Rowwad Translation Center — 172

7:164 When a group of them said, “Why are you admonishing a people whom Allah will destroy or punish severely?” They said, “To excuse ourselves before your Lord, and perhaps they may fear Allah.”

7:165 When they ignored the admonition they were given, We saved those who forbade evil and seized the wrongdoers with a grievous punishment for their defiant disobedience.

7:166 When they persistently violated what they were forbidden to do, We said to them, “Be despised apes[1].”

7:167 And [remember] when your Lord declared that He would send against them those who would afflict them with a terrible punishment[1] until the Day of Resurrection. Your Lord is Swift in Punishment, but He also is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

7:168 We scattered them[1] through the land in communities – some of them were righteous and others were less so. We tested them with both prosperity and adversity, so that they would return [to Allah’s obedience].

7:169 They were then succeeded by other generations who inherited the Scripture, opting for the lowly gains[1], and saying, “We will be forgiven[2].” Yet if a similar gain[3] comes their way, they will seize it. Was not a covenant of the Scripture taken from them that they should not say about Allah except the truth, and they had studied its teachings? But the Home of the Hereafter is better for those who fear Allah. Do you not understand?

7:170 As for those who hold fast to the Scripture and establish prayer, We will not let the reward of those who seek righteousness be lost.