Translation of the meanings Ayah 138 Surah Al-A‘rāf - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia

Ayah: 138

وَجَٰوَزۡنَا بِبَنِيٓ إِسۡرَٰٓءِيلَ ٱلۡبَحۡرَ فَأَتَوۡاْ عَلَىٰ قَوۡمٖ يَعۡكُفُونَ عَلَىٰٓ أَصۡنَامٖ لَّهُمۡۚ قَالُواْ يَٰمُوسَى ٱجۡعَل لَّنَآ إِلَٰهٗا كَمَا لَهُمۡ ءَالِهَةٞۚ قَالَ إِنَّكُمۡ قَوۡمٞ تَجۡهَلُونَ

(138) ^[1745]And We whisked^[1746] the Children of Israel across the sea, and then they came upon a people who were devoutly attentive to some idols of theirs. They said: “Mūsā, make us a god like the gods they have!” He said: “You are ˹but˺ ignorant people^[1747];

[1745] What follows are snippets of how the Israelites fared when God made them inherit that land, as alluded to in the last part of Aya 129: “… so that He sees how you fare”. This is told in detail here so that Believers may take heed and guard their Faith at all times (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[1746] Jāwaza means that God made it possible as well as effortless for them to pass through the sea (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[1747] They did not fully realize the extent of God Almighty’s Magnificence and the binding nature of worshipping Him alone (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Saʿdī, Ibn ʿĀshūr). After censuring them, Moses explained to them, why he was so forthright with them on this issue (cf. al-Biqāʿī, Naẓm al-Durar) so that they might realize how erroneous they were (cf. Riḍā).