Tafsir of Surah Al-A'raf - Verse 202

The Whispering of Shaytan and the People of Taqwa

Allah mentions His servants who have Taqwa, obeying His orders, and avoid what He forbade:

إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ

(when comes to them) an evil thought, or anger, or the whispers of Shaytan cross their mind, or intend to err, or commit an error,

تَذَكَّرُواْ

(they remember) Allah's punishment, as well as, His tremendous reward. They remember Allah's promises and threats, then repent, go back to Him, seek refuge with Him and ask for forgiveness before death,

فَإِذَا هُم مُّبْصِرُونَ

(and (indeed) they then see (aright)) they become aright and aware of the error of their ways.

A Brethren of Devils among Mankind lure to Falsehood

Allah said next,

وَإِخْوَنُهُمْ يَمُدُّونَهُمْ

(But (as for) their brothers they plunge them deeper) in reference to the devils' brothers among mankind. Allah said in another Ayah,

إِنَّ الْمُبَذرِينَ كَانُواْ إِخْوَنَ الشَّيَـطِينِ

(Verily, the spendthrifts are brothers of the Shayatin) 17:27 for they are followers of the Shayatin, who listen to them and obey their orders.

يَمُدُّونَهُمْ فِى الْغَىِّ

(They plunge them deeper into error) the devils help them commit sins, making this path easy and appealing to them

ثُمَّ لاَ يُقْصِرُونَ

(and they never stop short) for the devils never cease inciting mankind to commit errors. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah's statement,

وَإِخْوَنُهُمْ يَمُدُّونَهُمْ فِى الْغَىِّ ثُمَّ لاَ يُقْصِرُونَ

(But (as for) their brothers they plunge them deeper into error, and they never stop short.) "Neither mankind stop short of the evil that they are doing nor the devils stop short of luring them. " Therefore,

لاَ يُقْصِرُونَ

(they never stop short) refers to the devils getting tired or stopping their whispering. Allah said in another Ayah,

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَا الشَّيَـطِينَ عَلَى الْكَـفِرِينَ تَؤُزُّهُمْ أَزّاً

(See you not that We have sent Shayatin against the disbelievers to push them to do evil) 19:83 persistently luring the disbelievers to commit evil, according to Ibn `Abbas and others.

In the second verse, it was said: وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّـهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ (And if you are stricken with a strike from the Shaitan, seek refuge with Allah - 200).

This verse too is really a complement of the subject taken up in the first verse which instructs that the error made by the unjust and the ignorant should be forgiven and the evil done by them should not be answered by counter evil. This is heavy duty. In fact, doing something like this is most irksome and hard on human temperament. Particularly on occasions such as this, the Shaitan is there to coax someone very normal into anger and somehow gets his client all set to fight. Therefore, in the second verse, it has been suggested that in case emotions of anger seem to be flaring up on such an occasion where your patience is under test, one should promptly figure out that this instigation is coming from the Shaitan. It has a standard treatment - seek refuge with Allah.

It appears in Hadith that two men were quarreling before the Holy Prophet ﷺ and one of them was getting out of control in his fit of anger. He looked at him and said, 'I know some words which, if this person were to say, his rage will go away.' Then, he said, 'here are the words: اعوذ باللہ من الشیطان الرجیم seek refuge with Allah from the Shaitan, the Accursed). When this person heard the Holy Prophet ﷺ reciting it, he immediately said it after him. Suddenly, his anger was all gone.

An Unusual Coincidence

At this stage, the great Tafsir Ibn Kathir has written about an unusual coincidence. He says that there are three verses in the entire Qur'an that appear as an embodiment of high moral teaching - and all three of them conclude with the need to seek refuge from the Shaitan. One of these is this very verse of Surah al-A` raf we are talking about. The second one is the following verse of Surah al-Mu'minun:

ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ السَّيِّئَةَ ۚ نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَصِفُونَ ﴿96﴾ وَقُل رَّ‌بِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطِينِ ﴿97﴾ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ رَ‌بِّ أَن يَحْضُرُ‌ونِ ﴿98﴾

"Repel the evil with what is good. We know best what they keep saying and you say: '0 my Lord, I seek refuge with You against the urgings of the Shaitans, and 0 my Lord, I seek refuge with You from that they be with me - 23:96:98."

The third verse appears in Surah Ha Mim as-Sajdah (also referred to as Surah Fussilat):

وَلَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ ۚ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ ﴿34﴾ وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُ‌وا وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا ذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ ﴿35﴾ وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّـهِ ۖ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ ﴿36﴾

(And good and bad deeds are not equal. Repel with that which is better, whereupon he - between whom and you there was enmity - will be as if a fast friend. [ 34] And this quality is granted to none but those who observe patience, and this quality is granted to none but he who is endowed with a great fortune. [ 35] And if you are stricken with a strike from the Shaitan, then, seek refuge with Allah. Surely, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. [ 36] - 41:34-36)

In these three verses, instruction has been given to forgo and forgive people who incite anger, to return evil with good and, along with it, to seek refuge from the Shaitan. This tells us that the Shaitan takes special interest in human quarrels. Give them any opportunity where a quarrel is on, the Shaitans converge on it as their favorite hunting ground. No matter how sedate and forbearing someone happens to be, they would still incite him into anger and try to make them cross the limits.

There is a treatment for it. When a person sees his anger getting out of control, he should know that Shaitan is winning against his better self. He should then turn to Allah Ta` ala and seek refuge with Him. This makes noble traits of character flourish at their best. Therefore, additional stress has been laid on the need to seek the protection of Allah against the Shaitan in the third (201) and fourth (202) verses as well.

Calling people to monotheism, the Hereafter, a virtuous life and justice is to call people to good (‘urf). That is, it is calling people to those good deeds, the goodness of which can be verified by reason. But people have found leading an upright life most difficult. The desire for immediate gain makes them opt for worldly gain. Very often they exploit religion to achieve their worldly interests. In such a state of affairs when the call for pure Truth is given to them, they are afraid that their interests will be affected so they oppose it with all their might. What should a preacher (da‘i) do in such a situation? The only right response from him on such occasions, is avoidance. That is, he should continue spreading the message without stirring up any clash or confrontation. If he fails to do so, ‘dawah’ will be turned into debate. His time and energies will be wasted in debating with his addressees. That is why, in order to preserve the purity of the call, it is essential that the da‘i exercise patience in all unpleasant situations and continue his work along positive lines. However, in this present world, no one is exempt from the attacks of self and Satan. What saves him on all such occasions is the fear of God. Fear of God makes one extremely sensitive. It is this sensitivity which is man’s greatest shield in this world of trial. Whenever any evil thought comes to his mind, or he is afflicted by a negative psychology, it is his sensitivity which immediately alerts him against it. Instantly his eyes are opened and he seeks God’s forgiveness and resolves never to commit such perverse acts again. On the contrary, those whose hearts are free from the fear of God are never on guard against Satan’s attacks. Satan leads them on and on to the pit of destruction without their ever being conscious of it. Sensitivity is man’s greatest shield. While insensitivity renders one defenceless against Satan’s attacks.