Surah Al-A'raaf (7) — Ayah 157

(Ayah 157) ➊ { اَلَّذِيْنَ يَتَّبِعُوْنَ الرَّسُوْلَ النَّبِيَّ الْاُمِّيَّ …:} That is, in this era, those people are especially deserving of My mercy... (Qurtubi)
➋ In this verse, nine attributes of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are mentioned, and by the word {الْاُمِّيَّ} (the one who does not know how to read or write), it is indicated here that despite being unlettered, the perfection of knowledge found in him is a great miracle of his, which exists in the form of the "sciences of Prophethood" as the Noble Qur'an and Hadith. By reading these, an unlettered nation like the Arabs became the leaders of the world's most educated and civilized nations.
➌ { الَّذِيْ يَجِدُوْنَهٗ مَكْتُوْبًا … :} Although the Jews and Christians left little lacking in making both literal and contextual alterations in the Torah and Gospel, especially in translations into different languages, where instead of his (peace and blessings be upon him) name, they translated it, even though a name is not to be translated. Then, even the translation was done according to their own wishes, and the original language books are not even found. However, even today, there are places in the Torah and Gospel where the Children of Israel are given the glad tidings of the coming of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For example, see Deuteronomy, chapter 18, verses 15 to 19; chapter 33, verse 2; Matthew, chapter 3, verses 1 to 12; John, chapter 1, verses 19 to 22; chapter 14, verses 15 to 17 and 25 to 27; chapter 16, verses 12 to 15. Also, see the fifth book of the Torah, Deuteronomy, chapter 17, verse 14; John, chapter 16, verses 12 to 14.
➍ {وَ يُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبٰتِ … :} That is, the pure things that were made unlawful for them due to their sins, or which they themselves had made unlawful upon themselves (such as camel meat and fat, etc.), he declares them lawful, and those impure things which they had declared lawful (such as pork and wine, etc.), he declares them unlawful. It is thus known that whatever the Shariah has declared lawful is pure, and whatever it has declared unlawful is impure.
➎ {وَ يَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ اِصْرَهُمْ …: ’’اِصْرٌ‘‘ } (burden) refers to those strict rulings that were in the previous Shariah, such as prayer being performed only in places of worship, or the punishment for polytheism being death, etc., and { ’’ الْاَغْلٰلَ ‘‘} (shackles) refers to those self-imposed restrictions that their scholars had placed upon them, or the customs that their common people had made obligatory upon themselves, such as separating a menstruating woman from eating and drinking, even her residence being separate. Just as among Muslims, following the Christians and Hindus, there are death rituals like the third, seventh, fortieth day, and customs at birth and marriage, such as hanging leaves of the siris (sharina) tree at the door at the birth of a child, placing iron on the bed of the mother, making eunuchs dance and spending on them, considering a childless woman as unlucky and not allowing her into the house, customs in marriage like the sehra, singing, henna, engagement, and other self-made customs, likewise niyundra, salami, and dowry, etc., which have made people's lives difficult and are neither in the Book of Allah nor in the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Similarly, Allah knows best how many lawful things the priests and monks of this nation, who were disrespectful to the Prophets, even to the extent of killing them, declared unlawful and unlawful things lawful, and how they consumed people's wealth in the name of khatam and sending reward to the deceased, etc. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) removed all those burdens and shackles and broke all those restrictions, presenting the original Islam, which is extremely simple and easy. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ أَحَبُّ الدِّيْنِ إِلَی اللّٰهِ الْحَنِيْفِيَّةُ السَّمْحَةُ ] "The most beloved religion to Allah is the easy, upright religion." [ بخاری، الإیمان، باب الدین یسر، قبل ح : ۳۹، تعلیقًا ] And he said: [ اِنَّ الدِّيْنَ يُسْرٌ ] "The religion is easy." [ بخاری، الإیمان، باب الدین یسر : ۳۹ ] In another hadith: [ لاَ ضَرَرَ وَلَا ضِرَارَ ] [ السلسلۃ الصحیحۃ : ۲۵۰ ] That is, neither is it permissible to cause harm initially, nor in retaliation. Also, he would always instruct the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them): [ يَسِّرُوْا وَلَا تُعَسِّرُوْا ] "Make things easy, do not make them difficult." [ بخاری، الأدب، باب قول النبی صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم : یسروا ولا تعسروا : ۶۱۲۵ ]
Alas! Muslims, too, following in the footsteps of the People of the Book, have abandoned adherence to the obligations of Shariah and refraining from prohibited things, and have placed upon themselves the burdens and shackles of their own and their scholars' and ignorant people's self-made customs and traditions, making their lives difficult. They do not go for Hajj but spend thousands at the festivals at graves, do not pray but spend hours on the litanies of their spiritual guides. They do not give zakat and ushr but spend hundreds of thousands on cauldrons, khatams, and scholars at the time of death, become indebted for life to fulfill marriage customs and prepare dowries, but are not ready to give inheritance to daughters. Now, to whom other than Allah can this complaint be made?
➏ { فَالَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا بِهٖ … : } The light that was sent down with him is divine revelation, which is preserved until the Day of Judgment in the form of the Qur'an and Sunnah. From {’’ اُولٰٓىِٕكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُوْنَ ‘‘} it is known that after the advent of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), if anyone, despite knowing of his coming, does not believe—whether Jew, Christian, or anyone else—he can never attain success. See the footnote (2) of verse (62) of Surah Al-Baqarah.

