في هذا الموضع، تلفت السورة انتباهنا إلى أمرٍ آخر مرسومٌ في هذا المشهد. نرى أن الفريقين مفصولٌ بينهما بحاجزٍ يقف فوقه أناسٌ يعرفون أهل الجنة وأهل النار بسيماهم. ومن المهم أن نعرف من هؤلاء الناس، وما صلتهم بالفريقين المصيرين إما إلى الجنة وإما إلى النار.
At this juncture, the sūrah draws our attention to something additional painted in this scene. We see that the two camps are separated by a barrier over which stand some people who recognize the dwellers of heaven and the inmates of the fire by their looks and features. It is important to find out who these people are and what have they got to do with the two groups destined either for heaven or hell.
وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ، وَعَلَى الْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلًّا بِسِيمَاهُمْ، وَيُنَادُونَ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ:
Between the two parties there will be a barrier, and on the Heights there will be men who recognize everyone by their looks. They will call out to the dwellers of paradise:
سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ وَإِذَا صُرِفَتْ أَبْصَارُهُمْ تِلْقَاءَ أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ قَالُوا رَبَّنَا لَا تَجْعَلْنَا مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ وَنَادَىٰ أَصْحَابُ الْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالًا يَعْرِفُونَهُمْ بِسِيمَاهُمْ قَالُوا
“Peace be upon you” — not having entered it themselves, but longing still [to be there]. And whenever their eyes are turned towards the inmates of the fire, they will say: “Our Lord, do not place us alongside such wrongdoing people.” Then those on the Heights will call out to certain people whom they recognize by their looks, saying:
﴿أَغْنَىٰ عَنكُم مَّا كُنتُمْ تَجْمَعُونَ * أَهَٰؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمْتُمْ لَا يَنَالُهُمُ اللَّهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ * ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَا أَنتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ﴾ (٤٦-٤٩)
“What have your great throngs and your false pride availed you? Are these the selfsame people whom you swore that God would never show them mercy?” (Now they have been told,) “Enter Paradise. You have nothing to fear, nor will you grieve.” (Verses 46-49)
روي أنّ أولئك الذين على الأعراف، الذين يفصلون بين الجنة والنار، هم أناس تتساوى حسناتهم وسيئاتهم في الوزن والمقدار. ومن ثم فإنّ حسناتهم لا تكفي لضمان دخولهم الجنة، ولم تُفضِ بهم سيئاتهم إلى النار. فهم يبقون بين المنزلتين، ينتظرون أن ينالهم فضل الله ورحمته. ويعرفون أهل الجنة بصورهم، ربما لأنّ وجوههم بيضاء مشرقة، أو بالنور الذي يصحبهم. ويعرفون كذلك أهل النار بسيماهم، ربما لسواد وجوههم، أو للعلامة المرسومة على أنوفهم، التي كانوا يرفعونها تعاظمًا وكبرًا. وقد ورد ذكر هذه العلامة على أنوفهم في سورة القلم، من سورة الـ{نٓ وَٱلۡقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسۡطُرُونَ}. فيُسلّمون على أهل الجنة بتحية السلام، مع رجاءٍ ظاهر بأنّ الله سيرحمهم ويدخلهم الجنة كذلك. وإذا وقعت أعينهم على أهل النار، الذين أُريدوا لأن يُرَوا عمدًا، سألوا الله أن يصرف عنهم مصيرهم.
It has been reported that those people on the Heights which separate heaven and hell are human beings whose good deeds are equal in weight and measure to their bad ones. Hence, their good deeds are not enough to guarantee their admission into heaven, nor have their sins condemned them to the fire. They remain in between, waiting for God’s grace to be bestowed on them. They recognize the people of paradise by their looks, probably by the fact that their faces are white and bright, or by the light which accompanies them. They also recognize the people destined to the fire by their features, probably by their dark faces or the marks printed on their noses which they used to raise as a gesture of arrogance. The printing of this mark on their noses is mentioned in Sūrah 68, The Pen. They greet the people of heaven with the greeting of peace, clearly entertaining hope that God will bestow His mercy on them and admit them to heaven as well. When their eyes fall on the people of the fire, whom they are deliberately made to see, they plead to be spared their destiny.
وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ، وَعَلَى الْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلًّا بِسِيمَاهُمْ، وَيُنَادُونَ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ:
Between the two parties there will be a barrier, and on the Heights there will be men who recognize everyone by their looks. They will call out to the dwellers of paradise:
"سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ"، لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ. وَإِذَا صُرِفَتْ أَبْصَارُهُمْ تِلْقَاءَ أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ قَالُوا: {رَبَّنَا لَا تَجْعَلْنَا مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ}.
