Surah Al-A'raaf (7) — Ayah 175

(Ayah 175) {وَ اتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَاَ الَّذِيْۤ … : ’’ سَلَخَ } (N, F) “To skin.” {’’مَسْلُوْخٌ‘‘} The goat whose skin has been removed. {’’اِنْسَلَخَ الْحَيَّةُ‘‘} “The snake has come out of its skin.” (Qamus) From these words, it appears that the person whose story is being mentioned here as a lesson must be a particular individual, but neither the Quran nor any Sahih hadith specifies his name or mentions the era. The author of Al-Manar states that this is an example which Allah has presented regarding those who deny the verses revealed to His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him). This is the example of a person whom Allah granted knowledge of His verses; he became a scholar of them, a memorizer of their rules, and capable of explaining and proving their rulings through discussion, but Satan made him follow him so much that he did not act upon this knowledge. Rather, his actions were entirely contrary to his knowledge, so then the knowledge of these verses was also taken away from him, because knowledge that is not acted upon disappears in a short time. Thus, this person became like the snake that comes out of its skin and leaves it behind, or due to the contradiction between his knowledge and actions, he became like the person who abandons his knowledge and leaves it, just as someone removes his old clothes and the snake comes out of its skin, so that there remains no connection between them. The summary of the example is that those who deny the verses revealed by Allah to His Messenger are like that scholar who has been deprived of benefiting from the fruits of his knowledge, because neither of them reflected upon the evidences and verses with sincerity to take a lesson.

175. 1. The commentators have related this to a specific individual who had knowledge of the Divine Book, but then, by following the world and Satan, went astray. However, there is no authentic narration regarding its specification. Therefore, there is no need for such an assumption. This is general, and such individuals have existed in every community and every era; whoever possesses this characteristic will be considered an instance of it.

175. (O Prophet,) recite to them the story of the one [177] to whom We gave Our signs, but he cast them off, so Satan pursued him, and he became one of the misguided.

[177]
The Example of People Who Chase After the World and Desires of the Self:

The name of this person is neither mentioned in the Quran nor in the Hadith, and the statements of the commentators are also different, because the method of Allah and His Messenger is such that generally the name of an evil person is not mentioned to disgrace him, rather only his characteristic is described so that others may avoid it. And this is a sign of the highest moral standard, that no one is disgraced and the real purpose is also achieved. And this example can apply to every person who possesses such qualities. This person was a scholar of the divine verses, a man of action, and his supplications were answered, and he was also famous among people for his asceticism and piety. Some people came to him and requested a supplication which was religiously unlawful. At first, he refused to make such an unlawful supplication, but when those people tempted him with much wealth and riches, after a little hesitation, he became willing to do that unlawful act. In this way, he gained worldly benefit, but he fell from the high rank he was heading towards and intended to reach. Once Satan's trick worked on him, Satan's job became relatively easy thereafter. Thus, after a short time, he became completely disobedient to Allah merely for worldly interests, and from his lofty position, he kept falling until he reached the lowest depths of the earth. Allah Almighty has given the example of this person or someone like him as that of a dog, whose greed and avarice is such that even if someone throws a stone at it, it thinks that perhaps a bone or a piece of bread has been thrown. Then it snatches at it and will certainly take it in its mouth at least once. Its tongue is always hanging out and saliva keeps dripping, and it tries to sniff everything in the hope that it might catch the scent of food from somewhere. Its greed is such that even if it finds a carcass to eat somewhere, and it is much more than its need, still it tries to ensure that no other dog shares that carcass with it. And this example fits those dogs of the world who, for the sake of their desires and worldly interests, are ready to sacrifice even their best values.