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Surah 7 · Makkah · 206 āyāt
Phase 02 · Going public — and the persecution(c. 10–8 BH) — view in timelineAl-AʿrāfThe Heights
الأعراف
A long Makkan surah, 39th to be revealed, that opens with the covenant broken by Iblīs and Ādam's fall, then runs through the histories of Nūḥ, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Lūṭ, Shuʿayb and Mūsā — each prophet sent to a nation that denied him and was seized. Woven through the stories is the primordial covenant taken from every soul of the children of Ādam, and the surah is named for al-Aʿrāf, the heights between Paradise and the Fire where a group whose good and evil are balanced wait, recognising the people of both abodes by their faces before Allah admits them by His mercy. It closes by turning from these ancient nations back to the listener: remember your Lord, do not tire of calling to Him, and prostrate.
Why it was revealed
Revealed as Quraysh persisted in shirk and mockery despite the Prophet's ﷺ warnings, at a time when the Makkan surahs increasingly used the fate of destroyed nations — ʿĀd, Thamūd, the people of Lūṭ and of Madyan — as a warning to a Quraysh that saw itself as untouchable.
Drawn fromIbn Kathīr on 7:206 (also cited among the verses of prostration, sujūd al-tilāwah, per Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 578 on the Prophet's ﷺ practice of prostrating upon reciting verses of sajdah); Sunan al-Tirmidhī (3075); al-Qurṭubī on 7:59; al-Ṭabarī on 7:46 (reports on who they are vary and none is decisively authenticated); al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān on 7:16; al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān, introduction to Sūrat al-Aʿrāf; Ibn Kathīr on 7:11–17; Ibn Kathīr on 7:172; Ibn Kathīr on 7:46–49; Ibn Kathīr, general introduction to the stories of 7:59–93; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, introduction to Sūrat al-Aʿrāf
There is no single authentic occasion-of-revelation narration establishing when the whole of al-Aʿrāf was sent down; classical exegetes place it among the Makkan surahs revealed as a connected unit with al-Anʿām, addressing the same disbelief with the same method — narrating the destruction of earlier nations as a mirror for Quraysh. Where a specific report exists for a particular passage, it is cited under that passage below; no fabricated narration is used to fill the gaps.
Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, introduction to Sūrat al-Aʿrāf; al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān, introduction to Sūrat al-Aʿrāf
In the Prophet's ﷺ life
The covenant with Ādam's progeny
Allah drew out from the loins of Ādam's descendants their offspring and made them testify against themselves, 'Am I not your Lord?' so that no one could claim ignorance on the Day of Judgement.
Recalled in āyah 172, 173
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَآ ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَـٰفِلِينَ
And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware."
- Madd — 2 vowels
- Madd — 2, 4 or 6 vowels
- Madd — 6 vowels (lāzim)
- Madd — 4 or 5 vowels (wājib)
- Ghunnah — 2 vowels
- Qalqalah
- Ikhfāʾ
- Ikhfāʾ shafawī
- Idghām shafawī
- Idghām with ghunnah
- Idghām without ghunnah
- Idghām mutajānisayn
- Idghām mutaqāribayn
- Iqlāb
- Hamzat al-waṣl
- Lām shamsiyyah
- Silent letter
Tajwīd markup and colour convention: Quran.com API (v4) — text_uthmani_tajweed. Recitation audio: Quran.com / Quran Foundation Audio API (v4).
The covenant, the fall, and the enemy who declared war
Allah created Ādam, commanded the angels to prostrate, and Iblīs refused out of arrogance, claiming fire is nobler than clay. Cast out, he vowed to waylay Ādam's children from every direction. He then whispered to Ādam and Ḥawwāʾ over the forbidden tree; when they fell they immediately turned in repentance, and were told to descend to the earth as enemies to one another.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَـٰكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِـَٔادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُن مِّنَ ٱلسَّـٰجِدِينَ
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And We have certainly created you, [O mankind], and given you [human] form. Then We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam"; so they prostrated, except for Iblees. He was not of those who prostrated.
قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلَّا تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ ۖ قَالَ أَنَا۠ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِى مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُۥ مِن طِينٍ
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[Allāh] said, "What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?" [Satan] said, "I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay [i.e., earth]."
