وَسِيقَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ زُمَرًا … وَسِيقَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا
"Those who disbelieve are driven in troops to Hell… and those who guard themselves against their Lord are led in troops to the Garden."
The root ز-م-ر — it is analysed here for the first time in this corpus. Zumra: a company that moves together, a troop. The lexicographers record the root's connection with the sense of "sound" (zamr — the sound of a wind instrument) and build the link by way of the murmur of a crowd. I relay this as a connection made by the lexicographers.
That the word is used of both groups must be recorded: the same word, the same verb (sīqa — they were driven), two opposite directions. The sūra ties the distinction not to the content but to the direction.
The two passages are almost symmetrical; but there is one difference, and the lexicographers have dwelt on it at length:
| Group | Arrival at the gates |
|---|---|
| Hell (71) | Ḥattā idhā jāʾūhā futiḥat abwābuhā |
| The Garden (73) | Ḥattā idhā jāʾūhā wa futiḥat abwābuhā |
In the second sentence there is one extra wāw. The lexicographers give differing explanations of this difference:
| Explanation | What it says |
|---|---|
| 1 | The wāw conceals the answering clause of the sentence — the expression of a joy that cannot be told; the answer has been left unsaid |
| 2 | The gates of the Garden are open beforehand — they are not opened when they arrive; they are found already open |
| 3 | The wāw here is a feature of style and no extra meaning should be loaded onto it |
All three explanations are transmitted; I do not impose a preference. But that the difference is there in the text is certain, and it can be verified.
And there is a difference in the content as well: in the scene of Hell the keepers ask a question (a-lam yaʾtikum rusulun minkum); in the scene of the Garden the keepers give the greeting of peace (salāmun ʿalaykum ṭibtum fa'dkhulūhā khālidīn).
That peace is given as the requital was treated in al-Wāqiʿa at 56/25-26 and 56/91; I rely on that treatment: on the good side the last word said is again peace.
وَتَرَى ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةَ حَآفِّينَ مِنْ حَوْلِ ٱلْعَرْشِ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقُضِىَ بَيْنَهُم بِٱلْحَقِّ وَقِيلَ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
I record this as an observation: after seventy-five verses of ikhlāṣ, of parting, of two groups and of reckoning, the last sentence is not a ruling but a sentence of praise — and its speaker has not been named.