The People of the Sabbath

The People of the Sabbath (Ashab as-Sabt) were the inhabitants of a coastal city whom God tested: fish were abundant on Saturday — the day when fishing was forbidden to them — and scarce on other days. Some circumvented the prohibition through stratagems; despite the warning of the righteous, they persisted, and were transformed 'into despised apes' (2:65; 7:166), as an example and a warning.

The Quran evokes the inhabitants of a coastal city, subject to a trial: fish came in abundance on Saturday — the Sabbath, the day when fishing was forbidden — and disappeared on other days (7:163).

Some circumvented the prohibition through stratagems. A group of righteous people reprimanded them, while another considered it futile to warn them. The righteous distanced themselves from the sin.

Faced with the transgressors' obstinacy in defying the prohibition, God punished them: 'Be despised apes!' (7:166; 2:65). The Quran presents this punishment as 'an example for those who were present and those who came after, and a warning for the God-fearing' (2:65).

The Quran does not name the city; exegetical tradition often identifies it with Ayla (near present-day Aqaba), but this is not a Quranic text: we do not fix it. The transformation 'into apes' is understood by the majority of exegetes in the literal sense; the Quran, however, insists above all on its function: an example and a warning (2:65). We adhere to the text.

The story of the People of the Sabbath warns against stratagems that claim to respect the letter of a prohibition while violating its spirit. It also highlights the merit of those who denounce evil and distance themselves from it: the Quran recalls that this punishment was 'a warning for the God-fearing.'

Interroge-les sur cette cité située au bord de la mer dont les habitants transgressèrent le shabbat. Les poissons apparaissaient en effet à la surface de l'eau le samedi, jour de repos obligatoire, mais disparaissaient les autres jours de la semaine. C'est ainsi que Nous les éprouvions pour prix de leur insoumission.

7:163

Devant leur obstination à braver l'interdit, Nous leur avons dit : « Soyez transformés en singes abjects ! »

7:166

Vous connaissez pourtant le sort subi par ceux des vôtres qui ont transgressé le shabbat auxquels Nous avons dit : « Soyez transformés en singes abjects ! »

2:65