“Peace be upon you”, — not having entered it themselves, but longing still [to be there]. And whenever their eyes are turned towards the inmates of the fire, they will say: “Our Lord, do not place us alongside such wrongdoing people.” (Verses 46-47)
ثُمَّ يَرَوْنَ بَعْضَ رُؤَسَاءِ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ، فَيَعْرِفُونَهُمْ بِسِيمَاهُمْ، فَيُوَبِّخُونَهُمْ عَلَى مَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ.
They then see some leading figures among the wrongdoing people and they recognize them by their features. They rebuke them for what they have been doing:
فَنَادَىٰ أَصْحَابُ الْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالًا يَعْرِفُونَهُم بِسِيمَاهُمْ قَالُوا مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنكُمْ جَمْعُكُمْ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ ﴿الأعراف: 48﴾ أَنتُمُ الْآنَ فِي جَهَنَّمَ حَيْثُ لَا تُغْنِي عَنكُمْ جُنُودُكُمْ وَلَا كَثْرَتُكُمْ، وَلَا تَنفَعُكُمْ عِزَّتُكُمُ الْفَارِغَةُ وَكِبْرُكُمُ الْبَاطِلُ.
“Then those on the Heights will call out to certain people whom they recognize by their looks, saying: ‘What have your great throngs and your false pride availed you?’” (Verse 48) You see now that you are in Hell, where your armies and great multitude are of no use to you, nor indeed are your arrogance and vain pride.
يُذَكِّرُونَهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَقُولُونَهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي الدُّنْيَا، مُتَّهِمِينَ إِيَّاهُمْ بِالضَّلَالِ، وَأَنَّهُمْ لَنْ يَنَالُوا رَحْمَةَ اللهِ أَبَدًا:
They remind them of what they used to say about the believers in this life, accusing them of being in error and that they would never be granted God’s mercy:
أَهَٰؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمْتُمْ أَنْ لَا يَنَالَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ؟
“Are these the self-same people whom you swore that God would never show them mercy?
(قِيلَ لَهُمُ) «ادْخُلِ الْجَنَّةَ». قَالَ يَا لَيْتَ قَوْمِي يَعْلَمُونَ
Note: this is the wording of verse 26 of Surah Yasin, which is what the English rendering you sent corresponds to, and I've kept the Qur'an text as the standard Arabic verse. The tag "(Verse 49)" would be the number of the verse in your source; the verse as printed in the Mushaf has no number of 49 here, so the verse number in your source may refer to a different numbering.
(Now they have been told,) ‘Enter Paradise. You have nothing to fear, nor will you grieve.’” (Verse 49)
ثم يُسمع من جهة النار صوتٌ يتوسل ويستغيث: ﴿وَنَادَىٰ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ أَنْ أَفِيضُوا عَلَيْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ أَوْ مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ﴾ (الآية 50). ومن الجهة الأخرى يأتي الرد بتذكيرٍ يحمل التوبيخ: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ حَرَّمَهُمَا عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ * الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا دِينَهُمْ لَهْوًا وَلَعِبًا وَغَرَّتْهُمُ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا﴾ (الآيتان 50-51).
Then from the direction of the fire we hear a voice, begging, imploring: “And the inmates of the Fire will cry out to the dwellers of Paradise: ‘Pour some water on us, or give us some of the sustenance God has provided for you.’” (Verse 50). From the other side comes a reproachful reminder in reply: “God has forbidden both to the nonbelievers, who have taken their religion for a pastime and an idle sport, and who have been beguiled by the life of this world.” (Verses 50-51)
ثُمَّ تَسْكُنُ جَمِيعُ الأَصْوَاتِ البَشَرِيَّةِ، وَيُصْدِرُ القَاهِرُ العَزِيزُ، رَبُّ العَالَمِينَ الَّذِي لا يُرَدُّ حُكْمُهُ، حُكْمَهُ: «الْيَوْمَ نَنسَاهُمْ كَمَا نَسُوا لِقَاءَ يَوْمِهِمْ هَٰذَا، وَمَا كَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَ».
All human voices then die down and the Almighty, the Lord of the universe whose rule is final, gives His judgement: “Today We shall be oblivious of them as they were oblivious of the meeting on this day of theirs, and as they used to deny Our revelations.
لَقَدْ جِئْنَاهُم بِكِتَابٍ فَصَّلْنَاهُ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ هُدًى وَرَحْمَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا تَأْوِيلَهُ ۚ يَوْمَ يَأْتِي تَأْوِيلُهُ يَقُولُ الَّذِينَ نَسُوهُ مِن قَبْلُ
We have indeed given them a Book which We have clearly and wisely spelled out, a guidance and a grace for people who have faith. Are they waiting for its final meaning to unfold? On this Day when its final meaning unfolds, those who previously were oblivious of it will say:
"لَقَدْ جَاءَتْ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِالْحَقِّ، فَهَلْ لَنَا مِنْ شُفَعَاءَ فَيَشْفَعُوا لَنَا، أَوْ نُرَدُّ فَنَعْمَلَ غَيْرَ الَّذِي كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ؟" قَدْ خَسِرُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ، وَضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ.
