People of the Sabbath — أَصْحَاب السَّبْت
اصحاب السبت
Also known as: Companions of the Sabbath
Path — Deviated Path | گمراہی
Reason: Used deception to violate the Sabbath prohibition; transformed into apes as divine punishment (7:163-166)
Story — English
A community by the sea who were forbidden from fishing on the Sabbath (Saturday). The fish would come abundantly on Saturday and be scarce other days — a specific test. They devised a trick: they set nets on Friday, collected fish on Sunday. They thought they were technically not violating the Sabbath. When they refused the warning of the righteous among them, Allah transformed them into apes as punishment. The Quran references this as a ‘deterrent punishment’ for those before them and a lesson for the righteous.
کہانی — اردو
سمندر کنارے قوم جن پر سبت کا پابندی تھی۔ ہفتے کو مچھلیاں کثرت سے آتیں — آزمائش۔ انہوں نے چال چلی: جمعہ کو جال ڈالیں، اتوار کو اٹھائیں۔ بندر بنا دیے گئے — ‘ذلیل بندر ہو جاؤ’ (7:166)۔
Lessons from the Quran
- Circumventing the spirit of a law while following its letter is deception
- Tests come in the form of abundant temptation at exactly the forbidden time
- Deterrent punishment: visible transformation as a sign for others
- Community responsibility — the righteous who warned were saved