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 al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 46) ➊ {وَ بَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ:} is the wall that will be between Paradise and Hell, as mentioned elsewhere: «فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِسُوْرٍ » [ الحدید : ۱۳ ] meaning a wall will be placed between the people of Paradise and the people of Hell, with Allah’s mercy on the inside and punishment on the outside. Shah Waliullah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “And it is called A’raf.” That is, this wall is called “A’raf.” (Fathur Rahman)
➋ { وَ عَلَى الْاَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ : ’’ الْاَعْرَافِ ‘‘} is the plural of {’’ عُرْفٌ‘‘}, and in language, {’’عَرَفَ يَعْرِفُ مَعْرِفَةً‘‘} means to recognize, and {’’ عُرْفٌ‘‘} means a high place, because a high thing is easily recognized due to its prominence. From this comes the term for a rooster’s comb and the hair on the high part of a horse’s neck, called {’’ عُرْفٌ‘‘}, because their height makes them distinct. Therefore, {’’ الْاَعْرَافِ ‘‘} refers to the heights of the wall between the people of Paradise and the people of Hell, where those who stay can see the people of Paradise on one side and the people of Hell on the other. Most commentators say this.
➌ The meaning of {يَعْرِفُوْنَ كُلًّۢا بِسِيْمٰىهُمْ: ’’ سِيْمَا ‘‘} is a sign, for example, the faces of the people of Paradise will be white and radiant, and the faces of the people of Hell will be black and dark, or the limbs of the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him) will be shining due to ablution. There are several opinions among the commentators about who will be in {’’ الْاَعْرَافِ ‘‘}. Qurtubi has mentioned ten opinions; the most famous, which the majority of commentators have preferred due to the abundance of narrations, is that these will be the people whose good and bad deeds are equal, so they will be on the wall in between. One indication of this is the sentence: «لَمْ يَدْخُلُوْهَا وَ هُمْ يَطْمَعُوْنَ » “They have not yet entered Paradise, but they hope for it.”
➍ { وَ هُمْ يَطْمَعُوْنَ:} means they will hope to enter Paradise. This can have two meanings: one, that the people of A’raf have not yet entered Paradise, but hope that they will be granted Paradise in the future; second, that the people of A’raf will call out to those whose being among the people of Paradise is known by their signs, even though they have not yet entered Paradise because they are still occupied with the reckoning. (Ibn Kathir)
➎ It is mentioned in Ibn Kathir that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was asked about the people of A’raf, and he said: “They are those who went out in disobedience to their parents and were killed in the way of Allah. Now, their disobedience to their parents prevented them from entering Paradise, and being killed in the way of Allah prevented them from entering the Fire.” Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) indicated the unreliability of these narrations by saying that only Allah knows the authenticity of the marfu’ narrations, and in the takhrij of Ibn Kathir, “Hidayat al-Mustaneer,” the unreliability of all these narrations has been explained in detail.
➋ { وَ عَلَى الْاَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ : ’’ الْاَعْرَافِ ‘‘} is the plural of {’’ عُرْفٌ‘‘}, and in language, {’’عَرَفَ يَعْرِفُ مَعْرِفَةً‘‘} means to recognize, and {’’ عُرْفٌ‘‘} means a high place, because a high thing is easily recognized due to its prominence. From this comes the term for a rooster’s comb and the hair on the high part of a horse’s neck, called {’’ عُرْفٌ‘‘}, because their height makes them distinct. Therefore, {’’ الْاَعْرَافِ ‘‘} refers to the heights of the wall between the people of Paradise and the people of Hell, where those who stay can see the people of Paradise on one side and the people of Hell on the other. Most commentators say this.
➌ The meaning of {يَعْرِفُوْنَ كُلًّۢا بِسِيْمٰىهُمْ: ’’ سِيْمَا ‘‘} is a sign, for example, the faces of the people of Paradise will be white and radiant, and the faces of the people of Hell will be black and dark, or the limbs of the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him) will be shining due to ablution. There are several opinions among the commentators about who will be in {’’ الْاَعْرَافِ ‘‘}. Qurtubi has mentioned ten opinions; the most famous, which the majority of commentators have preferred due to the abundance of narrations, is that these will be the people whose good and bad deeds are equal, so they will be on the wall in between. One indication of this is the sentence: «لَمْ يَدْخُلُوْهَا وَ هُمْ يَطْمَعُوْنَ » “They have not yet entered Paradise, but they hope for it.”
➍ { وَ هُمْ يَطْمَعُوْنَ:} means they will hope to enter Paradise. This can have two meanings: one, that the people of A’raf have not yet entered Paradise, but hope that they will be granted Paradise in the future; second, that the people of A’raf will call out to those whose being among the people of Paradise is known by their signs, even though they have not yet entered Paradise because they are still occupied with the reckoning. (Ibn Kathir)
➎ It is mentioned in Ibn Kathir that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was asked about the people of A’raf, and he said: “They are those who went out in disobedience to their parents and were killed in the way of Allah. Now, their disobedience to their parents prevented them from entering Paradise, and being killed in the way of Allah prevented them from entering the Fire.” Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) indicated the unreliability of these narrations by saying that only Allah knows the authenticity of the marfu’ narrations, and in the takhrij of Ibn Kathir, “Hidayat al-Mustaneer,” the unreliability of all these narrations has been explained in detail.
