Translation of the meanings Ayah 160 Surah Al-A‘rāf - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia

Ayah: 160

وَقَطَّعۡنَٰهُمُ ٱثۡنَتَيۡ عَشۡرَةَ أَسۡبَاطًا أُمَمٗاۚ وَأَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱسۡتَسۡقَىٰهُ قَوۡمُهُۥٓ أَنِ ٱضۡرِب بِّعَصَاكَ ٱلۡحَجَرَۖ فَٱنۢبَجَسَتۡ مِنۡهُ ٱثۡنَتَا عَشۡرَةَ عَيۡنٗاۖ قَدۡ عَلِمَ كُلُّ أُنَاسٖ مَّشۡرَبَهُمۡۚ وَظَلَّلۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمُ ٱلۡغَمَٰمَ وَأَنزَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمُ ٱلۡمَنَّ وَٱلسَّلۡوَىٰۖ كُلُواْ مِن طَيِّبَٰتِ مَا رَزَقۡنَٰكُمۡۚ وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا وَلَٰكِن كَانُوٓاْ أَنفُسَهُمۡ يَظۡلِمُونَ

(160) And We cleaved them up into twelve tribal nations^[1795]. We inspired Mūsā, when his people appealed to him for water, to: “Strike the rock with your staff!” Twelve springs spurted out from it; every people knew their own fountain. We ˹further˺ made the clouds shade them, sent down to them the manna and quails; “Eat from the good things that We provided for you”^[1796]—they did not commit injustice against Us, but they did themselves the injustice^[1797].

[1795] This fact is stated by way of detailing God’s many favours on them. Dividing them into tribal nations implicated that they were to thrive and their numbers to multiply (cf. al-Biqāʿī, Naẓm al-Durar, Ibn ʿĀshūr). It was also by way of smoothly running their affairs and building them up into an organized community, the first manifestation of which was that each tribe was allocated a spring, it own resource (cf. Ibn ʿĀshur). However, qaṭṭaʿa (lit. to cut into several pieces) could be taken as a seed sown for severance of ties (the Diaspora) as is indicated in Aya 168 below.
[1796] This is a telling of the many favours that God showered them with during their exodus: they were provided with water, food and shade in the arid, scathingly sunny desert in which they wandered (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Baghawī, al-Saʿdī).
[1797] They simply treated God’s immeasurable favours with rebellion and ingratitude; thus they did themselves an injustice and deserved His punishment (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Rāzī, al-Saʿdī).