The statesman said, "O young man, Allah likens the one to whom He gave His Book and taught him knowledge that He excluded others from having, but this person gave it up and chose to follow his vain desires - choosing Allah's Wrath over His Pleasure, and the worldly life over the Hereafter, and the created beings over the Creator - with the dog which is from among the worst of animals, and the lowest in value; meaning in terms of its self - its desire does not surpass its belly - and, the most keen in safeguarding its own selfish interests.
An example of this, is that it does not walk except with its snout on the ground, smelling and sniffing - and keeps on sniffing its rear end from among all the parts of its body. If you toss a stone at it, it runs after it, to bite it, with its teeth due to its extreme voracity; it is from among the most despicable of animals, the most tolerant in bearing degradation, and the most content with low things. It prefers stinking putrid carcass to fresh meat and filth to pleasant food; if it comes in possession of a dead animal that would suffice a hundred dogs, it would still not allow a single dog to partake of it, growling at it, due to its greed and selfishness.
And from amongst its strange behaviour is that, if it sees someone of a shabby appearance and clothes and poor condition, it barks at him and attacks him as it perceiving him to be a contender in its power - while if it sees someone with a good appearance and beautiful attire and a commanding presence, it puts its snout down submissively on the ground to him, not even raising its head.
So, let me tell you a story. ‘Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said that Allah’s statement,
Is about Bal'am bin Baura’, a man from the Children of Israel.” Qatadah commented that Ka'b said, “He was a man from Al-Balqla' (a province of Jordan) who knew Allah's Greatest Name. He used to live in Bayt Al-Maqdis with the tyrants.” Al-'Awfi reported that Ibn 'Abbas said, “He is Bal'am bin Ba'ura', a man from Yemen whom Allah had given the knowledge of His Ayat, but he abandoned them. Malik bin Dinar said, “He was one of the scholars of the Children of Israel whose supplication was acceptable. They used to seek his lead in suplication in times of difficulty. Allah's Prophet, Musa, sent him to the King of Madyan to call him to Allah. That king appeased him and gave him land and gifts, and he reverted from the religion of Musa and followed the king's religion.”وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ الَّذِي آتَيْنَاهُ آيَاتِنَا فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْهَا فَأَتْبَعَهُ الشَّيْطَانُ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ"And recite to them, [O Muhammad], the news of him to whom we gave [knowledge of] Our signs, but he detached himself from them; so Satan pursued him, and he became of the deviators." - [QS.7:175]
Therefore, it is well-known that this honorable Ayah was revealed about a man from the Children of Israel in ancient times, according to Ibn Mas*ud and several others among the Salaf. Ali bin Abi Talhah also reported that Ibn ‘Abbas said, “When Musa and those with him went to the city of the tyrants (Jerusalem), the cousins of Bal'am and his people came to him and said, ‘Musa is a strong man, and he has many soldiers. If he gains the upper hand over us, we will be destroyed. Therefore, supplicate to Allah that He prevents Musa and those with him from prevailing over us.' Bal'am said, 'If I supplicate to Allah that He turns back Musa and those with him, I will lose in this life and the Hereafter.' They kept luring him until he supplicated against Musa and his people, and Allah took away what he bestowed on him (of knowledge).
He became interested in the adornment of this life and its delights. He indulged in the lusts of life and its joys and was deceived by it, just as life deceived others like him, without sound comprehension or a good mind.
Ibn Ishaq narrated that when Musa entered the land of Bani Canaan in the area of Ash-Sham (Greater Syria), the people of Ba'lam came to him, saying, “This is Musa, son of Imran with the Children of Israel. He wants to drive us out from our land, kill us and replace us with the Children of Israel. We are your people and have no other dwelling area. You are a person whose supplication is acceptable (to Allah), so go out and supplicate to Allah against them.” He said, “Woe to you! Here is Allah’s Prophet (Musa) with whom the angels and believers are! How can I supplicate against them when I know from Allah what I know?” They said, “ We have no other dwelling area.” So they kept luring and begging him until he was tempted by the trial and went on his donkey towards Mount Husban, which was behind the Israelite military barracks. When he proceeded on the Mount for a while, the donkey sat down and refused to proceed. He got off the donkey and struck it until it stood up again and he rode it. The donkey did the same after a little while, and he struck it again until it stood up. So he proceeded and tried to supplicate against Musa and his people.
