Surah Al A'raf Notes (44-47) | What is Al A'raf ?

                                            People of Hellfire will feel Anguish upon Anguish                                          

(44) And the dwellers of Paradise will call out to the dwellers of the Fire (saying): "We have indeed found true what our Lord had promised us; have you also found true, what your Lord promised (warnings, etc.)?" They shall say: "Yes." Then a crier will proclaim between them: "The Curse of Allah is on the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.),"

 The Messenger of Allah admonished the inhabitants of the well at Badr: (O Abu Jahl bin Hisham! O `Utbah bin Rabi`ah! O Shaybah bin Rabi`ah (and he called their leaders by name)! Have you found what your Lord promised to be true (the Fire) I certainly found what my Lord has promised me to be true (victory).) `Umar said, "O Allah's Messenger! Do you address a people who have become rotten carrion'' He said, (By He in Whose Hand is my soul! You do not hear what I am saying better than they do, but they cannot reply.)

There will be a conversation between the people of Paradise and people of Hell:

 In Surat As-Saffat, Allah mentioned the one who had a disbelieving companion, (So he looked down and saw him in the midst of the Fire. He said: "By Allah! You have nearly ruined me. Had it not been for the grace of my Lord, I would certainly have been among those brought forth (to Hell).'' (The dwellers of Paradise will say!) "Are we then not to die (any more) Except our first death, and we shall not be punished'').

(45) Those who hindered (men) from the Path of Allah, and would seek to make it crooked, and they were disbelievers in the Hereafter.

(...Those who hindered (men) from the path of Allah, and would seek to make it crooked...) meaning, they hindered the people from following Allah's path, His Law, and what the Prophets brought. They sought to make Allah's path appear crooked and winding, so that no one would follow it.
(...and they were disbelievers in the Hereafter...) They disbelieved in the Meeting with Allah in the Hereafter, They used to deny this will ever occur, not accepting it nor believing in it. This is why they used to discount the seriousness of the evil deeds and statements that they committed, because they did not fear any reckoning or punishment. Therefore, they were and are indeed the worst people in statement and action.

The People of Al-A`raf

(46) And between them will be a barrier screen and on Al-A'raf (a wall with elevated places) will be men (whose good and evil deeds would be equal in scale), who would recognise all (of the Paradise and Hell people), by their marks (the dwellers of Paradise by their white faces and the dwellers of Hell by their black faces), they will call out to the dwellers of Paradise, "Salamun 'Alaikum" (peace be on you), and at that time they (men on Al-A'raf) will not yet have entered it (Paradise), but they will hope to enter (it) with certainty.

After Allah mentioned that the people of Paradise will address the people of the Fire, He stated that there is a barrier between Paradise and the Fire, which prevents the people of the Fire from reaching Paradise.

(...and on Al-A`raf will be men and between them will be a screen...)

• "It is the wall, it is Al-A`raf. "Al-A`raf is a barrier between Paradise and the Fire, a wall that has a gate.' 
• "Al-A`raf is plural for `Urf, where every elevated piece of land is known as `Urf to the Arabs. 
• Al-A`raf's residents are those whose good and bad deeds are equal,  Ibn Jarir recorded that Hudhayfah was asked about the people of Al-A`raf and he said, "A people whose good and bad deeds are equal. 
• Their evil deeds prevented them from qualifying to enter Paradise, and their good deeds qualified them to avoid the Fire. Therefore, they are stopped there on the wall until Allah judges them.

(...and at that time they will not yet have entered it (Paradise), but they will hope to enter (it)...) Then he said, "By Allah! Allah did not put this hope in their hearts, except for an honor that He intends to bestow on them.

(47) And when their eyes will be turned towards the dwellers of the Fire, they will say: "Our Lord! Place us not with the people who are Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers)."

(...And when their eyes will be turned towards the dwellers of the Fire, they will say: "Our Lord! Place us not with the people who are wrongdoers...'') Ad-Dahhak reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "When the people of Al-A`raf look at the people of the Fire and recognize them, they will supplicate, `O Lord! Do not place us with the people who are wrongdoers.''