“And the companions of Paradise will call out to the companions of the Fire, ‘We have indeed found true what our Lord promised us. Have you too found true what your Lord promised you?’ They will say, ‘Yes.’ Then an announcer will proclaim between them, ‘The curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers—those who turn people away from the way of Allah and seek to make it crooked, while they disbelieve in the Hereafter.’ And between them will be a barrier, and upon the elevations will be men who recognize each person by their marks. They will call out to the companions of Paradise, ‘Peace be upon you.’ They will not yet have entered it, though they eagerly hope to do so.” (44–46)

Allah Most High says: “And the companions of Paradise will call out to the companions of the Fire, ‘We have indeed found true what our Lord promised us’”—that is, of reward—“Have you too found true what your Lord promised you”—that is, of punishment—“They will say, ‘Yes.’” Al-Kisa'i recited the affirmative response with the middle consonant vowelled with a kasrah wherever it occurs, while the rest recited it with a fathah; both are dialectal forms.

“Then an announcer will proclaim between them”: that is, a caller will call out in a manner heard by both groups. “The curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers.” The reciters of Medina and Basra, along with Asim, read the particle an without consonantal doubling and read “the curse” in the nominative case. The others read the particle anna with consonantal doubling and “Allah’s curse” in the accusative case. The wrongdoers here are the disbelievers. 130/a

“Those who turn people away”: that is, who divert people “from the way of Allah,” meaning obedience to Allah, “and seek to make it crooked”: that is, they seek it in deviation and distortion; in other words, they pursue the way of Allah while swerving from the straight course.

Ibn Abbas said: “They pray to other than Allah and venerate what Allah has not venerated.” The term for crookedness, when its middle consonant has a kasrah, is used regarding religion, affairs, land, and everything that is not upright; when it has a fathah, it is used of everything that stands upright, such as a wall, a spear, and the like. “While they disbelieve in the Hereafter.”

“And between them will be a barrier”: that is, between Paradise and the Fire. It is also said that there will be a barrier between the people of Paradise and the people of the Fire; it is the wall Allah Most High mentioned in His saying: “So a wall with a gate will be placed between them” (al-Hadid, 13).

Allah Most High says: “And upon the elevations will be men.” The Araf are that wall between Paradise and the Fire. The word is the plural of a term meaning an elevated place; hence the crest of a rooster is so called because it rises above the rest of its body. Al-Suddi said: “That wall was called the Araf because its inhabitants recognize the people.”

They differed concerning the men of whom Allah informs us that they are upon the Araf. Hudhayfah and Ibn Abbas said: “They are”