Surah Al-Araf

الأعراف

Surah 7 · Makki · 206 ayahs · Juz 8–9 · pages 151–176 · 24 rukus

Revealed: Makki
Ayahs: 206
Juz: 8–9
Mushaf pages: 151–176
Words: 3,320
Order revealed: 39th (according to Ibn Abbas)
Year: 13th year of Prophethood
Prophets named: Adam, Nuh, Hud, Salih, Lut, Shuaib, Musa, Harun

About Surah Al-Araf (007)

The basic theme of this Surah is Risalah, i.e., Allah’s message as it was sent through many messengers. Several Prophets and parts of their stories…

The basic theme of this Surah is Risalah, i.e., Allah’s message as it was sent through many messengers. Several Prophets and parts of their stories are mentioned to emphasize the Prophets’ mission and their struggle with their people. The Surah tells us that Allah’s Prophets suffered for the cause of truth. Their enemies tried to harm them, but then Allah helped his Prophets and defeated their enemies. The Surah emphasizes that the true message must be presented under all circumstances. After the Prophets it is the duty of the Believers to convey the message of Allah to all people.

Allah’s promise for those who will follow the last Prophet ﷺ.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺis the universal Prophet. Some among the people of Prophet Moses were guided by the truth and lived with justice.
Some Israelites transgressed Allah’s laws and they suffered the consequences.
The eternal covenant of Allah was taken from all human beings.
The coming of the Last Hour.
Shirk has no logic. Ignore the wrongdoers, but invite to Allah with kindness. Listen to the Qur’an and always remember Allah.

The Surah is named after the story of the men awaiting on the “Elevations” between Paradise and Hell.

It comprises of 206 Ayat.

Sections

The Qur’an is revealed to remind the Believers and to warn humankind about the consequences of their actions. The judgment will indeed take place.
The story of Man’s creation and Satan’s opposition to Man.
Warning to the Children of Adam to be aware of Satan’s plots.
Allah’s messengers came to guide people.
The end of those who denied the message and those who accepted the message.
Cries of the wicked in the Hellfire.
The righteous will prosper.
Some lessons from the stories of Prophets Nuh, Hud, Salih, Lut and Shu’aib.
Warnings against those who deny the Prophets and Messengers of Allah.
Prophet Moses and his encounter with Pharaoh of Egypt.
Pharaoh and his magicians were defeated.
Pharaoh continued in his persecution of the Israelites.
Some more signs were shown to Pharaoh and his people.
The Tawrah was given to Prophet Moses.
Some Israelites started calf worship.
The Tawrah and Injil speak about the coming of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

This surah is published a ruku at a time — the Quran's own reading portion — so each page stays short enough to study properly. Pick where you want to begin.

The 24 rukus of Surah Al-Araf

Each ruku is a reading portion. This is what each one covers — click any line to open it.

Ruku	What it covers	Ayahs
1	The Rasools as well as the people to whom they were sent shall be questioned on the Day of Judgment The Scale of justice shall be established	1–10
2	The STORY of Adam and Iblees (Shaitân) Shaitân vowed to mislead Adam and his descendants Shaitân cunningly seduced Adam and Eve to disobey Allah Their repentance and Allah's conditional acceptance	11–25
3	Children of Adam are warned not to fall into the trap of Shaitân like Adam Allah never commands what is shameful	26–31
4	Command of Allah to wear decent and proper dress, and eat good food Children of Adam are directed to follow the Guidance of Allah provided to them through His Rasools	32–39
5	The gates of heaven shall not be opened for the disbelievers Only believers shall enter paradise Dialogue between the residents of paradise and the inmates of hell	40–47
6	Dialogue between the people of A'râf and the inmates of hell Inmates of hell shall beg for water and food from the residents of paradise	48–53
7	Allah is the One Who created this universe and Pray to Allah with fear and hope	54–58
8	The Prophet Nûh's address to his people, their disbelief and their fate	59–64
9	The Prophet Hûd's address to his people, their disbelief and their fate	65–72
10	The Prophet Sâleh's address to his people, their disbelief and their fate The Prophet Lût's address to his people, their disbelief and their fate	73–84
11	The Prophet Shu'aib's address to his people, their disbelief and their fate Behavior of the unbelievers with the Prophet Shu'aib	85–93
12	Adversity and affluence are reminders from Allah	94–99
13	Stories of prior nations are narrated to teach a lesson The Prophet Musa (Moses) was sent for the guidance of Pharaoh and his chiefs	100–108
14	Musa's (Moses) confrontation with the magicians of Pharaoh	109–126
15	Pharaoh's revenge against the people of Moses	127–129
16	Scourge of Allah against Pharaoh and his chiefs, and their final destruction Allah rescued the Children of Israel but they still disbelieved in One God	130–141
17	Musa's communication with Allah Musa was given the written tablets of Taurât (Torah) Arrogant people cannot get guidance	142–147
18	The Israelites started worshipping the calf even after witnessing their miraculous deliverance	148–151
19	Worshippers of the calf incurred the wrath of Allah The advent of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was described in Torah and Gospel	152–157
20	Muhammad (pbuh) is the Prophet for the whole of mankind Allah provided food and water to the people of Musa in the desert	158–162
21	Jewish Sabbath, its violation The role of different groups and Allah's scourge Jews' wrong belief about Allah's forgiveness	163–171
22	Mankind's testimony at the time of Adam's creation that Allah is their Rabb Example of those who deny Allah's revelations Misguided people are like animals, even worse	172–181
23	Those who deny Allah's revelations are drawing closer to destruction The Prophet himself has no power to benefit anyone or to avert any harm	182–188
24	Allah created the whole of mankind from a single soul Reality of those gods whom people worship beside Allah Allah is the Protecting Friend of the righteous Show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant When the Qur'an is being recited listen to it with complete silence	189–206

