As-Saaffaat (Those drawn up in Ranks)

161. “So verily you and what you worship,”

162. “Can never excite (anyone) against Him.”

163. “Except such as are (themselves) going to the blazing Fire.”

Through the first and second verses, the Qur’an implies that the temptations of idol worshippers do not affect on the hearts of the pure and righteous ones, and only the polluted hearts and hellish souls, which tend to their mischief, surrender themselves to these temptations.

It says:

“So verily you and what you worship,” “Can never excite (anyone) against Him.”

It indicates that neither you nor what you worship can deceive anyone by it and separate them from Allah, or deviate them by means of delusion and mischief.

In the third verse the Qur’an says:

“Except such as are (themselves) going to the blazing Fire.”

These verses are as a hint to this fact that none can consider himself excused before deviations and claims that he has been deceived and driven to idol worship. The Qur’an implies that you idol worshipper have not the ability of deceiving persons except for those who choose the path of Hell willingly.

The evidence for this meaning is the phrase: ‘going to the blazing Fire’, since the Arabic word /sali/ has originally been in the form of ‘active participle’, and usually when an active participle form is used for an intellectual being its concept is that the accomplishment of an action is done willingly and with authority like the Arabic words: /qatil/ (murderer), and /darib/ (striker).

Therefore, the Arabic phrase /sal-il-jahim/ means a person who is willing to burn himself in the Fire of Hell. Thus, the Holy Qur’an shut the way of pretext to every deviated one.

By the way, it is necessary to note to this point that the word /sali/ is derived from /saly/ in the sense of candling fire and entering into fire, or being burnt and roasted by it.

The Arabic term /fatin/ is an active participle derived from /fitnah/ in the sense of tempter.