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Have you found it true?0:00

George: On the Day of Judgment, the people of Paradise call across to the people of the Fire. The Qur'an gives their words: “We have already found what our Lord promised us to be true. Have you found what your Lord promised to be true?”

Eight ayat, recited by Mishary Rashid Alafasy: about nineteen minutes.

We are students, not scholars. If a question needs a ruling, take it to a scholar you trust.

Assalamu alaikum, and welcome to the IMATX halaqa.

Joining the call0:32

Salma: Assalamu alaikum, George. Assalamu alaikum, everyone.

Yu: Wa alaikum salam, everyone. Alhamdulillah.

Viraj: Wa alaikum salam.

Victor: Wa alaikum salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

George: Wa alaikum salam wa rahmatullah, Salma, Yu, Viraj, Victor. It is good to be together. Let us open with the du'a Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, tells His Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, to say in Surah Ta Ha: my Lord, increase me in knowledge.

Du'a: Ta Ha 20:114 · Mishary Rashid Alafasy.

Wa qul rabbi zidni 'ilma. — And say, “My Lord, increase me in knowledge.”

Victor: Ameen.

Where we are1:11

George: Surah Al-A'raf is a Makkan surah, and it takes its name from this passage.

The previous passage ended in Paradise, at ayah forty-three. The people of Paradise praised Allah for guiding them, and they were called: this is Paradise, which you have been made to inherit.

Now the calling goes on. The people of Paradise call to the people of the Fire, the men on the heights call to both, and the people of the Fire call back, asking for water. The same verb, nada, to call, comes five times between ayah forty-three and ayah fifty.

Ayah forty-four - the first call1:46

Al-A'raf 7:44 · Recitation: Mishary Rashid Alafasy. Read the verses.

George: Salma, would you read the translation for us?

Salma: And the companions of Paradise will call out to the companions of the Fire, “We have already found what our Lord promised us to be true. Have you found what your Lord promised to be true?” They will say, “Yes.” Then an announcer will announce among them, “The curse of Allah shall be upon the wrongdoers.”

Viraj: Can I ask something? Why would the people of Paradise ask them that? It sounds almost like rubbing it in.

George: Al-Jalalayn says they call either in affirmation or in reprimand. Al-Qurtubi calls it a question of rebuke and reproach, and Ibn Kathir says the people of the Fire are addressed, chastised and admonished as they take their places. Both groups were given a promise, and on that Day both find it true.

Yu: There's a narration in Sahih al-Bukhari where the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, asks this same question at the well of Badr: We have found what our Lord promised us to be true. Have you found what your Lord promised to be true?

George: In the same Arabic words as the ayah, and Ibn Kathir brings it right here.

Salma: And then the caller, mu'adhdhin. At the masjid, that's the one who calls the adhan.

George: The same word. Here the verb comes first and the noun right after it, from one root: word for word, an announcer announced. The root's first picture is the ear: Lane begins with giving ear, listening. Al-Jalalayn says he proclaims between both groups so that both hear, and of the four commentators only al-Qurtubi says who he is: one of the angels. In Indonesian, he is the muazin.

Ayah forty-five - a road made crooked4:01

Al-A'raf 7:45 · Recitation: Mishary Rashid Alafasy. Read the verses.

George: Viraj, would you read the next one?

Viraj: Who averted people from the way of Allah and sought to make it seem deviant while they were, concerning the Hereafter, disbelievers.

Salma: 'Iwaj. That's something bent, not straight.

George: A bend. Al-Tabari says 'iwaj is a bend in a religion or a road, and Lane gives it for land and for religion. Saheeh International says deviant; the Arabic gives a picture: a straight road they wanted bent. Ibn Kathir says they did not believe in the meeting with Allah, so they feared no reckoning. Ayah fifty-one comes back to that meeting.

Yu: For me, that picture is a check on myself. When a friend wants to start praying, or come along to a class, do I make the road look easy, or harder than it is?

Ayah forty-six - men on the heights5:05

Al-A'raf 7:46 · Recitation: Mishary Rashid Alafasy. Read the verses.

George: Now the men on the heights, in the ayah the surah is named after. Would you read it, Yu?

Yu: And between them will be a partition, and on its elevations are men who recognize all by their mark. And they call out to the companions of Paradise, “Peace be upon you.” They have not yet entered it, but they long intensely.

Salma: Al-a'raf, and two words later, ya'rifuna, they recognise. That's the same root, isn't it?

George: It is, and the commentators explain the name both ways. Al-Tabari says a'raf is the plural of 'urf, any raised ground. Al-Suddi says the place is named for its people, who recognise everyone: on al-a'raf are men who ya'rifuna.

