Episode 3
Episode 3: 'Be Apes, Despised'
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After the warning was ignored and they grew only more arrogant toward Allah's prohibition, a humiliating punishment came upon those who transgressed. Allah said, "So when they were insolent about that which they had been forbidden, We said to them, โBe apes, despisedโ" (Qur'an 7:166). This event is also affirmed in another verse: "And you had already known about those who transgressed among you concerning the Sabbath, so We said to them, โBe apes, despisedโ" (Qur'an 2:65). Allah then made that event a deterrent for the people of that time and a lesson for the God-fearing who came after (see Qur'an 2:66). Reflection: a sin committed with scheming and arrogance, while closing one's ears to counsel, invites Allah's wrath. The humiliation that befell them was a fitting requital for belittling Allah's command for a fleeting gain. Conversely, salvation was attained by those who obeyed and who dared to uphold the forbidding of wrong. Source & Note: evidence from the Qur'an, 7:166 and 2:65-66. The words "Be apes, despised" are the Qur'an's own text. Scholars differ over the nature of that transformation (physical or figurative); what is certain and to be believed is the text of the verse as it is, without asserting details it does not mention.