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Al-A'raf (The Heights)

Verse 164of 206

وَإِذْ قَالَتْ أُمَّةٌۭ مِّنْهُمْ لِمَ تَعِظُونَ قَوْمًا ۙ ٱللَّهُ مُهْلِكُهُمْ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُهُمْ عَذَابًۭا شَدِيدًۭا ۖ قَالُوا۟ مَعْذِرَةً إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ﴿١٦٤

Translation (Sahih International)

And when a community among them said, "Why do you advise [or warn] a people whom Allah is [about] to destroy or to punish with a severe punishment?" they [the advisors] said, "To be absolved before your Lord and perhaps they may fear Him."

Word-by-word meaning

وَإِذْwa-idhAnd when
قَالَتْqālatsaid
أُمَّةٌۭummatuna community
مِّنْهُمْmin'humamong them
لِمَlimaWhy
تَعِظُونَtaʿiẓūna(do) you preach
قَوْمًا ۙqawmana people
ٱللَّهُl-lahu(whom) Allah
مُهْلِكُهُمْmuh'likuhum(is going to) destroy them
أَوْawor
مُعَذِّبُهُمْmuʿadhibuhumpunish them
عَذَابًۭاʿadhāban(with) a punishment
شَدِيدًۭا ۖshadīdansevere
قَالُوا۟qālūThey said
مَعْذِرَةًmaʿdhiratanTo be absolved
إِلَىٰilābefore
رَبِّكُمْrabbikumyour Lord
وَلَعَلَّهُمْwalaʿallahumand that they may
يَتَّقُونَyattaqūnabecome righteous

Commentary (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Those Who breached the Sabbath were turned into Monkeys, butThose Who prohibited Their Actions were savedAllah said that the people of this village were divided into three groups, a group that committed the prohibition, catching fish on the Sabbath, as we described in the Tafsir of Surat Al-Baqarah. Another group prohibited them from transgression and avoided them. A third group neither prohibited them, nor participated in their action.

Source: Tafsir Ibn Kathir — abridged excerpt

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