Surah Araf ayat 95 Tafsir Quran 7:95

﴿ثُمَّ بَدَّلْنَا مَكَانَ السَّيِّئَةِ الْحَسَنَةَ حَتَّىٰ عَفَوا وَّقَالُوا قَدْ مَسَّ آبَاءَنَا الضَّرَّاءُ وَالسَّرَّاءُ فَأَخَذْنَاهُم بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ﴾
[ الأعراف: 95]

7:95 Then We exchanged in place of the bad [condition], good, until they increased [and prospered] and said, "Our fathers [also] were touched with hardship and ease." So We seized them suddenly while they did not perceive.

Then We gave them in place of evil the chastisement good wealth and health until they multiplied and said out of ingratitude towards this grace ‘Hardship and happiness befell our fathers before’ just as it has befallen us and this is nothing but the habit of time and not the consequence of God so remain firm in what you follow. God exalted be He says So We seized them with the chastisement suddenly while they perceived not beforehand the time of its coming.

Then We replaced the unfavorable conditions and hardships by favourable circumstances until they advanced in power, importance and prosperity and proclaimed in ignorance that what has befallen them of misfortunes happened to their fathers before, and, they added, it is only time that controls the wavering balance of fortune. In consequence, We suddenly seized them and dressed them with ruin and We caught them unawares

Afflictions that struck Earlier Nations Allah mentions the Ba'sa' and Darra' that struck the earlier nations to whom He sent Prophets.
Ba'sa', refers to the physical sicknesses and ailments that they suffered, while Darra', refers to the poverty and humiliation that they experienced, لَعَلَّهُمْ يَضَّرَّعُونَ ( so that they might humble themselves ) supplicate, humble themselves and invoke Allah, that He might remove the afflictions that they suffered from.
This Ayah indicates that Allah sent down severe afflictions to them so that they might invoke Him, but they did not do what He ordered them.
Therefore, He changed the affliction into prosperity to test them, ثُمَّ بَدَّلْنَا مَكَانَ السَّيِّئَةِ الْحَسَنَةَ ( Then We changed the evil for the good, ) Therefore, Allah changed the hardship into prosperity, disease and sickness into health and well-being, and poverty into richness in provision, so that they might be thankful to Allah for this, but they did none of that.
Allah's statement, حَتَّى عَفَواْ ( until they `Afaw ) refers to increase in numbers, wealth and offspring.
Allah said next, وَّقَالُواْ قَدْ مَسَّ ءَابَاءَنَا الضَّرَّآءُ وَالسَّرَّآءُ فَأَخَذْنَـهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ ( .
.
and they said: "Our fathers were touched with evil and with good." So We seized them all of a sudden while they were unaware. ) He tested them with this ( afflictions ) and that ( ease and abundance ) so that they may humble themselves and repent to Him.
However, they failed both tests, for neither this nor that compelled them to change their ways.
They said, "We suffered Ba'sa' and Darra', but prosperity came afterwards, just as like our forefathers in earlier times." "Therefore," they said, "it is a cycle where we sometimes suffer a hardship and at other times, we enjoy a bounty." However, they did not comprehend Allah's wisdom, nor the fact that He is testing them in both cases.
To the contrary, the believers are grateful to Allah in good times and practice patience in hard times.
In the Sahih, there is a Hadith that says;
«عَجَبًا لِلْمُؤْمِنِ لَا يَقْضِي اللهُ لَهُ قَضَاءً إِلَّا كَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ، وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ، وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَه»
( The matter of the believer is amazing, for nothing that Allah decrees for him, but it is better for him.
If a Darra' (harm ) strikes him, he is patient, and this is better for him, if he is given Sarra' ( prosperity ), he thanks ( Allah ) for it and this is better for him.) The believer, therefore, is aware of the test behind the afflictions whether it may be prosperity or adversity that Allah sends to him, as well as the blessings.
Similarly, in another Hadith,
«لَايَزَالُ الْبَلَاءُ بِالْمُؤْمِنِ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ نَقِيًّا مِنْ ذُنُوبِهِ،وَالْمُنَافِق مِثْله كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ لَا يَدْرِي فِيمَ رَبَطَهُ أَهْلُهُ وَلَا فِيمَ أَرْسَلُوه»
( The believer will continue to be tested by afflictions until he ends up pure from sin.
And the parable of the hypocrite is that of a donkey, it does not know why its owners tied it or released it. ) Allah said next, فَأَخَذْنَـهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ ( So We seized them all of a sudden while they were unaware. ) meaning, We struck them with punishment all of a sudden, while they were unaware.
A Hadith describes sudden death,
«مَوْتُ الْفَجْأَةِ رَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ وَأَخْذَةُ أَسَفٍ لِلْكَافِر»
( Sudden death is a mercy for the believer, but a sorrowful punishment for the disbeliever. )