‘Our Lord’s messengers have surely told us the Truth. Have we, then, any intercessors who could plead on our behalf? Or could we live our lives again, so that we may act differently from the way we used to act.’ They have lost their souls and all that which they invented has failed them.” (Verses 51-53)
تتابع المشاهد بسرعة، فنلمح ما يحدث في الآخرة، ونلمح ما يجري في هذه الدنيا. ففي لحظة نرى أهل الجحيم الذين نُسوا لأنهم هم أنفسهم نسوا لقاء يوم الحساب، ولأنهم كذّبوا بآيات الله التي أُعطوها في كتاب مفصّل واضح. إنه الله سبحانه قد بيّنه على علم منه، ومع ذلك أعرضوا عنه، وآثروا اتباع أهوائهم، وتمسّكوا بتصوراتهم الخاطئة. ثم نعود فنراهم مرة أخرى وهم ما زالوا في هذه الدنيا، ينتظرون العاقبة النهائية لهذا الكتاب، وهل ستتحقق إنذاراته أم لا. لكنهم مُحذَّرون من هذه العاقبة النهائية، لأنها هي بعينها ما يُرَوْن إياه في هذا المشهد. إنه لمشهد عجيب لا يمكن رسمه بهذا الوضوح والحيوية إلا في هذه المعجزة من الكتاب.
The scene moves in quick succession, with a glimpse of what happens in the hereafter and a glimpse of what takes place in this world. At one moment we see the sufferers in hell who have been forgotten because they themselves forgot about the meeting on the Day of Judgement and because they denied God’s revelations which were given to them in a clearly spelled out book. It is God Himself who has stated it clearly on the basis of His knowledge, but they nevertheless abandoned it and preferred to follow their caprice and held on to their own misconceptions. Then we look at them again when they are still in this world waiting for the final outcome of this book and whether its warnings will come true. But they are warned against this final outcome, because it is exactly what they are made to see in this scene. It is certainly a remarkable scene which cannot be so vividly painted except in this miracle of a book.
وبذلك تنتهي هذه اللمحة البانورامية، يتبعها تعليقات تنسجم تمامًا مع الافتتاحية. نجد فيها تذكيرًا بيوم القيامة ومشاهده الرهيبة، وتحذيرًا من تكذيب آيات الله ومعاداة رسله. كما يوجد تحذير من انتظار اكتمال المعنى الكامل لهذا الكتاب، أي القرآن، لأنه متى ما تحقق ذلك فلن يبقى وقت للتوبة، ولا رجعة لإعادة الامتحان، ولن تكون هناك شفاعة لأحد لتخفيف عذابه.
Thus this panoramic preview comes to a close, followed by comments that are in complete harmony with the opening. We have a reminder of the Day of Judgement and its awesome scenes, and a warning against denying God’s revelations and taking a hostile attitude towards His messengers. There is also a warning against waiting for the full meaning of this book, the Qur’ān, to unfold, because once it is unfolded, there will be no time for repentance, no return for a retest and there will be no intercession on behalf of anyone to reduce his or her sufferings.
بعد أن انتهت المعاينة البانورامية، نعود إلى أنفسنا بعد أن استغرقنا تمامًا في التأمل في مشهد مهيب. نجد أنفسنا مرة أخرى في هذه الحياة الدنيا، بعد أن قمنا برحلة عودة طويلة جدًا. إنها رحلة هذه الحياة بأكملها، وكذلك الحشر والبعث والحساب والجزاء الذي يتلو ذلك. في البداية رأينا الإنسان كما خُلق، ثم شهدنا هبوطه إلى هذه الدنيا وحياته فيها.
As the panoramic preview is over, we come back to ourselves after having been fully absorbed in contemplation of a spectacular scene. We find ourselves back in this present life, after having made a very long return trip. It is the trip of this whole life, as well as the gathering, resurrection, reckoning and reward that follow it. At the beginning we saw man as he was created and then we witnessed his fall to this world and his life on it.
وهكذا يأخذنا القرآن في رحلة عبر الكون وعبر الزمن. يُرينا الماضي والحاضر والمستقبل في لمحات سريعة، لكي نتّعظ ونستجيب للتذكير: ﴿كِتَابٌ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ فَلَا يَكُن فِي صَدْرِكَ حَرَجٌ مِّنْهُ لِتُنذِرَ بِهِ وَذِكْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾ (الآية ٢).
Thus the Qur’ān makes us travel throughout the universe and across time. It shows us the past, the present and the future in quick snippets so that we may get the warning and heed the reminder: “This is a book that has been bestowed on you from on high — so do not entertain any doubt about it — in order that you may warn people with its message, and admonish the believers.” (Verse 2)