ثُمَّ لَـَٔاتِيَنَّهُم مِّنۢ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ أَيْمَـٰنِهِمْ وَعَن شَمَآئِلِهِمْ ۖ وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَـٰكِرِينَ
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Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You]."
قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَآ أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ
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They said, "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers."
From the tafsīr
Iblīs's argument — 'I am better than him; You created me from fire and created him from clay' — is the first instance of qiyās (analogy) used to oppose a command of Allah, and it is rejected because it contradicts an explicit text.
Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
'I will surely come to them from before them and behind them and on their right and on their left' (7:17) is read as the four directions from which Shayṭān approaches: doubt about the Hereafter, desire for this world, sins of the right (religion) and sins of the left (worldly matters) — a summary drawn from earlier commentators, not a fixed textual division.
Cited toAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān
Ādam and Ḥawwāʾ's response upon falling — 'Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves' (7:23) — is contrasted by exegetes with Iblīs's refusal to admit fault; the difference between the two is precisely repentance.
Cited toIbn Kathīr
Key takeaways
- Arrogance that argues with a clear command of Allah, even with apparent logic, is the root of Iblīs's fall.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
- Iblīs's enmity is declared, comprehensive and openly stated in the Qur'an itself — it is not a secret to be discovered later.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
- The difference between Iblīs and Ādam after their errors is not the mistake but the response: one blamed, the other repented.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
Reflect
From which of the four directions — doubt, desire, apparent piety, or worldly distraction — has waswasah most recently reached you?
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Question 1 of 2
How did Ādam and Ḥawwāʾ respond after eating from the tree, according to 7:23?
Question 2 of 2
What was Iblīs's stated reason for refusing to prostrate to Ādam?
Adornment, lawful provision, and the forbidden speech against Allah
Allah reminds the children of Ādam that He sent down clothing to cover their private parts and as adornment, and that the best garment is taqwā. He commands beauty at every place of prayer, permits eating and drinking without excess, and asks who has forbidden the adornment and provisions Allah brought forth for His servants. Āyah 33 then lists what is truly forbidden: shameful acts, sin, transgression, associating partners with Allah without authority, and saying about Allah what you do not know.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ قَدْ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًا يُوَٰرِى سَوْءَٰتِكُمْ وَرِيشًا ۖ وَلِبَاسُ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ
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O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of righteousness - that is best. That is from the signs of Allāh that perhaps they will remember.
قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّىَ ٱلْفَوَٰحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَٱلْإِثْمَ وَٱلْبَغْىَ بِغَيْرِ ٱلْحَقِّ وَأَن تُشْرِكُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِۦ سُلْطَـٰنًا وَأَن تَقُولُوا۟ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
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Say, "My Lord has only forbidden immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed - and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with Allāh that for which He has not sent down authority, and that you say about Allāh that which you do not know."
From the tafsīr
'Garment of taqwā' is explained by the salaf variously as good deeds, modesty, or fear of Allah that clothes a person's inward state as physical garments clothe the body — the best of the two kinds of covering named in 7:26.
Cited toIbn Kathīr
7:31–32 was revealed in part against Arabs of the Jāhiliyyah who circled the Kaʿbah unclothed and denied themselves good food as an act of asceticism; the āyah rejects both extremes — indecency and self-imposed deprivation of what Allah made lawful.
Cited toAl-Qurṭubī
Key takeaways
- Modesty and beauty at prayer are both commanded together, not set against each other.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
- Declaring something Allah has permitted to be forbidden is itself named among the gravest transgressions in 7:33, alongside shirk.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
- The 'garment of taqwā' reframes clothing itself as a sign pointing to an inward reality.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
Reflect
Where might you be treating a permitted provision as though it were forbidden, or the reverse, without real basis?
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Question 1 of 2
What garment does 7:26 call best?
Question 2 of 2
What is listed as forbidden together with indecency and associating partners with Allah in 7:33?
