Surah 7

Surah 7:39

"And the first of them will say to the last of them, ‘You have no advantage over us, so taste the punishment for what you have earned.’"
People of the Fire will dispute and curse Each Other Verses 7:38-39
Show Full Scripture Context (7:38-39) — 2 Verses
Verse 38

قَالَ ٱدۡخُلُواْ فِيٓ أُمَمٖ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ مِن قَبۡلِكُم مِّنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ وَٱلۡإِنسِ فِي ٱلنَّارِۖ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَتۡ أُمَّةٞ لَّعَنَتۡ أُخۡتَهَاۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا ٱدَّارَكُواْ فِيهَا جَمِيعٗا قَالَتۡ أُخۡرَىٰهُمۡ لِأُولَىٰهُمۡ رَبَّنَا هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ أَضَلُّونَا فَـَٔاتِهِمۡ عَذَابٗا ضِعۡفٗا مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِۖ قَالَ لِكُلّٖ ضِعۡفٞ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَعۡلَمُونَ

He will say, ‘Enter into the Fire, among the communities of jinn and humans who have passed away before you.’ Whenever a (new) community enters, it curses its sister (community), until, when they have all followed each other into it, the last of them will say to the first of them, ‘Our Lord, these led us astray, so give them a double punishment of the Fire.’ He will say, ‘To each a double, but you do not know.’

Verse 39

وَقَالَتۡ أُولَىٰهُمۡ لِأُخۡرَىٰهُمۡ فَمَا كَانَ لَكُمۡ عَلَيۡنَا مِن فَضۡلٖ فَذُوقُواْ ٱلۡعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمۡ تَكۡسِبُونَ

And the first of them will say to the last of them, ‘You have no advantage over us, so taste the punishment for what you have earned.’

Allah mentioned what He will say to those who associate others with Him, invent lies about Him, and reject His Ayat,

{Enter you in the company of nations}, who are your likes and similar to you in conduct, the first nations to enter. This is because the earlier nations were worse criminals than those who followed them, and this is why they entered the Fire first. For this reason, their followers will complain against them to Allah, because they were the ones who misguided them from the correct path, saying,

Quoted Scripture
""Our Lord! These misled us, so give them a double torment of the Fire.""

multiply their share of the torment. Allah said in another instance,

On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say: "Oh! Would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger." And they will say: "Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the (right) way. Our Lord! Give them a double torment.".

Allah said in reply,

Quoted Scripture
"He will say: "For each one there is double (torment)..."},"

We did what you asked, and recompensed each according to their deeds.’ Allah said in another Ayah,

Those who disbelieved and hinder (men) from the path of Allah, for them We will add torment.

Furthermore, Allah said,

And verily, they shall bear their own loads, and other loads besides their own and,

And also (some thing) of the burdens of those whom they misled without knowledge.

{The first of them will say to the last of them} meaning, the followed will say to the followers,

{"You were not better than us..."} meaning, you were led astray as we were led astray, according to As-Suddi.

Quoted Scripture
""So taste the torment for what you used to earn.""

Allah again described the condition of the idolators during the gathering (of Resurrection), when He said;

And those who were arrogant will say to those who were deemed weak: "Did we keep you back from guidance after it came to you? Nay, but you were criminals." Those who were deemed weak will say to those who were arrogant: "Nay, but it was your plotting by night and day, when you ordered us to disbelieve in Allah and set up rivals to Him!" And each of them (parties) will conceal their own regrets, when they behold the torment. And We shall put iron collars round the necks of those who disbelieved. Are they requited aught except what they used to do?

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.