What is the correct meaning of the word 'waredha' in 19:71

 

What is the correct meaning of the word 'waredha' in 19:71

 

 

 

"Every single one of you is 'waredha'; this is

 

an irrevocable decision of your Lord."

19:71

Some interpreters who derive the bulk of their convictions from hadith, even if it conflicts with clear Quranic truth, have adopted the belief that all Muslims are initially destined to enter hell for a while till the prophet Muhammad takes them out with his intercession! Needless to say, this claim is based on a fabricated hadith as well as an erronous interpretation of the Quranic verse above. As will be presented, this doctrine also violates a number of Quranic truth.

First, let us analyse the Quranic verse above (19:71) to determine the correct meaning of its words.

"Every single one of you is 'Waredha'; this is an irrevocable decision of your Lord." 19:71

The key word in this verse is the Arabic word 'Waredha'.

This word was wrongly interpreted to mean 'entering it' with the word 'it' referring to hell.

Thus they interpret the verse to mean:

"Every single one of you is entering it (hell); this is an irrevocable decision of your Lord."

The reference to hell is correct, but does the word 'wared' really means 'entering'?

As ususl, the best method of determining the correct meaning of any Quranic word is to examine other verses in the Quran where the same word is employed and attempt to arrive at a common meaning that satisfies all verses.

Let us read the following verse:

"When he 'warada' Midyan's water, he found a crowd of people watering, and noticed two women waiting on the side." 28:23

It is obvious that this verse, which speaks about Moses, does not say 'when he entered the water of Midyan! Moses was not a deep sea diver! However, if we interpret the word 'warada' correctly as (passed by or approached) then it will make more sense. Now we can substitute the word 'warada' with the words 'passed by':

"When he passed by/approached Midyan's water, he found a crowd of people watering, and noticed two women waiting on the side." 28:23.

Once again this conforms with the use of the word 'waraduha' in 21:99:

"If those were gods, they would not have passed by/approached (hell)." 21:99

Now let us return to the verse under study and confirm the correct meaning of the word 'waredha':

"Every single one of you will pass by (hell); this is an irrevocable decision of your Lord." 19:71

Thus all believers must pass by/approach and see hell. This is different from physically entering hell. The word 'waredha' is different from the Arabic word 'dakhel' which means ENTERING and which is consistently used to link the disbelievers with hell, such as:

 

 

"Your Lord says, "Implore Me, and I will respond to you. Surely, those who are too arrogant to worship Me 'Sa Yadkholoon' (will enter) hell forcibly" 40:60

 

The deliberate choice of words by Almighty God so as to ascribe the word 'dakheloon' (which means entering) when the subject is the disbelievers, and the word 'waredha' (pass by it) when the subject is the believers is obvious and indeed significant.

Now we must inquire why is it decreed by God that all believers must pass by hell and see it?

We read in Sura 39 how the believers will testify on Judgement Day that God's promise was truthful:

"They will say, "Praise be to God, who fulfilled His promise to us, and made us inherit the earth, enjoying Paradise as we please." What a beautiful recompense for the workers!" 39:74

God's promise is two folded, that the believers who lead a rigtheous life would go to heaven and ALSO that the disbelievers will end up in hell. On Judgement Day, all humans (believers and disbelievers) will see hell to know that God's promise is truth.

Therefore the believers will see both hell and heaven to know that God's promise was fulfilled. The disbelievers will end up in hell and also know that God's promise was true. We may ask, will they also be allowed to pass by and see heaven? The Quran tells us that they will not be able to pass by or see heaven (they do not deserve to) as a barrier will separate them from the believers:

"A barrier separates them ......." 7:46

By passing by hell and seeing it's disasters, the believers are also able to truly appreciate and enjoy the rewards of heaven.

Finally, it is indeed easy to realise that the hadith that claims that Muhammad stated that all believers are to enter hell till he is to save them through his intercession, is totally false and against the truth of the Quran.

First, the concept of intercession is in total violation to the Quran. The Quran states categorically that there will be no intercession on Judgement Day. For details of this issue please go to: The Myth of Intercession

Moreover, this hadith contradicts the Quranic truth which states that prophet Muhammad does NOT know the future:

"Say (O Muhammad), "I am not different from other messengers. I have no idea what will happen to me or to you. I only follow what is revealed to me. I am no more than a profound warner." 46:9

It is difficult to justify the hadith that claims that Muhammad predicted that all believers will enter hell for a while, when the Quran states that he does not know what will happen to himself or to others!

For other verses that confirm that Muhammad does NOT know the future please see (6:50, 7:188, 10:20, 11:31, 27:65).