Quran Universe
7:139

إِنَّ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ مُتَبَّرٞ مَّا هُمۡ فِيهِ وَبَٰطِلٞ مَّا كَانُواْ يَعۡمَلُونَ

Inna haolai mutabbarun ma hum feehi wabatilun ma kanoo yaAAmaloona

Indeed, those [worshippers] - destroyed is that in which they are [engaged], and worthless is whatever they were doing."

Word by word
  1. إِنَّIndeed
  2. هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِthese
  3. مُتَبَّرٞdestroyed
  4. مَّا(is) what
  5. هُمۡthey
  6. فِيهِ(are) in it
  7. وَبَٰطِلٞand vain
  8. مَّا(is) what
  9. كَانُواْthey used to
  10. يَعۡمَلُونَdo
Al-A'raf · 7:139Makkah

What they worship will perish, and their work is in vain.

Musa explains why the idols are worth nothing

Musa's verdict
their devotionto carved idols
is
destroyedit will perish
and
in vainall they do there
What looked impressive
their devotionsincere, constant
worth nothingaimed at the wrong thing

Musa told his people that the idol worshippers they admired would perish in what they were doing, and that all their work was in vain. Ibn Kathir says Musa was correcting their ignorance of Allah's greatness and His purity from any partner.

You see people giving their whole lives to a career, a team, an image. They are so devoted it looks admirable. Devotion is only as valuable as what it is aimed at.

Anyone that devoted must be onto something.

Devotion aimed at anything other than Allah ends in nothing.

Try this

Look at where most of your energy went this week. Redirect ten minutes of it to Allah today.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 7:138)

And We brought the Children of Israel (with safety) across the sea, and they came upon a people devoted to some of their idols (in worship). They said: "O Musa! Make for us a god as they have gods." He said: "Verily, you are an ignorant people. (138)[Musa added:] "Verily, these people will be destroyed for that which they are engaged in (idols' worship). And all that they are doing is in vain. (139)

The Children of Israel safely cross the Sea, but still held on to the Idea of Idol Worshipping

Allah mentions the words that the ignorant ones among the Children of Israel uttered to Musa after they crossed the sea and witnessed Allah's Ayat and great power.

فَأَتَوْا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَىٰ أَصْنَامٍ لَّهُمْ

(And they came upon a people devoted to some of their idols (in worship).)

Some scholars of Tafsir said that the people mentioned here were from Canaan, or from the tribe of Lakhm. Ibn Jarir commented, "They were worshipping idols that they made in the shape of cows, and this influenced the Children of Israel later when they worshipped the calf. They said here,

يَا مُوسَى اجْعَل لَّنَا إِلَٰهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ

("O Musa! Make for us a god as they have gods." He said: "Verily, you are an ignorant people.")

Musa replied, you are ignorant of Allah's greatness and majesty and His purity from any partners or anything resembling Him.

إِنَّ هَٰؤُلَاءِ مُتَبَّرٌ مَّا هُمْ فِيهِ

("Verily, these people will be destroyed for that which they are engaged in) they will perish,

وَبَاطِلٌ مَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

("and all that they are doing is in vain.")

Commenting on this Ayah, Imam Abu Ja'far bin Jarir reported from Abu Waqid Al-Laythi that they (the Companions) went out from Makkah with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for (the battle of) Hunayn. Abu Waqid said, "Some of the disbelievers had a lote tree whose vicinity they used to remain in, and upon which they would hang their weapons on. That tree was called 'Dhat Al-Anwat'. So when we passed by a huge, green lote tree, we said, 'O Messenger of Allah! Appoint for us a Dhat Al-Anwat as they have.' He said,

قُلْتُمْ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ كَمَا قَالَ قَوْمُ مُوسَى لِمُوسَى:

(by He in Whose Hand is my soul! You said just as what the people of Musa said to him:

اجْعَل لَّنَا إِلَٰهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ - إِنَّ هَٰؤُلَاءِ مُتَبَّرٌ مَّا هُمْ فِيهِ وَبَاطِلٌ مَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

("Make for us a god as they have gods." He said: "Verily, you are an ignorant people. Verily, these people will be destroyed for that which they are engaged in, and all that they are doing is in vain."))"