فَإِنَّهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ فِى ٱلْعَذَابِ مُشْتَرِكُونَ 33
Translations
So indeed they, that Day, will be sharing in the punishment.
Transliteration
Fa-inna-hum yawma-idhin fi al-adhabi mushtarikun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah states that on the Day of Judgment, the disbelievers and those who followed them in misguidance will share equally in the punishment of Hell. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this refers to both the leaders who misguided others and their followers who blindly obeyed them, emphasizing that all parties bear responsibility for their collective rejection of faith. The word 'mushtarikun' (sharing/partners) highlights the mutual culpability and common fate they will experience in divine punishment.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within Surah As-Saffat's discussion of the Day of Judgment and the fate of disbelievers. It follows the mention of those who associated partners with Allah and rejected the prophets' messages. The surah, revealed in Mecca during a period of intense opposition to the Prophet's message, repeatedly emphasizes the certainty of accountability and shared punishment for collective disbelief and transgression.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever introduces a bad practice in Islam bears the sin of it and the sins of all those who act upon it after him, without any decrease in their burden.' (Sahih Muslim 1017). This relates thematically to shared responsibility in wrongdoing. Additionally, the Quran states (9:67-68) that hypocritical men and women are of one another, and all will share punishment in Hell.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that both leaders of misguidance and their followers bear equal responsibility before Allah—there is no excuse of 'following orders' or 'being led astray.' For modern believers, it emphasizes the importance of personal discernment, not blindly following leaders, and recognizing that we will answer individually for our choices on the Day of Judgment.
Related Ayahs
وَبَدَا لَهُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا۟ وَحَاقَ بِهِم مَّا كَانُوا۟ بِهِۦ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ
And there will appear to them the evils they had earned, and they will be enveloped by what they used to ridicule.
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّآ أَن تَأْتِيَهُمُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِىَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ فَعَلَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَلَـٰكِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ
Do they [i.e., the disbelievers] await except that the angels should come to them or there comes the command of your Lord? Thus did those do before them. And Allāh wronged them not, but they had been wronging themselves.
فَشَـٰرِبُونَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلْحَمِيمِ
And drinking on top of it from scalding water.
وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱلْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلًّۢا بِسِيمَىٰهُمْ ۚ وَنَادَوْا۟ أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْجَنَّةِ أَن سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ
And between them will be a partition [i.e., wall], 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.