Surah Hud (11) — Ayah 98

(Ayah 98) ➊ {يَقْدُمُ قَوْمَهٗ يَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ …:’’ قَدِمَ يَقْدَمُ} (ع) to come and {’’ قَدَمَ يَقْدُمُ ‘‘} (ن) to go ahead. {’’ فَاَوْرَدَهُمُ ‘‘ ’’وِرْدٌ‘‘} (with kasrah on waw) is the water from which people and animals come to drink, that is, the watering place. {’’ اَوْرَدَ ‘‘} is the past tense from the form of if‘āl, meaning just as he was the leader of his people in the world, in the same way he will be their leader in the Hereafter as well, and instead of taking them to the watering place to drink, he himself will go ahead and lead all of them into the Fire. This is the same condition for all those who lead any nation towards disbelief and sin, that they will enter Hell following their leadership. {’’ يَقْدُمُ ‘‘} is present tense, will go ahead, after this, instead of the present tense {’’ يُوْرِدُهُمْ ‘‘} (he will bring them to the Fire), the past tense {’’ فَاَوْرَدَهُمُ النَّارَ ‘‘} (he brought them to the Fire) is used for certainty.

➋ {وَ بِئْسَ الْوِرْدُ الْمَوْرُوْدُ:} People go to the drinking place to quench their thirst, but there, instead of water, they will be hosted with fire. (And we seek refuge with Allah)

98. 1. That is, Pharaoh, just as he was their leader and guide in the world, on the Day of Resurrection he will also be at the forefront and will lead his people under his leadership into Hell.

98. 2. "Wird" refers to a watering place where the thirsty go to quench their thirst. But here, Hell is called "wird"—the watering place, meaning Hell into which people will be taken; that is, both the place is evil and those who go there are evil. May Allah protect us from it.

98. He will lead his people on the Day of Resurrection, and bring them to the Fire [110]. What a terrible place [111] to arrive at!

[110]
The Resemblance Between Worldly Deeds and Their Hereafter Consequences:

At this point, all the details of the story of Musa ؑ and Pharaoh have been omitted, nor is there any mention of what happened to Pharaoh, his courtiers, and his followers in this world. Rather, the scene of what will happen to these people on the Day of Resurrection has been presented, and it has been explained that just as Pharaoh was the leader of his followers in this world, in the same way, on the Day of Resurrection, he will also be leading his followers. However, today Pharaoh’s followers do not see that Pharaoh is leading them towards the pit of destruction, but on the Day of Resurrection, all of them will see that he is leading them towards Hell, but at that time they will be compelled to follow him. The reason for this is that there will be the utmost resemblance between worldly deeds and their consequences in the Hereafter, and while in this world a person has the choice to do or not do something, the consequences of those actions are not in his control; rather, they are directly in the control of Allah Almighty. Therefore, on that day, they will be compelled to walk behind him. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, such leadership will not be limited to Pharaoh alone, but every leader will have a separate banner, and he will walk ahead of his followers and take them to their destination. If a leader was obedient to Allah and fortunate in this world, he will lead his followers towards Paradise, and wicked leaders will be leading their followers towards Hell.

[111]
The Literal Meaning of "Wird":

The meaning of ﴿وَرَدَ﴾ is to reach a place of water or a watering spot to drink water, and its opposite is ﴿صَدَرَ﴾, meaning to return from the place of water after drinking and being satiated. "Wird" also refers to the watering place. That is, Pharaoh, along with his followers, will have set out in search of water, but these people will reach the edge of Hell. That is, even in this world, by rejecting the invitation of Musa ؑ, they were seeking their own benefit, and this wrong thinking became the cause of their destruction in this world as well, and in the Hereafter, their thinking will be something else, and the result will be destruction.