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Four words carry this passage: the verb for forbidding, the good things, the fixed term, and the verb for setting things right. Each one has a cousin you already know in Indonesian: haram, thayyib, ajal and saleh.
حَرَّمَ
ḥarrama · 7:32 and 7:33 · ▶ hear ayah 32
Saheeh International: “has forbidden” — Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah · My Lord has only forbidden immoralities
- Meaning in context
- Both ayat use the same verb, in the same place: the third word. Ayah 32 asks who has forbidden the good things. Ayah 33 answers with what my Lord has actually forbidden. The question and the answer turn on this one word. Indonesian keeps it as haram, and the same root gives Masjidil Haram and ihram. In Indonesian the word mostly means “forbidden”. The root also carries the sense of something sacred, not to be touched.
- Root
- ح ر م ḥ-r-m. Lane gives both senses. Of a thing: it “was, or became, forbidden, prohibited, or unlawful”. Of a place or a person: it “was, or became, sacred, or inviolable, or entitled to reverence, respect, or honour”. He adds that the opening Allāhu akbar of the prayer is called takbīrat al-taḥrīm, because it forbids everything outside the prayer. Corpus root ↗ · Lane's Lexicon ↗
- For reflection
- The people in ayah 32 made something haram for themselves and felt more religious for it. Is there something good that Allah allows which you treat as if it were wrong?
- In this surah
- Four times as this verb. Twice here, at 7:32 and 7:33. At 7:50 the people of the Fire ask for water and provision, and are told that Allah has forbidden both to the disbelievers. At 7:157 the Prophet ﷺ makes the good things lawful and forbids the bad.
Grammar, counts and cross-references
- Grammar
- Verb — 3rd person masculine singular, form II, perfect. The third word of both 7:32 and 7:33. Corpus 7:32 word by word ↗
- Elsewhere in the Qur'an
- The root occurs 83 times in six derived forms; this verb 39 times. Three of them:
- 7:50 قَالُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ حَرَّمَهُمَا عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ — “Indeed, Allah has forbidden them both to the disbelievers.”
- 7:157 وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ — “and prohibits for them the evil.”
- 5:87 يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُحَرِّمُوا طَيِّبَاتِ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ — “do not prohibit the good things which Allah has made lawful to you.”
On the tafsir page → Al-Tabari reports that the people answered in ayah 32 kept meat, fat and milk from themselves on hajj and ʿumrah. That the same root gives both ḥarām and iḥrām is our observation, not his.
وَٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ
wa-l-ṭayyibāt · 7:32 · ▶ hear ayah 32
Saheeh International: “and the good [lawful] things” — and the good [lawful] things of provision
- Meaning in context
- Saheeh International adds “[lawful]” in brackets. The Arabic word itself says good: pleasant, wholesome, clean. Al-Jalalayn glosses it as delicious foods. Many of us know it from halalan thayyiban. Thayyib is the second half of that phrase: not only allowed, but good.
- Root
- ط ي ب ṭ-y-b. Lane: it “was, or became, [good,] pleasant, delightful, delicious, sweet, or savoury”, “and it was, or became, pure, … or clean”. He marks one sense as figurative: “It was, or became, lawful, allowable, or free.” On this very phrase he says it “means And what are esteemed [good,] pleasant, delicious, sweet, or savoury, of foods and beverages.” Lane numbers the ayah vii. 30, after an older edition. Corpus root ↗ · Lane's Lexicon ↗
- For reflection
- Halal is the minimum. What would it mean for your food, your work or your spending to be ṭayyib as well?
- In this surah
- This plural noun three times: 7:32, 7:157 and 7:160. The singular ṭayyib comes at 7:58, the good land.
Grammar, counts and cross-references
- Grammar
- Noun — accusative feminine plural, with the prefixed conjunction wa, “and”. Corpus 7:32 word by word ↗
- Elsewhere in the Qur'an
- The root occurs 50 times in five derived forms; this plural noun 21 times. Two of them:
- 7:157 وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ — “and makes lawful for them the good things.”
- 5:87 يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُحَرِّمُوا طَيِّبَاتِ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ — “do not prohibit the good things which Allah has made lawful to you.”
On the tafsir page → Al-Qurtubi records three positions on giving up good food, and the one al-Maqdisi calls correct: the only fault is takalluf, straining after it.
