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الآية رقم (163) - واَسْأَلْهُمْ عَنِ الْقَرْيَةِ الَّتِي كَانَتْ حَاضِرَةَ الْبَحْرِ إِذْ يَعْدُونَ فِي السَّبْتِ إِذْ تَأْتِيهِمْ حِيتَانُهُمْ يَوْمَ سَبْتِهِمْ شُرَّعاً وَيَوْمَ لاَ يَسْبِتُونَ لاَ تَأْتِيهِمْ كَذَلِكَ نَبْلُوهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ

(163) - (And ask them about the town that was by the sea - when they transgressed in [the matter of] the sabbath - when their fish came to them openly on their sabbath day, and the day they had no sabbath they did not come to them. Thus did We give them trial because they were defiantly disobedient.)

( وَاسْأَلْهُمْ عَنِ الْقَرْيَةِ) (And ask them about the town): The question from the Prophet (saws) is a rebuke and admonition. It is a question asked by someone who knows the answer, because the One (swt) Who taught Prophet Muhammad (saws) is the One (swt) Who sent him (saws). Asking is to affirm a reality; indicating that this matter is present in their Scriptures. The Jews of Al-Madina frequently debated and discussed the Prophet (saws), so he (saws) would discuss them using what was in their own Scriptures.

( الَّتِي كَانَتْ حَاضِرَةَ الْبَحْرِ ) (that was by the sea): Referring to the town which was close to the sea. It is a coastal town on the seashore.

( إِذْ يَعْدُونَ فِي السَّبْتِ) (when they transgressed in [the matter of] the sabbath): They exceeded the limits set by Allah (swt), violating the sanctity of the Sabbath. The story of the Sabbath is that Allah (swt) designating Saturday as a day of rest for Jews, forbidding them from working on that day. In this coastal village, they used to work in fishing.

( إِذْ تَأْتِيهِمْ حِيتَانُهُمْ يَوْمَ سَبْتِهِمْ شُرَّعًا ) (when their fish came to them openly on their sabbath day): On their Sabbath day, as they stayed in their homes, the fins of fish appeared clearly in the sea before them.

( وَيَوْمَ لَا يَسْبِتُونَ ۙ لَا تَأْتِيهِمْ) (and the day they had no sabbath they did not come to them): From Sunday until Friday, no fish would come to their shores. This made them violate the restrictions of Saturday and made a scheme; they made a fishing net -same as the one used nowadays in coastal areas- where the fish gets in and cannot get out gain. On Saturday, they planned that the fish would come and enter the net and they would take it out on Sunday, a plan that indicated transgression and violation of what Allah (swt) had forbidden.

( كَذَٰلِكَ نَبْلُوهُم) (Thus did We give them trial): Allah (swt) wanted to afflict them..

( بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ ) (because they were defiantly disobedient): (Disobedience) indicates going against Allah’s (swt) commands in what He (swt) ordered or forbidden.