Az-Zumar (The Groups)

71. And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups till when they reach it the gates thereof will be opened and its keepers shall say: “Did not the Messengers come unto you from yourselves reciting to you the Verses of your Lord warning you of the Meeting of this Day?” They will say: “Yes, [the Messengers came unto us and recited Divine Verses unto us],” but the Command of Divine torment has been justified against disbelievers.

72. It will be said [unto them]: “Enter the gates of Hell to abide therein and what an evil abode of the arrogant.”

Driving sinners toward Hell is a humiliation different from other Chastisements. The blessed Verses in question resume the discussions on Resurrection providing details concerning what was already said concisely in the foregoing Verses regarding the Rewards and Chastisements of believers and unbelievers.

Verse 71 opens with the people of the Hell, saying:

“Those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups.”

Who will drive them to Hell? The answer is that the angels responsible for inflicting torments will drive them to the gates of Hell.

A similar expression is to be found elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an¹ :

“And every person will come forth along with his companion to drive him to Divine Tribunal and a witness accompanies him.”

The word:

zumar (“small group”) indicates that they will be driven in small and scattered groups toward Hell. The word siqa is taken from s-w-q (“to drive”).

The blessed Verse 71 further adds that they proceed toward Hell till they reach it. Then, the gates of Hell will be opened and the guardians of Hell will reproach them thus:

“Did not the Messengers come unto you from yourselves reciting to you the Verses of your Lord warning you of the Meeting of this Day?”

The expression clearly reveals that prior to their arrival, the gates of Hell are shut in the same manner that the gates of prisons are closed but upon the arrival of new comers, they open to them all of a sudden and the sudden opening of the gates inspires more fear and awe in their hearts.

Prior to anything else, the people of Hell bombard them with reproaches saying that all the means of guidance was prepared for you. Messengers from among yourselves used to recite to you Divine Verses and constantly warned you to follow the Straight Path.

What did happen that such misfortune befell you? Such words uttered by guardians of Hell will be among the most excruciating pains by which they will be welcomed upon their entering Hell.

Their reply is a painful brief sentence:

“Yes, the Messengers came unto us and recited Divine Verses unto us and warned us of our disbelief.”

Consequently, the Command of Divine torment will be justified against disbelievers.

Some Qur’anic exegets regard the phrase:

“the Command of Divine torment” (kalimat al-’adhab)

an allusion to Divine Word upon Adams Fall onto the earth or upon Satan’s decision as to deceiving the Children of Adam, as reflected elsewhere in the Qur’an² :

“But those who disbelieve and belie Our Ayat (“Signs, Verses”), they are the dwellers of the Fire. They shall abide therein forever. When Satan said unto God Almighty that he would deceive all but His sincerely devout servants, He replied: “I will fill Hell with jinn and mankind3 .”

Thus, they confess that they disbelieved the Prophets and Divine Verses and naturally a better fate may not be in store for them.

It is also possible that:

“the Command of Divine torment has been justified against disbelievers”

indicates that at times, owing to committing many a sin and bearing animosity, grudge, and prejudice against Truth, man’s heart is sealed and he may not return in which case the Command of Divine torment will be justified against him.

It is to be noted that such misfortune stems from man’s deeds and there is no room for predestination and lack of human free will.

The brief dialogue at the gates of Hell comes to its end by saying unto them:

“Enter the gates of Hell to abide therein and what an evil abode of the arrogant.”

As mentioned above,

“the gates of Hell”

may refer to those set in conformity with human deeds and each and every group will be driven to Hell as per their acts.

Likewise, the gates of Paradise conform to deeds.

The name of a gate of Paradise, “the gate of warriors” (bab al-mujahidin) is mentioned by Imam ‘Ali (as): “Verily, jihad is one of the gates of Paradise.”4

It would be of interest to note that from amongst all human vices, the angels of torment driving man to Hell lay emphasis on arrogance which bears testimony to the fact that disbelief and sin mainly spring from arrogance and disobedience against the Truth.

Arrogance casts thick veils over man’s eyes and deprives him of perceiving the illuminating countenance.

Likewise, it is narrated from Imam Sadiq and Imam Baqir (as):

“One who entertains the slightest degree of arrogance in his heart may not enter Paradise.”5