The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 545
PT. 8 AL-A'RĀF CH. 7 shall be a partition, and on the وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ وَعَلَى الْأَعْرَافِ And between the two there. 47 رِجَالٌ تَعْرِفُونَ كُلَّا بِسِيْمُهُمْ ۚ وَنَادَوا elevated places there shall be اَصْحُبَ الْجَنَّةِ اَنْ سَلمُ عَلَيْكُمْ * لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُوْنَ قف men who will know all by their marks. And they will call out to the people of Heaven. 'Peace be on you. ' These will not have yet entered it although they will be hoping to do so. 946 946. Important Words: (elevated places) is the plural ofurf (an elevated place) which is substantive from. They say i. e. he knew the thing; he was or became acquainted with the thing; he was circumstances. knew it by means of the five senses; or he knew it by mental perception or reflection. They sayi. e. he or became manager or superintendent of the affairs of the people, being acquainted with their (urf) means, goodness, favour, bounty and a thing freely given; good fellowship with others; an elevated sand; an elevated place; an elevated or overtopping back of anything high (Lane & Aqrab). Commentary: It is generally men of high dignity and distinguished position that are seated on elevated places. According to Hasan and Mujāhid, the men on the elevated places will be the elite among the believers or the most learned among them; according to Kirmānī, they will be the Martyrs. Some others think that they will be the Prophets and this appears to be 985 the most correct view. The men seated on elevated places will not only command a better view, but on account of their high rank and position, will also be better informed. They will know the rank and station of every person from his very appearance. The words, These will not have yet entered it, refer to those would-be dwellers of Heaven who will not have yet entered it, but will be hoping to do so soon. The people on the elevated places will recognize them as dwellers of Heaven even though they will not have yet entered it. It is a commonly held, but nevertheless a wrong, view that the men on the A'raf (elevated places) will be those middling persons whose case will not have yet been decided, it being, as it were, still under consideration. But if such had been the case, they could not have rebuked the inmates of the Fire in the manner in which they are represented to be doing in 7:49 below. There is also no sense in placing middling persons on elevated places while the true believers, including Martyrs, Prophets, etc. , occupy the lower ones.