Surah Al-A'raaf (7) — Ayah 94

(Ayah 94) ➊ { وَ مَاۤ اَرْسَلْنَا فِيْ قَرْيَةٍ مِّنْ نَّبِيٍّ …:} After mentioning some incidents of previous prophets—Nuh, Hud, Salih, Lut, and Shu‘ayb (peace be upon them) with their nations, and before the detailed incidents of Musa (peace be upon him) with Pharaoh and the Children of Israel, here in between, all the prophets and their nations are mentioned briefly. The purpose is to console the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and to warn the disbelievers.
➋ By {بِالْبَاْسَآءِ وَ الضَّرَّآءِ: ’’ بِالْبَاْسَآءِ ‘‘} is meant calamities affecting wealth, such as poverty, famine, etc., and by { ’’ الضَّرَّآءِ ‘‘ } is meant things that harm the human body, such as illness, hardships, and war, etc.
➌ {لَعَلَّهُمْ يَضَّرَّعُوْنَ:} That is, whenever We sent a prophet to any town and they did not believe in him, We sent them, for their admonition, lesser punishments before the greater punishment, which came in the form of war, hardship, famine, illness, and other calamities. The purpose was that, realizing the consequences of their deeds, they would humble themselves before Us and come to the straight path, as Allah Almighty has said: «{ وَ لَنُذِيْقَنَّهُمْ مِّنَ الْعَذَابِ الْاَدْنٰى دُوْنَ الْعَذَابِ الْاَكْبَرِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُوْنَ }» [ السجدۃ : ۲۱] “And surely We will make them taste the nearer punishment before the greater punishment, so that they may return.”

94. 1 The meaning is that in whichever town We sent a messenger, they denied him, as a result of which We afflicted them with illness and poverty, the purpose of which was that they turn towards Allah and supplicate humbly in His presence.

94. And whenever We sent a prophet to a town, We afflicted its people with hardship and adversity [100] so that they might humble themselves.

[100] From verse 59 to verse 93 of this Surah, in four sections, the stories of five well-known and famous prophets—Sayyiduna Nuh ؑ, Sayyiduna Hud ؑ, Sayyiduna Salih ؑ, Sayyiduna Lut ؑ, and Sayyiduna Shu'ayb ؑ—are mentioned, along with their call to their people, the opposition of the deniers, their questions and answers, and finally, the destruction of these stubborn opponents. This Surah Al-A'raf was revealed in Makkah at a time when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companions were facing similar or comparable circumstances. The polytheists of Makkah were adopting almost the same methods of opposition, hostile activities, threats, oppression, violence, and attempts to block the path of Islam as had been faced by those prophets. The purpose of mentioning the conditions of these prophets here was, firstly, so that you ﷺ and your noble companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) would exercise patience and restraint in the face of such activities by the opponents, and secondly, to make it clear that the oppressors ultimately have to face their evil end, and Allah Almighty delivers His servants from the tyranny of such people and grants them success and triumph.

Allah’s Principle Regarding Worldly Punishment:

After mentioning the above prophets separately and in detail, the call of prophethood and the consequences of this call are mentioned in summary. In other words, Allah Almighty has stated the principle of His practice: whenever a prophet is sent to a town and he calls the people towards Allah, this call is opposed, and most people refuse to accept it. Then We send upon these deniers light punishments, such as the punishment of famine and drought, or the punishment of some epidemic or disease, or minor earthquakes or floods. These punishments are given to them as a warning so that they may desist from their actions and turn to Allah. Then, when they do not heed these warnings, We put them to the test with prosperity—their manpower increases, their wealth and riches abound, and they begin to live a life of luxury and comfort. At this point, the earlier minor punishments from Allah are not even felt as warnings, and they begin to think that good and bad days have nothing to do with accepting or rejecting the call of the prophets; these are all just coincidences of time or the turns of fate, and our forefathers also faced such ups and downs. When they reach the state where they do not feel any fear of Allah’s grasp in any situation and become absorbed and intoxicated with the world, that is the very time for Our punishment. And Our punishment comes upon them suddenly in such a way that no one even senses its arrival beforehand.

The Punishment of Famine Upon the Quraysh of Makkah:

A similar light punishment came upon the Quraysh of Makkah as a warning, which is mentioned in Surah Al-Dukhan. What happened was that when the hostile activities of the Quraysh of Makkah exceeded all bounds, the Prophet ﷺ supplicated against them, saying: “O Allah, send upon them a famine like that in the time of Yusuf ؑ.” Thus, your ﷺ supplication was accepted, and such a famine struck Makkah that the noblemen of Quraysh were forced to eat carrion, bones, and even leather. No grain was reaching them from outside, and their condition became such that when they looked towards the sky, due to hunger, weakness, and debility, they saw nothing but smoke. Distressed by the famine, they sent Abu Sufyan to you, and he came and requested you ﷺ, saying: “You claim to be a mercy, while your people are being destroyed by drought. We beseech you by mercy and kinship to pray for the removal of this famine, and if this calamity is lifted, we will believe in you.” So, by your ﷺ supplication, rain fell, and coincidentally, grain also began to arrive from outside. Then, when the situation changed, the hearts of these prejudiced people began to turn away again. The leaders of the people began to say that such ups and downs have occurred in the past as well, and if this time a famine occurred...