Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:46-47

Surah Al-A'raf (The Heights): Verses 46-47

Verse 46:

{ وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ وَعَلَى الْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ... } And between them [Paradise and Hell] is a barrier, and on the Heights are men...

Know that His statement, {And between them is a barrier} refers to the barrier between Paradise and the Fire, or between the two groups (of people). This barrier is the well-known one mentioned in the verse: {So He placed between them a wall having a gate} (Al-Hadid: 13).

If it is asked: What is the need for erecting this wall between Paradise and the Fire? Since it is established that Paradise is above the heavens, and Hellfire is in the lowest of the low places (Asfal al-Sāfilīn).

We reply: The distance between one and the other does not preclude the existence of a wall and a barrier between them.

As for Al-A'rāf (The Heights), it is the plural of 'Urf, which means any high, elevated place. From this root comes the 'Urf of a horse (its mane) and the 'Urf of a rooster (its comb). Every elevated part of the earth is called an 'Urf because its elevation makes it more known (a'raf) than what is lower than it.

Once you understand this, we say: There are two interpretations regarding the meaning of the word Al-A'rāf:

The First Opinion (The Majority View): This is the view held by the majority, that Al-A'rāf refers to the tops of that wall erected between Paradise and the Fire. This is the view of Ibn Abbas. It is also narrated from him that he said: Al-A'rāf is the crest of the Sirāt (the Bridge).

The Second Opinion (Hasan and Al-Zajjaj): One of Al-Zajjaj's views is that His statement {And on the Heights are men} means that on the Ma'rifah (knowledge/recognition) of the people of Paradise and the Fire are men who recognize everyone from both groups by their distinguishing marks (sīmāhum).

When Hasan was asked if they were people whose good deeds and bad deeds were equal, he struck his thighs and said: "They are people whom Allah has placed to make the people of Paradise and the people of the Fire recognize each other, distinguishing some from others. By Allah, I do not know—perhaps some of them are with us now!"

Those who hold the first opinion (that Al-A'rāf is a physical place) differed regarding who these men on Al-A'rāf are. The opinions about them are numerous but can be summarized into two main categories:

1. They are the noble ones (Ashrāf) among the people of obedience and reward.
2. They are people who occupy the lowest rank among the people of reward.

There are several views within this category:

First View: Abu Mujalliz said they are angels who recognize the people of Paradise and the Fire. When asked: "Allah says: {And on the Heights are men} (referring to males), yet you claim they are angels?" He replied: "Angels are males, not females."

• Counter-argument: One could argue that the description using "men" (rijāl) is appropriate only where there is a possibility of a female counterpart. Since angels cannot be female, describing them as "men" is inappropriate.

Second View: They are the Prophets (peace be upon them). Allah seated them on the tops of that wall to distinguish them from the rest of the people of the Resurrection, showing their honor and high station. He seated them in that high place so they could overlook the people of Paradise and the people of the Fire, observing their conditions and the measure of their reward and punishment.

Third View: They are the Martyrs (Shuhadā'). This is because Allah described the companions of Al-A'rāf as recognizing everyone among the people of Paradise and the Fire. Some said they recognize the people of Paradise by their bright, joyful faces, and the people of the Fire by the blackness of their faces and the blueness of their eyes.

• Rebuttal: This view is invalid because Allah specified that the companions of Al-A'rāf recognize each individual by their distinguishing marks (sīmāhum). If the meaning were merely the general state (brightness or darkness), this special knowledge would not be unique to them, as everyone in Paradise and Hell would recognize these general states.
• Conclusion: Since this interpretation is void, the intended meaning of {they recognize each one by his mark} must be that they knew the people of goodness, faith, and righteousness, and the people of evil, disbelief, and corruption, in the worldly life. They were Allah's witnesses over the people of faith and obedience, and over the people of disbelief and disobedience. Thus, Allah seats them on Al-A'rāf—the high, elevated places—so they can observe everyone, testify concerning each person what is appropriate, and know that the people of reward have reached their high ranks, and the people of punishment have reached their low ranks.

If it is argued: These three views are invalid because Allah described the companions of Al-A'rāf by saying: {they have not yet entered it, though they are hoping} (i.e., they have not yet entered Paradise, though they hope to enter it). This description does not suit the Prophets, angels, or martyrs.

