Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:38
[Allah] will say, "Enter among nations which had passed on before you of jinn and mankind into the Fire." Every time a nation enters, it will curse its sister until, when they have all overtaken one another therein, the last of them will say about the first of them "Our Lord, these had misled us, so give them a double punishment of the Fire. He will say, "For each is double, but you do not know."
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.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement: قَالَ ادْخُلُوا فِي أُمَمٍ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالإِنْسِ فِي النَّارِ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَتْ أُمَّةٌ لَعَنَتْ أُخْتَهَا (He will say: Enter, amid communities of jinn and men who have passed away before you, into the Fire. Every time a community enters, it curses its sister).
Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a report from Allah, exalted be His praise, concerning what He will say on the Day of Resurrection to those who invented lies against Him and denied His signs. He, exalted be His mention, says: He will say to them, when they come before Him on the Day of Resurrection: Enter, O you who invent lies against your Lord and who deny His messengers, amid throngs of your own kind — (who have passed away before you), He says: who have gone by before you — (of the jinn and men, into the Fire). The meaning of this is: Enter amid communities that are in the Fire, who have passed away before you, of the jinn and men. By "the communities (al-umam)" are meant the parties and the followers of the unbelieving religious communities. (Every time a community enters, it curses its sister), He, exalted be His praise, says: every time a throng of the followers of a creed enters the Fire, it curses its sister — He says: the one throng reviles the other throng of the followers of its creed, dissociating itself from it.
By "the sister (al-ukht)" is meant only the brotherhood in faith and religion. And it was said "its sister (ukhtahā)" and not "its brother (akhāhā)" because by it is meant a "community (umma)" and another throng, as though it were said: every time a community enters, it curses another community of the followers of its creed and religion.
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And in a manner similar to what we have said concerning this, the scholars of interpretation have spoken.
Mention of who said this:
14592 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: (Every time a community enters, it curses its sister), he says: every time the followers of a creed enter, they curse their companions of that same religion; the polytheists (mushrikīn) curse the polytheists, the Jews the Jews, the Christians the Christians, the Sabians the Sabians, the Magians the Magians; the later one curses the earlier one.
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The discourse on the explanation of His statement: حَتَّى إِذَا ادَّارَكُوا فِيهَا جَمِيعًا (until they have all overtaken one another therein).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted be His mention, says: until the communities have all overtaken one another in the Fire, that is to say: have gathered together therein.
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One says: "qad iddārakū" and "tadārakū" when they have gathered together.
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He says: therein gather the first of the followers of the unbelieving religious communities and the last of them.
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The discourse on the explanation of His statement: قَالَتْ أُخْرَاهُمْ لأُولاهُمْ رَبَّنَا هَؤُلاءِ أَضَلُّونَا فَآتِهِمْ عَذَابًا ضِعْفًا مِنَ النَّارِ قَالَ لِكُلٍّ ضِعْفٌ وَلَكِنْ لا تَعْلَمُونَ (The last of them will say to the first of them: Our Lord, these led us astray; so give them a double punishment of the Fire. He will say: For each is a double, but you do not know) (38).
Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a report from Allah, exalted be His praise, concerning the dispute of the parties of the followers of the unbelieving religious communities in the Fire on the Day of Resurrection. Allah, exalted be His mention, says: When the followers of the unbelieving religious communities have gathered together in the Fire and have overtaken one another, the last of the followers of every creed that has entered the Fire — those who in this world came after the first ones, who preceded them and who were for them a forerunner and a leader in error and unbelief — will say to their first ones, those who were before them in this world: Our Lord, these led us astray from Your way, and they called us to the worship of other than You, and they made obedience to Satan alluring to us; so give them today of Your punishment double over our punishment, as:
14593 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "the last of them will say" — those who were in the last age — "to the first of them" — those who instituted that religion before them — (Our Lord, these led us astray; so give them a double punishment of the Fire).
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As for His statement: (He will say: For each is a double, but you do not know), this is a report from Allah concerning His answer to them. He says: Allah will say to those who call upon Him and say: "Our Lord, these led us astray; so give them a double punishment of the Fire": For each of you — your first ones and your last ones, your followers and those whom you followed — is a double, He says: the punishment is multiplied for him.
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And "the double of a thing (ḍiʿf al-shayʾ)" is the like of it once more.
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And Mujāhid used to say concerning this what is:
14594 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning the statement of Allah: (a double punishment of the Fire. He will say: For each is a double), multiplied.
14595 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
And in a manner similar to what we have said concerning this, the scholars of interpretation have spoken.
Mention of who said this:
14596 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: Allah said: (For each is a double) — for the first ones and for the last ones is a double.
14597 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, saying: More than one related to me, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Murra, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh: (a double of the Fire), he said: vipers.
14598 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Murra, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh: (so give them a double punishment of the Fire), he said: serpents and vipers.
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And it was said: "the doubled (al-muḍaʿʿaf)" in the language of the Arabs is that which is twofold, and "the multiplied (al-muḍāʿaf)" is that which is more than that.
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And His statement: (but you do not know), He says: but you, O throng of the inhabitants of the Fire, do not know how great is that which Allah has prepared for you of punishment; therefore the other unbelieving community asks for double of it for its earlier sister.
