Asad’s version

(7:175) And tell them what happens to him 140 to whom We vouchsafe Our messages and who then discards them: Satan catches up with him, and he strays, like so many others, into grievous error. m

(7:176) Now had We so willed, We could indeed have exalted him by means of those [messages]: but he always clung to the earth and followed but his own desires. Thus, his parable is that of an [excited] dog: if thou approach him threateningly, he will pant with his tongue lolling; and if thou leave him alone, he will pant with his tongue lolling. 142 Such is the parable of those who are bent on giving the lie to Our messages. Tell [them], then, this story, so that they might take thought.

[[ Asad’s notes : -

140 Lit., "convey to them the tiding of him".

141 Lit., "he became one of those who have strayed into grievous error". In the original, this whole verse is in the past tense; but since its obvious purport is the statement of a general truth (cf Razi, on the authority of Qatadah, 'Ikrimah and Abu Muslim) and not, as some commentators assume, a reference to a particular person, it is best rendered in the present tense. The kind of man spoken of here is one who has understood the divine message but, nevertheless, refuses to admit its truth because - as is pointed out in the next verse - he "clings to the earth", i.e., is dominated b a materialistic, "earthly" outlook on life. (Cf. the allegory of "a creature out of the earth" in 27:82.)

142 Because his attitudes are influenced only by what his earth-bound desires represent to him as his immediate "advantages" or "disadvantages", the type of man alluded to in this passage is always - whatever the outward circumstances - a prey to a conflict between his reason and his base urges and, thus, to inner disquiet and imaginary fears and cannot attain to that peace of mind which a believer achieves through his faith. ]]