7:175 Al-A'raaf (The Heights)

يقول تعالى لنبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم: وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ الَّذِي آتَيْنَاهُ آيَاتِنَا أي: علمناه كتاب اللّه، فصار العالم الكبير والحبر النحرير. فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْهَا فَأَتْبَعَهُ الشَّيْطَانُ أي: انسلخ من الاتصاف الحقيقي بالعلم بآيات اللّه، فإن العلم بذلك، يصير صاحبه متصفا بمكارم الأخلاق ومحاسن الأعمال، ويرقى إلى أعلى الدرجات وأرفع المقامات، فترك هذا كتاب اللّه وراء ظهره، ونبذ الأخلاق التي يأمر بها الكتاب، وخلعها كما يخلع اللباس. فلما انسلخ منها أتبعه الشيطان، أي: تسلط عليه حين خرج من الحصن الحصين، وصار إلى أسفل سافلين، فأزه إلى المعاصي أزا. فَكَانَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ بعد أن كان من الراشدين المرشدين.

قال عبدالرزاق عن سفيان الثوري عن الأعمش ومنصور عن أبي الضحى عن مسروق عن عبدالله بن مسعود رضي الله عنه في قوله تعالى "واتل عليهم نبأ الذي آتيناه آياتنا فانسلخ منها" الآية قال هو رجل من بني إسرائيل يقال له بلعم بن باعوراء وكذا رواه شعبة وغير واحد عن منصور به. وقال سعيد بن أبي عروبة عن قتادة عن ابن عباس هو صيفي بن الراهب. قال قتادة وقال كعب: كان رجلا من أهل البلقاء وكان يعلم الاسم الأكبر وكان مقيما ببيت المقدس مع الجبارين وقال العوفي عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنه وهو رجل من أهل اليمن يقال له بلعم آتاه الله آياته فتركها وقال مالك بن دينار كان من علماء بني إسرائيل وكان مجاب الدعوة يقدمونه في الشدائد بعثه نبي الله موسى عليه السلام إلى ملك مدين يدعوه إلى الله فأقطعه وأعطاه فتبع دينه وترك دين موسى عليه السلام. وقال سفيان بن عيينة عن حصين عن عمران بن الحارث عن ابن عباس هو بلعم بن باعوراء وكذا قال مجاهد وعكرمة وقال ابن جرير: حدثني الحارث حدثنا عبدالعزيز حدثنا إسرائيل عن مغيرة عن مجاهد عن ابن عباس قال هو بلعام وقالت ثقيف هو أمية بن أبي الصلت وقال شعبة عن يعلى بن عطاء عن نافع بن عاصم عن عبدالله بن عمرو في قوله "واتل عليهم نبأ الذي آتيناه آياتنا" الآية. قال هو صاحبكم أمية بن أبي الصلت وقد روي من غير وجه عنه وهو صحيح إليه وكأنه إنما أراد أن أمية بن أبي الصلت يشبهه فإنه كان قد اتصل إليه علم كثير من علم الشرائع المتقدمة ولكنه لم ينتفع بعلمه فإنه أدرك زمان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وبلغته أعلامه وآياته ومعجزاته وظهرت لكل من له بصيرة ومع هذا اجتمع به ولم يتبعه وصار إلى موالاة المشركين ومناصرتهم وامتداحهم ورثى أهل بدر من المشركين بمرثاة بليغة قبحه الله. وقد جاء في بعض الأحاديث أنه ممن آمن لسانه ولم يؤمن قلبه فإن له أشعارا ربانية وحكما وفصاحة ولكنه لم يشرح الله صدره للإسلام. وقال ابن أبي حاتم: حدثنا أبي حدثنا ابن أبي نمر حدثنا سفيان عن أبي سعيد الأعور عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس في قوله "واتل عليهم نبا الذي آتيناه آياتنا فانسلخ منها" قال هو رجل أعطي ثلاث دعوات يستجاب له فيهن وكانت له امرأة له منها ولد فقالت اجعل لي منها واحدة قال فلك واحدة فما الذي تريدين؟ قالت ادع الله أن يجعلني أجمل امرأة في بني إسرائيل فدعا الله فجعلها أجمل امرأة في بني إسرائيل فلما علمت أن ليس فيهم مثلها رغبت عنه وأرادت شيئا آخر فدعا الله أن يجعلها كلبة فصارت كلبة فذهبت دعوتان فجاء بنوها فقالوا ليس بنا على هذا قرار قد صارت أمنا كلبة يعيرنا الناس بها فادع الله أن يردها إلى الحال التي كانت عليها فدعا الله فعادت كما كانت وذهبت الدعوات الثلاث وتسمى البسوس غريب وأما المشهور في سبب نزول هذه الآية الكريمة فإنما هو رجل من المتقدمين في زمن بني إسرائيل كما قال ابن مسعود وغيره من السلف وقال علي بن أبي طلحة عن ابن عباس هو رجل من مدينة الجبارين يقال له بلعام وكان يعلم اسم الله الأكبر وقال عبدالرحمن بن زيد بن أسلم وغيره من علماء السلف كان مجاب الدعوة ولا يسأل الله شيئا إلا أعطاه إياه وأغرب بل أبعد بل أخطا من قال كان قد أوتي النبوة فانسلخ منها حكاه ابن جرير عن بعضهم ولا يصح وقال علي بن أبي طلحة عن ابن عباس لما نزل موسى بهم يعني بالجبارين ومن معه أتاه - يعني بلعم - بنو عمه وقومه فقالوا إن موسى رجل حديد ومعه جنود كثيرة وإنه إن يظهر علينا يهلكنا فادع الله أن يرد عنا موسى ومن معه قال إني إن دعوت الله أن يرد موسى ومن معه ذهبت دنياي وآخرتي فلم يزالوا به حتى دعا عليهم فسلخه الله ما كان عليه فذلك قوله تعالى "فانسلخ منها فأتبعه الشيطان" الآية وقال السدي لما انقضت الأربعون سنة التي قال الله "فإنها محرمة عليهم أربعين سنة" بعث يوشع بن نون نبيا فدعا بني إسرائيل فأخبرهم أنه نبي وأن الله أمره أن يقاتل الجبارين فبايعوه وصدقوه وانطلق رجل من بني إسرائيل يقال له بلعام فكان عالما يعلم الاسم الأعظم المكتوم فكفر - لعنه الله - وأتى الجبارين وقال لهم لا ترهبوا بني إسرائيل فإني إذا خرجتم تقاتلونهم ادعوا عليهم دعوة فيهلكون وكان عندهم فيما شاء من الدنيا غير أنه كان لا يستطيع أن يأتي النساء لعظمهن فكان ينكح أتانا له وهو الذي قال الله تعالى "فانسلخ منها" وقوله تعالى "فأتبعه الشيطان" أي استحوذ عليه وعلى أمره فمهما أمره امتثل وأطاعه ولهذا قال "فكان من الغاوين" أي من الهالكين الحائرين البائرين وقد ورد في معنى هذه الآية حديث رواه الحافظ أبو يعلى الموصلي في مسنده حيث قال: حدثنا محمد بن مرزوق حدثنا محمد بن بكر عن الصلت بن بهرام حدثنا الحسن حدثنا جندب البجلي في هذا المسجد أن حذيفة يعني بن اليمان رضي الله عنه حدثه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم "إن مما أتخوف عليكم رجل قرأ القرآن حتى إذا رئيت بهجته عليه وكان رداؤه الإسلام اعتراه إلى ما شاء الله انسلخ منه ونبذه وراء ظهره وسعى على جاره بالسيف ورماه بالشرك" قال: قلت يا نبي الله أيهما أولى بالشرك المرمي أو الرامي؟ قال "بل الرامي" هذا إسناد جيد والصلت بن بهرام كان من ثقات الكوفيين ولم يرم بشيء سوى الإرجاء وقد وثقه الإمام أحمد بن حنبل ويحيى بن معين وغيرهما.

