Surah Al-A'raaf (7): Read Online and Download - English Translation

People of the Fire will dispute and curse Each Other Allahmentioned what He will say to those who associate others withHim, invent lies about Him, and reject His Ayat,

(Enter you in the company of nations), who are your likes and similar to you in conduct,

(Who passed away before you) from the earlier disbelieving nations,

(Of men and Jinn, into the Fire.) Allah said next,

(Every time a new nation enters, it curses its sister nation (that went before)) Al-Khalil (Prophet Ibrahim), peace be upon him, said,

("But on the Day of Resurrection, you shall deny each other) 29:25. Also, Allah said,

(When those who were followed declare themselves innocent of those who followed (them), and they see the torment, then all their relations will be cut off from them. And those who followed will say: "If only we had one more chance to return (to the worldly life), we would declare ourselves as innocent from them as they have declared themselves as innocent from us." Thus Allah will show them their deeds as regrets for them. And they will never get out of the Fire) 2:166-167. Allah's statement,

(until they are all together in the Fire) means, they are all gathered in the Fire,

(The last of them will say to the first of them) that is, the nation of followers that enter last will say this to the first nations to enter. This is because the earlier nations were worse criminals than those who followed them, and this is why they entered the Fire first. For this reason, their followers will complain against them to Allah, because they were the ones who misguided them from the correct path, saying,

("Our Lord! These misled us, so give them a double torment of the Fire.") multiply their share of the torment. Allah said in another instance,

(On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say: "Oh! Would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger." And they will say: "Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the (right) way. Our Lord! Give them a double torment.") 33:66-68. Allah said in reply,

(He will say: "For each one there is double (torment)..."), We did what you asked, and recompensed each according to their deeds.' Allah said in another Ayah,

(Those who disbelieved and hinder (men) from the path of Allah, for them We will add torment)16:88. Furthermore, Allah said,

(And verily, they shall bear their own loads, and other loads besides their own) 29:13 and,

(And also (some thing) of the burdens of those whom they misled without knowledge) 16:25.

(The first of them will say to the last of them) meaning, the followed will say to the followers,

("You were not better than us. ..") meaning, you were led astray as we were led astray, according to As-Suddi.

("So taste the torment for what you used to earn.") Allah again described the condition of the idolators during the gathering (of Resurrection), when He said;

(And those who were arrogant will say to those who were deemed weak: "Did we keep you back from guidance after it come to you Nay, but you were criminals." Those who were deemed weak will say to those who were arrogant: "Nay, but it was your plotting by night and day, when you ordered us to disbelieve in Allah and set up rivals to Him!" And each of them (parties) will conceal their own regrets, when they behold the torment. And We shall put iron collars round the necks of those who disbelieved. Are they requited aught except what they used to do) 34:32-33

Doors of Heaven shall not open for Those Who deny Allah's Ayat, and They shall never enter Paradise

Allah said,

(for them the gates of the heavens will not be opened,) meaning, their good deeds and supplication will not ascend through it, according to Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Ibn `Abbas, as Al-`Awfi and `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from him. Ath-Thawri narrated that, Layth said that `Ata' narrated this from Ibn `Abbas. It was also said that the meaning here is that the doors of the heavens will not be opened for the disbelievers' souls, according to Ad-Dahhak who reported this from Ibn `Abbas. As-Suddi and several others mentioned this meaning. What further supports this meaning, is the report from Ibn Jarir that Al-Bara' said that the Messenger of Allah mentioned capturing the soul of the `Fajir' (wicked sinner or disbeliever), and that his or her soul will be ascended to heaven. The Prophet said,

(So they (angels) ascend it and it will not pass by a gathering of the angels, but they will ask, who's wicked soul is this' They will reply, `The soul of so-and-so,' calling him by the worst names he was called in this life. When they reach the (lower) heaven, they will ask that its door be opened for the soul, but it will not be opened for it.) The Prophet then recited,

(For them the gates of heaven will not be opened). This is a part of a long Hadith which was also recorded by Abu Dawud, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah. Ibn Jurayj commented on the Ayah,

(for them the gates of heaven will not be opened,) "(The gates of heaven) will not be opened for their deeds or souls." This explanation combines the two meanings we gave above, and Allah knows best. Allah's statement,

(and they will not enter Paradise until the Jamal goes through the eye of the needle.) refers to the male camel. Ibn Mas`ud said it is a male camel from the she camel. In another narration it refers to the spouse of the she camel. Mujahid and `Ikrimah said that Ibn `Abbas used to recite this Ayah this way, "Until the Jummal goes through the eye of the needle", whereas `Jummal' is a thick rope. Allah's statement,

(Theirs will be Mihad from the Fire) means, beds, while;

(and over them Ghawash), means, coverings, according to Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi. Similar was said by Ad-Dahhak bin Muzahim and As-Suddi. Allah said next,

(Thus do We recompense the wrongdoers.)

Destination of Righteous Believers

After Allah mentioned the condition of the miserable ones, He then mentioned the condition of the happy ones, saying,

(But those who believed, and worked righteousness) Their hearts have believed and they performed good deeds with their limbs and senses, as compared to those who disbelieved in the Ayat of Allah and were arrogant with them. Allah also said that embracing faith and implementing it are easy, when He said,

(But those who believed, and worked righteousness -- We burden not any person beyond his scope -- such are the dwellers of Paradise. They will abide therein. And We shall remove from their breasts any Ghill;) meaning, envy and hatred. Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(After the believers are saved from entering the Fire, they will be kept in wait by a bridge between Paradise and Hellfire. Then, transgression that occurred between them in the life of this world will be judged. Until, when they are purified and cleansed, they will be given permission to enter Paradise. By He in Whose Hand is my soul! One of them will be able to find his dwelling in Paradise more so than he did in the life of this world.) As-Suddi said about Allah's statement,

(And We shall remove from their breasts any Ghill; rivers flowing under them,) "When the people of Paradise are taken to it, they will find a tree close to its door, and two springs from under the trunk of that tree. They will drink from one of them, and all hatred will be removed from their hearts, for it is the cleansing drink. They will take a bath in the other, and the brightness of delight will radiate from their faces. Ever after, they will never have messy hair or become dirty." An-Nasa'i and Ibn Marduwyah (this being his wording) recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Each of the people of Paradise will see his seat in the Fire and he will say, `Had not Allah guided me! And this will cause him to be grateful. Each of the people of the Fire will see his seat in Paradise, and he will say, `Might that Allah had guided me!' So it will be a cause of anguish for him.) This is why when the believers are awarded seats in Paradise that belonged to the people of the Fire, they will be told, "This is the Paradise that you inherited because of what you used to do. " This means, because of your good deeds, you earned Allah's mercy and thus entered Paradise and took your designated dwellings in it, comparable to your deeds. This is the proper meaning here, for it is recorded in the Two Sahihs that the Prophet said,

(And know that the good deeds of one of you will not admit him into Paradise.) They said, "Not even you, O Allah's Messenger" He said,

(Not even I, unless Allah grants it to me out of His mercy and favor.)