblis" is a corruption of the Greek word diabolos, from which the English "devil" is derived. There is, however, not the slightest evidence that the pre-Islamic Arabs borrowed this or any other mythological term from the Greeks - while, on the other hand, it is established that the Greeks derived a good deal of their mythological concepts (including various deities and their functions) from the much earlier South-Arabian civilization (cf. Encyclopaedia of Islam I, 379 f.). One may, therefore, assume with something approaching certainty that the Greek diabolos is a Hellenized form of the Arabic name for the Fallen Angel, which, in turn, is derived from the root-verb ablasa, "he despaired" or "gave up hope" or "became broken in spirit" (see Lane I, 248). The fact that the noun diabolos ("slanderer" - derived from the verb diaballein, "to throw [something] across") is of genuinely Greek origin does not, by itself, detract anything from this hypothesis: for it is conceivable that the Greeks, with their well-known tendency to Hellenize foreign names, identified the name "Iblls" with the, to them, much more familiar term diabolos. - As regards Iblis' statement, in the next verse, that he had been created "out of fire", see surah {38}, note [60].

Indeed We created you, then We fashioned you, then We asked the angels: "Prostrate yourselves before Adam." They all prostrated accordingly except Iblees (Shaitan) who did not join those who prostrated.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Surely We created you,¹ then shaped you, then said to the angels, 'Prostrate before Adam,' so they all did- but not Iblîs,² who refused to prostrate with the others.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 i.e., your father, Adam (ﷺ).

 See footnote for 2:34.

And We created you, then fashioned you, then told the angels: Fall ye prostrate before Adam! And they fell prostrate, all save Iblis, who was not of those who make prostration.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

It is We who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels bow down to Adam and they bowed down; not so Iblis; he refused to be of those who bow down. ^{996 997}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It was after Adam (as standing for all mankind) had been so taught that the angels were asked to prostrate to him, for, by Allah's grace, his status had actually been raised higher. Note the transition from "you" (plural) in the first clause to "Adam" in the second clause: Adam and mankind are synonymous: the plural is reverted to in vii. 14, 16-18.

Iblis not only refused to bow down: he refused to be of those who prostrated. In other words he arrogantly despised the angels who prostrated as well as man to whom they prostrated and he was in rebellion against Allah for not obeying His order. Arrogance, jealousy, and rebellion were his triple crime.

[And God] said: "What has kept thee from prostrating thyself when I commanded thee?" Answered [Iblis]: "I am better than he: Thou hast created me out of fire, whereas him Thou hast created out of clay."

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah said: "What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?" He replied: "I am better than he; you created me from fire and him from clay."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah asked, 'What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?' He replied, 'I am better than he is: You created me from fire and him from clay.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

He said: What hindered thee that thou didst not fall prostrate when I bade thee? (Iblis) said: I am better than him. Thou createdst me of fire while him Thou didst create of mud.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(Allah) said: "what prevented thee from bowing down when I commanded thee?" He said: "I am better than he: thou didst create me from fire and him from clay." ⁹⁹⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Notice the subtle wiles of Iblis: his egotism in putting himself above man, and his falsehood in ignoring the fact that Allah had not merely made man's body from clay, but had given him spiritual form,-in other words, had taught him the nature of things and raised him above the angels.

[God] said: "Down with thee, then, from this [state] - for it is not meet for thee to show arrogance here! Go forth, then: verily, among the humiliated shalt thou be!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah said: "Get down from here. You have no right to brag here of your superiority. Get out, henceforth you are of the petty ones."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah said, 'Then get down from Paradise! It is not for you to be arrogant here. So get out! You are truly one of the disgraced.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

He said: Then go down hence! It is not for thee to show pride here, so go forth! Lo! thou art of those degraded.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(Allah) said: "Get thee down from this: it is not for thee to be arrogant here: get out for thou art of the meanest (of creatures)." ⁹⁹⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The incident marks the externment of Iblis from the Garden owing to his rebelliousness born of arrogance.

Said [Iblis]: "Grant me a respite till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead."

  - Mohammad Asad

Shaitan requested: "Give me respite till the Day of Resurrection."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He appealed, 'Then delay my end until the Day of their resurrection.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

He said: Reprieve me till the day when they are raised (from the dead).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He said: "give me respite till the day they are raised up."

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

[And God] replied: "Verily, thou shalt be among those who are granted a respite."

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah said: "The respite you requested is hereby granted."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah said, 'You are delayed 'until the appointed Day'.'¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Satan asked to be allowed to live until humans are resurrected in order to escape death at the end of time. He was told he was going to live only until the time appointed by Allah Almighty.

He said: Lo! thou art of those reprieved.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(Allah) said: "be thou among those who have respite." ¹⁰⁰⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Are there others under respite? Yes, Iblis has a large army of wicked seducers, and those men who are their dupes. For though degradation takes effect at once, its appearance may be long delayed.

[Whereupon Iblis] said: "Now that Thou hast thwarted me,¹¹ I shall most certainly lie in ambush for them all along Thy straight way,

  - Mohammad Asad

Or: "allowed me to fall into error". The term aghwahu denotes both "he caused [or "allowed"] him to err" or "he caused him to be disappointed" or "to fail in attaining his desire" (cf. Lane VI, 2304f.). Since, in this case, the saying of Iblis refers to the loss of his erstwhile position among the angels, the rendering adopted by me seems to be the most appropriate.

