Tafseer of The Announcement · An-Naba · 78:21
Indeed, Hell has been lying in wait
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 explanation of the saying of the Exalted: إِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ كَانَتْ مِرْصَادًا ("Verily, Hell (jahannam) is a place of ambush") (78:21).
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, means by His saying "verily, Hell (jahannam) is a place of ambush": Hell is a place of watch for its inhabitants, those who in the worldly life used to deny it and the return to Allah in the Hereafter, as well as for others besides them, who did believe in it. And the meaning of the verse is: verily, Hell is a place of lying in wait that watches out for whoever passes by it and spies upon them.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, saying: Muslim ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh ibn Bakr ibn ʿAbdallāh al-Māzinī, who said: when al-Ḥasan recited this verse — إِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ كَانَتْ مِرْصَادًا ("Verily, Hell is a place of ambush") — he said: verily, at the gate stands the watchman; whoever comes with a pass may pass through, and whoever does not come with a pass is held back.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His saying: إِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ كَانَتْ مِرْصَادًا ("Verily, Hell is a place of ambush"), he said: no one will enter Paradise without passing by the Fire.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: إِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ كَانَتْ مِرْصَادًا ("Verily, Hell is a place of ambush"): He informs us that there is no way to Paradise until one has crossed over the Fire.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, concerning: إِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ كَانَتْ مِرْصَادًا ("Verily, Hell is a place of ambush"), he said: over it lie three bridges.
