وَأَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلْمَشْـَٔمَةِ مَآ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلْمَشْـَٔمَةِ 9
Translations
And the companions of the left - what are companions of the left?
Transliteration
Wa ashabu al-mashʼamati ma ashabu al-mashʼamati
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the Companions of the Left Hand, those destined for Hell on the Day of Judgment, and the rhetorical question emphasizes their wretched fate and the severity of their condition. The repetition of the phrase serves as a powerful rhetorical device to draw attention to their misery and to emphasize that words cannot adequately describe the horror of their punishment. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari interpret this as Allah's way of expressing the inexpressible nature of the torment awaiting those who reject faith and guidance.
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Waqi'ah was revealed in Mecca and describes the events and divisions of humanity on the Day of Judgment. This ayah appears within the context of Surah 56's vivid depiction of three categories of people in the afterlife: the foremost (al-sabiqun), the Companions of the Right Hand (ashab al-yameen), and the Companions of the Left Hand (ashab al-mashʼamah), establishing the certainty of the Day of Judgment.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'There is no one among you but Allah will make him speak with his Lord on the Day of Resurrection, there being no interpreter between them and him' (Sahih Bukhari 6541). This relates to the accountability of all souls on that Day, whether among the blessed or the punished.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah serves as a powerful reminder of the ultimate consequences of rejecting faith and guidance, urging believers to reflect on their actions in this life. For modern readers, it emphasizes the importance of conscious moral and spiritual choices, knowing that deeds have eternal consequences beyond this temporal existence.
Related Ayahs
وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ كَأَن لَّمْ يَلْبَثُوٓا۟ إِلَّا سَاعَةً مِّنَ ٱلنَّهَارِ يَتَعَارَفُونَ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ قَدْ خَسِرَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِلِقَآءِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ مُهْتَدِينَ
And on the Day when He will gather them, [it will be] as if they had not remained [in the world] but an hour of the day, [and] they will know each other. Those will have lost who denied the meeting with Allāh and were not guided.
ثُمَّ لَنَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ أَوْلَىٰ بِهَا صِلِيًّا
Then, surely it is We who are most knowing of those most worthy of burning therein.
وَإِن مِّنكُمْ إِلَّا وَارِدُهَا ۚ كَانَ عَلَىٰ رَبِّكَ حَتْمًا مَّقْضِيًّا
And there is none of you except he will come to it. This is upon your Lord an inevitability decreed.
وَأَنذِرْهُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْـَٔازِفَةِ إِذِ ٱلْقُلُوبُ لَدَى ٱلْحَنَاجِرِ كَـٰظِمِينَ ۚ مَا لِلظَّـٰلِمِينَ مِنْ حَمِيمٍ وَلَا شَفِيعٍ يُطَاعُ
And warn them, [O Muḥammad], of the Approaching Day, when hearts are at the throats, filled [with distress]. For the wrongdoers there will be no devoted friend and no intercessor [who is] obeyed.