(7:95) Then We changed adversity into ease until they throve and said: 'Our forefathers had also seen both adversity and prosperity.' So We suddenly seized them without their even perceiving it. *77

Then We exchanged in place of the meaning

*77).
After narrating individually the stories of how various nations responded to the Message of their Prophets, the Qur'an now spells out the general rule which has been operative throughout the ages.
First, before the appearance of a Prophet in any nation, conditions that would conduce to the acceptance of his Message were created.
This was usually done by subjecting the nations concerned to a variety of afflictions and punishments.
They were made to suffer miseries such as famine, epidemics, colossal losses in trade and business, defeat in war.
Such events usually have a healthy impact on people.
They lead to a softening in their hearts.
They generate humility and modesty.
They enable people to shake off their pride and shatter their reliance on wealth and power and induce thern to trust the One Who is all-powerful and fully controls their destiny.
Above all, such events incline people to heed the words of warning and to turn to God in humility.

But if the people continue to refrain from embracing the truth they are subjected to another kind of test - that of affluence.
This last test signals the beginning of their destruction.
Rolling in abundant wealth and luxury, people are inclined to forget the hard times they have experienced.
Their foolish leaders also inculcate in their minds an altogether preposterous concept of history.
They explain the rise and fall of nations and the alternation of prosperity and adversity among human beings by reference to blind natural forces, and in total disregard of moral values.
Hence if a nation is seized by an affliction or scourge, such people see no reason why it should be explained in terms of moral failure.
They are rather inclined to consider that a person's readiness to heed moral admonition or to turn humbly towards God, is a sign of psychological infirmity.

This foolish mentality has been portrayed all too well by the Prophet ( peace be on him ): 'A believer continually faces adversity until he comes out of it purified of his sins.
As for the hypocrite, his likeness in adversity is that of a donkey who does not know why his master had tied him and why he later released him.' ( Cited by Ibn Kathir in his comments on the verse - Ed. ) Hence, when a people become so hard of heart that they neither turn to God in suffering, nor thank Him for His bounties in prosperity, they are liable to be destroyed at any moment.

It should be noted that the above rule which was applied to the nations of the previous Prophets, was also applied in the time of the Prophet Muhammad ( peace be on him ).
When this surah was revealed the Quraysh displayed exactly the same characteristics and attitudes as those nations which had earlier been destroyed.
According to a tradition narrated by both 'Abd Allah b.
Mas'ud and Abd Allah b.
'Abbas, as the Quraysh grew in defiance to the Prophet's call, he prayed to God that he might be assisted by inflicting famine on the Quraysh, as in the days of the Prophet Joseph.
Accordingly, God subjected the Quraysh to such a severe famine that they took to subsisting on carcasses, the skins of animals, bones, and wool.
Unnerved by this the Quraysh, led by Abu Sufyan, implored the Prophet ( peace be on him ) to pray to God on their behalf.
But when the Prophet*s prayer helped to improve the situation somewhat, the Quraysh reverted to their arrogant and ignorant way's.
( Bukhari, Kitab al-Taharah, Bab idha istashfa'a al-Mushrikun bi al-Muslim' - Ed. ) The wicked ones among them tried to dissuade from God those who had derived some lesson from the famine.
They argued that famines take place in course of operation of natural laws, that they are merely a recurrent physical phenomenon.
They emphasized that the occurrence of famine should not mislead people into believing in Muhammad ( peace be on him ).
It was during this time that the surah under discussion was revealed.
The above verses were thus quite relevant and it is against this backdrop that one appreciates their full significance.
( For details see Yunus 10: 21, al-Nahl 16: 112, al-Muminun 23: 75-6; and al-Dukhan 44: 9-16. )
 