Nūḥ, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Lūṭ and Shuʿayb: the same call, the same denial
Five prophets are shown one after another, each opening with the same formula — 'sent to their people, saying: O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him' — and each people responding with rejection: accusing Nūḥ of clear error, Hūd's people of arrogance over ʿĀd's strength, Ṣāliḥ's people hamstringing the she-camel, Lūṭ's people persisting in an act 'none in the worlds had done before', and Shuʿayb's people cheating the scale while threatening to expel him. Each nation was then seized by a shaking or a cry.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Ibn Kathīr
لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦ فَقَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥٓ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ
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We had certainly sent Noah to his people, and he said, "O my people, worship Allāh; you have no deity other than Him. Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous Day."
وَإِلَىٰ مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا ۗ قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥ ۖ قَدْ جَآءَتْكُم بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ فَأَوْفُوا۟ ٱلْكَيْلَ وَٱلْمِيزَانَ وَلَا تَبْخَسُوا۟ ٱلنَّاسَ أَشْيَآءَهُمْ وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَـٰحِهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
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And to [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shuʿayb. He said, "O my people, worship Allāh; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. So fulfill the measure and weight and do not deprive people of their due and cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation. That is better for you, if you should be believers.
From the tafsīr
The repetition of the same opening phrase for each prophet — 'yā qawmi uʿbudū Allāh mā lakum min ilāhin ghayruh' — establishes that tawḥīd, not any secondary law, was the single unchanging message of every messenger.
Cited toIbn Kathīr
On 7:80–84, the sin of Lūṭ's people is described as unprecedented among the nations ('mā sabaqakum bihā min aḥadin min al-ʿālamīn'), and their punishment — a rain of stones and being overturned — is drawn from the fuller account in Sūrat Hūd and al-Ḥijr.
Cited toAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān
Shuʿayb's people are condemned specifically for cheating in weight and measure (7:85) — an economic sin placed on the same level as the others' major transgressions, showing that dishonesty in trade is treated with equal seriousness.
Cited toIbn Kathīr
Key takeaways
- Every prophet in this passage begins with the identical call to worship Allah alone — the core message never varied across nations.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Ibn Kathīr
- The response pattern also repeats: warning, rejection, then the community's chosen sin becomes the specific description of their crime.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Ibn Kathīr
- Cheating in trade (Shuʿayb's people) is placed in the same series of destroyed nations as those guilty of far graver-seeming transgressions.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Ibn Kathīr
Reflect
Which of these five sins — denial through arrogance, defying a clear sign, unprecedented indecency, or dishonest dealing — is most normalised around you today?
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Question 1 of 2
What opening call is shared by Nūḥ, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Lūṭ, and Shuʿayb in this passage?
Question 2 of 2
What specific wrongdoing is Shuʿayb's people condemned for in 7:85?
Mūsā, Firʿawn, and the sorcerers who fell in sujūd
Mūsā is sent to Firʿawn and his chiefs with clear signs — the staff and his shining hand — and Firʿawn dismisses him as a skilled magician, gathering his own sorcerers to compete. When the sorcerers see Mūsā's staff overtake their ropes, they fall down in sujūd immediately, declaring belief in the Lord of the worlds despite Firʿawn's threats of crucifixion. The passage closes with the Children of Isrāʾīl inheriting the land after Firʿawn's people were destroyed.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
وَأُلْقِىَ ٱلسَّحَرَةُ سَـٰجِدِينَ
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And the magicians fell down in prostration [to Allāh].
قَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِرَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
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They said, "We have believed in the Lord of the worlds,
From the tafsīr
The sorcerers' instant sujūd upon witnessing the truth (7:120) is cited as one of the clearest Qur'anic examples of sincere faith overturning a lifetime's worldly investment in a single moment, since they had come that morning hoping for Firʿawn's reward.
Cited toIbn Kathīr
Firʿawn's threat in 7:124 — cutting off hands and feet from opposite sides and crucifixion — is the same penalty later prescribed in the Qur'an for ḥirābah (waging war against society, 5:33), noted by commentators as an early instance of this form of punishment in Qur'anic narrative.
