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Qur'an 7:6

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


Qur'an 7:6 indicates that on the Day of Resurrection, both the prophets and the people to whom prophets were sent will be questioned. These questions concern how the prophets fulfilled their mission, how the people treated them, and the motivation behind their behavior. Exegetes have considered the purpose of this interrogation to be threatening the disbelievers, removing excuses, emphasizing Divine Justice, and honoring the believers and prophets.

Exegetes have interpreted verses that refer to not questioning sinners on the Day of Resurrection as meaning not asking to become informed, or they have linked this difference between verses in dealing with criminals to the difference and multiplicity of the stations of the Resurrection.

Questioning Prophets and People in the Hereafter

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

Some have stated that in this verse, "apostles" refers to the angels whom God sent down to the prophets.[3] This type of interpretation of the verse has not been accepted by exegetes such as Allamah Tabataba'i because it is not consistent with the preceding verses, which mention the punishment of past nations, nor with the subsequent verses.[4]

Subject of Questions

According to exegetes, on the Day of Resurrection, prophets will be questioned about how they fulfilled their mission.[5] This interpretation of the verse is confirmed by a narration from Imam Ali (a).[6] People will also be questioned about how they treated the prophets, whether they accepted their call,[7] and the reason for the actions they performed.[8]

According to Allamah Tabataba'i, people will be questioned about faith and righteous deeds which they were commanded to perform, as well as about speaking the truth and acting largely.[9] In a narration from the Prophet Muhammad (s), it is stated that people will be questioned about their treatment of the Ahl al-Bayt (a).[10] Some have said that prophets will be questioned about the type of response they received from their people.[11]

Reason for Questioning People and Prophets

Since the Qur'an explicitly states in verses such as Qur'an 7:7 that God is aware of all matters,[12] exegetes have mentioned objectives for questioning people and prophets other than merely obtaining information about reality, some of which are as follows:

  • Threatening people and preventing their disobedience.[13]
  • Drawing people's attention to the subject of sending prophets and closing the paths of excuse and pretext for them.[14]
  • Emphasizing that God never oppresses His servants.[15]
  • Drawing attention to the fact that the punishment of disbelievers is the result of their own actions.[16]
  • Honoring the believers and blaming the disbelievers.[17]
  • Honoring the prophets for performing their divine duties.[18]
  • Extracting confessions from the oppressors.[19]

Resolving Contradiction with Other Verses

In some verses of the Qur'an, such as Qur'an 28:78, it is stated that on the Day of Resurrection, sinners will not be questioned about their guilt.[20] To resolve the contradiction between these verses and Qur'an 7:6, exegetes have stated that where it is said questions will not be asked, it means that God is aware of the sins of all servants and there is no need for inquiry (to gain knowledge),[21] and where questioning is mentioned, another purpose such as rebuking individuals is intended.[22] Some have also considered questioning to be related to the station of reckoning and not asking to be related to the time of execution.[23] Fakhr al-Razi, a Sunni theologian and exegete, also says to resolve this contradiction that on the Day of Resurrection, questions will not be asked about the commission of sins, but rather questions will be asked about the cause and motivation for committing them.[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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