Shaitan declared: "Since You let me deviate, now I will lie in ambush for mankind on Your Right Way.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said, 'For leaving me to stray I will lie in ambush for them on Your Straight Path.

  - Mustafa Khattab

He said : Now, because Thou hast sent me astray, verily I shall lurk in ambush for them on Thy Right Path.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He said: "because Thou hast thrown me out of the way lo! I will lie in wait for them on Thy straight way. ¹⁰⁰¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Another instance of Iblis's subtlety and falsehood. He waits till he gets the respite. Then he breaks out into a lie and impertinent defiance. The lie is in suggesting that Allah had thrown him out of the Way, in other words misled him: whereas his own conduct was responsible for his degradation. The defiance is in his setting snares on the Straight Way to which Allah directs men.

and shall most certainly fall upon them openly as well as in a manner beyond their ken,¹² and from their right and from their left: and most of them Thou wilt find ungrateful."

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "from between their hands and from behind them". Regarding this idiomatic expression and my rendering of it, see the similar phrase in 2:255 ("He knows all that lies open before men and all that is hidden from them"). The subsequent phrase "from their right and from their left" signifies "from all directions and by all possible means".

I Will come upon them from the front, from the rear, from the right, and from the left, and You will not find most of them to be grateful."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

I will approach them from their front, their back, their right, their left, and then You will find most of them ungrateful.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then I shall come upon them from before them and from behind them and from their right bands and from their left hands, and Thou wilt not find most of them beholden (unto Thee).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Then will I assault them from before them and behind them from their right and their left: nor wilt Thou find in most of them gratitude (for Thy mercies). ¹⁰⁰²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The assault of evil is from all sides. It takes advantage of every weak point, and sometimes even our good and generous sympathies are used to decoy us into the snares of evil. Man has every reason to be grateful to Allah for all His loving care and yet man in his folly forgets his gratitude and does the very opposite of what he should do.

[And God] said: "Go forth from here, disgraced and disowned! [And] as for such of them as follow thee - I will most certainly fill hell with you all!

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah said: "Get out from here, you despicable outcast; I will certainly fill hell with you and all of them who follow you."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah said, 'Get out of Paradise! You are disgraced and rejected! I will certainly fill up Hell with you and your followers all together.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

He said: Go forth from hence, degraded, banished. As for such of them as follow thee, surely I will fill hell with all of you.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(Allah) said: "Get out from this disgraced and expelled. If any of them follow thee hell will I fill with you all.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And [as for thee], O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in this garden, and eat, both of you, whatever you may wish; but do not approach this one tree, lest you become evildoers!"¹³

  - Mohammad Asad

See 2:35 and 20:120 , as well as the corresponding notes.

Allah said: "O Adam! Dwell with your wife in paradise and eat any fruit you please; but never approach this tree or you shall both become wrongdoers."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'Allah said,' 'O Adam! Live with your wife in Paradise and eat from wherever you please, but do not approach this tree, or else you will be wrongdoers.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

And (unto man): O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden and eat from whence ye will, but come not nigh this tree lest ye become wrong-doers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the garden and enjoy (its good things) as ye wish: but approach not this tree or ye run into harm and transgression." ^{1003 1004}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Now the story turns to man. He was placed in the Garden of comfort and bliss, but it was Allah's Plan to give him a limited faculty of choice. All that he was forbidden to do was to approach the Tree, but he succumbed to Satan's suggestions.

Enjoy: literally, "eat." Cf. the meaning of ta'ama in vi, 14, n. 847 and akala in v. 66, n. 776.

Thereupon Satan whispered unto the two with a view to making them conscious of their nakedness of which [hitherto] they had been unaware;¹⁴ and he said: "Your Sustainer has but forbidden you this tree lest you two become [as] angels, or lest you live forever."¹⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "so as to make manifest to them that of their nakedness which [hitherto] had been imperceptible to them": an allegory of the state of innocence in which man lived before his fall from grace - that is, before his consciousness made him aware of himself and of the possibility of choosing between alternative courses of action, with all the attending temptations towards evil and the misery which must follow a wrong choice.

Lit., "or [lest] you become of those who are enduring": thus instilling in them the desire to live forever and to become, in this respect, like God. See note [106] on 20:120 .

But Shaitan tempted them so that he might reveal to them the private parts of their bodies which they had never seen before. He told them: "Your Rabb has forbidden you to approach this tree only to prevent you from becoming angels or immortals."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then Satan tempted them in order to expose what was hidden of their nakedness. He said, 'Your Lord has forbidden this tree to you only to prevent you from becoming angels or immortals.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then Satan whispered to them that he might manifest unto them that which was hidden from them of their shame, and he said: Your Lord forbade you from this tree only lest ye should become angels or become of the immortals.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Then began satan to whisper suggestions to them bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said "Your Lord only forbade you this tree lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever." ^{1005 1006}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The transition from the name "Iblis" to the name "Satan" is similar to that in ii. 36, where it is explained in n. 52.

Our first parents as created by Allah (and this applies to all of us) were innocent in matters material as well as spiritual. They knew no evil. But the faculty of choice, which was given to them and which raised them above the angels, also implied that they had the capacity of evil, which by the training of their own will, they were to reject. They were warned of the danger. When they fell, they realised the evil. They were (and we are) still given the chance, in this life on a lower plane, to make good and recover the lost status of innocence and bliss.