Surah Al-A'raf 7:176 — translation and meaning
الأعراف · Verse 176 / 206 · Page 173
ۚ ۚ ۚ وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَاهُ بِهَا وَلَكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِن تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَث ذَّلِكَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا فَاقْصُصِ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
Word by Word
Transliteration
Wa law shi'naa larafa'naahu bihaa wa laakin nahooo akhlada ilal ardi watta ba'a hawaah; famasaluhoo kamasalil kalb; in tahmil 'alaihi yalhas aw tatruk hu yalhas; zaalika masalul qawmil lazeena kazzaboo bi Aayaatinaa; faqsusil qasasa la'allahum yatafakkaroon
Translation
And if We had willed, we could have elevated him thereby, but he adhered [instead] to the earth and followed his own desire. So his example is like that of the dog: if you chase him, he pants, or if you leave him, he [still] pants. That is the example of the people who denied Our signs. So relate the stories that perhaps they will give thought.
Verse interpretation (Tafsir)
If Allah had desired, He would have made this person benefit through these signs, enabling him to act according to them, so that he would be raised up in this world and in the next. But he chose what led to his failure, being attracted to the desires of the worldly life, and preferring them to the Afterlife. His example in his extreme greed for this world is like the example of a dog, which pants with its tongue constantly, whether it is resting or whether it is chased away. This example is the example of the people who are astray because of rejecting Allah’s signs. So relate the stories to them O Messenger so that they may think and reject their denial of the truth and their misguidance.
Source: Al-Mukhtasar Tafsir — Tafsir Center for Quranic Studies.
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