Surah al-A`raf (The Elevated Places) 7 : 26

Overview (Verses 26 - 27)

A Warning to Be Always Heeded

Finally, the story and the comments that follow it refer to an intrinsic aspect of human nature, which makes man too shy to willingly appearnaked: “Children of Adam, We have sent down to you clothing to cover your nakedness, and garments pleasing to the eye; but the robe of God-consciousness is the finest of all. In this there is a sign from God, so that they may reflect. Children of Adam, do not allow Satan to seduce you in the same way as he caused your (first) parents to be turned out of the Garden. He stripped them of their garment in order to make them aware of their nakedness.” (Verses 26-27)

In contrast to the nakedness that followed Adam’s sin we have here a fitting reply to the arbitrary impositions of nakedness practised by the unbelievers in the days of ignorance in Arabia. In His address, God reminds people of His grace as He taught them and made things easy for them, and made it a law for them that they should wear garments to cover their nakedness so that they replace naked ugliness with the beauty of dressing up. In the Arabic text, the term used here for dressing with clothes, “We have sent down to you clothing”, is often used to denote `revelation’. This gives the Qur’ānic statement added connotations so as to mean, “We have legislated in the revelations We have sent down to you, etc.” The term used in the Arabic text for `clothing’ may denote underwear which covers the private parts, and may also denote general clothing, and the term denoting `garments’ gives the sense of top outfits normally selected for their beautiful appearance. It may also connote wealth and comfortable living. These meanings often go hand in hand: “Children of Adam, We have sent down to you clothing to cover your nakedness, and garments pleasing to the eye.” (Verse 26) This is followed by a mention of the robe of piety, described here as ‘fine’: “But the robe of God-consciousness is the finest of all. In this there is a sign from God, so that they may reflect.” (Verse 26)

God reminds the children of Adam of His grace as He requires them to cover their nakedness with dress in order to protect their humanity against sinking to the level of animals. Everything He has facilitated for them is also an aspect of His grace. He reminds them of it “so that they may reflect.” (Verse 26) A Muslim, then should never overlook the clear link between the attacks on people’s morality and sense of shame while calling for physical nudity in the name of friendliness and civilization, and the Zionist scheme which aims to destroy their humanity and spread immorality as a prelude to forcing them to submit to Zion’s power. He should also realize that there is a direct link between all this and the schemes trying to uproot even the vague religious sentiments that remain in the hearts of Muslim people. Even these vague sentiments are not tolerated. The aim is to eradicate them all. Hence, a wicked and shameless campaign advocating physical and mental nudity is launched with the support of writers and media working in the service of world Zionism. Human beauty is that of dress and cover while animal beauty is that of nudity. Human beings in this day and age are sinking into the depth of ignorant reaction that sends them down to the level of animals. Hence they do not remember God’s grace which enables them to protect and maintain their humanity.

In order to emphasize the urgency of His warning, their Lord tells mankind that Satan and his tribe can see them whereas they cannot see or perceive satans. Satan, then, has a greater ability to seduce them, utilizing his subtle means. They need to be on their guard all the time so that they are not taken unawares: “Surely, he and his tribe watch you from where you cannot perceive them.” (Verse 27) Then follows an increased heightening of the effect by saying that God has allowed a relationship of patronage to develop between satans and unbelievers. Doomed indeed is the one whose patron is his enemy. For this enables his enemy to direct him the way he wishes, when he has no real help or support and cannot resort to God’s patronage since he is an unbeliever: “We have made the devils as patrons for those who do not believe.” (Verse 27)

Having denounced their claims that God has ordered them to follow such indecent practices, God tells them that His commandments run in the opposite direction. God has enjoined justice and moderation in all matters, not indecency. He has also ordered people to follow what He has laid down in matters of worship, and to derive their laws and values from what He has revealed to His Messenger. He has not left matters disorganized, allowing everyone to state what he wants and then claim that his prejudices are endorsed by God. He has also commanded that submission to Him should be pure and complete so that no one submits to anyone else.

This is what God has enjoined. It runs opposite to their practices in which they follow their fathers and implement their man-made laws. It is also contrary to exposing one’s nakedness after God has given human beings, out of His grace, clothing to cover themselves and garments with which they appear beautiful. Furthermore, it is contrary to having two different sources of reference in their lives, one for lawmaking and another for worship; for that is a practical form of associating partners with God.

These verses emphasize the importance of this question showing that it touches on something deeply rooted in human nature. Clothing is not merely an adornment to man, but it also covers his physical nakedness, in the same way as fearing God covers his mental nakedness.

Sound, uncorrupted human nature abhors revealing its physical and mental nakedness. Those who try to persuade people to cast off their clothes and the garment of God-consciousness and fearing Him, in order to make them appear naked, unashamed, aim only to deprive man of some of his basic natural qualities. This attempt is supported by many who speak up or write or utilize the media in order to paint this nakedness as normal, using every means for this evil end. Their goal is to deprive man of some aspects of his humanity which distinguishes him from other creatures. They all want to put man at the mercy of his enemy, Satan, who has always wanted to undress him and expose his nakedness. Such people are only putting into practice some evil Zionist schemes, aiming to destroy humanity, and spread promiscuity so that all mankind submits without resistance to the kingdom of Zion, after they have lost their distinctive human characteristics.

Nakedness is a quality of animal nature. Man does not prefer nakedness except when he sinks down to a level below that which befits man. Those who find nakedness beautiful suffer from a distortion of human taste. Some primitive peoples in the heartland of Africa are always nude, but when Islam penetrates into these areas, the first aspect of civilization it imparts to them is that they start to wear clothes. In modern, `progressive’ jāhiliyyah people sink into the depths from which Islam rescues those who are backward and puts them on the road to civilization in the Islamic sense, which promotes the distinctive characteristics of man.

Psychological and mental nakedness, which sheds the sense of shame and fear of God, is strongly advocated by many people in the media, but it is simply a step back into jāhiliyyah. It is a far cry from the superior level of advancement and civilization, although its advocates try to depict it as so.

The story of the creation of man as told in the Qur’ān emphasizes these values and standards and explains them fully. We praise God for having guided us and saved us from following the whispers of Satan and rescued us from the quagmire of ignorance and jāhiliyyah.