Surah al-A'raf

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "We have heard this saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "Indeed, those who took the calf (for worship) will be reached by wrath from their Lord and humiliation in the life of this world, and thus do We recompense the inventors of falsehood" [Surah al-A'raf: 152]." He (further) said: "And I see nothing else about these people except that they too have invented a great lie, and my belief is that this (threat) will soon reach them as well." The narrator mentioned this in the course of his talk.
This report is a narration from the Musnad of Ishaq bin Rahwayh. It contains a severe warning for those who invent lies and introduce innovations, that the wrath of Allah and humiliation may reach them even in this world.

It is narrated from Ayyub (may Allah have mercy on him) that Imam Abu Qilabah (may Allah have mercy on him) recited this blessed verse: "Indeed, those who took the calf (for worship) will be reached by wrath from their Lord and humiliation in the life of this world, and thus do We recompense the inventors of falsehood" [Surah al-A'raf: 152], and said in explaining it: "By Allah! This threat, namely humiliation and disgrace in the life of this world, is for every person who invents lies and falsehood about Allah until the Day of Resurrection."
This narration is found in Sunan al-Darimi, and its chain is sahih (authentic).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "Indeed, the seventy men whom Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) chose from his people were seized by the terrible earthquake only because they did not forbid their people from worshipping the calf, even though they themselves were not pleased with it (that act of shirk)."
The chain of this report is hasan (good). Ibn Abi Umar narrated it in his Musnad, and supporting evidence for it exists in other reports of tafsir.

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Harith (may Allah have mercy on him) that he heard Tubay', the son of Ka'b's wife, say in explanation of this glorious saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "Therein you will live and therein you will die" [Surah al-A'raf: 25]: "What is meant is the earth. From it Allah Almighty created Adam (peace be upon him), in it people are buried after they die, and from it they will be brought out again. (Before the Resurrection) rain will fall from the sky continuously for forty nights, as a result of which the dead will come forth from the earth (like plants)."
And this narration has a supporting report (shahid) in the Sahih (collections).

Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman al-Muzani (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the people of al-A'raf, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They are people who were killed in the path of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, while they were disobedient to their fathers. Their being killed (martyrdom) in the path of Allah kept them from Hell, and their disobedience to their parents kept them from entering Paradise."
Al-Harith added that al-Kalbi said: "They are people whose good deeds and bad deeds were equal, so they were kept back from both Paradise and Hell, and Allah Almighty will soon admit them into His mercy." The narrator said: I do not know whether he mentioned (the word) "killed" (martyr) or not.

And Imam al-Harith (may Allah have mercy on him) added (in his narration): Al-Kalbi said: (The people of al-A'raf) are people whose good deeds and bad deeds were equal, so they were kept back from both Paradise and Hell, and Allah Almighty will admit them into His mercy. (The narrator said:) I do not remember whether he mentioned the word "qatilan" (killed) or not.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Malik al-Hilali (may Allah be pleased with him) that someone asked: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Who are the people of al-A'raf (those who will be on a high place between Paradise and Hell)?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They are people who went out to fight in the path of Allah Almighty without obtaining the permission of their parents and were then martyred. Their martyrdom kept them from entering Hell, but (their) disobedience (to their parents) deprived them of (immediate) entry into Paradise."
Imam al-Harith also narrated another similar narration through Muhammad bin Umar, Ibrahim bin Ja'far, al-Zuhri, Suhayl and his father from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said a hadith with the same meaning.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated something with the same meaning from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

It is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), that she asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about maskh (that is, human forms being transformed into animals as a punishment): would such (a transformed one) have any offspring? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It has never happened that anyone's form was transformed and that he then had any offspring or that his descendants continued."
I (Ibn Hajar) say: This narration is with Imam Muslim through al-Ma'rur from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), in which it is stated that Sayyidah Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) was the one who asked this question, and that is the correct narration, whereas Layth (a narrator in the chain under discussion) is weak in memory.