Tafseer of The Criterion · Al-Furqaan · 25:34
The ones who are gathered on their faces to Hell - those are the worst in position and farthest astray in [their] way.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
And His word الَّذِينَ يُحْشَرُونَ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ أُولَئِكَ شَرٌّ مَكَانًا — Allah, exalted is His mention, says to His Prophet: O Muḥammad, these polytheists — those who said لَوْلا نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ الْقُرْآنُ جُمْلَةً وَاحِدَةً — and whoever stood upon disbelief in Allah similar to theirs, those who on the Day of Resurrection are gathered upon their faces and driven to Hell (jahannam) — they are worse in dwelling-place in the worldly life and the Hereafter than the inhabitants of Paradise in Paradise, and more astray than them from the straight path in the worldly life.
In the same manner as we have explained this, the exegetes also spoke.
* Mention of who said this:
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — الَّذِينَ يُحْشَرُونَ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ — he said: The One who made them walk upon their legs is able to make them walk upon their faces. أُولَئِكَ شَرٌّ مَكَانًا — than the inhabitants of Paradise. وَأَضَلُّ سَبِيلا — he said: a way.
Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā al-Azdī related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shaybān related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word الَّذِينَ يُحْشَرُونَ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ — he said: Anas ibn Mālik transmitted to us that a man said: "O Messenger of Allah, how are the disbelievers gathered upon their faces?" He said: "The One who made them walk upon their legs is able to make them walk upon their faces."
Abū Sufyān al-Ghanawī Yazīd ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Khallād ibn Yaḥyā al-Kūfī related to us, saying: Sufyān al-Thawrī related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, who said: I was informed by someone who heard that Anas ibn Mālik said: a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: how are they gathered upon their faces? He said: "The One who gathers them upon their legs is able to gather them upon their faces."
ʿUbayd ibn Muḥammad al-Warrāq related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid informed us, on the authority of Abū Dāwūd, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, who said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked: how are the inhabitants of Hell gathered upon their faces? He said: Truly, the One who made them walk upon their feet is able to make them walk upon their faces."
Aḥmad ibn al-Miqdām related to me, saying: Ḥazm related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḥasan say: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited this verse الَّذِينَ يُحْشَرُونَ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ — whereupon they said: O Prophet of Allah, how do they walk upon their faces? "He said: Is not the One who made them walk upon their feet able to make them walk upon their faces?"
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Manṣūr ibn Zādhān informed us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Zayd ibn Judʿān, on the authority of Abū Khālid, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: "The people are gathered on the Day of Resurrection in three categories: a category upon mounts, a category upon their feet, and a category upon their faces. It was asked: how do they walk upon their faces? He said: The One who made them walk upon their feet is able to make them walk upon their faces."