Afflictions that struck Earlier Nations Allah mentions the Ba'sa' and Darra' that struck the earlier nations to whom He sent Prophets.
Ba'sa', refers to the physical sicknesses and ailments that they suffered, while Darra', refers to the poverty and humiliation that they experienced, لَعَلَّهُمْ يَضَّرَّعُونَ ( so that they might humble themselves ) supplicate, humble themselves and invoke Allah, that He might remove the afflictions that they suffered from.
This Ayah indicates that Allah sent down severe afflictions to them so that they might invoke Him, but they did not do what He ordered them.
Therefore, He changed the affliction into prosperity to test them, ثُمَّ بَدَّلْنَا مَكَانَ السَّيِّئَةِ الْحَسَنَةَ ( Then We changed the evil for the good, ) Therefore, Allah changed the hardship into prosperity, disease and sickness into health and well-being, and poverty into richness in provision, so that they might be thankful to Allah for this, but they did none of that.
Allah's statement, حَتَّى عَفَواْ ( until they `Afaw ) refers to increase in numbers, wealth and offspring.
Allah said next, وَّقَالُواْ قَدْ مَسَّ ءَابَاءَنَا الضَّرَّآءُ وَالسَّرَّآءُ فَأَخَذْنَـهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ ( .
.
and they said: "Our fathers were touched with evil and with good." So We seized them all of a sudden while they were unaware. ) He tested them with this ( afflictions ) and that ( ease and abundance ) so that they may humble themselves and repent to Him.
However, they failed both tests, for neither this nor that compelled them to change their ways.
They said, "We suffered Ba'sa' and Darra', but prosperity came afterwards, just as like our forefathers in earlier times." "Therefore," they said, "it is a cycle where we sometimes suffer a hardship and at other times, we enjoy a bounty." However, they did not comprehend Allah's wisdom, nor the fact that He is testing them in both cases.
To the contrary, the believers are grateful to Allah in good times and practice patience in hard times.
In the Sahih, there is a Hadith that says; «عَجَبًا لِلْمُؤْمِنِ لَا يَقْضِي اللهُ لَهُ قَضَاءً إِلَّا كَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ، وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ، وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَه» ( The matter of the believer is amazing, for nothing that Allah decrees for him, but it is better for him.
If a Darra' (harm ) strikes him, he is patient, and this is better for him, if he is given Sarra' ( prosperity ), he thanks ( Allah ) for it and this is better for him.) The believer, therefore, is aware of the test behind the afflictions whether it may be prosperity or adversity that Allah sends to him, as well as the blessings.
Similarly, in another Hadith, «لَايَزَالُ الْبَلَاءُ بِالْمُؤْمِنِ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ نَقِيًّا مِنْ ذُنُوبِهِ،وَالْمُنَافِق مِثْله كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ لَا يَدْرِي فِيمَ رَبَطَهُ أَهْلُهُ وَلَا فِيمَ أَرْسَلُوه» ( The believer will continue to be tested by afflictions until he ends up pure from sin.
And the parable of the hypocrite is that of a donkey, it does not know why its owners tied it or released it. ) Allah said next, فَأَخَذْنَـهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ ( So We seized them all of a sudden while they were unaware. ) meaning, We struck them with punishment all of a sudden, while they were unaware.
A Hadith describes sudden death, «مَوْتُ الْفَجْأَةِ رَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ وَأَخْذَةُ أَسَفٍ لِلْكَافِر» ( Sudden death is a mercy for the believer, but a sorrowful punishment for the disbeliever. )

( Then changed We the evil plight for good ) We replaced drought and lack of fruit with fertility, abundance and comfort ( till they grew affluent and said: Tribulation and distress did touch our fathers ) as they have touched us, but they held firm to their religion. We are just like them and their example we shall follow. ( Then We seized them unawares ) with torment, ( when they perceived not ) the descent of such a torment.

Then We changed the evil for the good, until they increased in number and in wealth, and said: "Our fathers were touched with evil (loss of health and calamities) and with good (prosperity, etc.)." So We seized them of a sudden while they were unaware.

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