Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:6
Then We will surely question those to whom [a message] was sent, and We will surely question the messengers.
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: فَلَنَسْأَلَنَّ الَّذِينَ أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَنَسْأَلَنَّ الْمُرْسَلِينَ (And We shall most certainly question those to whom messengers were sent, and We shall most certainly question the messengers) (6).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: We shall most certainly question the communities to whom I sent My messengers: what did you do with that which the messengers brought to them from Me of My command and My prohibition? Did they act according to what I commanded them, and abstain from what I forbade them, and obey My command, or were they disobedient to Me and acted contrary to it? (and We shall most certainly question the messengers), He says: and We shall most certainly question the messengers whom I sent to the communities: did they convey My messages to them, and transmit to them what I commanded them to transmit to them, or did they fall short therein and act negligently and not convey it to them?
* * *
And thus did the exegetes of the tafsīr explain it.
* Mention of who said that:
14324 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: (and We shall most certainly question those to whom messengers were sent, and We shall most certainly question the messengers), he said: Allah questions the people about how they answered the messengers, and He questions the messengers about what they conveyed.
14325 – Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: (and We shall most certainly question those to whom messengers were sent) up to His statement: (absent), he said: The book is presented on the Day of Resurrection, and it speaks of what they used to do.
14326 – 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: (and We shall most certainly question those to whom messengers were sent, and We shall most certainly question the messengers), he says: We shall most certainly question the communities: what did they do with that which the messengers brought? And We shall most certainly question the messengers: did they convey that with which they were sent?
14327 – Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Abū Saʿd al-Madanī related to us, saying: Mujāhid said: (and We shall most certainly question those to whom messengers were sent): the communities. And We shall most certainly question those whom We sent concerning that with which We entrusted them: did they convey it?