أَجَلٌۭ
ajalun · 7:34 · ▶ hear ayah 34
Saheeh International: “a [specified] term” — And for every nation is a [specified] term
- Meaning in context
- A time fixed in advance, like the day a debt falls due. That comparison is al-Qurtubi's own. Indonesian has the word, but narrower: ajal is the moment of death, as in ajal menjemput. The Qur'an uses it for any fixed term. In this ayah al-Tabari reads it of nations; al-Qurtubi also applies it to each person.
- Root
- أ ج ل ʾ-j-l. Lane: “The primary signification seems to be, It had a term, or period, appointed for it, at which it should fall due, or come to pass.” Corpus root ↗ · Lane's Lexicon ↗
- For reflection
- Not an hour late, and not an hour early. If the time is already set, what is one thing you should stop putting off?
- In this surah
- Four times. Twice in 7:34 itself, ajalun and then ajaluhum, “their term”; then 7:135 and 7:185.
Grammar, counts and cross-references
- Grammar
- Noun — nominative masculine, indefinite. The sixth word, ajaluhum, is the same noun with the possessive pronoun “their”. Corpus 7:34 word by word ↗
- Elsewhere in the Qur'an
- The root occurs 56 times in four derived forms; the noun ajal 52 times. Three of them:
- 16:61 مَا تَرَكَ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ وَلَٰكِنْ يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى — “He defers them for a specified term.” The same ayah ends with the words of 7:34.
- 13:38 وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُولٍ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ بِآيَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ لِكُلِّ أَجَلٍ كِتَابٌ — “For every term is a decree.”
- 63:11 وَلَنْ يُؤَخِّرَ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهَا — “never will Allah delay a soul when its time has come.”
On the tafsir page → Al-Qurtubi says the hour is named because it is the smallest named unit of time: not an hour, and not less.
وَأَصْلَحَ
wa-aṣlaḥa · 7:35 · ▶ hear ayah 35
Saheeh International: “and reforms” — then whoever fears Allah and reforms
- Meaning in context
- To set something right, to repair it. The word just before it, ittaqā, comes from the root of taqwā, a key word of the previous passage. So in this ayah taqwa does not stand alone: it comes with a second verb. Al-Tabari explains it as putting right the deeds he had spoiled with sins. Indonesian has two words from this root already: saleh or soleh, righteous, and islah, making peace between people.
- Root
- ص ل ح ṣ-l-ḥ. Lane gives the basic sense as being “in a good, incorrupt, sound, right, or proper, state, or in a state of order; he, or it, throve”. The corpus glosses this form of the verb as “to correct, to reform, to improve, to make peace”. Corpus root ↗ · Lane's Lexicon ↗
- For reflection
- Fear of Allah, then repair. What is one thing you have spoiled, at home, at work or with someone, that you could begin to set right this week?
- In this surah
- The root runs all through Al-A'raf. It is the name of the prophet Ṣāliḥ (7:73, 7:75, 7:77). It is iṣlāḥ, the earth's being put right, at 7:56 and 7:85. It is Musa's word to Harun, aṣliḥ, set things right, at 7:142. And it is the righteous and their good deeds at 7:42, 7:168, 7:189, 7:190 and 7:196, and at 7:170 al-muṣliḥīn, the reformers, whose reward is not lost.
Grammar, counts and cross-references
- Grammar
- Verb — 3rd person masculine singular, form IV, perfect, with the prefixed conjunction wa, “and”. Corpus 7:35 word by word ↗
- Elsewhere in the Qur'an
- The root occurs 180 times in eight derived forms; this verb 28 times. The verbal noun appears twice in this surah in the same phrase:
- 7:56 وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَاحِهَا — “And cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation.”
- 7:85 وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَاحِهَا ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ — Shuʿayb says the same words to Madyan.
On the tafsir page → Al-Tabari: he puts right the deeds he had spoiled with sins. Al-Qurtubi: he puts right what is between him and Allah.
More words to notice
- زِينَةَ zīnata · 7:32
- “The adornment.” The root ز ي ن occurs 46 times; this noun 19 times, and in Al-A'raf only at 7:31 and 7:32, the last ayah of the previous passage and the first of this one. It is not the Indonesian zina, which is a different root.
- خَالِصَةًۭ khāliṣatan · 7:32
- “Exclusively.” The root خ ل ص occurs 31 times. It is the root of the previous passage's mukhliṣīn (7:29), sincere. Here the good things belong to the believers alone on the Day. Al-Jalalayn notes a second reading, khāliṣatun.