157. 1. This verse also serves as a definitive verse clarifying that salvation in the Hereafter is not possible without faith in the Prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ, and only that faith is valid whose details have been explained by Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This verse also cuts the root of the concept of 'other religions'.

157. 2. Ma'ruf is that which the Shariah has declared good, and Munkar is that which the Shariah has declared evil.

157. 3. These burdens and shackles are those which were present in the previous Shariah, for example, it was necessary to kill a life for a life (as there was no blood money or pardon). Or if a cloth became impure, it was necessary to cut it off, whereas the Islamic Shariah only commanded it to be washed, just as it permitted blood money and pardon in cases of Qisas, etc. And the Prophet ﷺ said, 'I have been sent with the easy, monotheistic religion (din hanifi).' (دیت یا معافی نہیں تھی۔ یا جس کپڑے کو نجاست لگ جاتی، اسے قطع کرنا ضروری تھا، شریعت اسلامیہ نے اسے صرف دھونے کا حکم دیا ہے۔ جس طرح قصاص میں دیت اور معافی کی اجازت دی وغیرہ۔ اور آپ ﷺ نے فرمایا ہے کہ ' مجھے آسان دین حنیفی کے ساتھ بھیجا گیا ہے۔ 157۔ 4 ان آخری الفاظ سے بھی یہ بات واضح ہوتی ہے کہ کامیاب وہی لوگ ہونگے جو حضرت محمد رسول اللہ ﷺ پر ایمان لانے والے اور ان کی پیروی کرنے والے ہوں گے۔ جو رسالت محمدیہ پر ایمان نہیں لائیں گے، وہ کامیاب نہیں نقصان اٹھانے والے اور ناکام ہونگے۔ علاوہ ازیں کامیابی سے مراد بھی آخرت کی کامیابی ہے۔ یہ ممکن ہے کہ کوئی قوم رسالت محمدیہ پر ایمان نہ رکھتی ہو اور اسے دنیاوی خوش حالی و فروانی حاصل ہو۔ جس طرح اس وقت مغربی اور یورپی اور دیگر بعض قوموں کا حال ہے کہ وہ عیسائی یا یہودی یا کافر مشرک ہونے کے باوجود مادی ترقی اور خوش حالی میں ممتاز ہیں، لیکن ان کی یہ ترقی عارضی بطور امتحان و خلاف معمول ہے۔ یہ انکی اخروی کامیابی کی ضمانت یا علامت نہیں۔ اسی طرح (وَاتَّبَعُوا النُّوْرَ الَّذِيْٓ اُنْزِلَ مَعَهٗٓ) From these last words, it also becomes clear that the successful ones are those who believe in and follow Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Those who do not believe in the prophethood of Muhammad will not be successful but will be losers and failures. Furthermore, success here means success in the Hereafter. It is possible for a nation not to believe in the prophethood of Muhammad and still achieve worldly prosperity and abundance, as is the case with Western, European, and some other nations today. Despite being Christian, Jewish, or disbelieving polytheists, they are distinguished in material progress and prosperity, but this progress is temporary, as a test and an exception, and is not a guarantee or a sign of their success in the Hereafter. Similarly, the verse (And they followed the light which was sent down with him) (7. Al-A'raf:157) makes it clear that in Surah Al-Ma'idah, verse 15, the "light" refers to the Noble Quran itself. Therefore, by this "light," the person of the Prophet ﷺ himself is not meant. However, it is a separate matter that among his attributes, one attribute is also "light," by which the darkness of disbelief and polytheism was dispelled. But from his being described with the attribute of "light," it cannot be proven that his light is from the light of Allah, as the people of innovation try to prove.

157. Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel with them. He commands them to do good and forbids them from evil [155], makes lawful for them the pure things and prohibits for them the impure things [156], relieves them of their burdens and the shackles that were upon them [157]. So those who believe in him, honor him, support him, and follow the light that has been sent down with him [158]—it is they who will succeed.

[154]
The Glad Tidings About You in the Bible:

In this verse, the address is general for the People of the Book and all other people of the Prophetic era, because even today the means of attaining Allah’s mercy are the same as those that were explained to Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) in response to his supplication. That is, those who believe in Allah’s verses, fear disobeying Allah, and pay zakat, and in addition, there is the condition that they must also obey and follow this present unlettered Prophet, whose glad tidings are still found in the Torah and the Gospel, and the People of the Book read, understand, and know them well. For example:
1. Deuteronomy, chapter 18, verses 15 to 19
2. Matthew, chapter 21, verses 33 to 46
3. John, chapter 1, verses 19 to 21
4. John, chapter 14, verses 15 to 17, and also verses 25 to 30
5. John, chapter 14, verses 25 and 26
6. John, chapter 16, verses 7 to 15
And the word “ummi” is probably attributed to “umm” (i.e., mother), meaning just as a child is born from its mother’s womb and is not anyone’s student, likewise, the Prophet ﷺ never sat as a student before any creature throughout his life. Despite this, the entire world acknowledges the religious sciences and knowledge of which you became the teacher, and no one among the educated and intellectuals has the power to present even a fraction of it. Thus, the title “unlettered Prophet” is a source of great pride for you, and the wisdom in your being unlettered has been explained by the Quran at several places.

[155]
The Importance of Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil:

The duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil is so important that it has been made obligatory in all divine laws. Many nations were punished simply because they abandoned this duty. Thus, one criterion for the truthfulness of a prophet is whether he commands his followers to fulfill this duty or not. When Heraclius, the emperor of Rome, summoned Abu Sufyan and asked him several questions, one of them was: “What does this Prophet command?” Abu Sufyan replied that he commands such-and-such good deeds and forbids such-and-such evil deeds. Heraclius said that all prophets have done the same. [بخاري، باب كيف كان بدء الوحي]

[156]
The Prophet’s ﷺ Permitting and Prohibiting Certain Things:

Those pure and lawful things which Yaqub (peace be upon him) had made unlawful for himself, and then the Jewish scholars declared them permanently unlawful, or those things which were made unlawful for them due to their disobedience, all of these were made lawful in the Shariah of Muhammad ﷺ. For example, the meat of camels, the fat of cows and goats, etc. And some unlawful things were made lawful by the Jews, which were again declared unlawful in your Shariah, such as usury and considering the wealth of non-Jews lawful and permissible to acquire by any means, right or wrong. Although the apparent address of this sentence seems to be towards the People of the Book, its ruling is general, which includes Muslims as well. Thus, by virtue of this authority granted by Allah, you declared the meat of all predatory animals, birds of prey, and domestic donkeys unlawful. In addition, among the impure things are also included those edible items which are dirty, stale, foul-smelling, or rotten.

[157]
The Severity of Rulings Upon the Children of Israel:

This includes those restrictions and constraints which were legislated for them, such as they were only given the law of retribution (qisas) in case of murder, and were not given the concession or permission of blood money (diyat), or if any part of their body was splashed with urine, they would cut off that part with scissors [نسائي، كتاب الطهارة باب البول الي السترة يستربها]
whereas in our Shariah, such a part becomes pure simply by washing, and there were also such restrictions which their scholars imposed on their own, such as if a woman among them became menstruating, they would not eat the food cooked by her, nor eat with her, nor even let her stay in their house, and would arrange separate accommodation for such women [مسلم، كتاب الحيض۔ باب جواز غسل الحائض راس زوجها]
whereas in our Shariah, except for intercourse, there is no restriction. Then there were also those restrictions which their jurists imposed due to legal hair-splitting, their ascetics due to excessive piety, and their ignorant masses due to superstitions. The task of this unlettered Prophet is to deliver people from the burden of all such shackles.

[158]
By “Light” is Meant the Book and Sunnah or Divine Revelation:

After mentioning the above-mentioned qualities of this unlettered Prophet and his favors upon the people, Allah commands all people that you must believe in such a Prophet, leave no stone unturned in honoring and respecting him, and fully support him in his cause, and follow the light which We have sent down with him. By “light” is meant the Book of Allah, and also the method of acting upon it, i.e., the Sunnah of the Prophet. If you do the above-mentioned things, only then can you be successful.