Cited toAl-Qurṭubī
Key takeaways
- Firʿawn's court called Mūsā's miracle 'clear magic' — dismissing a sign as trickery is an old response to prophecy, not a modern one.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
- The sorcerers, who had the most technical expertise to judge what they saw, were the first to recognise it was not magic.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
- Sincere belief can arrive suddenly, even in people who set out that day with the opposite intention.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
Reflect
The sorcerers changed their entire life's direction the instant they recognised truth — what would it cost you to do the same today?
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Question 1 of 2
What was the sorcerers' reaction to Mūsā's sign?
Question 2 of 2
What punishment did Firʿawn threaten in 7:124?
The primordial covenant, the heights, and the closing call
Allah recalls the covenant taken from the loins of Ādam's children, making them testify 'Am I not your Lord?' so none could plead ignorance on the Day of Judgement. The surah warns that many were created for the Fire, having hearts, eyes and ears they do not use to understand, and describes the people of al-Aʿrāf on the heights between the two abodes. It ends with practical commands: take to forgiveness, enjoin what is right, turn from the ignorant, and remember your Lord within yourself humbly, not loudly — closing with the angels who never tire of glorifying Him, and a call to prostrate.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, on 7:46–49; Ibn Kathīr, on 7:172; Ibn Kathīr, on 7:199
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَآ ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَـٰفِلِينَ
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And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware."
خُذِ ٱلْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِٱلْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ ٱلْجَـٰهِلِينَ
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Take what is given freely, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant.
وَٱذْكُر رَّبَّكَ فِى نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعًا وَخِيفَةً وَدُونَ ٱلْجَهْرِ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْلِ بِٱلْغُدُوِّ وَٱلْـَٔاصَالِ وَلَا تَكُن مِّنَ ٱلْغَـٰفِلِينَ
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And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and in fear without being apparent in speech - in the mornings and the evenings. And do not be among the heedless.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِۦ وَيُسَبِّحُونَهُۥ وَلَهُۥ يَسْجُدُونَ ۩
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Indeed, those who are near your Lord [i.e., the angels] are not prevented by arrogance from His worship, and they exalt Him, and to Him they prostrate.
From the tafsīr
The covenant is understood by most exegetes as an actual event in which Allah extracted the offspring of Ādam and made each testify to His lordship, per the report in Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī (3076) narrated through Abū Hurayrah; some scholars read it instead as a metaphor for the innate disposition (fiṭrah) placed in every human being — both readings are held by different exegetes, and neither should be presented as the sole view.
Cited toIbn Kathīr, on 7:172
Reports differ on who exactly stands upon al-Aʿrāf — some say those whose good and bad deeds are equal, others mention groups such as martyrs who fell short in some matter; al-Ṭabarī notes no single report is decisively established, so the identity is stated with appropriate caution.
Cited toAl-Ṭabarī, on 7:46–49
'Take to forgiveness, enjoin what is right, and turn away from the ignorant' is described as one of the most comprehensive verses of good character in the Qur'an, reportedly commented on by the Prophet ﷺ's companions as covering how to deal with people in every difficult situation.
Cited toIbn Kathīr, on 7:199
Key takeaways
- The covenant of 7:172 removes the excuse of 'we were unaware' from every human being on the Day of Judgement.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, on 7:46–49; Ibn Kathīr, on 7:172; Ibn Kathīr, on 7:199
- Possessing hearts, eyes and ears is not the same as using them — the surah measures people by whether their faculties are actually put to use in understanding truth.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, on 7:46–49; Ibn Kathīr, on 7:172; Ibn Kathīr, on 7:199
- The surah's final instruction is not another story but a method: forgive, enjoin good, disengage from the ignorant, and remember Allah quietly and constantly.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, on 7:46–49; Ibn Kathīr, on 7:172; Ibn Kathīr, on 7:199
Reflect
Which of the three commands in 7:199 — forgiving, enjoining good, or turning from the ignorant — do you most need to practise today?
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Question 1 of 2
Why does 7:172 say Allah took testimony from Ādam's offspring?
Question 2 of 2
According to 7:199, what three things are commanded together as a method of dealing with people?
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Roots from this surah
Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.
