Surah al-A`raf (The Elevated Places) 7 : 44

Overview (Verses 44 - 45)

Dialogue Across the Divide

The contrast between the two groups is total, but the sūrah moves on to raise before our eyes a scene that comes later than the one we have just witnessed. Now we see the people of heaven having settled down comfortably in their dwelling place, while the people of hell are now certain of their doom. The former group calls out to the latter asking them about God’s promise: “The dwellers of paradise will call out to the inmates of the fire: ‘We have found what our Lord promised to be true. Have you, too, found the promise of your Lord to be true?’ They will answer: ‘Yes,’ whereupon someone from their midst will proclaim: ‘Cursed indeed are the wrongdoers who turn others away from God’s path and try to make it appear crooked, and who reject the truth of the lift to come.’” (Verses 44-45)

The question itself is full of irony. The believers are absolutely certain that what God has warned against has actually come to pass in the same way as His promise has been fulfilled. Nevertheless, they ask the people of hell about it. The answer is given in a single word: “Yes”.

Thus the dialogue that takes place across the great divide between heaven and hell comes to a stop as a voice is heard by the two groups. Someone will proclaim in their midst: “Cursed indeed are the wrongdoers who turn others away from God’s path and try to make it appear crooked, and who reject the truth of the lift to come.” (Verses 44-45) This statement clearly defines the meaning of `the wrongdoers’ which is often used in the Qur’ān as a synonym for `unbelievers’. It is the ones who are devoid of faith that turn people away from God’s path and try hard to make it appear crooked. They do not believe in the life to come.

The description of the wrongdoers as the ones who “try to make it appear crooked,” points out the true aim of those who turn people away from God’s path. They prefer the crooked way to the straight path. There is simply one straight way which follows what God has revealed and implement His law. Every other way is crooked. As these people prefer it that way, they are in the same line as unbelievers. No one who believes in the Day of Judgement and who ascertains in his mind that he will return to his Lord will ever try to turn people away from God’s path or select for himself a path that moves away from it. It is a description that clearly delineates the nature of those who reject God’s law.