Story Bal`am bin Ba`ura

`Abdur-Razzaq recorded that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said that Allah's statement,

وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ الَّذِى ءاتَيْنَـهُ ءَايَـتِنَا فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْهَا

(And recite to them the story of him to whom We gave Our Ayat, but he threw them away) "Is about Bal`am bin Ba`ura' a man from the Children of Israel." Shu`bah and several other narrators narrated this statement from Mansur who got it from Ibn Mas`ud. Sa`id bin Abi `Arubah narrated that Qatadah said that Ibn `Abbas said, "He is Sayfi, son of Ar-Rahib." Qatadah commented that Ka`b said, "He was a man from Al-Balqla' (a province of Jordan) who knew Allah's Greatest Name. He used to live in Bayt Al-Maqdis with the tyrants." Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "He is Bal`am bin Ba`ura', a man from Yemen whom Allah had given the knowledge of His Ayat, but he abandoned them." Malik bin Dinar said, "He was one of the scholars of the Children of Israel whose supplication was acceptable. They used to seek his lead in suplication in times of difficulty. Allah's Prophet Musa sent him to the King of Madyan to call him to Allah. That king appeased him and gave him land and gifts, and he reverted from the religion of Musa and followed the king's religion." `Imran bin `Uyaynah narrated that `Husayn said that `Imran bin Al-Harith said that Ibn `Abbas said, "He is Bal`am son of Ba`ura'." Similar was said by Mujahid and `Ikrimah. Therefore, it is well-known that this honorable Ayah was revealed about a man from the Children of Israel in ancient times, according to Ibn Mas`ud and several others among the Salaf. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "He is a man from the city of the tyrants (Jerusalem) whose name was Bal`am and who knew Allah's Greatest Name." `Ali bin Abi Talhah also reported that Ibn `Abbas that he said, "When Musa and those with him went to the city of the tyrants (Jerusalem), the cousins of Bal`am and his people came to him and said, `Musa is a strong man, and he has many soldiers. If he gains the upper hand over us, we will be destroyed. Therefore, supplicate to Allah that He prevents Musa and those with him from prevailing over us.' Bal`am said, `If I supplicate to Allah that He turns back Musa and those with him, I will lose in this life and the Hereafter.' They kept luring him until he supplicated against Musa and his people, and Allah took away what he bestowed on him (of knowledge). Hence Allah's statement,

فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْهَا فَأَتْبَعَهُ الشَّيْطَـنُ

(but he threw them away; so Shaytan followed him up)."' Allah said next,

وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَـهُ بِهَا وَلَـكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الاٌّرْضِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ

(And had We willed, We would surely have elevated him therewith but he clung to the earth and followed his own vain desires.) Allah said,

وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَـهُ بِهَا

(And had We willed, We would surely have elevated him therewith) from the filth of this earthly life through the Ayat that We gave him knowledge of,

وَلَـكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الاٌّرْضِ

(but he clung to the earth), he became interested in the adornment of this life and its delights. He indulged in the lusts of life and its joys and was deceived by it, just as life deceived others like him, without sound comprehension or a good mind. Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar narrated from Salim, from Abu An-Nadr that when Musa entered the land of Bani Canaan in the area of Ash-Sham (Greater Syria), the people of Bal`am came to him, saying, "This is Musa, son of `Imran with the Children of Israel. He wants to drive us out from our land, kill us and replace us with the Children of Israel. We are your people and have no other dwelling area. You are a person whose supplication is acceptable (to Allah), so go out and supplicate to Allah against them." He said, "Woe to you! Here is Allah's Prophet (Musa) with whom the angels and believers are! How can I supplicate against them when I know from Allah what I know" They said, "We have no other dwelling area." So they kept luring and begging him until he was tempted by the trial and went on his donkey towards Mount Husban, which was behind the Israelite military barracks. When he proceeded on the Mount for a while, the donkey sat down and refused to proceed. He got off the donkey and struck it until it stood up again and he rode it. The donkey did the same after a little while, and he struck it again until it stood up... So he proceeded and tried to supplicate against Musa and his people. However, Allah made his tongue mention his people with evil and the Children of Israel with good instead of his people, who protested, "O Bal`am! What are you doing You are supplicating for them and against us!" He said, "It is against my will. This is a matter that Allah has decided." He then said to them, as his tongue was made to loll out of his mouth, "Now I have lost this life and the Hereafter." This Ayah was revealed about the story of Bal`am son of Ba`ura'

وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ الَّذِى ءاتَيْنَـهُ ءَايَـتِنَا فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْهَا

(And recite to them the story of him to whom We gave Our Ayat, but he threw them away.), until,

لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

(perhaps they may reflect.) Allah said next,

فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِن تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَث

(So his parable is the parable of a dog: if you drive him away, he pants, or if you leave him alone, he (still) pants.) Scholars of Tafsir have conflicting opinions regarding the meaning of this Ayah. Some scholars said that it refers to the end of Bal`am's tongue which flickered out of his mouth, as in the story narrated from Ibn Ishaq, from Salim, from Abu An-Nadr. Therefore, his example is the example of the dog, its tongue pants regardless of whether it is driven away or not. It was also said that the meaning here is a parable of this man -- and his like -- concerning their misguidance, persisting the wrong path and not being able to benefit from faith or comprehend what they are being called to. So his example is that of a dog which pants whether it was driven away or left alone. The person described here does not benefit from the advice or the call to faith, just as if the advice and call never occurred. Allah said in another Ayah, k

سَوَآءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ

(It is the same to them (disbelievers) whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe.)2:6 and,

اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ أَوْ لاَ تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ إِن تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ

(Whether you ask forgiveness for them (hypocrites) or ask not forgiveness for them -- (and even) if you ask seventy times for their forgiveness -- Allah will not forgive them.) 9:80 and similar Ayat. It was also said that the meaning here, is that the heart of the disbeliever, the hypocrite and the wicked is weak and devoid of guidance. Therefore, it keeps faltering. Similar was narrated from Al-Hasan Al-Basri.

فَاقْصُصِ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

(So relate the stories, perhaps they may reflect) Allah said next to His Prophet Muhammad ,

فَاقْصُصِ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ

(So relate the stories, perhaps they may) the Children of Israel, who have knowledge ot the story of Bal`am and what happened to him when Allah allowed him to stray and expelled him from His mercy. Allah favored him by teaching him His Greatest Name, by which, if He is asked, He will grant, and if He is called upon, He answers. But Bal`am used it in disobedience to Allah and invoked Him against His own party of the people of faith, followers of His servant and Messenger during that time, Musa, the son of `Imran, peace be upon him, whom Allah spoke to directly,

لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

(perhaps they may reflect.) and avoid Bal`am's behavior, for Allah has given the Jews knowledge and made them superior to the bedouins surrounding them. He gave them the description of Muhammad ﷺ which would allow them to recognize him, as they recognize their own children. They, among people, have the most right to follow, aid and support Muhammad ﷺ, in obedience to their Prophets who informed them of him and commanded them to follow him. Therefore, whoever among them defies the knowledge in their Books or hides it from the servants, Allah will place disgrace on him in this life, followed by humiliation in the Hereafter. Allah said,

سَآءَ مَثَلاً الْقَوْمُ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِـَايَـتِنَا

(Evil is the parable of the people who rejected Our Ayat.) Allah says, evil is the example of the people who deny Our Ayat in that they are equated with dogs that have no interest but to collect food and satisfy lusts.' Therefore, whoever goes out of the area of knowledge and guidance, and seeks satisfaction for his lusts and vain desires, is just like a dog; what an evil example. The Sahih recorded that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«لَيْسَ لَنَا مَثَلُ السَّوْءِ، الْعَائِدُ فِي هِبَتِهِ كَالْكَلْبِ يَعُودُ فِي قَيْئِه»

(The evil example is not suitable for us: he who goes back on his gift is just like the dog that eats its vomit.) Allah's statement,

وَأَنفُسَهُمْ كَانُواْ يَظْلِمُونَ

(and they used to wrong themselves.) means, Allah did not wrong them, but they wronged themselves by rejecting guidance, not obeying the Lord, being content with this life that will soon end, all the while seeking to fulfill desires and obey lusts.