Themes of Surah Al-Araf (007)

The principal subject of this Surah is “invitation to the Divine message sent down to Muhammad ”ﷺwhich is implied in a warning. This is because the…

The principal subject of this Surah is “invitation to the Divine message sent down to Muhammad ”ﷺwhich is implied in a warning. This is because the Messenger had spent a long time in admonishing the people of Makkah without any tangible effect on them. Nay, they had turned a deaf ear to his message and become so stubborn and antagonistic that in accordance with the Divine Design, the Messenger was going to be commanded to leave them and turn to other people. That is why they are being admonished to accept the Message but at the same time they are being warned in strong terms of the consequences that followed the wrong attitude of the former people towards their Messengers. Now that the Prophet ﷺ was going to migrate from Makkah the concluding portion of the address has been directed towards The People of the Book (the Jews and Christians) with whom he was going to come into contact.

This meant that the time of migration was coming near and the “invitation” was going to be extended to mankind in general and was not to be confined to his own people in particular as before. During the course of the address to the Jews, the consequences of their hypocritical conduct towards Prophethood, have also been pointed out clearly for they professed to believe in the Prophet Moses but in practice opposed his teachings, disobeyed him and worshipped falsehood and consequently were afflicted with humiliation and disgrace.

At the end of the Surah some instructions have been given to the Prophet ﷺand his followers for carrying out the work of the propagation of Islam with wisdom. The most important of these is that they should show patience and exercise restraint in answer to the provocations of their opponents. Above all they have been advised that under stress of the excitement of feeling they should not take any wrong step that might harm their cause.

Key words of Surah Al-Araf

Arabic builds its words from a three-letter root; change the pattern around the root and the meaning changes with it. These are the roots this surah keeps returning to, and the words built on each — every word links to the ayah it sits in. More in the Grammar Guide.

Root	Times	Words in this surah
قول	110	قَالُواThey said قُلْنَاWe said قَالَAllah said
كون	74	يَكُنْBe كَانَWas كُنَّاWere
اله	70	اللَّهِThe signs of Allah وَاللَّهُAnd Allah بِاللَّهِWith Allah
ربب	65	رَبِّكُمْYour Lord رَبُّهُمَاTheir Lord رَبَّنَاOur Lord
قوم	55	الْمُسْتَقِيمَOn your straight path وَأَقِيمُواAnd set الْقِيَامَةِOf resurrection
امن	36	لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَFor the believers يُؤْمِنُونَBelieve أَمِينٌTrustworthy
رسل	30	أُرْسِلَWere sent الْمُرْسَلِينَThe messengers رُسُلٌMessengers
ايي	29	بِآيَاتِنَاTo our verses آيَاتِThe signs of Allah الْآيَاتِThe signs
لهث	2	يَلْهَثْHe lolls out his tongue
ذام	1	مَذْءُومًاDisgraced
ريش	1	وَرِيشًاAnd as an adornment
حثث	1	حَثِيثًاRapidly

Introduction and themes from The Qur’an Companion (Qur’an Wiki), Institute of Qur’anic Studies, reproduced unchanged. Key roots are their selection; every word, meaning and count shown here is from ILMHUB’s own Quran database.

Published 21 August 2026