As-Saaffaat (Those drawn up in Ranks)
Verse 69 - 70
Table of Contents
69. “Verily they found their fathers on the wrong path.”
70. “So in their footsteps they are being hastened on.”
One of the qualities of the people of the Hell is blindly imitation from their fathers and ancestors, while imitation in beliefs is not permissible and one’s beliefs should be based on the basis of intellect and reasoning.
In these two verses, the Qur’an states the main cause of the inflection of the people of Hell in the grips of these painful punishments through two short and expressive sentences.
It says:
“Verily they found their fathers on the wrong path.”
Yet, involuntarily they hasten to follow them.
The Qur’an says:
“So in their footsteps they are being hastened on.”
It is interesting that the Arabic term /yuhra‘un/ is mentioned in the passive form derived from /’ihra‘/ which means ‘to run swiftly’. It indicates that they have so believed in imitating from their ancestors that as if they had not any act of willing from their own selves. And this is a sign of their utmost bigotry and being interested in their ancestors’ superstitions.