Al-A'raf 38: (Allah will) say; “Enter into the hellfire together with the nations of jinn and humans past before you.” Every nation will curse their companions when they enter. When all of them gather there (in the hell) after each other, the ones who come after will say for the ones before; “Oh our Lord! These have led us astray; for this, give them more punishment of fire.” (Allah will) say; “For everyone, their punishments will be gathered, but you do not know.”

A. Metin Saruhan · 21 February 2022 · Misinterpreted Verses

The misinterpretation

Allah will say; Enter the fire among the jinn and human communities that passed before you. As each nation enters, they will curse their comrades. When all of them are gathered there one after another (in Hell), the next ones are for the former ones, O our Lord! These are the ones who have led us astray, so they will say, 'Give them a double punishment of fire. Allah will say that there is a double punishment for everyone, but you do not know.

The right translation

(Allah will) say; “Enter into the hellfire together with the nations of jinn and humans past before you.” Every nation will curse their companions when they enter. When all of them gather there (in the hell) after each other, the ones who come after will say for the ones before; “Oh our Lord! These have led us astray; for this, give them more punishment of fire.” (Allah will) say; “For everyone, their punishments will be gathered, but you do not know.”

Explanation

The wrong opening here is this: "Allah will say: "There is a double torment for everyone, but you do not know." The truth is: "And Allah will say to every soul that its torment (for what it has done) will be gathered together, but you do not know."

Our Lord, out of His mercy, does not multiply the sins of people. Multiplying is one thing and collecting is another. Multiplying means that in return for a sin committed, He multiplies the sin by multiplying it. For example, if a person will be imprisoned for one month for a crime he has committed, when it is multiplied, he will be subjected to two or three or more punishments, which is not in accordance with the justice of our Lord. In our Lord's verse, the punishment for the crime is a fine, but for the good deeds, our Lord rewards the person by multiplying it by three to one, five to one, seven to one, seventy to one and more. For the evil that a person does, only the sin of its equivalent is written.

What is said in the video

We continue. Surah Al-A'raf, verse 38: Allah will say: Among the communities of jinn and humans that passed before you, you too enter the fire. Correct. Each time a community enters, they will curse their companions. When they have all gathered there in Hell one after another, the later ones will say of the earlier ones: Our Lord, it was these who led us astray. So give them a double punishment of the fire, they will say. Allah: For everyone there is a double punishment anyway. But you do not know, He will say. Where is the mistake here? Come on, let's say it. Yes.

Find the mistake, let's see.

Let me give you a hint. It's correct from the start; the mistake is at the end.

Look for that ending.

Let me put it to you this way: Allah Almighty uses His attribute of justice. He is the judge of judges, eleysallahu bi-ahkemi'l-hâkimîn. What does it say? The sins you committed will be added up.

Whereas what do they say? Your sins will be multiplied many times over.

Allah Almighty will give for the sin one committed whatever its equivalent is. The sins committed will be added up, and He will punish for however much it is. Doesn't a judge do the same? For theft so much punishment, for fraud this much, for murder so much; for all of it there is so much punishment, he says. And if a judge upholds justice in this world, Allah Almighty too will act with justice. What does it say? Let's read the very end.

Allah: For everyone, their punishments will be added up according to what they did. Look, what does it say there?

Allah: For everyone there is a double punishment anyway, it says. Double. Allah does not commit injustice. He does not multiply anyone's punishment. That is, if one is to suffer one punishment, it's two punishments for all. As if it were being multiplied. Whereas look, here: Allah: For everyone, according to what they did, their punishments will be added up. But you do not know, He will say. Yes.

We continue with our lesson.

We said that here too, Allah does not multiply sins. Allah does what? He adds up sins. He doesn't multiply, He adds. Multiplying means: if it's one sin, He would double it, triple it, multiply it by five. Like what? For a good deed Allah Almighty gives reward many times over. A good deed I have done, three for one, five for one, seven for one, ten for one, seventy for one, a hundred for one He rewards. Even seven hundred; what does it say? one with a hundred ears wheat grain, He gives seven times the reward. Or seven ears, in each ear a hundred grains of wheat, that much reward He gives. That is, seven hundred rewards.

In this case Allah Almighty multiplies rewards but does not multiply sins.