Surah Al-A’raf >> Currently viewing Surah Al-A’raf Ayat 179 (7:179)

Surah Al-A’raf Ayat 179 in Arabic Text

وَلَقَدۡ ذَرَأۡنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرٗا مِّنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ وَٱلۡإِنسِۖ لَهُمۡ قُلُوبٞ لَّا يَفۡقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمۡ أَعۡيُنٞ لَّا يُبۡصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمۡ ءَاذَانٞ لَّا يَسۡمَعُونَ بِهَآۚ أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ كَٱلۡأَنۡعَٰمِ بَلۡ هُمۡ أَضَلُّۚ أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلۡغَٰفِلُونَ
Wa laqad zara’naa li jahannama kaseeran minal jinni wal insi lahum quloobul laa yafqahoona bihaa wa lahum a’yunul laa yubisiroona bihaa wa lahum aazaanul laa yasma’oona bihaa; ulaaa’ika kal an’aami bal hum adall; ulaaa’ika humul ghaafiloon

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 179

Sahih International
And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind. They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless.

Yusuf Ali
Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell: They have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle,- nay more misguided: for they are heedless (of warning).

Abul Ala Maududi
And certainly We have created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind; they have hearts with which they fail to understand; and they have eyes with which they fail to see; and they have ears with which they fail to hear. They are like cattle – indeed, even more astray. Such are utterly heedless.

Muhsin Khan
And surely, We have created many of the jinns and mankind for Hell. They have hearts wherewith they understand not, they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not (the truth). They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones.

Pickthall
Already have We urged unto hell many of the jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not. These are as the cattle – nay, but they are worse! These are the neglectful.

Dr. Ghali
And indeed We have already propagated for Hell many of the jinn and humankind; they have hearts with which they do not comprehend, and they have eyes with which they do not behold, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like the cattle; no indeed, they are further in error. Those are they (who are) heedless..

Abdel Haleem
We have created many jinn and people who are destined for Hell, with hearts they do not use for comprehension, eyes they do not use for sight, ears they do not use for hearing. They are like cattle, no, even further astray: these are the ones who are entirely heedless.

Muhammad Junagarhi
اور ہم نے ایسے بہت سے جن اور انسان دوزخ کے لیے پیدا کئے ہیں، جن کے دل ایسے ہیں جن سے نہیں سمجھتے اور جن کی آنکھیں ایسی ہیں جن سے نہیں دیکھتے اور جن کے کان ایسے ہیں جن سے نہیں سنتے۔ یہ لوگ چوپایوں کی طرح ہیں بلکہ یہ ان سے بھی زیاده گمراه ہیں۔ یہی لوگ غافل ہیں

Quran 7 Verse 179 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Al-A’raf ayat 179, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(7:179) And certainly We have created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind;[140] they have hearts with which they fail to understand; and they have eyes with which they fail to see; and they have ears with which they fail to hear. They are like cattle – indeed, even more astray. Such are utterly heedless.


140. This does not mean that God has created some people for the specific purpose of fuelling Hell. What it does mean is that even though God has bestowed upon men faculties of observation, hearing and reasoning, some people do not use them properly. Thus, because of their own failings, they end up in Hell.

The words employed to give expression to the idea are ones which reflect deep grief and sorrow. This can perhaps be grasped by the occasional outbursts of sorrow by human beings. If a mother is struck by the sudden death of her sons in a war, she is prone to exclaim: ‘I had brought up my sons that they might serve as cannon fodder!’ Her exclamatory, utterance does not mean that that was the real purpose of the upbringing. What she intends to convey by such an utterance is a strong condemnation of those criminals because of whom all her painful efforts to bring up her sons have gone to waste.

Ibn-Kathir

179. And surely, We have created many of the Jinn and mankind for Hell. They have hearts wherewith they understand not, and they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not (the truth). They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones.