And recite O Muhammad (s) to them that is the Jews the tidings the tale of him to whom We gave Our signs but he cast them off emerging in his disbelief in the same way that a snake emerges from its shed skin he rebelled in disbelief this was Bal‘am b. Bā‘ūrā’ a scholar from among the Children of Israel who had been given some knowledge of the Scriptures and who was asked by them to invoke God against Moses. And when he did the invocation turned against him and his tongue fell out onto his chest and Satan pursued him catching up with him and so he became his comrade and he became of the perverse.

The above verses have described the story of a religious leader of the Israelites who had a great following for his piety and knowledge but suddenly went astray and became among the rejected. This event contains a number of lessons and points of exhortation, and has a link with the preceding verses. The foregoing verses spoke of the covenant made by Allah with the children of Adam in general, and with certain people in varied circumstances. The above verses also made a mention of those people who did not fulfill their pledge with Allah. For example, the Israelites who were awaiting the arrival of a prophet and used to describe his attributes to others, but after the Holy Prophet made his appearance, they rejected him just for worldly considerations.

The story of Bal'am bin Ba'ura

The present verses have related the story of a saintly person among the Israelites. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has been asked to relate this story to his people to show how a devoted scholar and great spiritual leader was deprived of all the knowledge, wisdom, popularity and fame only by following the mundane desires.

We do not find any personal identification or name of this person mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. There are, however, many Traditions reported by the exegetes of the Holy Qur'an and the Companions and their disciples, giving a variety of information about him. The most authentic and trusted by the majority of scholars is the Tradition reported by Ibn Marduwaih on the authority of the Companion ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ which is as follows:

The name of this man was Bal'am bin Ba'ura. He belonged to Syria living in Canaan near Jerusalem. According to a report he was an Israelite by birth. He had knowledge of certain books revealed by Allah. The Qur'anic phrase اَلَذِی آتَینٰہُ آیٰتنا . "The one whom We gave Our verses" refers to the same knowledge.

This event belongs to the period after the death of pharaoh and his people and the victory of the Israelites over Egypt. Allah commanded The Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) and his people to fight war against a people called جَبَّارِین Jabbarin. The Jabbarin who had seen the fate of Pharaoh and his people were greatly frightened when they saw the army of the Prophet Musa علیہ السلام approaching them. They came to Bal'am and said that the Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) was a strong man and that he had come with great army in order to expel them from their land. He should therefore pray Allah that He may turn them back without fighting war against them. Bal'am bin Ba` ura was known to be having the knowledge of " اِسمِ اَعظَم ' (the most gracious name of Allah). He used to pray with the help of this name and his prayers were generally granted.

Bal'am said to them that Musa, being the prophet of Allah, had the support of Allah's angels and he could not pray against him. He said that he knew the rank that Musa (علیہ السلام) held with Allah, and that by praying against him he will ruin himself both in this world and in the world to come. Being insisted by the people Bal'am promised that he will first seek the consent of Allah for such a prayer, and in case Allah permitted him to pray against Musa he shall do so accordingly.

He performed some act to seek Allah's consent and in a dream was prohibited by Allah from making such prayer. He came to the people and informed them of this prohibition. The Jabbarin presented him a gift of considerable value which he accepted. Subsequent to this gift their insistence increased. Some reports said that his wife advised him to accept the gift, and pray for them. Being blinded by the love of wealth and wife, he started praying against the Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) and his people. An unusual thing happened at this occasion. By the will of Allah the words he wanted to utter against the Prophet Musa علیہ السلام in his invocation, were uttered against the people of Jabbarin themselves. They cried out and admonished him that he was invoking against themselves. Bal'am said that he was unable to utter a word against Musa (علیہ السلام) and that he had no control over his utterances.

