7:39 Al-A'raaf (The Heights)

أي: الرؤساء، قالوا لأتباعهم: { فَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ فَضْلٍ ْ} أي: قد اشتركنا جميعا في الغي والضلال، وفي فعل أسباب العذاب، فأي: فضل لكم علينا؟ { فَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْسِبُونَ ْ} ولكنه من المعلوم أن عذاب الرؤساء وأئمة الضلال أبلغ وأشنع من عذاب الأتباع، كما أن نعيم أئمة الهدى ورؤسائه أعظم من ثواب الأتباع، قال تعالى: { الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَصَدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ زِدْنَاهُمْ عَذَابًا فَوْقَ الْعَذَابِ بِمَا كَانُوا يُفْسِدُونَ ْ} فهذه الآيات ونحوها، دلت على أن سائر أنواع المكذبين بآيات اللّه، مخلدون في العذاب، مشتركون فيه وفي أصله، وإن كانوا متفاوتين في مقداره، بحسب أعمالهم وعنادهم وظلمهم وافترائهم، وأن مودتهم التي كانت بينهم في الدنيا تنقلب يوم القيامة عداوة وملاعنة.

"وقالت أولاهم لأخراهم" أي قال المتبوعون للأتباع "فما كان لكم علينا من فضل" قال السدي فقد ضللتم كما ضللنا "فذوقوا العذاب بما كنتم تكسبون" وهذه الحال كما أخبر الله تعالى عنهم في حال محشرهم في قوله "ولو ترى إذ الظالمون موقوفون عند ربهم يرجع بعضهم إلى بعض القول يقول الذين استضعفوا للذين استكبروا لولا أنتم لكنا مؤمنين قال الذين استكبروا للذين استضعفوا أنحن صددناكم عن الهدى بعد إذ جاءكم بل كنتم مجرمين وقال الذين استضعفوا للذين استكبروا بل مكر الليل والنهار إذ تأمروننا أن نكفر بالله ونجعل له أندادا وأسروا الندامة لما رأوا العذاب وجعلنا الأغلال في أعناق الذين كفروا هل يجزون إلا ما كانوا يعملون".

People of the Fire will dispute and curse Each Other Allahmentioned what He will say to those who associate others withHim, invent lies about Him, and reject His Ayat,

ادْخُلُواْ فِى أُمَمٍ

(Enter you in the company of nations), who are your likes and similar to you in conduct,

قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ

(Who passed away before you) from the earlier disbelieving nations,

مِّن الْجِنِّ وَالإِنْسِ فِى النَّارِ

(Of men and Jinn, into the Fire.) Allah said next,

كُلَّمَا دَخَلَتْ أُمَّةٌ لَّعَنَتْ أُخْتَهَا

(Every time a new nation enters, it curses its sister nation (that went before)) Al-Khalil (Prophet Ibrahim), peace be upon him, said,

ثُمَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ يَكْفُرُ بَعْضُكُمْ بِبَعْضٍ

("But on the Day of Resurrection, you shall deny each other) 29:25. Also, Allah said,

إِذْ تَبَرَّأَ الَّذِينَ اتُّبِعُواْ مِنَ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُواْ وَرَأَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ وَتَقَطَّعَتْ بِهِمُ الاٌّسْبَابُ - وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُواْ لَوْ أَنَّ لَنَا كَرَّةً فَنَتَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُمْ كَمَا تَبَرَّءُواْ مِنَّا كَذَلِكَ يُرِيهِمُ اللَّهُ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ حَسَرَتٍ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَا هُم بِخَـرِجِينَ مِنَ النَّارِ

(When those who were followed declare themselves innocent of those who followed (them), and they see the torment, then all their relations will be cut off from them. And those who followed will say: "If only we had one more chance to return (to the worldly life), we would declare ourselves as innocent from them as they have declared themselves as innocent from us." Thus Allah will show them their deeds as regrets for them. And they will never get out of the Fire) 2:166-167. Allah's statement,

حَتَّى إِذَا ادَّارَكُواْ فِيهَا جَمِيعًا

(until they are all together in the Fire) means, they are all gathered in the Fire,

قَالَتْ أُخْرَاهُمْ لاٍّولَـهُمْ

(The last of them will say to the first of them) that is, the nation of followers that enter last will say this to the first nations to enter. This is because the earlier nations were worse criminals than those who followed them, and this is why they entered the Fire first. For this reason, their followers will complain against them to Allah, because they were the ones who misguided them from the correct path, saying,

رَبَّنَا هَـؤُلاءِ أَضَلُّونَا فَـَاتِهِمْ عَذَابًا ضِعْفًا مِّنَ النَّارِ

("Our Lord! These misled us, so give them a double torment of the Fire.") multiply their share of the torment. Allah said in another instance,

