Transliteration:( Fakhalafa min ba'dihim khalfun adaa'us Salaata wattaba'ush shahawaati fasawfa yalqawna ghaiyyaa )
"Then there succeeded them a later generation who wasted the prayer [105] and followed their lusts. They will soon encounter a valley of hell [106]."
This verse refers to the followers of the Prophets, such as the Christians, Jews, and others who deviated from the teachings of the righteous. Although they claimed to follow those pious individuals, their actions contradicted the divine path laid out before them.
The phrase "wasted the prayer" indicates more than just abandonment. It includes:
Delaying Salah beyond its appointed time
Missing it altogether
Performing it without sincerity
Praying in isolation without a valid reason
Offering Salah only for show or social appearance
From this we learn that laziness in Salah becomes the gateway to all other sins. When a person becomes heedless of Salah, their moral and spiritual compass begins to erode, leading them to indulge in base desires and disobedience.
"Ghai" is a dreadful valley in Hell, so intense in its heat and punishment, that even other regions of Hell seek refuge from it.
According to Tafseer Khazainul Irfaan, those who will be cast into Ghai include:
Adulterers
Usurers (those who deal in interest)
The disobedient to parents
Those who give false testimony
These punishments are not arbitrary but are the consequences of deliberate and repeated transgressions, starting with neglecting Salah, which serves as the foundational discipline of faith.
This verse is both a warning and a lesson—when the pillar of prayer collapses, personal desires dominate, and punishment becomes inevitable unless sincere repentance is made.
59. Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have lost the Salah and have followed lusts. So they will meet Ghaiy. 60. Except those who repent and believe, and work righteousness. Such will enter Paradise and they will not be wronged in aught.
After Allah mentioned the party of blessed ones — the Prophets and those who followed them by maintainig the limits set by Allah and His commandments, fulfilling what Allah ordered and avoiding His prohibitions — then He mentions,
(خَلَفَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ) (there has succeeded them a posterity.) This means later generations.
(who have lost Salah) Losing their prayers is when they do not consider the prayers obligatory. Therefore they lose, because the prayer is the pillar and foundation of the religion. It is the best of the servants’ deeds. Thus, these people will occupy themselves with worldly desires and delights, and they will be pleased with the life of this world. They will be tranquil and at ease in the worldly appetites. Therefore, these people will meet with Ghaiy, which means loss on the Day of Resurrection. Al-Awza`i reported from Musa bin Sulayman, who reported from Al-Qasim bin Mukhaymirah that he said concerning Allah’s statement,
(Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have lost the Salah) “This means that they will not keep up with the proper times of the prayer, because if it meant complete abandonment of the prayer, this would be disbelief.” It is also reported that it was said to Ibn Mas`ud, “Allah often mentions the prayer in the Qur’an. He says,
(Those who neglect their Salah.) ﴿107:5﴾ And He says,
(Those who remain constant in their Salah.) ﴿70:23﴾ And He says,
(Who guard their Salah.)” ﴿23:9﴾ Then, Ibn Mas`ud said, “This means at its designated times.” The people said, “We thought that this was referring to the abandonment of the prayer.” He replied, “That would be disbelief.” Masruq said, “No one who guards the five daily prayers will be written among the heedless. In their neglect is destruction. Their neglect is delaying them past their fixed times.” Al-Awza`i reported from Ibrahim bin Zayd that Umar bin `Abdul-`Aziz recited the Ayah,
(Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have lost the Salah and have followed lusts. So they will meet Ghayy.) Then, he said, “Their loss was not their abandonment of the prayers, but it was by not offering them during their proper and prescribed times.” Allah said,
(So they will meet Ghayy. ) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said,
(So they will meet Ghayy.) “This means loss.” Qatadah said, “This means evil.” Sufyan Ath-Thawri, Shu`bah and Muhammad bin Ishaq all reported from Abu Ishaq As-Sabi`i, who reported from Abu `Ubaydah, who reported from `Abdullah bin Mas`ud that he said,
(So they will meet Ghayy.) “This is a valley in the Hellfire which is very deep and its food is filthy.” Al-A`mash reported from Ziyad, who reported from Abu `Iyad, who commented Allah’s statement,
(So they will meet Ghayy.) He said, “This is a valley in Hell made of puss and blood.” Allah said,
(Except those who repent and believe and work righteousness.) This means, “Except those who recant from giving up the prayers and following the desires, for verily, Allah will accept their repentance, give them a good end and make them of those who inherit the Garden of Delight (Paradise). ” For this reason Allah says,
(Such will enter Paradise and they will not be wronged in aught.) This is because repentance wipes away that which was before it. In another Hadith, the Prophet said,
(The one who repents from sin is like he who has no sin.) Because of this, those who repent will not lose anything from the (good) deeds that they did. They will not be held accountable for what they did before their repentance, thus causing a decrease in their reward for deeds that they do after their repentance. That is because whatever they did before repenting is lost, forgotten and not taken to account. This is an honor from the Most Generous and a kindness from the Most Gentle. This is an exception that is made for these people, similar to Allah’s statement in Surah Al-Furqan,
(And those who invoke not any other god along with Allah, nor kill such person as Allah has forbidden, except for just cause…) until Allah’s statement,
(and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) ﴿25:68-70﴾
(19:59) They were succeeded by a people who neglected the Prayers[35] and pursued their lusts.[36] They shall presently meet with their doom,
35. It appears that the degenerate people totally discarded Salat, or they had become neglectful and careless in its observance. This is the first evil that is committed by a degenerate people. For, after this there remains no connection whatever between them and God. Here it has been stated as a universal principle that the degeneration of the people of all the former Prophets started with the abandonment of Salat by them.
36. This was the inevitable result of the loss of the connection with Allah. As they became more and more neglectful of their Salat, their lusts took complete hold of them and they fell to the lowest depths of moral depravity and began to follow their whims instead of the divine commands.
[819]- Described as a valley in Hell or may be rendered "the consequence of error."
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