سُوْرَةُ الْاَعْرَافِ
Surah Al-A'raaf (7) — Ayah 46
وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱلْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلًّۢا بِسِيمَىٰهُمْ ۚ وَنَادَوْا۟ أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْجَنَّةِ أَن سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ ﴿46﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And between them will be a (barrier) screen and on Al-A‘râf (a wall with elevated places) will be men (whose good and evil deeds would be equal in scale), who would recognise all (of the Paradise and Hell people), by their marks (the dwellers of Paradise by their white faces and the dwellers of Hell by their black faces), they will call out to the dwellers of Paradise, "Salâmun ‘Alaikum" (Peace be on you), and at that time they (men on Al-A‘râf) will not yet have entered it (Paradise), but they will hope to enter (it) with certainty.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَبَيْنَهُمَا
wabaynahumā
And between them
حِجَابٌۭ ۚ
ḥijābun
(will be) a partition
وَعَلَى
waʿalā
and on
ٱلْأَعْرَافِ
l-aʿrāfi
the heights
رِجَالٌۭ
rijālun
(will be) men
يَعْرِفُونَ
yaʿrifūna
recognizing
كُلًّۢا
kullan
all
بِسِيمَىٰهُمْ ۚ
bisīmāhum
by their marks
وَنَادَوْا۟
wanādaw
And they will call out
أَصْحَـٰبَ
aṣḥāba
(to the) companions
ٱلْجَنَّةِ
l-janati
(of) Paradise
أَن
an
that
سَلَـٰمٌ
salāmun
Peace
عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ
ʿalaykum
(be) upon you
لَمْ
lam
Not
يَدْخُلُوهَا
yadkhulūhā
they have entered it
وَهُمْ
wahum
but they
يَطْمَعُونَ
yaṭmaʿūna
hope
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
46. 1. By "between the two," it means between Paradise and Hell or between the disbelievers and the believers. حِجَاب (barrier) refers to the wall (fence) mentioned in Surah Hadid: (فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِسُوْرٍ لَّهٗ بَابٌ) 57. Al-Hadid:13) So a wall will be erected between them, in which there will be a door; this is the wall of A'raf.
46. 2. Who will these be? There is considerable difference among the commentators regarding their identification. According to most commentators, these will be the people whose good deeds and bad deeds are equal. Their good deeds will prevent them from entering Hell, and their bad deeds will prevent them from entering Paradise, and thus, until a decisive judgment from Allah is made, they will remain suspended in between.
46. 3. The meaning of "seema" is sign. The faces of the people of Paradise will be bright, and the faces of the people of Hell will be dark and their eyes blue. In this way, they will recognize both types of people.
46. 4. Here, some have interpreted the meaning of یَطْمَعُوْنَ as یَعْلَمُوْن, meaning they will know that soon they will be admitted into Paradise.
46. 2. Who will these be? There is considerable difference among the commentators regarding their identification. According to most commentators, these will be the people whose good deeds and bad deeds are equal. Their good deeds will prevent them from entering Hell, and their bad deeds will prevent them from entering Paradise, and thus, until a decisive judgment from Allah is made, they will remain suspended in between.
46. 3. The meaning of "seema" is sign. The faces of the people of Paradise will be bright, and the faces of the people of Hell will be dark and their eyes blue. In this way, they will recognize both types of people.
46. 4. Here, some have interpreted the meaning of یَطْمَعُوْنَ as یَعْلَمُوْن, meaning they will know that soon they will be admitted into Paradise.