يَوْمَ تُقَلَّبُ وُجُوهُهُمْ فِى النَّارِ يَقُولُونَ يلَيْتَنَآ أَطَعْنَا اللَّهَ وَأَطَعْنَا الرَّسُولاَ - وَقَالُواْ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّآ أَطَعْنَا سَادَتَنَا وَكُبَرَآءَنَا فَأَضَلُّونَا السَّبِيلاْ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِهِمْ ضِعْفَيْنِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ

(On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say: "Oh! Would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger." And they will say: "Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the (right) way. Our Lord! Give them a double torment.") 33:66-68. Allah said in reply,

قَالَ لِكُلٍّ ضِعْفٌ

(He will say: "For each one there is double (torment)..."), We did what you asked, and recompensed each according to their deeds.' Allah said in another Ayah,

الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَصَدُّواْ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ زِدْنَـهُمْ عَذَابًا

(Those who disbelieved and hinder (men) from the path of Allah, for them We will add torment)16:88. Furthermore, Allah said,

وَلَيَحْمِلُنَّ أَثْقَالَهُمْ وَأَثْقَالاً مَّعَ أَثْقَالِهِمْ

(And verily, they shall bear their own loads, and other loads besides their own) 29:13 and,

وَمِنْ أَوْزَارِ الَّذِينَ يُضِلُّونَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ

(And also (some thing) of the burdens of those whom they misled without knowledge) 16:25.

وَقَالَتْ أُولَـهُمْ لاٌّخْرَاهُمْ

(The first of them will say to the last of them) meaning, the followed will say to the followers,

فَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِن فَضْلٍ

("You were not better than us. ..") meaning, you were led astray as we were led astray, according to As-Suddi.

فَذُوقُواْ الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْسِبُونَ

("So taste the torment for what you used to earn.") Allah again described the condition of the idolators during the gathering (of Resurrection), when He said;

قَالَ الَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُواْ لِلَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُواْ أَنَحْنُ صَدَدنَـكُمْ عَنِ الْهُدَى بَعْدَ إِذْ جَآءَكُمْ بَلْ كُنتُمْ مُّجْرِمِينَ - وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُواْ لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُواْ بَلْ مَكْرُ الَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ إِذْ تَأْمُرُونَنَآ أَن نَّكْفُرَ بِاللَّهِ وَنَجْعَلَ لَهُ أَندَاداً وَأَسَرُّواْ النَّدَامَةَ لَمَّا رَأَوُاْ اْلَعَذَابَ وَجَعَلْنَا الاٌّغْلَـلَ فِى أَعْنَاقِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ هَلْ يُجْزَوْنَ إِلاَّ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ

(And those who were arrogant will say to those who were deemed weak: "Did we keep you back from guidance after it come to you Nay, but you were criminals." Those who were deemed weak will say to those who were arrogant: "Nay, but it was your plotting by night and day, when you ordered us to disbelieve in Allah and set up rivals to Him!" And each of them (parties) will conceal their own regrets, when they behold the torment. And We shall put iron collars round the necks of those who disbelieved. Are they requited aught except what they used to do) 34:32-33

And the first of them shall say to the last of them ‘You have no advantage over us since you did not disbelieve because of us you and we are equal in this predicament. God exalted be He says to them So taste the chastisement for what you used to earn’.

The first and the second verse both mentioned two crimes committed by disbelievers. They took Halal as Haram and made the Haram become Halal for themselves by themselves. The third verse (34) describes their sad end and the punishment they would have in the Hereafter. It was said:

وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلٌ ۖ فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ لَا يَسْتَأْخِرُ‌ونَ سَاعَةً ۖ وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ

(And for every people there is an appointed time. So, when their appointed time comes, they will not be late for a moment, nor will they go before).

In other words, what is being said here is that those committing excesses who, despite their contumacy, are basking in the sunshine of the blessings of Allah Ta` ala, and do not seem to be anywhere close to being punished, they should not lose sight of the customary practice of Allah that He, in His infinite mercy, keeps granting a long leash to sinners so that they would somehow stop doing what they do. But, the term of this leash and the time of this respite stands determined in the ultimate knowledge of Allah Ta` ala. When that time comes, it just comes - neither too late nor too soon. Thus, criminals are caught in punishment. At times, the punishment descends right here in this world - and if, the punishment does not visit them here, it waits to receive them soon after their death.

As for the appointed time not being late or early as stated in this verse, it is a manner of saying, something like saying to a salesperson in a store: at is your last price, more or less? It is obvious that the inquiry is for the lower price, not the higher. But, it is put there as a subordinate suffix. Similarly, the real objective here is to state that there will be no delay after the appointed time. The mention of ` before' along with ` late' makes it closer to common comprehension.