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
فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلسَّمَآءُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ مُنظَرِينَ
And the heaven and earth wept not for them, nor were they reprieved.
فَإِن رَّجَعَكَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَىٰ طَآئِفَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ فَٱسْتَـْٔذَنُوكَ لِلْخُرُوجِ فَقُل لَّن تَخْرُجُوا۟ مَعِىَ أَبَدًا وَلَن تُقَـٰتِلُوا۟ مَعِىَ عَدُوًّا ۖ إِنَّكُمْ رَضِيتُم بِٱلْقُعُودِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ فَٱقْعُدُوا۟ مَعَ ٱلْخَـٰلِفِينَ
If Allāh should return you to a faction of them [after the expedition] and then they ask your permission to go out [to battle], say, "You will not go out with me, ever, and you will never fight with me an enemy. Indeed, you were satisfied with sitting [at home] the first time, so sit [now] with those who stay behind."
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.
ذَٰلِكَ جَزَيْنَـٰهُم بِمَا كَفَرُوا۟ ۖ وَهَلْ نُجَـٰزِىٓ إِلَّا ٱلْكَفُورَ
[By] that We repaid them because they disbelieved. And do We [thus] repay except the ungrateful?