س ج د
āyāt 11, 12, 120, 206to prostrate, to bow the face to the ground in submission
- سَجَدَhe prostrated
- سُجُودprostration
- مَسْجِدmosque, place of prostration
ع ب د
āyāt 59, 65, 73, 85, 206to worship, to serve as a slave serves a master
- عَبْدservant, slave
- عِبَادَةworship
- مَعْبُودthe one worshipped
ذ ك ر
āyāt 205to remember, to mention, to keep present in the heart
- ذِكْرremembrance
- تَذْكِرَةreminder
- ذَاكِرone who remembers
ظ ل م
āyāt 23to wrong, to place something not in its rightful place
- ظُلْمwrongdoing, injustice
- ظَالِمwrongdoer
- ظَلَامdarkness
غ ف ر
āyāt 23, 199to cover, to forgive, to shield from consequence
- غُفْرَانforgiveness
- مَغْفِرَةpardon
- غَفُورthe Oft-Forgiving
ش ه د
āyāt 172to witness, to testify, to be present and observe
- شَهِدhe testified
- شَهَادَةtestimony
- شَاهِدwitness
ك ب ر
āyāt 13, 36, 76, 206to be great; in negative form, to be arrogant, to consider oneself too great
- كَبِيرgreat
- ٱسْتَكْبَرَhe was arrogant, considered himself above
- تَكَبُّرarrogance
ل ب س
āyāt 26, 27, 32to clothe, to cover the body
- لِبَاسclothing
- لَبِسَhe wore, put on
- مَلْبَسgarment, attire
Carry this with you
- Iblīs's fall began with an argument against a clear command, not with an intellectual mistake.
- The difference between the one who falls and recovers and the one who falls and refuses to repent is the response, not the error itself.
- Iblīs's enmity toward humanity is declared openly in the Qur'an, from every direction — it should never be treated as a surprise.
- Every prophet in this surah opens with the identical call: worship Allah alone. The core message of prophethood never changed.
- Cheating in trade (Shuʿayb's people) sits in the same list of nation-ending sins as the gravest transgressions of other peoples.
- The sorcerers who fell in sujūd show that sincere faith can overturn a lifetime's plans in a single moment of recognition.
- The covenant in 7:172 means no soul may claim, on the Day of Judgement, that it was truly unaware of its Lord.
- The surah's final instruction is a method for living, not another story: forgive, enjoin good, disengage from the ignorant, and remember Allah quietly and often.
Where this surah connects
Cross-surah threads
Parts of the Qurʾān explain other parts. Each thread below opens the same subject as it is argued across every other surah you have studied, in revelation order.
Sources behind Sūrah Al-Aʿrāf
Every line of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these references. Ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com and āyah references open on quran.com, so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust. The Arabic text itself is fetched live from a verified public corpus.
Ḥadīth3
Tafsīr27
- Al-Qurṭubī
- Al-Qurṭubī on 7:124
- al-Qurṭubī on 7:33
- al-Qurṭubī on 7:59
- Al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān
- al-Ṭabarī on 7:46 (reports on who they are vary and none is decisively authenticated)
- Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān
- al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān on 7:16
- al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān, introduction to Sūrat al-Aʿrāf
- Al-Ṭabarī, on 7:46–49
- Ibn Kathīr
- Ibn Kathīr on 7:11–17
- Ibn Kathīr on 7:12
- Ibn Kathīr on 7:120–122
- Ibn Kathīr on 7:172
- Ibn Kathīr on 7:199
- Ibn Kathīr on 7:23
- Ibn Kathīr on 7:26
- Ibn Kathīr on 7:33
- Ibn Kathīr on 7:46–49
- Ibn Kathīr on 7:59, 65, 73, 85
- Ibn Kathīr on 7:85
- Ibn Kathīr, general introduction to the stories of 7:59–93
- Ibn Kathīr, on 7:172
- Ibn Kathīr, on 7:199
- Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
- Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, introduction to Sūrat al-Aʿrāf
Full exam — the whole surah, from memory
Every question from every theme, interleaved and reworded. Interleaving is what turns recognition into recall. Each answer updates your review schedule, your mistakes list and your mastery score for that theme.
Al-Aʿrāf — full exam
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10 questions across 5 themes.
Al-Aʿrāf · Nūḥ, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Lūṭ and Shuʿayb: the same call, the same denial
What message is repeated identically for each of the five prophets?
Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol