فَوَرَبِّكَ لَنَحْشُرَنَّهُمْ وَٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ ثُمَّ لَنُحْضِرَنَّهُمْ حَوْلَ جَهَنَّمَ جِثِيًّا 68
Translations
So by your Lord, We will surely gather them and the devils; then We will bring them to be present around Hell upon their knees.
Transliteration
Fa-wa-rabbi-ka la-nah-shur-an-nahum wa-ash-shay-a-teen tha-mma la-nuh-dir-an-nahum haw-la ja-han-nama ji-thee-ya
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah swears by His lordship that He will gather together both the disbelievers and the devils on the Day of Judgment, then present them around Hell on their knees in a state of humiliation and submission. Ibn Kathir explains this as a vivid depiction of the divine judgment where those who rejected faith and their corruptors (the devils) will be assembled together to witness their shared fate, emphasizing the certainty of this promise through Allah's oath.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Maryam (Meccan), which addresses the disbelievers of Mecca who rejected the Message. The surah emphasizes the reality of the Hereafter and resurrection against those who mocked the concept of life after death. This specific ayah responds to the skepticism and denial prevalent among the Meccan polytheists regarding accountability in the afterlife.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The Day of Judgment will not be established until people's deeds become very obscure and the greatest number of people will be hypocrites' (Tirmidhi). Also relevant: 'Verily, the first to be cast into the Fire will be the eloquent reciter who denied Allah' (Sahih Muslim), illustrating the principle of gathering sinners with their tempters.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers of the certainty of the afterlife and the consequences of rejecting Allah's guidance—a powerful motivation for righteous conduct and resistance to worldly temptations and Satanic whispers in this life. Understanding that we will be held accountable alongside those who led us astray should inspire us to seek truth independently and influence our moral choices.
Related Ayahs
وَأَنذِرْهُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْحَسْرَةِ إِذْ قُضِىَ ٱلْأَمْرُ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍ وَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
And warn them, [O Muḥammad], of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be concluded; and [yet], they are in [a state of] heedlessness, and they do not believe.
كُلُّ نَفْسٍۭ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ
Every soul, for what it has earned, will be retained.
إِن تَكْفُرُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَنِىٌّ عَنكُمْ ۖ وَلَا يَرْضَىٰ لِعِبَادِهِ ٱلْكُفْرَ ۖ وَإِن تَشْكُرُوا۟ يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ ۗ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ ۗ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُم مَّرْجِعُكُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ عَلِيمٌۢ بِذَاتِ ٱلصُّدُورِ
If you disbelieve - indeed, Allāh is Free from need of you. And He does not approve for His servants disbelief. And if you are grateful, He approves [i.e., likes] it for you; and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you about what you used to do. Indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts.
إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ ٱلْمُسْتَقَرُّ
To your Lord, that Day, is the [place of] permanence.