Basic
The Hereafter
Surah: Al-Waqi'a (8)
Al-Waqi'a — The People of the Right, Left, and the Forerunners
فَأَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡمَيۡمَنَةِ مَآ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡمَيۡمَنَةِ
— الواقعة الآية 8
Verse: "And you will be three groups" (56:7) — followed by detail of the three categories.
Three categories on Judgment Day: The Forerunners brought near (highest ranks); the People of the Right (general Paradise); the People of the Left (hellfire).
Most beautiful description: The forerunners in "Gardens of Bliss" — on thrones woven together, immortal youths circling them, all that souls desire before them.
Lesson: The three categories are not determined at death — they are built now with every decision, every prostration, every resistance to sin.
Three categories on Judgment Day: The Forerunners brought near (highest ranks); the People of the Right (general Paradise); the People of the Left (hellfire).
Most beautiful description: The forerunners in "Gardens of Bliss" — on thrones woven together, immortal youths circling them, all that souls desire before them.
Lesson: The three categories are not determined at death — they are built now with every decision, every prostration, every resistance to sin.
Source: Ibn Kathir (8/7); Al-Sadi; Al-Qurtubi (17/186)
Test Yourself
What are the three groups in Surah Al-Waqi'a and where does each go?
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