7. Al-A'raaf

Yet those who have faith in their Lord and who do good actions to the best of their ability – and Allah does not burden a soul with more than it can bear – they are the companions of Paradise, entering into it and living there eternally.

Their bliss in Paradise is made complete by Allah removing whatever hatred and resentment is in their hearts, with rivers running beneath them. When they come to live there and settle in their homes, they will exclaim whilst recognizing Allah’s blessings on them, praising Him: 'All praise and thanks belongs to Allah Who allowed us to do the good actions which brought us to this place, and we would not have been able to do that if Allah had not enabled us to do so. The messengers of our Lord came with the truth about which there was no doubt, true in its promises of good for the righteous and true in its threats for the wrongdoers. It will then be announced to them: 'This, truly this, is the Paradise which Allah has made you inherit out of His Mercy, for the good actions you used to do seeking the countenance of Allah.'

The companions of Paradise will call the companions of Hell when they have all entered their places, saying: 'Indeed we have found what our Lord promised us about Paradise to be true, as we have entered into it. Have you found what Allah had promised you about Hell to be true?' The disbelievers will reply: 'We have found what was promised about Hell to be true.' Then a caller will proclaim that the wrongdoers be removed from Allah’s mercy, because the doors of His mercy were open to them and they turned away from them in their worldly life.

These wrongdoers used to themselves turn away from Allah’s religion, and used to turn others away from it, wanting to make the path of truth seem crooked so that people would not follow it. They also rejected the Afterlife, not believing in it, nor preparing for it.

Between these two groups – the companions of Paradise and the companions of Hell – is a partition called ‘al-A‘rāf’, meaning ‘the Heights’. On this partition are people whose good and bad actions are equal. They know the companions of Paradise by their signs, such as the light on their faces, and the companions of Hell by their signs, such as the darkness on their faces. These people of the partition call the companions of Paradise, honouring them, saying, ‘Peace be upon you’. They do not enter Paradise yet, but they hope to enter it through Allah’s mercy.

When their eyes turn to the people who are the companions of Hell, and they see the severe punishment they are afflicted with, they pray: 'O our Lord! Do not put us with the wrongdoers, who disbelieved and worshipped others besides you!

The companions of the Heights will call to people in Hell who had disbelieved, whom they recognize by their marks: ;It did not benefit you in the slightest when they used to gather together to prevent people from Allah’s path and arrogantly turn away from the truth.'

Those who disbelieve will say concerning the believers: 'Are these faithful people those you swore Allah would not show mercy to?' Then these people who have faith will be told to enter Paradise, not fearing what awaits them, and not grieving over the pleasures of the world which passed them by, because of the eternal bliss they find themselves in.

The companions of Hell will call the companions of Paradise, begging them to pour some water or provide some of the food they have been given onto them. The companions of Paradise will tell them that Allah has forbidden both of these to the disbelievers, because of their disbelief, and that they will not help them in what Allah has forbidden for them.