Surah Fussilat — Verse 29

Key Words and Their Meanings:

• أَرِنَا (Arinā): Show us, make us see.
• أَضَلَّانَا (Adallānā): Led us astray, caused us to deviate from the path of guidance.
• الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ (Al-Jinni wal-Ins): The jinn and mankind—the two creations of Allah endowed with free will.
• تَحْتَ أَقْدَامِنَا (Taḥta Aqdāminā): Under our feet—a position of utter humiliation and degradation.
• الْأَسْفَلِينَ (Al-Asfalīn): The lowest ones—those in the deepest, most severe depths of Hellfire.

The Interpretation:

On the Day of Judgment, when the disbelievers find themselves cast into the blazing Fire, overwhelmed by regret and rage, they will cry out to their Lord with a plea born of bitter resentment. They will say: *"Our Lord, show us those two beings—from among the jinn and mankind—who led us astray and pulled us away from Your path. Let us place them beneath our feet in this Fire, so that they may be among the lowest and most severely punished of all its inhabitants."*

This refers specifically to Iblis (Satan), who initiated disbelief and invited humanity to it, and to Qabil (Cain), the son of Adam, who initiated murder and bloodshed upon the earth—for they were the first to set the evil examples that others followed. Some scholars also interpret it more broadly as referring to all the leaders of disbelief and misguidance—the devils among the jinn and the tyrants among mankind who called others to the Fire and led them to ruin.

The disbelievers wish to trample these misleaders under their feet, not out of any hope of escape, but as an expression of their intense hatred and desire for revenge. They want to see those who caused their eternal misery suffer even more than themselves—to be in the lowest pit of Hell, where the torment is most severe and the punishment most agonizing.

This verse reveals the profound regret of the disbelievers and their futile anger against those who misled them. Yet on that Day, no revenge will benefit them, and no hatred will lighten their burden. The lesson for us today is clear: we must be vigilant about whom we follow and whose example we emulate. Our companions, our leaders, and those we take as role models will either lead us toward Paradise or drag us toward the Fire. Let us choose our guides wisely, and let us strive to be among those who call others to goodness, not to ruin. For on that Day, every soul will reap what it has sown, and every leader will be held accountable for those who followed them—whether toward light or toward darkness.