• Response from Proponents of this View: It is not impossible that Allah mentioned that the entry of the companions of Al-A'rāf into Paradise is delayed. The reason is that Allah distinguished them from the people of Paradise and the Fire by seating them on those high balconies and elevated places so they could witness the conditions of the people of Paradise and the Fire, which would bring them immense joy. Then, once the people of Paradise are settled in Paradise, and the people of the Fire in the Fire, Allah will move them to their high stations in Paradise. Thus, their non-entry at that moment does not negate their complete honor and high rank.
• As for {though they are hoping}, the intended meaning of this hope is certainty (yaqīn). Do you not see that Allah quotes Abraham (peace be upon him): {And who I hope will forgive me my sin on the Day of Judgment} (Ash-Shu'arā': 82)? That hope was a hope of certainty. So it is here.

This concludes the discussion for those who say the companions of Al-A'rāf are the noble ones among the people of Paradise.

This is the view that the companions of Al-A'rāf are people who occupy the lowest rank among those destined for salvation. Proponents of this view offered several arguments:

First View: They are people whose good deeds and bad deeds were equal. Consequently, they were neither people of Paradise nor people of Hell. Allah detained them on Al-A'rāf because it is a middle station between Paradise and Hell. Then Allah admits them to Paradise by His grace and mercy; they are the last people to enter Paradise. This is the view of Hudhayfah, Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them), and the preferred view of Al-Farra'.

• Objections by Al-Jubba'i and Al-Qadi: They attacked this view with two arguments:
  1. Allah’s statement: {And a call will be made: 'This is Paradise, which you have inherited because of what you used to do'} (Al-A'rāf: 43) indicates that everyone who enters Paradise must inherently deserve entry, which contradicts the idea of people entering purely by favor without deserving it.
  2. Their status as companions of Al-A'rāf implies that Allah distinguished them from all others on the Day of Resurrection by seating them on high, overlooking places above Paradise and Hell. Such great honor is only fitting for the noble ones (Ashrāf), and those whose good and bad deeds are equal have deficient ranks, making such honor unsuitable for them.

• Response to Objection 1: It is possible that the address {And a call will be made: 'This is Paradise, which you have inherited...'} is directed toward specific people, so it is not necessary that this applies to every single person in Paradise.
• Response to Objection 2: We do not concede that Allah seated them in those places as a special mark of honor and distinction. Rather, He seated them there because it is the intermediate rank between Paradise and Hell. Is the dispute not precisely about this? Thus, the evidence they relied upon to invalidate this view is weak.

Second View: The companions of Al-A'rāf are those who went out for Ghazw (raiding/fighting) without their fathers' permission and were martyred, so they were held between Paradise and Hell.

• Note: This view is actually included under the first category (the noble ones), as their sin (disobeying parents) was balanced by their obedience (martyrdom), making their deeds equal in a sense. If this specific case were valid, there is no reason to restrict the verse's wording only to this scenario.

Third View: Abdullah ibn Al-Harith said they are the poor people of Paradise.

Fourth View: Some said they are the sinful among the people who prayed, whom Allah pardons and settles on Al-A'rāf.

All these points explain the view that Al-A'rāf refers to the elevated places on the wall between Paradise and Hell.

As for those who say Al-A'rāf refers to the men who recognize the people of Paradise and Hell, this view is not far-fetched. However, these individuals must have a high place from which to overlook the people of Paradise and Hell. In that case, this view reverts to the first opinion. These are the details of people's opinions on this matter. And Allah knows best.

Allah informed that the companions of Al-A'rāf recognize each group of people of Paradise and Hell by their marks (sīmāhum). They differed on the meaning of {by their marks} in several ways:

First Opinion (Ibn Abbas): The mark of a Muslim believer destined for Paradise is the whiteness of his face, as Allah says: {The Day when some faces will turn white and some faces will turn black} (Al-Imran: 106). Their faces will be radiant, joyful, and beaming, and they will have the marks of ablution (ghurran muhajjalīn). The mark of the disbelievers is the blackness of their faces, covered in gloom, and their eyes will be blue.

