ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭ ﲮ
[Allah will say], "Are these the ones whom you [inhabitants of Hell] swore that Allah would never offer them mercy? Enter Paradise, [O People of the Elevations]. No fear will there be concerning you, nor will you grieve."
Tafsir
Verse range: 7:49
(Are these those whom you swore that Allah would not touch with mercy?)
This is a continuation of what the People of the Heights (A‘raf) say to the men [of Hell]. It is in the accusative position, serving as an object of the verb "to say"—meaning, they said, "What have their riches availed them?" and they also said, "Are these..."
The reference is to the weak among the people of Paradise whom the disbelievers used to despise in the worldly life, swearing that Allah, the Exalted, would not grant them mercy or goodness, nor admit them into Paradise—such as Salman, Suhayb, and Bilal, may Allah be pleased with them. Or, they performed actions that implied such, as it was said regarding the Almighty's statement: “Did you not swear before that you would have no decline?”
(Enter Paradise; no fear shall be upon you, nor shall you grieve.)
This is also from the speech of the People of the Heights. It means: they turned to those referenced among the people of Paradise and said to them, "Abide in Paradise, unafraid and ungrieved, in the most complete state of joy and perfect honor."
It has been said: This is a command to initiate entry, based on the assumption that their presence on the Heights and this speech of theirs occurs before some of the people of Paradise have entered Paradise.
More than one scholar has said: The statement of the Glorified, “Are these...” and what follows, is a new commencement and not part of the speech of the People of the Heights. In this view, those being referenced are the people of Paradise, and the speaker is Allah, the Exalted, or some of the angels, while those being addressed are the people of the Fire.
Another view holds: Those being referenced are the People of the Heights themselves—who are also the speakers—and those being addressed are the people of the Fire; and “Enter Paradise” is also part of the speech of the People of the Heights, meaning they turn and address one another, saying: "Enter Paradise." This, however, is clearly far-fetched.
Another view holds: When the People of the Heights taunted the people of the Fire, the people of the Fire swore that the People of the Heights would not enter Paradise. So Allah, the Exalted, or some of the angels, said—addressing the people of the Fire—“Are these those whom you swore that Allah would not touch with mercy?” referring to the People of the Heights. Then, the address was directed toward the latter, and it was said: “Enter Paradise...”
It has been read as udkhilu (be admitted) and dukhilu (they were admitted), both in the passive voice, and as udkhulu (you enter) in the active voice. Upon these readings, the phrase “no fear shall be upon you...” must be the object of an omitted verb, functioning as a circumstantial state to make the address valid and the discourse coherent—meaning: "Enter (or they were entered into) Paradise, being told: 'No fear shall be upon you...'"
It has also been read as adkhilu (an imperative of the fourth form) addressed to the angels, though it is apparent that this requires additional estimations [to interpret].
