7:100 Al-A'raaf (The Heights)

يقول تعالى منبها للأمم الغابرين بعد هلاك الأمم الغابرين { أَوَ لَمْ يَهْدِ لِلَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْأَرْضَ مِنْ بَعْدِ أَهْلِهَا أَنْ لَوْ نَشَاءُ أَصَبْنَاهُمْ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ ْ} أي: أو لم يتبين ويتضح للأمم الذين ورثوا الأرض، بعد إهلاك من قبلهم بذنوبهم، ثم عملوا كأعمال أولئك المهلكين؟. أو لم يهتدوا أن اللّه، لو شاء لأصابهم بذنوبهم، فإن هذه سنته في الأولين والآخرين. وقوله: { وَنَطْبَعُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ ْ} أي: إذا نبههم اللّه فلم ينتبهوا، وذكرهم فلم يتذكروا، وهداهم بالآيات والعبر فلم يهتدوا، فإن اللّه تعالى يعاقبهم ويطبع على قلوبهم، فيعلوها الران والدنس، حتى يختم عليها، فلا يدخلها حق، ولا يصل إليها خير، ولا يسمعون ما ينفعهم، وإنما يسمعون ما به تقوم الحجة عليهم.

قال ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما في قوله "أو لم يهد للذين يرثون الأرض من بعد أهلها" أو لم يتبين لهم أن لو نشاء أصبناهم بذنوبهم". وكذا قال مجاهد وغيره وقال أبو جعفر بن جرير في تفسيرها يقول تعالى أو لم يتبين للذين يستخلفون في الأرض من بعد إهلاك آخرين قبلهم كانوا أهلها فساروا سيرتهم وعملوا أعمالهم وعتوا على ربهم "أن لو نشاء أصبناهم بذنوبهم" يقول أن لو نشاء فعلنا بهم كما فعلنا بمن قبلهم "ونطبع على قلوبهم" يقول ونختم على قلوبهم "فهم لا يسمعون" موعظة ولا تذكيرا "قلت" وهكذا قال تعالى "أفلم يهد لهم كم أهلكنا قبلهم من القرون يمشون في مساكنهم إن في ذلك لآيات لأولي النهي" وقال تعالي "أو لم يهد لهم كم أهلكنا من قبلهم من القرون يمشون في مساكنهم إن في ذلك لآيات أفلا يسمعون" وقال "أو لم تكونوا أقسمتم من قبل ما لكم من زوال وسكنتم في مساكن الذين ظلموا أنفسهم" الآية وقال تعالى "وكم أهلكنا قبلهم من قرن هل تحس منهم من أحد أو تسمع لهم ركزا" أي هل ترى لهم شخصا أو تسمع لهم صوتا وقال تعالى "أو لم يروا كم أهلكنا من قبلهم من قرن مكناهم في الأرض ما لم نمكن لكم وأرسلنا السماء عليهم مدرارا وجعلنا الأنهار تجري من تحتهم فأهلكناهم بذنوبهم وأنشأنا من بعدهم قرنا آخرين" وقال تعالى بعد ذكره إهلاك عاد "فأصبحوا لا يرى إلا مساكنهم كذلك نجزي القوم المجرمين ولقد مكناهم فيما إن مكناكم فيه وجعلنا لهم سمعا وأبصارا وأفئدة فما أغنى عنهم سمعهم ولا أبصارهم ولا أفئدتهم من شيء إذ كانوا يجحدون بآيات الله وحاق بهم ما كانوا به يستهزئون ولقد أهلكنا ما حولكم من القرى وصرفنا الآيات لعلهم يرجعون" وقال تعالى "وكذب الذين من قبلهم وما بلغوا معشار ما آتيناهم فكذبوا رسلي فكيف كان نكير" وقال تعالى "ولقد كذب الذين من قبلهم فكيف كان نكير" وقال تعالى "فكأين من قرية أهلكناها وهي ظالمة فهي خاوية على عروشها وبئر معطلة وقصر مشيد أفلم يسيروا في الأرض فتكون لهم قلوب يعقلون بها أو آذان يسمعون بها فإنها لا تعمى الأبصار ولكن تعمى القلوب التي في الصدور" وقال تعالى "ولقد استهزئ برسل من قبلك فحاق بالذين سخروا منهم ما كانوا به يستهزئون" إلى غير ذلك من الآيات الدالة على حلول نقمه بأعدائه وحصول نعمه لأوليائه ولهذا عقب ذلك بقوله وهو أصدق القائلين ورب العالمين.

Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah's statement,

أَوَلَمْ يَهْدِ لِلَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الأَرْضَ مِن بَعْدِ أَهْلِهَآ

(Is it not a guidance for those who inherit the earth from its previous inhabitants. ..) "(Allah says,) did We not make clear to them that had We willed, We would have punished them because of their sins" Mujahid and several others said similarly. Abu Ja`far bin Jarir At-Tabari explained this Ayah, "Allah says, `Did We not make clear to those who succeeded on the earth after destroying the previous nations who used to dwell in that land. Then they followed their own ways, and behaved as they did and were unruly with their Lord. Did We not make clear to them that,

أَن لَّوْ نَشَآءُ أَصَبْنَـهُمْ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ

(that had We willed, We would have punished them for their sins.) by bringing them the same end that was decreed for those before them,

وَنَطْبَعُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ

(And We seal up their hearts), We place a cover over their heart,

فَهُمْ لاَ يَسْمَعُونَ

(so that they hear not), words of advice or reminding"' I say that similarly, Allah said,

أَفَلَمْ يَهْدِ لَهُمْ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُمْ مِّنَ الْقُرُونِ يَمْشُونَ فِى مَسَـكِنِهِمْ إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لأَيَـتٍ لاٌّوْلِى النُّهَى

(Is it not a guidance for them: how many generations We have destroyed before them, in whose dwellings they walk Verily, in this are signs indeed for men of understanding.) 20:128

أَوَلَمْ يَهْدِ لَهُمْ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِمْ مِّنَ الْقُرُونِ يَمْشُونَ فِى مَسَاكِنِهِمْ إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لاّيَاتٍ أَفَلاَ يَسْمَعُونَ

(Is it not a guidance for them: how many generations We have destroyed before them in whose dwellings they do walk about Verily, therein indeed are signs. Would they not then listen) 32:26 and,

أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُواْ أَقْسَمْتُمْ مِّن قَبْلُ مَا لَكُمْ مِّن زَوَالٍوَسَكَنتُمْ فِى مَسَـكِنِ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ

(Had you not sworn aforetime that you would not leave (the world for the Hereafter). And you dwelt in the dwellings of men who wronged themselves)14:44-45 Also, Allah said,

وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُمْ مِّن قَرْنٍ هَلْ تُحِسُّ مِنْهُمْ مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَوْ تَسْمَعُ لَهُمْ رِكْزاً

(And how many a generation before them have We destroyed! Can you find a single one of them or hear even a whisper of them) 19:98 meaning, do you see any of them or hear their voices There are many other Ayat that testify that Allah's torment strikes His enemies, while His bounty reaches His faithful believers. Thereafter comes Allah's statement, and He is the Most Truthful, the Lord of all that exists,

Has it not been shown has it not become clear to those who inherit the earth as a place of habitation after the destruction of those who inhabited it that an is the softened form and constitutes the subject of the verb its noun having been omitted in other words understand it as annahu if We will We could smite them with chastisement for their sins? as We smote those before them? the hamza in the four instances are meant to indicate rebuke and the particles fa ‘so’ and wa ‘and’ which have been inserted in two instances each are meant to indicate a supplement; a variant reading for a-wa-amina has aw amina ‘or do they feel secure’ in the second instance as a supplement. And We seal up their hearts so that they do not hear the admonition in a way so as to reflect.

After relating events of the early people, the above verses invite the people of Arabia and the people of the world to take lesson from these events by abstaining from deeds that incurred Allah's wrath, and by following the practices that led the prophets and their believers to eternal success. The verse 100 speaks " Is it not a guidance to those who inherit the land after it's (former) inhabitants that, if We so will, We would afflict them for their sins?" The word ھَدٰی۔ یَھدِی signifies to guide or to inform. The events narrated above have been made the subject of the verb (guide) یَھدِ. The verse implies that these events should serve as a lesson and a means of guidance for later generations who have inherited the land from their earlier owners. They too, can incur the punishment of Allah for their disbelief just as their ancestors met the fate of ruin and disaster for their disobedience.

Thereafter, the verse says:

وَنَطْبَعُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ

"And We seal their hearts so that they do not listen"

The word: طبع is used for printing or stamping. It implies that these people have taken no lesson from the past events with the result that they incurred the wrath of Allah making their hearts sealed. They are, therefore, unable to listen to the truth. The Holy Prophet g said in a Tradition: When one commits sin for the first time a black dot is placed on his heart, if he keeps committing sins for the second and third times the second and third dots are placed. If one increases in his sins without repenting to Allah, these black spots keep increasing until the whole heart is painted black." This ultimately deprives man of his natural faculty of distinguishing right from wrong. This, consequently, leads one to receive evil as good and good as evil, harmful as useful and useful as harmful.

This perversion of human understanding has been termed in the Holy Qur'an as ' ra'n' signifying the rust of the heart. In this verse, as in many other verses of the Holy Qur'an, this stage has been named as 'taba". The result of their hearts being sealed has been mentioned at the end of the verse by saying (لَا يَسْمَعُونَ ) "so that they do not listen". One may think that more appropriate expression in this context was (S' ) they do not understand" as the adverse effect of sealing, of فَهُمْ لَا يَفقھُونَ the heart is obviously related to the faculty of understanding and not to the listening. The Holy Qur'an has used the word 'listen' to indicate that understanding is usually the result of listening to the truth. Now, since their hearts have been sealed they are rendered unable to listening the truth. Another explanation to this may be that all human faculties and limbs are controlled by human heart, that is, the function of all human parts is adversely affected by malfunctioning of the heart. When one loves anyone or anything he likes everything - good or bad - in that person or object.