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Qur'an 7:6

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Qur'an 7:6
Verse's Information
SuraSura al-A'raf (Qur'an 7)
Verse6
Juz'8
AboutQuestioning prophets and people on the Day of Resurrection


Qur'an 7:6 states that on the Day of Resurrection, both the prophets and the people to whom they were sent will be questioned. These questions concern how the prophets fulfilled their missions, how people treated them, and the motives behind people's actions. Exegetes have identified several purposes for this questioning, including warning the disbelievers, removing their excuses, emphasizing Divine Justice, and honoring the believers and the prophets.

Exegetes have interpreted verses stating that sinners will not be questioned on the Day of Resurrection as referring to the absence of questioning for the purpose of obtaining information. Others have explained the apparent difference between these verses by referring to the different stations of the Resurrection.

Questioning Prophets and People on the Day of Resurrection

Verse 6 of Qur'an 7 states that on the Day of Resurrection, God will question both the prophets and the people to whom they were sent.[1] Citing this verse, exegetes have stated that all human beings will be held accountable on that day, and no one, not even the prophets, will be exempt from this accountability.[2]

Some exegetes have interpreted the term "messengers" in this verse as referring to the angels whom God sent down to the prophets.[3] However, exegetes such as Allamah Tabataba'i have rejected this interpretation because it is inconsistent with the preceding verses, which discuss the punishment of past nations, as well as the following verses.[4]

Subject of the Questions

According to exegetes, on the Day of Resurrection, the prophets will be questioned about how they fulfilled their missions.[5] This interpretation is supported by a narration from Imam Ali (a).[6] People will also be questioned about how they treated the prophets, whether they accepted their message,[7] and the motives behind their actions.[8]

According to Allamah Tabataba'i, people will be questioned about their faith and righteous deeds, which they were commanded to perform, as well as whether they spoke the truth and did what was right.[9] A narration from Prophet Muhammad (s) states that people will also be questioned about how they treated the Ahl al-Bayt (a).[10] Some exegetes have also suggested that the prophets will be questioned about the responses they received from their people.[11]

Reasons for Questioning People and Prophets

Since the Qur'an states in verses such as Qur'an 7:7 that God is aware of all things,[12] exegetes have identified purposes for questioning people and prophets other than obtaining information about what happened. These include:

  • Warning people and deterring them from disobedience.[13]
  • Drawing people's attention to the mission of the prophets and leaving them no grounds for excuses.[14]
  • Emphasizing that God never wrongs His servants.[15]
  • Emphasizing that the punishment of disbelievers is the result of their own actions.[16]
  • Honoring the believers and reproaching the disbelievers.[17]
  • Honoring the prophets for fulfilling their divine duties.[18]
  • Obtaining admissions of guilt from wrongdoers.[19]

Reconciling This Verse with Other Qur'anic Verses

Some Qur'anic verses, such as Qur'an 28:78, state that sinners will not be questioned about their sins on the Day of Resurrection.[20] To reconcile these verses with Qur'an 7:6, exegetes have explained that the statement that sinners will not be questioned means that God does not need to inquire into their sins to obtain knowledge, since He already knows their deeds.[21] Where questioning is mentioned, it serves another purpose, such as rebuking people for their actions.[22] Some exegetes distinguish between different stages of the Resurrection, associating questioning with the stage of reckoning and the absence of questioning with another stage.[23] Fakhr al-Razi, a Sunni theologian and exegete, also reconciles these verses by explaining that people will not be questioned about whether they committed sins, but rather about the reasons and motives behind their actions.[24]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, p. 614.
  2. ↑ Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 3, p. 22; Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 14, p. 201.
  3. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 8, p. 9.
  4. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 8, p. 9.
  5. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 6, p. 87.
  6. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 6, p. 87.
  7. ↑ Sabziwārī, al-Jadīd fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 3, p. 120; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 4, p. 348.
  8. ↑ Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 4, p. 323.
  9. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 8, p. 9.
  10. ↑ Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 3, p. 20.
  11. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, p. 614.
  12. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min hudā al-Qurʾān, vol. 3, p. 275.
  13. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 4, p. 348.
  14. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, pp. 614–615.
  15. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, pp. 614–615.
  16. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, pp. 614–615.
  17. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, pp. 614–615.
  18. ↑ Ṣādiqī Tihrānī, al-Furqān, vol. 11, p. 27; Ṣābūnī, Ṣafwat al-tafāsīr, vol. 1, p. 405.
  19. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min hudā al-Qurʾān, vol. 3, p. 275.
  20. ↑ Kāshānī, Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn, vol. 4, p. 6.
  21. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 4, p. 349.
  22. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 4, p. 349.
  23. ↑ Kāshānī, Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn, vol. 4, p. 6.
  24. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 14, p. 201.

References

  • Ālūsī, Maḥmūd b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Rūḥ al-maʿānī fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm wa l-sabʿ al-mathānī. Edited by ʿAlī ʿAbd al-Bārī ʿAṭiyya. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1st ed., 1415 AH.
  • Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar. Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr (Mafātīḥ al-ghayb). Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 3rd ed., 1420 AH.
  • Kāshānī, Mullā Fatḥ Allāh. Tafsīr manhaj al-ṣādiqīn fī ilzām al-mukhālifīn. Tehran, Kitābfurūshī-yi Muḥammad Ḥasan ʿIlmī, 3rd ed., 1336 Sh.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i namūna. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 10th ed., 1371 Sh.
  • Mudarrisī, Muḥammad Taqī. Min hudā al-Qurʾān. Tehran, Dār Muḥibbī al-Ḥusayn, 1st ed., 1419 AH.
  • Qarāʾatī, Muḥsin. Tafsīr-i nūr. Tehran, Markaz-i Farhangī-yi Darshāyī az Qurʾān, 1st ed., 1388 Sh.
  • Ṣābūnī, Muḥammad ʿAlī. Ṣafwat al-tafāsīr. Beirut, Dār al-Fikr, 1st ed., 1421 AH.
  • Ṣādiqī Tihrānī, Muḥammad. Al-Furqān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān bi-l-Qurʾān wa l-sunna. Qom, Farhang-i Islāmī, 2nd ed., 1406 AH.
  • Sabziwārī, Muḥammad. Al-Jadīd fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-majīd. Beirut, Dār al-Taʿāruf lil-Maṭbūʿāt, 1st ed., 1406 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī lil-Maṭbūʿāt, 2nd ed., 1390 AH.
  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Faḍl Allāh Yazdī & Hāshim Rasūlī. Tehran, Nāṣir Khusraw, 3rd ed., 1372 Sh.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al-. Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Aḥmad Ḥabīb ʿĀmilī. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1st ed., n.d.
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