Disbelief and the Divine Decree

Allah said,

﴿وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ﴾

(And surely, We have created for Hell) We made a share in the Fire for,

﴿كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الْجِنِّ وَالإِنْسِ﴾

(many of the Jinn and mankind) We prepared them for it by their performance of the deeds of its people. When Allah intended to create the creation, He knew what their work will be before they existed. He wrote all this in a Book, kept with Him, fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and earth. Muslim recorded that `Abdullah bin `Amr narrated that the Messenger of Allah said,

«إِنَّ اللهَ قَدَّرَ مَقَادِيرَ الْخَلْقِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِخَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ وَكَانَ عَرْشُهُ عَلَى الْمَاء»

(Verily, Allah decided the destination and due measurement of the creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and earth, and His Throne was over the water.) There are many Hadiths on this subject, and certainly, the matter of Al-Qadar is of utmost importance, yet this is not where we should discuss it. Allah said,

﴿لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لاَّ يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لاَّ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ ءَاذَانٌ لاَّ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَآ﴾

(They have hearts wherewith they understand not, and they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not.) meaning, they do not benefit from these senses that Allah made for them as a means of gaining guidance. Similarly, Allah said,

﴿وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ سَمْعاً وَأَبْصَـراً وَأَفْئِدَةً فَمَآ أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَلاَ أَبْصَـرُهُمْ وَلاَ أَفْئِدَتُهُمْ مِّن شَىْءٍ إِذْ كَانُواْ يَجْحَدُونَ بِـَايَـتِ اللَّهِ﴾

(And We had assigned them the (faculties of) hearing, seeing, and hearts; but their hearing, seeing, and their hearts availed them nothing since they used to deny the Ayat.) ﴿46:26﴾. Allah also said about the hypocrites,

﴿صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْىٌ فَهُمْ لاَ يَرْجِعُونَ ﴾

((They are) deaf, dumb, and blind, so they return not (to the right path)) ﴿2:18﴾, and about the disbelievers,

﴿صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْىٌ فَهُمْ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ﴾

((They are) deaf, dumb and blind. So they do not understand.) ﴿2:171﴾ However, they are not deaf, dumb or blind, except relation to the guidance. Allah said;

﴿وَلَوْ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا لأَسْمَعَهُمْ وَلَوْ أَسْمَعَهُمْ لَتَوَلَّواْ وَّهُم مُّعْرِضُونَ ﴾

(Had Allah known of any good in them, He would indeed have made them listen; and even if He had made them listen, they would but have turned away with aversion (to the truth).) ﴿8:23﴾,

﴿فَإِنَّهَا لاَ تَعْمَى الاٌّبْصَـرُ وَلَـكِن تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِى فِى الصُّدُورِ﴾

(Verily, it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts which are in the breasts that grow blind.) ﴿22:46﴾, and,

﴿وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَـنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَاناً فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ – وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيَصُدُّونَهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ وَيَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ ﴾

(And whosoever turns away blindly from the remembrance of the Most Gracious (Allah), We appoint for him Shaytan to be an intimate companion to him. And verily, they hinder them from the path, but they think that they are guided aright!)﴿43:36-37﴾ Allah’s statement,

﴿أُوْلَـئِكَ كَالأَنْعَـمِ﴾

(They are like cattle), means, those who neither hear the truth, nor understand it, nor see the guidance, are just like grazing cattle that do not benefit from these senses, except for what sustains their life in this world. Allah said in a similar Ayah,

﴿وَمَثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ كَمَثَلِ الَّذِى يَنْعِقُ بِمَا لاَ يَسْمَعُ إِلاَّ دُعَآءً وَنِدَآءً﴾

(And the example of those who disbelieve is as that of one who shouts to those who hear nothing but calls and cries.) ﴿2:171﴾ meaning, their example, when they are called to the faith, is the example of cattle that hear only the voice of their shepherd, but cannot understand what he is saying. Allah further described them

﴿بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ﴾

(nay even more astray), than cattle, because cattle still respond to the call of their shepherd, even though they do not understand what he is saying. As for the people described here, they are unlike cattle, which fulfill the purpose and service they were created for. The disbeliever was created to worship Allah alone in Tawhid, but he disbelieved in Allah and associated others in His worship. Therefore, those people who obey Allah are more honorable than some angels, while cattle are better than those who disbelieve in Him. So Allah said;

﴿أُوْلَـئِكَ كَالأَنْعَـمِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْغَـفِلُونَ﴾

(They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones.)

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surah al-a'raf ayat 179
surah al-a'raf ayat 180
surah al-a'raf ayat 181
surah al-a'raf ayat 182
surah al-a'raf ayat 183

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