Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:40-41

{لا تفتح لهم أبواب السماء} It means their righteous deeds do not ascend to it, as in: {To Him ascends the good word} (Fatir: 10), and {Nay! Verily, the record of the righteous is in 'Illiyyun} (Al-Mutaffifin: 18).

It is also said: Paradise is in heaven, so the meaning is that they are not permitted to ascend to heaven, nor is a path opened for them to enter Paradise.

It is also said: Their souls do not ascend when they die, as the souls of the believers ascend.

It is also said: Blessings do not descend upon them, nor are they aided (by rain), as in: {We opened the gates of heaven} (Al-Qamar: 11).

Readings:

• (La tuftahu): With a shaddah (doubling the 't').
• (Wa la yaftahu): With a ya (active voice).
• (Wa la taftahu): With a ta (active voice), with al-abwab (the gates) in the accusative case, implying the "signs" are the subject. With the ya, it implies Allah (Mighty and Majestic is He) is the subject.

Readings of "Al-Jaml": Ibn Abbas read it as (Al-Jumal) (like al-qumal). Sa'id ibn Jubayr read it as (Al-Jumal) (like al-nughr). Other readings include al-jumal (like al-qufl), al-jamal (like al-nasb), and al-jumal (like al-habl).

Its meaning is the thick rope (al-qalas), because it is strands gathered and made into one whole. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Allah is too exalted in His similitude to compare (the entry) to a camel." He meant that a rope is appropriate for the thread that passes through the eye of a needle, whereas a camel is not.

However, the reading of the masses is more impactful, as the "eye of a needle" is a proverb for a narrow passage. It is said: "Narrower than the eye of a needle." They call a skilled guide khirreet because he guides through narrow passages likened to the eyes of needles. The camel is a proverb for massive size. It is said: "The body of a camel, but the intellects of sparrows."

The meaning is: They shall not enter Paradise until that which can never happen occurs—the entry of this animal, which only enters through a wide gate, into the eye of a needle.

Ibn Mas'ud was asked about the "camel" (al-jamal), and he replied: "The mate of the she-camel," feigning ignorance of the questioner and indicating that seeking another meaning is mere affectation.

Readings of "Summ":

• (Fi summi): Read with all three vowel marks (damma, fatha, kasra).
• Abdullah (Ibn Mas'ud) read: (Fi summi al-mukhayt) and (al-khayyat). Al-mukhayt is like al-hizam and al-mihzam; it is that with which one sews, i.e., the needle.

{وكذلك نجزى المجرمين} This is to indicate that criminality is the cause leading to punishment, and that everyone who commits a crime is punished. It is repeated: {Thus do We recompense the wrongdoers}, because every criminal is a wrongdoer to his own soul.

{مهاد} A bed/mattress.

{غواش} Coverings. It is read as (ghawashin) in the nominative case, like His saying: {And to Him belong the ships (al-jawari)} (Al-Rahman: 24) in the reading of Abdullah.

{والذين ءامنوا وعملوا الصالحات لا نكلف نفسا إلا وسعها أولائك أصحاب الجنة هم فيها خالدون}