Consequently the Jabbarin met the fate of disaster from the heavenly punishment, and the punishment of Bal'am was that his tongue protruded from under his mouth so much so that it dangled on his chest. Bal'am having ruined his life both in this world and in the world to come and being deprived of all spiritual powers he had, made a suggestion to the people of Jabbarin saying, "There is only one way you can overcome the Israelites. Decorate your beautiful girls and send them to the Israelites giving them instructions that they should not put on any resistance against whatever is done by the Israelites. Being away from their homes they are likely to involve themselves in adultery. Being the most detestable act to Allah, adultery has to incur the wrath of Allah. An adulterous people can never win over their enemy." This satanic suggestion was accepted by the people and they acted accordingly. A prominent person of the Israelites fell prey to this trap. The Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) made all his effort to stop him from this act but he involved himself in this wicked act.

Consequently plague overtook them as a punishment, with a death toll of seventy thousand people in one day. The person who had committed the sin was murdered along with the girl and was hung by the Israelites at a public place. Then they turned to Allah in repentance and asked His forgiveness, which relieved them of this disgraceful punishment.

The Holy Qur'an used the expression of 'wriggling out' for Bal'am's disregard to the knowledge and wisdom Allah had given to him through His verses. The Arabic expression فَانسَلَخَ مِنْهَا "He wriggled out from the verses of Allah" signifies coming out of an animal from its skin like a snake which leaves its old skin behind having no concern with it. This indicates that Bal'am had totally disregarded the knowledge and wisdom he was granted by Allah. The text phrase: فَأَتْبَعَهُ الشَّيْطَانُ "So, Satan overtook him" implies that as long as he possessed the knowledge of the verses of Allah, Satan was unable to possess him. As soon as Bal'am was deprived of this great gift of Allah, he overtook him and led him astray. Consequently he became one of the misguided people فَكَانَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ "And he became one of the misled.

(Recite unto them the tale of him to whom We gave Our revelations, but he sloughed them off�) [7:175]. Ibn Mas'ud said: �This verse was revealed about Bal'am ibn Abrah, one of the Children of Israel�, while Ibn 'Abbas and other commentators of the Qur'an said this relates to Bal'am ibn Ba'ura. Said al-Walibi: �He was a man from the city of al-Jabbarin and his name was Bal'am. This man knew Allah's greatest name. When Moses, peace be upon him, went to this city, his cousins and people went to see Bal'am and said to him: 'Moses is a tough man and he has a huge army. He will definitely destroy us if he ever conquers us. Pray to Allah that he drives Moses and those with him away from us'. The man said: 'I will lose both this world and the next if I were to pray to Allah to drive away Moses and those with him'. But they kept insisting until he prayed against Moses and those with him. As a result, [Allah] stripped him of what he had. Hence Allah's saying (but he sloughed them off�)�. Said 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As and Zayd ibn Aslam: �This verse was revealed about Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt al-Thaqafi who had studied the Scriptures and knew that Allah was about to send a messenger at around that time, hoping to be himself that messenger. When Allah, exalted is He, sent Muhammad, Allah bless him and give him peace, he envied him resentfully and disbelieved in him�. Ibn 'Abbas said, according to the report of 'Ikrimah: �This verse is about a man who was given three prayers which were answered. This man had a wife called al-Basus who loved him, and from her he had children. One day she said to him: 'Let one of those answered prayers of yours be for me'. He said: 'One is for you, what do you wish for?' She said: 'Ask Allah to make me the most beautiful woman among the Children of Israel'. [He did and] when she knew that there was no one like her, she shunned him and wanted something else. The man prayed to Allah to make her a barking dog. And so, two prayers were wasted. Then, her children came to him and said: 'We cannot stand this, our mother has become a barking dog and people are insulting us because of her. Pray that Allah restores her to her initial state'. The man prayed and she became as she was before. But all three answered prayers were now wasted. This is al-Basus whose ill-omen became a proverb. People say: He/she is more ill-omened than al-Basus�.