Sura al-Araf

Sūra al-A'rāf (Arabic: سورة الأعراف) is the seventh sura of the Qur'an. It is a Makki sura located in eighth and ninth juz's of the Qur'an. Since it recounts the story of people of "A'raf" (Elevations) on the day of resurrection, it came to be called "Sura al-A'raf."

Like other Makki suras, Sura al-A'raf is mainly about the origin and the resurrection, monotheism, judgment of the day of resurrection, fight against polytheism, and the place of humans in the world of creation. It aims to reinforce the beliefs and principles of faith among Muslims. It also refers to covenants between God and people, particularly in the World of Dharr. It recounts stories of past nations and earlier prophets such as Noah (a), Lot (a), and Shu'aib (a), in order to show failures of people who deviated from the path of monotheism.

Well-known verses of the sura include the verse forty six of the sura concerning people of A'raf; verses 54-56, known as the Verse of Sukhra (Dominion), and verse 172, known as the Verse of Covenant (Mithaq). As to virtues of reciting this sura, there is a hadith according to which if one recites Sura al-A'raf, a barrier will be placed by God between him and Iblis, and Adam (a) will be his intercessor on the day of resurrection.

This Surah Araf is recited by Abdul Basit, Mohamed Siddiq El-Minshawi, Abu Bakr al-Shatri and Saad al-Ghamdi, in their beautiful voices.