(71–75) “Those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups. When they reach it, its gates will be opened, and its keepers will ask them, ‘Did messengers from among yourselves not come to you, reciting the signs of your Lord to you and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?’ They will say, ‘Yes indeed, but the decree of punishment has come due against the disbelievers.’ It will be said, ‘Enter the gates of Hell, remaining there forever. What an evil abode for the arrogant!’ Those who feared their Lord will be led to Paradise in groups. When they reach it and its gates are opened, its keepers will say to them, ‘Peace be upon you! You have done well, so enter it, remaining there forever.’ They will say, ‘All praise is for Allah, who has fulfilled His promise to us and given us the land as an inheritance, so that we may dwell wherever we wish in Paradise. How excellent is the reward of those who labor!’”

After mentioning His judgment among His servants—whom He had treated alike in creating them, providing for them, and governing their affairs, who had lived together in this world, and who would be gathered together at the standing place of Resurrection—Allah Most High distinguished between them when recompensing them, just as they had differed in this world through belief and disbelief, piety and wickedness. He said: “Those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell”—driven violently, beaten with painful whips by stern and mighty guards, toward the worst prison and most horrific place: Hell, which contains every torment, where every misery is present and from which every joy is absent. As Allah Most High says: “On the Day they will be shoved violently into the Fire of Hell.” That is, they will be thrust into it forcefully because they refuse to enter it.

They will be driven there “in groups”—that is, in separate companies, each company alongside those whose deeds and endeavors resemble its own. They will curse and disavow one another. “When they reach it”—that is, when they arrive at its precincts—“its gates will be opened” for them, meaning because of their arrival, as a reception prepared for them.

“Its keepers will ask them,” taunting them with eternal misery and everlasting punishment and rebuking them for the deeds that brought them to this dreadful place: “Did messengers from among yourselves not come to you?” That is, messengers of your own kind whom you knew, whose truthfulness you recognized, and from whom you were able to receive the message? “Reciting the signs of your Lord to you”—the signs with which Allah had sent them, demonstrating certain truth with the clearest proofs—“and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?” All of this required you to follow them and guard yourselves against the punishment of this Day by fearing Allah, yet your conduct was the opposite, was it not?

“They will say,” acknowledging their sin and that Allah’s proof had been established against them: “Yes indeed.” The messengers of our Lord came to us with His signs and clear proofs, explained matters to us with utmost clarity, and warned us of this Day. “But the decree of punishment has come due against the disbelievers.” That is, because of their disbelief, the decree of punishment became binding upon them—the decree applying to everyone who disbelieves in Allah’s signs and rejects what the messengers brought. They will thus confess their sin and acknowledge that the proof had been established against them.

“It will be said” to them in humiliation and abasement: “Enter the gates of Hell.” Each group will enter through the gate suited to it and corresponding to its deeds. They will remain there “forever,” never departing from it; the punishment will not be eased for them for even an hour, nor will they be granted respite. “What an evil abode for the arrogant!” What a wretched dwelling! The Fire will be their abode because they were too arrogant to accept the truth, so Allah will repay them in kind with humiliation, abasement, and disgrace.

He then said concerning the people of Paradise: “Those who feared their Lord” by affirming His oneness and acting in obedience to Him “will be led” with honor and dignity, gathered as an honored delegation riding noble mounts, “to Paradise in groups,” joyful and rejoicing, each company alongside those whose deeds resemble and correspond to its own.

“When they reach it”—that is, when they arrive at those spacious courts and elegant dwellings, its fragrance and breeze waft over them, and the time has come for eternal residence and bliss—“and its gates are opened” for them, opened in honor of the noblest of creation so that they may be honored therein, “its keepers will say to them” by way of congratulations and welcome: “Peace be upon you!” That is, you are safe from every affliction and every evil condition. “You have done well”—your hearts were made pure through knowing, loving, and fearing Allah; your tongues through remembering Him; and your limbs through obeying Him. Because of this purity, “enter it, remaining there forever.” ⦗731⦘ For it is the pure abode, and none but the pure are suited to it.

Regarding Hell, He said, “Its gates were opened,” whereas regarding Paradise He said, “And its gates were opened,” using the conjunction “and.” This indicates that the gates of Hell will be opened as soon as its people arrive, without any delay or respite. Their opening directly in their faces at the very moment of their arrival will make its heat more intense and its punishment more severe.

Paradise, however, is the lofty and precious abode. Not everyone can reach or attain it, but only those who have taken the means leading to it. Even then, to enter it they will need the intercession made on their behalf by the noblest of intercessors. Its gates will therefore not be opened merely upon their arrival. Rather, they will seek Muhammad’s intercession with Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—until he intercedes and Allah Most High accepts his intercession.

These verses prove that Hell and Paradise have gates that open and close, and that each has keepers. They are the two exclusive abodes into which none enter except those who deserve them, unlike all other places and dwellings.

“They will say,” after entering and settling there, praising their Lord for what He bestowed upon them, graciously granted them, and guided them to: “All praise is for Allah, who has fulfilled His promise to us.” That is, through His messengers He promised us Paradise if we believed and acted righteously. He has fulfilled what He promised and granted us what He led us to hope for. “And given us the land as an inheritance”—that is, the land of Paradise—“so that we may dwell wherever we wish in Paradise.” We may settle wherever we wish and enjoy any delight we desire; nothing we want will be withheld from us. “How excellent is the reward of those who labor!” They strove to obey their Lord for a brief and finite span and thereby attained immense goodness that remains and endures forever.

This is the abode truly worthy of praise, in which Allah honors the elect of His creation. The Most Bountiful and Generous was pleased to make it their place of welcome, built its highest and finest parts, planted it with His own hand, and filled it with such mercy and honor that even a portion thereof causes the sorrowful to rejoice, distress to vanish, and serenity to become complete.