Viraj: So who are these men? Do we know?

George: This is where the commentators differ. The view with the most names behind it, from Hudhayfa, Ibn Abbas and Ibn Mas'ud, is that their good and bad deeds came out equal, so they wait there until Allah decides, then enter by His mercy. Others said people of knowledge, martyrs, just witnesses or prophets. Al-Tabari says there is no report from the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, about them with a sound chain, so the right thing to say is what Allah said. Al-Qurtubi gives ten views, and he does not settle it either.

Salma: And the last word, yatma'una. In everyday Arabic, tama' is not a nice word.

George: Lane puts that sense first: to desire something eagerly, greedily. Then he notes it can also mean to hope for it, and that is the sense here: they hope, strongly, and they are not in yet. Most of the early commentators take this hope as the men's own; Abu Mijlaz reads it as the hope of the people of Paradise. Indonesian kept the first sense, in tamak. Ibn Kathir reports al-Hasan: Allah did not put this hope in their hearts except for an honour He intends to give them.

Victor: Masha Allah. Waiting, and still greeting others with salam. That's how I would like to wait.

Ayah forty-seven - a du'a from the heights7:36

Al-A'raf 7:47 · Recitation: Mishary Rashid Alafasy. Read the verses.

George: Victor, would you read the next one for us?

Victor: And when their eyes are turned toward the companions of the Fire, they say, “Our Lord, do not place us with the wrongdoing people.”

Salma: Az-zalimin. That's how ayah forty-four ended too.

George: It is, the same word. Indonesian has it as zalim. Ibn Kathir reports Ibn Abbas: they make this du'a when they see the people of the Fire and recognise them.

Victor: I was reading al-Qurtubi on this one. He says they ask not to be placed with the wrongdoers in humility.

George: As the believers ask, he says, in Surah At-Tahrim: our Lord, perfect for us our light.

Yu: Rabbana la taj'alna ma'al-qawmiz-zalimin: our Lord, do not place us with the wrongdoing people. It's short enough to keep. I want to say it after my prayers.

Ayah forty-eight - your numbers did not help you8:50

Al-A'raf 7:48 · Recitation: Mishary Rashid Alafasy. Read the verses.

George: Viraj, would you read ayah forty-eight?

Viraj: And the companions of the Elevations will call to men within Hell whom they recognize by their mark, saying, “Of no avail to you was your gathering and the fact that you were arrogant.”

Salma: Bi-simahum, by their mark. We had that in ayah forty-six too.

George: We did. Lane gives a mark or sign by which a thing is known. Al-Tabari says the marks are white faces for the people of Paradise and black faces for the people of the Fire. The same word comes in Surah Al-Fath: their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration.

Victor: I was reading the tafsir on this one. Ibn Kathir reads your gathering as your great numbers: your numbers and wealth did not save you.

George: And al-Tabari reports from al-Suddi and Ibn Zayd that the men in the Fire were the tyrants and great ones of this world.

Ayah forty-nine - enter Paradise10:12

Al-A'raf 7:49 · Recitation: Mishary Rashid Alafasy. Read the verses.

George: Would you read ayah forty-nine, Yu?

Yu: 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.”

Viraj: Who is speaking there? It sounds like it changes halfway.

George: The commentators read it in four ways. Ibn Kathir reports Ibn Abbas: these are the people of al-a'raf, who will be told, when Allah decrees it, to enter Paradise. The translation we read follows that reading, with Allah speaking. Al-Qurtubi gives another, from al-Hasan: the men on the heights point to poor believers such as Bilal, Salman and Khabbab.

Salma: Bi-rahmatin, with mercy. That's what the proud swore about.

George: Rahma, in Indonesian rahmat. It comes a hundred and fourteen times in the Qur'an. And straight after it come the words udkhulul-jannata: enter Paradise.

Yu: And there's the narration in Sahih al-Bukhari: Shall I tell you about the people of Paradise? Every weak person whom others look down on. If he swears by Allah, Allah fulfils his oath.

George: And in the same narration, the people of the Fire are every harsh, hoarding and arrogant person. The Arabic uses ayah forty-nine's verb for swearing. The proud swore about others; the oath Allah keeps belongs to the weak.

Ayah fifty - pour some water on us12:05

Al-A'raf 7:50 · Recitation: Mishary Rashid Alafasy. Read the verses.

George: Viraj, would you read ayah fifty?

Viraj: And the companions of the Fire will call to the companions of Paradise, “Pour upon us some water or from whatever Allah has provided you.” They will say, “Indeed, Allah has forbidden them both to the disbelievers.”

Salma: Afidu, pour. In Arabic, a flood is fayadan: water that has overflowed.

George: Lane gives the root as water that overflows, pouring out from fulness, and for this form of the verb, filling a vessel until it overflows. Many of us know the word from Hajj, in tawaf ifadah. Al-Tabari connects their thirst with leaving Allah's obedience, and with what they held back from the poor: zakat and charity. And al-Qurtubi says the ayah shows that giving water is among the best of deeds.

Victor: There's a narration in Sunan Abi Dawud I love. Sa'd ibn Ubadah's mother had died, and he asked the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam: Which charity is best? He said: Water. So Sa'd dug a well for her.

George: Al-Qurtubi brings that narration right at this ayah. The first thing they ask for is water, one of the simplest gifts there is, and in this world it is still ours to give.

Ayah fifty-one - forgotten as they forgot13:58

Al-A'raf 7:51 · Recitation: Mishary Rashid Alafasy. Read the verses.

George: The last ayah of the passage. Victor, would you read it?

Victor: Who took their religion as distraction and amusement and whom the worldly life deluded. So today We will forget them just as they forgot the meeting of this Day of theirs and for having rejected Our verses.

Salma: Nansahum, We forget them. Nasiya is simply to forget.

Viraj: That's what I wanted to ask. How can Allah forget anyone?

George: In English, forget sounds like a lapse of memory. All four commentators read it here as leaving them: al-Jalalayn says, We have left them in the Fire. Ibn Kathir says Allah never forgets anything, and he brings the words of Musa in Surah Ta Ha: my Lord neither errs nor forgets.

Yu: There's a narration in Jami' at-Tirmidhi very close to this ayah. Allah asks a servant: Did you think you would meet Me on this Day of yours? He says: No. Allah says: Today I forget you, as you forgot Me.

George: And at-Tirmidhi explains it the same way: today I leave you in the punishment.

We began with the question the people of Paradise called across: have you found what your Lord promised to be true? On that Day both sides find it true. Ayah fifty-one shows what made the difference. One group forgot the meeting of this Day. The other believed the promise before they saw it. So the passage asks two things of us: to keep that meeting in mind now, while it can still change what we do, and to hope in Allah's mercy, for ourselves and for people others have written off.

Your questions, and two for the discussion16:06

George: Before we finish, any questions?

Yu: Mine is about the people in these ayat. I work with people of other faiths, and some are good friends. When I hear ayat forty-four and forty-five, who are they talking about?

George: The four commentators read ayat forty-four and forty-five as describing those who barred people from Allah's way, wanted it crooked and denied the Hereafter, and ayat fifty and fifty-one as those who took their religion as play and were deceived by this life. We do not point these ayat at any person, or at any community today. And in the middle of the passage are the people of the heights, who are told at the end, in the reading of Ibn Abbas: enter Paradise, no fear and no grief.

Viraj: Mine is about one small word. In ayah forty-four they answer na'am for yes. I've also heard bala for yes. What's the difference?

George: Al-Qurtubi notes it. Na'am answers a question asked in the positive, as here: have you found it true? Yes. Bala answers a question asked in the negative, as in ayah one hundred and seventy-two of this surah: Am I not your Lord? They said, yes: bala.

Salma, would you read our first question for the discussion?

Salma: The men on the heights in ayah forty-six are not in Paradise and not in the Fire. They greet the people of Paradise with salam, and they hope. The word is yatma'una. The scholars hold different views on who these men are, and we do not need to choose one. Many of us know what it is to be in between: not where we should be, and not where we used to be. What does hoping in Allah look like from there?

George: And Victor, the second.

Victor: Ayah forty-nine asks the people of the Fire: “Are these the ones whom you, inhabitants of Hell, swore that Allah would never offer them mercy?” Al-Qurtubi names poor believers such as Bilal, Salman and Khabbab, people the proud had looked down on. This question is not about anyone's end. It is about how we see people. Have you ever decided someone was too far gone? What changed your mind?

Viraj: I'll be thinking about that one.

George: Bring your own questions about these ayat to your circle, too.

Close18:21

George: Let us end the way the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, ended a gathering. Abu Barza reports he called these words an expiation for what happens in a gathering. Salma, will you?

Salma: Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika, ashhadu an la ilaha illa anta, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayk.

George: Glory is to You, O Allah, and praise. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except You. I seek Your forgiveness, and I repent to You.

Yu: Next session, we go on from ayah fifty-two: the Book detailed by knowledge, and rain that brings a dead land back to life, in sha Allah.

Viraj: And if you're new to all this, start with one ayah. That's what I did.

George: If you lead a halaqa of your own, the questions and the study notes for this passage are on the halaqa website, for your circle. Jazakumullahu khayran for listening.

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.