The Glorious Qur`an

7: the Heights (a'araf)

This long chapter of 206 Meccan verses is arranged in twenty-four sections. VV.

163-170 in section XXI date however from Madina. The chapter was revealed after [The Letter] Sad 38 and before Sprites 72, and concerns our eventual reward for our conduct during this life. It contains a series of parallel yet not identical passages on the case histories or messages that have been conveyed through various prophets.

In section II the Devil tempts Adam before the tree of Good and Evil.

The Heights which give the chapter its title are mentioned in sections V-VI, and they present a vivid picture of Heaven and Hell which furnishes some of the imagery for the Divine Comedy by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. Some consider them to be a lofty bridge or the site of Purgatory that lies between Heaven and Hell.

Sections IX-X reflect on the future and on God's Oneness. Then there follows in detail Moses' wonderful story, especially on Mt. Sinai with the Golden Calf (XIII XVIII), and then his troubles with the Children of Israel. The last section (XXIV, long with VII), offers the vast picture of man's creation along with the resultant process of animal and human reproduction.