وَأَمّا إِن كانَ مِن أَصحابِ اليَمينِ
فَسَلامٌ لَكَ مِن أَصحابِ اليَمينِ
And if he be of the people of the right hand,
then ‘Peace be on you,’ [a greeting] from the people of the right hand!
EXEGESIS
The Arabic particle min can have different meanings. Here it apparently means from, indicating a greeting being sent upon the recently deceased person from the other people of the right hand. Another possibility is that it is a descriptive particle (bayāniyyah), meaning: Peace be upon you, for you are one of the people of the right hand. If so, Peace be on you could be a form of prayer, meaning: May your journey and transition from this world to the hereafter be in peace, for indeed you are among the people of the right hand. In this case, the sender of the greeting is not specified; it could be God, His angels, or the other people of the right hand.
EXPOSITION
Should the soul that dies be among the righteous servants of God, he will be welcomed by the other people of the right hand by greetings of peace. As mentioned earlier, such greetings of peace are not merely verbal utterances. Rather, they signify the lack of any problem, trouble, or discomfort. These verses clearly indicate that those who die will continue their existence with a different form of life. The dead recognise one another and send peace on those who are in tune with them.
There is always some connection and congruity between one’s reward or punishment in the hereafter and one’s beliefs and actions in this world. In this case, one should be a man of submission, peace, and security in his heart and character. Such relevant qualities are discussed in many verses in the Quran including: 2:112, 4:65, 4:125, 5:16, 6:71, 13:24, 15:45-46, 16:31-32, 20:47, 25:63, 26:88-89, 28:55, 33:56, 39:73, 50:32-34, and 72:14. To this list one should add the famous prophetic narration: ‘A Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand [other] Muslims are in peace.’ Such are those who were a source of blessing (yumn, from the same root as yamīn) in their lives. See verse 26 for more on heavenly peace.
To appreciate the significance of this message of peace and the relief that it involves, one need only contrast it with how the inhabitants of hell greet one another when one group is flung therein to join another group: Every time that a nation enters [hell], it will curse its sister [nation] (7:38); ‘This is a group plunging [into hell] along with you.’ ‘May wretchedness be their lot! They will indeed enter the fire.’ They say: ‘Rather, may wretchedness be your lot! You prepared this [hell] for us. What an evil abode!’ They say: ‘Our Lord! Whoever has prepared this for us, double his punishment in the fire!’ (38:59-61).
It is also possible that Peace be on you is addressed to the Prophet as a greeting that the people of the right hand (including any one of them who dies) send upon him. Another similar possibility is: Then peace be on you, O Muhammad, for they have been saved, and thus you need not worry about interceding for their salvation. However, the first meaning seems more plausible and coherent given the flow and context of the verses.
[1] Tabari, 27/123.
[2] Tibyan, 9/514.
[3] Ahmad, 2/163; Bukhari, 1/8; Muslim, 1/48; Barqi, 1/285; Faqih, 4/362.
[4] Razi, 29/438-439.