Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AZ ZUMAR [71]

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 will say: ”Did not the Messengers come to you from yourselves, reciting to you the Ayat of your Lord, and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours'' They will say: ”Yes,'' but the Word of torment has been justified against the disbelievers! 72. It will be said: ”Enter you the gates of Hell, to abide therein. And what an evil abode of the arrogant!'' Allah tells us how the doomed disbeliever will be driven to Hell by force, with threats and warnings. This is like the Ayah:

(The Day when they will be pushed down by force to the fire of Hell, with a horrible, forceful pushing.) (52:13) swhich means, they will be pushed and forced towards it, and they will be extremely thirsty, as Allah says:

(The Day We shall gather those who have Taqwa unto the Most Gracious, like a delegation. And We shall drive the criminals to Hell, in a thirsty state.) (19:85-86) When they are in that state, they will be blind, dumb and deaf, and some of them will be walking on their faces:

(till when they reach it, the gates thereof will be opened.) means, as soon as they arrive, the gates will be opened quickly, in order to hasten on their punishment. Then the keepers of Hell, who are stern angels, severe and strong, will say to them by way of rebuking and reprimanding:

(Did not the Messengers come to you from yourselves,) meaning, `of your own kind, so that you could have spoken to them and learned from them,'

(reciting to you the Ayat of your Lord,) means, `establishing proof against you that what they brought to you was true,'

(and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours) means, `warning you of the evil of this Day.' The disbeliever will say to them:

(Yes,) meaning, `they did come to us and warn us and establish proof and evidence against us,'

(but the Word of torment has been justified against the disbelievers!) means, `but we rejected them and went against them, because we were already doomed, as it was decreed that we would be, because we had turned away from the truth towards falsehood.' This is like the Ayat:

(Every time a group is cast therein, its keeper will ask: ”Did no warner come to you'' They will say: ”Yes, indeed a warner came to us, but we denied him and said: `Allah never revealed anything; you are only in great error.''' And they will say: ”Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!'') (67:9-10) which means, they will feel regret and will blame themselves.

(Then they will confess their sin. So, away with the dwellers of the blazing Fire!) (67:11) means, they are lost and doomed.

(It will be said (to them): ”Enter you the gates of Hell, to abide therein...'') means everyone who sees them and the situation they are in, will testify that they deserve the punishment. These words are not attributed to any specific person, but they are said as an indication that the entire universe will bear witness that they deserve what they are suffering, in accordance with the judgement of the Most Just, the All-Knowing. Allah says:

(It will be said (to them): ”Enter you the gates of Hell, to abide therein...'') meaning, `to stay there forever; you will never leave or depart.'

(And (indeed) what an evil abode of the arrogant!) means, `what an evil destiny and what an evil place to stay, because of your arrogance in this world and your refusal to follow the truth; this is what has led you to this, what an evil state and what an evil final destination!'