- نُفَصِّلُ nufaṣṣilu · 7:32
- “We detail.” The root ف ص ل occurs 43 times; this form of the verb 17 times. Indonesian pasal, a section, comes from the same root. The same phrase, “Thus do We detail the verses”, comes again at 7:174.
- ٱلْفَوَٰحِشَ al-fawāḥisha · 7:33
- “Immoralities,” the plural of fāḥishah, which we met at 7:28, in the previous passage. The root ف ح ش occurs 24 times; fāḥishah and its plural 17 times. In this surah also at 7:80.
- وَٱلْإِثْمَ wa-l-ithma · 7:33
- “And sin.” The root أ ث م occurs 48 times; this noun 35 times, and only here in Al-A'raf. Lane: “he did what was unlawful”. Ibn Kathir: the wrong a person does against himself. The Prophet ﷺ described it as what troubles your heart and what you would not like people to know of (Sahih Muslim 2553a, on Sunnah.com ↗; our summary).
- وَٱلْبَغْىَ wa-l-baghya · 7:33
- “And oppression.” The root ب غ ي occurs 96 times in eight forms; this noun 11 times. Lane's first sense is “He sought; sought for, or after”, and then “the exceeding the due bounds, or just limits”. He even uses it of a valley: “The valley flowed with water reaching to a place to which it had not reached before.” Ibn Kathir: the wrong done to others.
- سُلْطَـٰنًۭا sulṭānan · 7:33
- “Any authority.” The root س ل ط occurs 39 times; this noun 37 times, in this surah at 7:33 and 7:71. Indonesian sultan is a king. Lane gives both: “A proof; an evidence; an argument”, and “A ruler, or governor … a king; a sovereign”, the second being the usual later sense. In the ayah it is the proof; al-Jalalayn has “any definitive proof”. The same words, mā lam yunazzil bihi sulṭānan, are at 3:151 and 22:71.
- أُمَّةٍ ummatin · 7:34
- “Nation.” The root أ م م occurs 119 times; this noun 64 times, eight of them in Al-A'raf. Indonesian umat.
- سَاعَةًۭ sāʿatan · 7:34
- “An hour.” The root س و ع occurs 49 times. Indonesian saat, a moment. Here it is a short stretch of time; at 7:187 the same word is the Hour. Al-Qurtubi: named as the smallest unit of time.
- يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ yā banī Ādam · 7:35
- “O children of Adam.” The fourth time in ten ayat: 7:26, 7:27, 7:31 and 7:35, and the last in the surah. The Qur'an uses it once more, at 36:60. The previous passage began the thread; this one closes it.
- يَقُصُّونَ yaquṣṣūna · 7:35
- “Relating.” The root ق ص ص occurs 30 times; this verb 20 times. Indonesian kisah, a story, comes from the same root. In Al-A'raf also at 7:7 (session 01), 7:101 and 7:176.
- وَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ wa-stakbarū · 7:36
- “And were arrogant.” The root ك ب ر occurs 161 times — it is the root of akbar, as in Allāhu akbar. This form of the verb occurs 40 times, eight of them in Al-A'raf (7:36, 40, 48, 75, 76, 88, 133, 206). Session 02's word was tatakabbara (7:13), what Iblis did. Pride is a thread through the surah.
Self-check
Find the word in the ayah, then open the answer.
Which word, in both ayah 32 and ayah 33, means “has forbidden”?
حَرَّمَ
ḥarrama — the third word of both ayat.
Which word in ayah 32 means “and the good things”?
وَٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ
wa-l-ṭayyibāt — the ninth word.
Which word in ayah 34 is the fixed term?
أَجَلٌۭ
ajalun — the third word, and again as ajaluhum, the sixth.
Which word in ayah 35 comes right after “whoever fears Allah”?
وَأَصْلَحَ
wa-aṣlaḥa — “and reforms”, the twelfth word.
| Word | Transliteration | Ayah |
|---|---|---|
| حَرَّمَ | ḥarrama | 7:32 · 7:33 |
| وَٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ | wa-l-ṭayyibāt | 7:32 |
| أَجَلٌۭ | ajalun | 7:34 |
| وَأَصْلَحَ | wa-aṣlaḥa | 7:35 |