وَنَسُوقُ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ وِرْدًا 86
Translations
And will drive the criminals to Hell in thirst
Transliteration
Wa nasooqu al-mujrimeena ilaa jahannama wirdan
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes how the criminals and sinners will be driven toward Hell in groups or successive waves (wirdan). According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, 'wirdan' literally means 'in groups coming one after another,' emphasizing the relentless procession of the condemned. The verb 'nasuqu' (we drive/lead) conveys divine authority and the inevitability of their fate, reflecting that their punishment is a certain consequence of their rebellion against Allah.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Maryam, a Meccan surah that frequently juxtaposes the fate of the righteous with the punished. It occurs within the broader eschatological narrative (verses 85-87) that describes the Day of Judgment, contrasting how the righteous will be brought to mercy while the criminals face justice. The thematic context emphasizes the certainty of divine reckoning.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Hell will be brought on that day with seventy thousand reins, and each rein will be held by seventy thousand angels, dragging it.' (Sahih Muslim 2842). Additionally, 'The people of Hell will be driven to it like herds of cattle.' (Tirmidhi 2525)
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah serves as a powerful reminder that those who persist in crime and sin cannot escape divine justice, regardless of their power or worldly status in this life. For believers, it reinforces the importance of repentance and righteous conduct, knowing that accountability before Allah is absolute and inescapable.
Related Ayahs
وَلَا تُصَلِّ عَلَىٰٓ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُم مَّاتَ أَبَدًا وَلَا تَقُمْ عَلَىٰ قَبْرِهِۦٓ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَمَاتُوا۟ وَهُمْ فَـٰسِقُونَ
And do not pray [the funeral prayer, O Muḥammad], over any of them who has died - ever - or stand at his grave. Indeed, they disbelieved in Allāh and His Messenger and died while they were defiantly disobedient.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَوْ أَنَّ لَهُم مَّا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا وَمِثْلَهُۥ مَعَهُۥ لِيَفْتَدُوا۟ بِهِۦ مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ مَا تُقُبِّلَ مِنْهُمْ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
Indeed, those who disbelieve - if they should have all that is in the earth and the like of it with it by which to ransom themselves from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection, it will not be accepted from them, and for them is a painful punishment.
قَالَ قَآئِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ إِنِّى كَانَ لِى قَرِينٌ
A speaker among them will say, "Indeed, I had a companion [on earth].
۞ وَقَيَّضْنَا لَهُمْ قُرَنَآءَ فَزَيَّنُوا۟ لَهُم مَّا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَحَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْقَوْلُ فِىٓ أُمَمٍ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلْإِنسِ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ خَـٰسِرِينَ
And We appointed for them companions who made attractive to them what was before them and what was behind them [of sin], and the word [i.e., decree] has come into effect upon them among nations which had passed on before them of jinn and men. Indeed, they [all] were losers.