Anwar Al-Quran

Verses 38–43

7. Al-A'raaf · The Heights

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قَالَ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ فِىٓ أُمَمٍۢ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِكُم مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلْإِنسِ فِى ٱلنَّارِ ۖ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَتْ أُمَّةٌۭ لَّعَنَتْ أُخْتَهَا ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا ٱدَّارَكُوا۟ فِيهَا جَمِيعًۭا قَالَتْ أُخْرَىٰهُمْ لِأُولَىٰهُمْ رَبَّنَا هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ أَضَلُّونَا فَـَٔاتِهِمْ عَذَابًۭا ضِعْفًۭا مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ قَالَ لِكُلٍّۢ ضِعْفٌۭ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَعْلَمُونَ

7:38He will say, ‘Enter the Fire, along with the nations of jinn and humans who passed before you!’ Every time that a nation enters [hell], it will curse its sister [nation]. When they all rejoin in it, the last of them will say about the first of them, ‘Our Lord, it was they who led us astray; so give them a double punishment of the Fire.’ He will say, ‘It is double for each [of you], but you do not know.’1

وَقَالَتْ أُولَىٰهُمْ لِأُخْرَىٰهُمْ فَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِن فَضْلٍۢ فَذُوقُوا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْسِبُونَ

7:39And the first of them will say to the last of them, ‘You have no merit over us! So taste the punishment because of what you used to earn.’

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا وَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ عَنْهَا لَا تُفَتَّحُ لَهُمْ أَبْوَٰبُ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَلَا يَدْخُلُونَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ حَتَّىٰ يَلِجَ ٱلْجَمَلُ فِى سَمِّ ٱلْخِيَاطِ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ

7:40Indeed, those who deny Our signs and are disdainful of them—the gates of the heaven will not be opened for them, nor shall they enter paradise until the camel passes through the needle’s eye, and thus do We requite the guilty.2

لَهُم مِّن جَهَنَّمَ مِهَادٌۭ وَمِن فَوْقِهِمْ غَوَاشٍۢ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ

7:41They shall have hell for their resting place, and over them shall be sheets [of fire], and thus do We requite the wrongdoers.

وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ لَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَآ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلْجَنَّةِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَٰلِدُونَ

7:42As for those who have faith and do righteous deeds—We task no soul except according to its capacity—they shall be the inhabitants of paradise, and they shall remain in it [forever].

وَنَزَعْنَا مَا فِى صُدُورِهِم مِّنْ غِلٍّۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهِمُ ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ ۖ وَقَالُوا۟ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى هَدَىٰنَا لِهَٰذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِىَ لَوْلَآ أَنْ هَدَىٰنَا ٱللَّهُ ۖ لَقَدْ جَآءَتْ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ ۖ وَنُودُوٓا۟ أَن تِلْكُمُ ٱلْجَنَّةُ أُورِثْتُمُوهَا بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

7:43We will remove whatever rancour there is in their breasts, and streams will run for them. They will say, ‘All praise belongs to Allah, who guided us to this. We would have never been guided had not Allah guided us. Our Lord’s apostles had certainly brought the truth.’ And the call would be made to them: ‘This is paradise, which you have been given to inherit because of what you used to do!’3

Tafsir

Commentary on this passage

The basic difference of psychology of people of heaven and those of hell is that people of heaven will sympathize with each other and people of hell will demand for severe punishment for each other and point out towards the deeds of each other and will verbalize to extend the punishment of others. This state of affairs is the sign that person should decide and take decision of his own deeds by his own sense and should not be deluded by others.

Verse 41

1.This is a brief sketch of the punishment of the hell that below will be the carpet of fire and above, the cover of fire. The doors of the sky will be closed and there will be no possibility to enter heaven. Worldly and spiritual troubles are worthless in human conception once a man considers himself, he would not dare to commit a sin.

The peculiarity of people of heaven is that there is no jealousy and no animosity in their hearts and they have always thought of others and that is why Allah has been settled them as inheretors of heaven and pointed out towards their rights and authorities from their inheritance.

Footnotes

Explanations of words and phrases in these verses

  1. 1

    Awla and Ukhra does not only denote the previous and the later nations. It also indicates the leaders and their followers. That is why the followers said that ‘our leaders have misled us?

  2. 2

    ‘Sammul Khyat’ is the eye of the needle. It is used to denote an impossible thing.

  3. 3

    This shows that jealous and malicious people cannot enter Paradise. The honour of the inmates of Paradise that they showed not have jealousy and malice. And neither is it applicable because these two things are found where there is poverty and richness, fame and namelessness etc.

  4. Benefit

    The reason for the inheritance of Paradise is found in the traditions. According to this every person is capable to go Hell as well as Heaven. So in both of these a place is fixed for him. Now after this the believers does good and obtains the place reserved for infidels in Paradise and the infidel gets the believers place in Hell. Thus both of them become heirs of each other.

    However, we also find another interpretation that since inheritance is obtained without doing anything and even though the inmates of Paradise are rewarded for their deeds their original intention was to obtain Allah’s pleasure and Paradise is only an offering of it.