إِذْ هُمْ عَلَيْهَا قُعُودٌ 6
Translations
When they were sitting near it.
Transliteration
Idh hum 'alayha qu'ud
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the companions of the Fire (the disbelievers) sitting upon it, witnessing their punishment. Classical scholars like Al-Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir interpret this as depicting the eternal state of the damned, who will be forced to remain in Hell. The verse emphasizes the finality and inescapability of their torment, contrasting with the bliss of the righteous in Paradise mentioned earlier in the surah.
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Buruj is a Meccan surah revealed during the period of persecution of early Muslims in Mecca. This particular ayah is part of the concluding section (85:4-9) that contrasts the fate of believers and disbelievers, serving to console the Prophet and believers by reminding them of divine justice and the inevitable consequences of rejecting faith.
Related Hadiths
The concept is reinforced in various hadiths about the punishment of Hell. Notably, a hadith in Sahih Muslim describes the Hellfire's torment and those condemned to it, emphasizing that their punishment is eternal and they cannot escape. Additionally, Surah An-Nisa (4:169) relates thematically to the eternal nature of Hell's punishment for disbelievers.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah serves as a sobering reminder of the reality of divine justice and the serious consequences of turning away from faith, encouraging believers to remain steadfast in their commitment to Allah and to reflect upon the ultimate accountability that awaits all souls.
Related Ayahs
وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ نُوحٍ ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِرَبِّكَ بِذُنُوبِ عِبَادِهِۦ خَبِيرًۢا بَصِيرًا
And how many have We destroyed from the generations after Noah. And sufficient is your Lord, concerning the sins of His servants, as Aware and Seeing.
مِّن وَرَآئِهِمْ جَهَنَّمُ ۖ وَلَا يُغْنِى عَنْهُم مَّا كَسَبُوا۟ شَيْـًٔا وَلَا مَا ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَوْلِيَآءَ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
Before them is Hell, and what they had earned will not avail them at all nor what they had taken besides Allāh as allies. And they will have a great punishment.
وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَلِقَآئِهِۦٓ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يَئِسُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَتِى وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
And the ones who disbelieve in the signs of Allāh and the meeting with Him - those have despaired of My mercy, and they will have a painful punishment.
وَلَوْ أَنَّ قُرْءَانًا سُيِّرَتْ بِهِ ٱلْجِبَالُ أَوْ قُطِّعَتْ بِهِ ٱلْأَرْضُ أَوْ كُلِّمَ بِهِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ ۗ بَل لِّلَّهِ ٱلْأَمْرُ جَمِيعًا ۗ أَفَلَمْ يَا۟يْـَٔسِ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَن لَّوْ يَشَآءُ ٱللَّهُ لَهَدَى ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًا ۗ وَلَا يَزَالُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ تُصِيبُهُم بِمَا صَنَعُوا۟ قَارِعَةٌ أَوْ تَحُلُّ قَرِيبًا مِّن دَارِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِىَ وَعْدُ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُخْلِفُ ٱلْمِيعَادَ
And if there was any Qur’ān [i.e., recitation] by which the mountains would be removed or the earth would be broken apart or the dead would be made to speak, [it would be this Qur’ān], but to Allāh belongs the affair entirely. Then have those who believed not accepted that had Allāh willed, He would have guided the people, all of them? And those who disbelieve do not cease to be struck, for what they have done, by calamity - or it will descend near their home - until there comes the promise of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh does not fail in [His] promise.