• Counter-argument: If they see the people of Paradise already in Paradise and the people of Hell already in Hell, what need is there to deduce their status by these signs? This would be like deducing something already known through direct sensory perception, which is futile. Furthermore, this verse indicates that the companions of Al-A'rāf are specialized in this knowledge. If we interpret it this way, this specialization vanishes, as these conditions are sensory matters known to everyone.

Second Opinion (The Preferred View): The companions of Al-A'rāf knew the believers in the world by the visible signs of faith and obedience upon them, and they knew the disbelievers in the world by the visible signs of disbelief and transgression upon them. When they see those people in the assembly of the Resurrection, they distinguish some from others by those very marks they observed in the world. This view is preferred.

As for His statement: {And they call out to the companions of Paradise, "Peace be upon you"}, the meaning is that when they look at the people of Paradise, they greet them with peace. At this point, the speech of the companions of Al-A'rāf concludes.

Then He said: {they have not yet entered it, though they are hoping}. This means Allah informed that the companions of Al-A'rāf have not entered Paradise, yet they hope to enter it.

If we hold that the companions of Al-A'rāf are the noble ones of the Resurrection, we have already mentioned that Allah seated them on Al-A'rāf and delayed their entry into Paradise so they could observe the conditions of the people of Paradise and Hell. Then Allah will move them to the high ranks in Paradise, as narrated from the Prophet (PBUH) that he said: "Indeed, the people of the highest ranks will see those below them as you see the shining star in the horizon of the sky, and Abu Bakr and Umar are among them."

The definitive understanding is that the companions of Al-A'rāf are the noblest of the people of the Resurrection. When the people of the Resurrection stand in the place of standing, Allah seats the companions of Al-A'rāf on Al-A'rāf—the high, honorable places. When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, and the people of Hell enter Hell, He moves them to the high ranks in Paradise. Thus, they never sit except in the highest ranks.

If we interpret the companions of Al-A'rāf as those in the lowest rank of the saved, we say that Allah seats them on Al-A'rāf, and they hope for Allah's bounty and favor to move them from those places to Paradise.

As for His statement: {And when their eyes are turned toward the companions of the Fire}, Al-Wahidi (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Talqā' means the direction of meeting or confrontation. It is a spatial adverb, like saying, "So-and-so is opposite you" (talaqāka), similar to saying, "So-and-so is in front of you" (hidhāka). Originally, it is a verbal noun used as an adverb. Al-Wahidi then narrated, via his chain, from Tha'lab, who cited the Kufans, and from Al-Mubarrid, who cited the Basrans, that only two verbal nouns follow the pattern taf'āl (with a fatḥa on the tā’): tabyān and talqā’. If these two are excluded, the pattern becomes regular: you say tasyār and tarsāl for verbal nouns following the taf'āl pattern with a fatḥa on the tā’. You say tamthāl and taqṣār for nouns following the taf'āl pattern with a kasra on the tā’.

The meaning of the verse is: Whenever the gaze of the companions of Al-A'rāf falls upon the people of the Fire, they supplicate to Allah that He does not place them among their group.

The purpose of all these verses is to instill fear (Takhwīf), so that a person proceeds with observation and reasoning, and does not settle for mere imitation (taqlīd), in order to attain the true religion, thereby reaching the reward mentioned in these verses and escaping the punishment mentioned therein.

Verse 47:

{ وَنَادَىٰ أَصْحَابُ الْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالًا يَعْرِفُونَهُم بِسِيمَاهُمْ قَالُوا مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنكُم جَمْعُكُمْ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ * أَهُؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمْتُمْ لَا يَنَالُهُمُ اللَّهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَا أَنتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ } And the companions of the Heights will call out to men whom they recognize by their marks, saying, "What did not avail you your gathering and what you used to claim arrogantly? "Are these the ones of whom you swore that Allah would never admit them to mercy?" [They will be told], "Enter Paradise; no fear will come upon you, nor will you grieve."

The companions of Al-A'rāf will call out to men whom they recognize by their marks. They will say: "What did not avail you your gathering and what you used to claim arrogantly?"

Then, they will be told (or they will say to the people of the Fire): "Are these the ones of whom you swore that Allah would never admit them to mercy?"

Then, the people of Paradise will be told: "Enter Paradise; no fear will come upon you, nor will you grieve."