The Meaning of “Indeed, You Used to Come to Us from the Right”

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Allah Almighty says:
“And they will approach one another, questioning. They will say, ‘Indeed, you used to come to us from the right.’ They will reply, ‘Rather, you were not believers. And we had no authority over you, but you were a transgressing people.'”
(Surah As-Saffat, 27-30)

This passage describes a dispute in the Fire of Hell between the leaders and their followers. The weak will say to their leaders and chiefs: “Indeed, you used to come to us from the right.” But what does this phrase mean?

Scholars have differed in their interpretation, presenting several opinions:

1. The First Interpretation:
A group of commentators, as cited by Al-Tabari, stated that “the humans said to the jinn: ‘Indeed, you, O jinn, used to approach us from the direction of religion and truth, deceiving us with the strongest arguments.'” In Arabic, “right” (اليمين) signifies strength and power.

2. The Second Interpretation:
Al-Zamakhshari explained: “The meaning is that you used to come to us with strength and coercion, approaching us with authority and dominance until you forced us into misguidance and compelled us towards it.” This refers to the speech of the followers addressing their leaders and the misguided ones addressing their devils.

3. The Third Interpretation:
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi summarized all the interpretations in his exegesis:

First View: “Right” (اليمين) is a metaphor for goodness and blessings. The rationale behind this is that the right side is considered superior to the left for several reasons:

1. It is universally acknowledged as the more honorable side.

2. People use their right hand for noble acts such as shaking hands with good people, eating, and drinking, whereas undesirable acts are done with the left hand.

3. Arabs would take omens and consider the right side auspicious.

4. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم loved to begin with the right side in all matters.

5. Islamic teachings designate the right side for the angel recording good deeds and the left for the angel recording sins.

6. Allah has promised that the righteous will receive their book of deeds in their right hand, while the wrongdoers will receive it in their left.

Based on this, “you used to come to us from the right” means “you deceived us, making us think that your invitation was for upholding truth and strengthening righteousness.”

Second View: In Arabic, a person can be described as being “the right hand of someone” when they hold an esteemed position with them. The disbelievers thus say to their misguided leaders: “You deceived us by making us think we held a high status in your eyes, so we trusted you and accepted your guidance.”

Third View: The leaders of disbelief swore oaths to the weak ones, assuring them that what they called them to was the truth. The weak ones, believing these oaths, adhered to their falsehood. Thus, “you used to come to us from the right” means “you approached us with solemn pledges and oaths, making us trust you.”

Fourth View: “Right” here signifies power and dominance, as the right hand is often associated with strength and control. The meaning, therefore, is: “You came to us with force and authority, compelling us into misguidance and coercing us towards it.”

My Perspective:

Reaching the correct interpretation requires considering two key aspects:

1. The Linguistic Style of the Quran:
The Quran follows the eloquence of early Arabs, who frequently omitted words relying on the intelligence of their listeners. I have explained elsewhere that Arabic is a language of intelligent and sharp-minded individuals who detest verbosity and unnecessary elaboration when brevity suffices. This omission technique is well-documented in the works of scholars such as Al-Baqillani, Al-Jurjani, and Al-Zamakhshari. The distinguished scholar Hamid al-Din al-Farahi has masterfully analyzed this method in his unique book Asalib al-Quran, which I highly recommend to students of the Quran.

2. The Argumentative Nature of the People of Hellfire:
The inhabitants of Hell will be argumentative, engaging in intense disputes and mutual accusations. Debaters tend to repeat, deny, and shift blame. Here, as soon as the followers began to say “You used to come to us from the right,” their leaders cut them off, interjecting with “Rather, you were not believers.”

What were the followers about to say before being interrupted? We can find the answer in the Quran itself. The accursed Shaytan said:
“Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path. Then I will come to them from before them, from behind them, from their right, and from their left, and You will not find most of them grateful.” (Surah Al-A’raf, 16-17)

This insight clarifies the intended meaning: The weak ones wanted to say: “You used to come to us from the right, from the left, from before us, and from behind us—to mislead us and prevent us from listening to the Quran and sitting with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.” However, before they could complete their argument, their leaders, unwilling to bear the blame, abruptly interrupted them with: “Rather, you were not believers.”

[Translated by AI – Original article: https://t.me/DrAkramNadwi/5831]
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