However, Allah made his tongue mention his people with evil and the Children of Israel with good instead of his people, who protested, “ O Bal'am! What are you doing? You are supplicating for them and against us!” He said, “ It is against my will. This is a matter that Allah has decided.” He then said to them, as his tongue was made to loll out of his mouth, “Now I have lost this life and the Hereafter.”
References :Some scholars said that the end of Bal'am’s tongue, flickered out of his mouth. Therefore, his example is the example of the dog, its tongue pants regardless of whether it is driven away or not. It was also said that the meaning here is a parable of this man - and his like - concerning their misguidance, persisting the wrong path and not being able to benefit from faith or comprehend what they are being called to. So his example is that of a dog which pants whether it was driven away or left alone. The person described here does not benefit from the advice or the call to faith, just as if the advice and call never occurred. Allah said,
And also, Allah said,إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَأَنْذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنْذِرْهُمْ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ"Indeed, those who disbelieve - it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them - they will not believe." - [QS.2:6]
The heart of the disbeliever, the hypocrite and the wicked is weak and devoid of guidance, therefore, it keeps faltering.اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ أَوْ لا تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ إِنْ تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَاللَّهُ لا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ"Ask forgiveness for them, [O Muhammad], or do not ask forgiveness for them. If you should ask forgiveness for them seventy times - never will Allah forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, and Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people." - [QS.9:80]
Allah said next to the Prophet (ﷺ), "Relate the stories, perhaps the Children of Israel, who have knowledge ot the story of Bal'am and what happened to him when Allah allowed him to stray and expelled him from His mercy. Allah favored him by teaching him His Greatest Name, by which, if He is asked, He will grant, and if He is called upon, He answers. But Bal'am used it in disobedience to Allah and invoked Him against His own party of the people of faith, followers of His servant and Messenger during that time, Musa, alaihissalam, whom Allah spoke to directly, perhaps they may reflect and avoid Bal'am’s behavior."
And Allah says that evil is the example of the people who deny His Ayat in that they are equated with dogs that have no interest but to collect food and satisfy lusts. Therefore, whoever goes out of the area of knowledge and guidance, and seeks satisfaction for his lusts and vain desires, is just like a dog; what an evil example. Narrated Ibn Abbas, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,
Allah did not wrong them, but they wronged themselves by rejecting guidance, not obeying their Rabb, being content with this life that will soon end, all the while seeking to fulfill desires and obey lusts."الْعَائِدُ فِي هِبَتِهِ كَالْكَلْبِ يَعُودُ فِي قَيْئِهِ، لَيْسَ لَنَا مَثَلُ السَّوْءِ"The one who takes back his gift is like a dog swallowing its own vomit, and we (believers) should not act according to this bad example." - [Sahih Al-Bukhari]
Then the statesman said, "In Allah’s likening of the one who prefers the worldly life and its hastened pleasures over the final abode - despite his abundant knowledge - to a dog in the intensity of its yearning (for low things). This person, whose condition as Allah has mentioned in regard to his withdrawing from the signs of Allah and choosing to follow his vain desires, it is only due to his extreme yearning for worldly desires and due to his heart being cut off from Allah and the final abode. He resembles in this respect the dog in its constant panting, whether it is provoked or left alone. Ibn Jurayj said, 'The dog is insensate (cut off from emotion and feeling) whether you attack it or leave it alone it simply pants, which is the condition of the one who leaves guidance because he lacks a heart.' And Allah knows best."
وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَاهُ بِهَا وَلَكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الأرْضِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِنْ تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَثْ ذَلِكَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا فَاقْصُصِ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ"And if We had willed, we could have elevated him thereby, but he adhered [instead] to the earth and followed his own desire. So his example is like that of the dog: if you chase him, he pants, or if you leave him, he [still] pants. That is the example of the people who denied Our signs. So relate the stories that perhaps they will give thought." - [QS.7:176]
- Imam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah, Paragons of the Quran, Dar As-Sunnah.
- Syaikh Safiurrahman Al-Mubarakpuri, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) Volume IV, Darussalam
