Which Surah and Juz is Quran 7:188 from?

This ayah is from Surah Al-A'raaf (The Heights), the 7th surah of the Quran. It appears in Juz 9.

Are there hadiths related to Quran 7:188?

Yes — there are 5 hadiths related to this ayah from Sunan Abu Dawud, Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunan Ibn Majah.

What tafsir is available for Quran 7:188?

Commentary on this ayah is available from Ibn Kathir, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Abbas, Al-Jalalayn — classical scholars of Quranic exegesis.

What topics does Quran 7:188 relate to?

This ayah connects to these Quranic topics: Allah, Testimony of Those of Knowledge, Prophethood, Divine Will, Warning.

Ayah 187

يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلسَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَىٰهَ...

7:188Al-A'raaf

Q: What does Quran 7:188 mean?

Quran 7:188 (Surah Al-A'raaf, Ayah 188) translates to: "Say, "I hold not for myself [the power of] benefit or harm, except what Allah has willed. And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth, and no harm would have touched me. I am not except a warner and a bringer of good tidings to a people who believe.""

Ayah 189

۞ هُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍۢ وَٰحِدَةٍۢ ...

قُل لَّآ أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِى نَفْعًۭا وَلَا ضَرًّا إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَلَوْ كُنتُ أَعْلَمُ ٱلْغَيْبَ لَٱسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ ٱلْخَيْرِ وَمَا مَسَّنِىَ ٱلسُّوٓءُ ۚ إِنْ أَنَا۠ إِلَّا نَذِيرٌۭ وَبَشِيرٌۭ لِّقَوْمٍۢ يُؤْمِنُونَ

Qul laaa amliku linafsee naf'anw wa laa darran illaa maa shaaa'al laah; wa law kuntu a'alamul ghaiba lastaksartu minal khairi wa maa massaniyas soo'; in ana illaa nazeerunw wa basheerul liqawminy yu'minoon

Say, "I hold not for myself [the power of] benefit or harm, except what Allah has willed. And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth, and no harm would have touched me. I am not except a warner and a bringer of good tidings to a people who believe."

Themes in this ayah

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The Prophet ﷺ93 Decree & what is written78 Trust in Allah64

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7:188Ayah 1206

5 ayahs in Al-A'raaf are strongly about the Prophet. This is one of them.

← Previous on The Prophet ﷺ7:184Then do they not give thought? There is in their companion [Muhammad] no madness. He is not but a clear warner.

Tafsir

Scholars offer complementary perspectives

View Full Tafsir: Al-Jalalayn on 7:188→

Say ‘I have no power to bring benefit to attract it to myself or hurt to repel it except as God wills. Had I knowledge of the Unseen — that which is hidden from me I would have acquired much good and adversity in the way of impoverishment and otherwise would not touch me since I would take precautions against such adversity by avoiding what is harmful. I am but a warner to disbelievers of the Fire and a bearer of good tidings of Paradise to a people who believe’.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: It is not on my own that I give you or withhold from you: I am just a treasure, putting it where I have been commanded.

Sahih al-Bukhari #2989Abu Huraira:Sahih

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Neither do I give you (anything) nor withhold (anything) from you, but I am just a distributor (i.e. Qasim), and I give as I am ordered."

Sahih al-Bukhari #4616Narrated `Abdullah:Sahih

It is a sign of having knowledge that, when you do not know something, you say: 'Allah knows better.' Allah said to his Prophet: 'Say: No wage do I ask of you for this (Qur'an), nor am I one of the pretenders (a person who pretends things which do not exist)' (38.86) When the Quraish troubled and stood against the Prophet (ﷺ) he said, "O Allah! Help me against them by afflicting them with seven years of famine like the seven years of Joseph." So they were stricken with a year of famine during which they ate bones and dead animals because of too much suffering, and one of them would see something like smoke between him and the sky because of hunger. Then they said: Our Lord! Remove the torment from us, really we are believers. (44.12) And then it was said to the Prophet (by Allah), "If we remove it from them. they will revert to their ways (of heathenism)." So the Prophet (ﷺ) invoked his Lord, who removed the punishment from them, but later they reverted (to heathenism), whereupon Allah punished them on the day of the Battle of Badr, and that is what Allah's Statement indicates: 'Then watch for the day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke plainly visible...we will indeed (then) exact retribution.' (44.10).

Sunan Ibn Majah #3561It was narrated that Abu Dharr said:Sahih

"The Messenger of Allah (saas) said to me: "Shall I not tell you of a treasure which is one of the treasures of Paradise?' I said: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah.' He said: 'La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah (There is no power and no strength except with Allah).'" (sahih)

Sahih Muslim #6738Zaid b. Alqam reported:Sahih

I am not going to say anything but only that which Allah's Messenger (may peace be upgn him) used to say. He used to supplicate:" O Allah, I seek refuge in Thee from incapacity, from sloth, from cowardice, from miserliness, decrepitude and from torment of the grave. O Allah, grant to my soul the sense of righteousness and purify it, for Thou art the Best Purifier thereof. Thou art the Protecting Friend thereof, and Guardian thereof. O Allah, I seek refuge in Thee from the knowledge which does not benefit, from the heart that does not entertain the fear (of Allah), from the soul that does not feel contented and the supplication that is not responded."