وَإِذْ قِيلَ لَهُمُ اسْكُنُوا هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةَ وَكُلُوا مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ وَقُولُوا حِطَّةٌ وَادْخُلُوا الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا نَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ خَطِيئَاتِكُمْ سَنَزِيدُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ﴿۱۶۱﴾ فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْهُمْ قَوْلًا غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِجْزًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَظْلِمُونَ ﴿۱۶۲﴾ وَاسْأَلْهُمْ عَنِ الْقَرْيَةِ الَّتِي كَانَتْ حَاضِرَةَ الْبَحْرِ إِذْ يَعْدُونَ فِي السَّبْتِ إِذْ تَأْتِيهِمْ حِيتَانُهُمْ يَوْمَ سَبْتِهِمْ شُرَّعًا وَيَوْمَ لَا يَسْبِتُونَ لَا تَأْتِيهِمْ كَذَلِكَ نَبْلُوهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ ﴿۱۶۳﴾

﴾161﴿ Wa iz qeela lahumuskunoo haazihil qaryata wa kuloo minhaa haisu shi'tum wa qooloo hittatunw wadkhulul baaba sujjadan naghfir lakum khateee'aatikum; sanazeedul muhsineen
﴾162﴿ Fabaddalal lazeena zalamoo minhum qawlan ghairal lazee qeela lahum fa arsalnaa 'alaihim rijzan minas samaaa'i bimaa kaanoo yazlimoon
﴾163﴿ Was'alhum 'anil qaryatil latee kaanat haadiratal bahri iz ya'doona fis Sabti iz ta'teehim heetaanuhum yawma Sabtihim shurra'anw wa yawma laa yasbitoona laa ta'teehim; kazaalika nabloohum bimaa kaanoo yafsuqoon

﴾161﴿ And when it was said to them, “Settle in this town and eat from it wherever you wish, and say ‘hitta’ (forgiveness), and enter the gate humbly (in submission), so We will forgive you your sins, and We will surely increase the reward of those who do good.”
﴾162﴿ But those among them who did wrong changed the words to something other than what had been said to them. So We sent upon them a severe punishment from above because of the wrong they used to do.
﴾163﴿ And ask them about the town that was by the sea, when they transgressed on the Sabbath—when their fish would come to them openly on their Sabbath day, and on days when they had no Sabbath, the fish would not come to them. Thus We tested them because they used to rebel against the command of Allah.

[161] In this verse, a fifth blessing is mentioned, which includes four components: two are blessings (ni‘matayn), and two are commandments (ḥukmān). The explanation of this is found in verse 58 of Surah Al-Baqarah.
In Surah Al-Baqarah, the command to enter the town was mentioned, whereas here, the command to dwell in it is mentioned—because entering comes before settling. Also, in the Qur’anic arrangement, Surah Al-Baqarah comes before this Surah (Al-A‘rāf), so the sequence is preserved accordingly.
[162] This reminder refers to the first punishment (‘adhāb al-awwal), whose explanation is given in verse 59 of Surah Al-Baqarah. The cause of this punishment was their alteration of both the divinely prescribed words and actions.
Between this verse and verse 59 of Surah Al-Baqarah, there are eight differences in expression, the details of which are mentioned in the tafsīr of Surah Al-Baqarah.
[163] This is a reminder of the second punishment, which was caused by their use of deception (ḥīlah) in religious matters. The Jews used to hide this incident out of shame, which is why Allah Most High said: (وَاسْأَلْهُمْ) – “Ask them.”
The name of the village was “Eilat,” and today it is known as “‘Aqabah Dāwūd.”
This verse indicates two key points:
1. When Allah tests people, He increases the presence of prohibited things and reduces what is lawful—this is part of the test.
2. Using tricks and deception in religious rulings is considered ‘udwān (transgression), and it is forbidden.
The scholars say: Any trick that nullifies the wisdom of Shariah or leads to something haram is unanimously impermissible. An example in our time is the deception (ḥīlah) of waiving the prayer obligation (isqāt-i-marwajah), which undermines the intent of the Shariah. People become emboldened to abandon prayers and other obligations.
Also, the fidyah (compensation) for missed prayers and fasts is the right of the poor, but due to this deceptive practice, it is being given to the wealthy—which makes this trick impermissible and a bid‘ah (innovation). A similar matter is mentioned in verse 65 of Surah Al-Baqarah.
(وَاسْأَلْهُمْ) – The intended meaning of asking here is to expose and denounce their sin.
This incident is also a proof of the truthfulness of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who, being unlettered, had neither heard nor read this story, yet informed the Jewish scholars of it.
(حَاضِرَةَ الْبَحْرِ) – Refers to the Red Sea (Baḥr Qulzum), and ḥāḍirah means “living beside” or “adjacent to,” since “presence” is the opposite of “absence.” Therefore, calling any being other than Allah “ḥaḍrat” (the present one) in a spiritual sense suggests shirk, because presence is an attribute specific to Allah in that absolute sense.