َ لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَتَقَدَّمَ أَوْ يَتَأَخَّرَ ﴿۳۷﴾ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ ﴿۳۸﴾ إِلَّا أَصْحَابَ الْيَمِينِ ﴿۳۹﴾ فِي جَنَّاتٍ يَتَسَاءَلُونَ ﴿۴۰﴾ عَنِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ ﴿۴۱﴾ مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِي سَقَرَ ﴿۴۲﴾ قَالُوا لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّينَ ﴿۴۳﴾

﴾37﴿ Liman shaaa'a minkum any yataqaddama aw yata akhkhar
﴾38﴿ Kullu nafsim bima kasabat raheenah
﴾39﴿ Illaaa as haabal yameen
﴾40﴿ Fee jannaatiny yata saaa'aloon
﴾41﴿ Anil mujrimeen
﴾42﴿ Maa salakakum fee saqar
﴾43﴿ Qaaloo lam naku minal musalleen

﴾37﴿ For whoever among you wishes to advance or lag behind
﴾38﴿ Every soul is held in pledge for its deeds
﴾39﴿ Except for the companions of the right hand
﴾40﴿ They will be in gardens, asking
﴾41﴿ From the criminals
﴾42﴿ What brought you into Saqar (the Fire)
﴾43﴿ They will say, "We were not of those who prayed."

[38] This warning is directed at the people who "stay behind" (i.e., disbelieve).
[39,40,41] This is an attached exception from “every soul,” meaning that the companions of the right (Ashab al-Yameen), due to their faith and righteous deeds, fulfilled the truth and thus freed their own souls—just like a debtor who repays his loan to a creditor and frees his pledged item (collateral).
(Question): In Surah Al-Mu’minun (23:101), it appears that no one will be able to ask or speak?
(Answer): That state refers to the plain of resurrection before judgment is passed, while this state refers to after entering Paradise.
“The criminals” are those who concealed disbelief and polytheism but revealed them through their actions. That is why those actions are mentioned afterwards, by which their disbelief became apparent—even though those actions may not be outright disbelief in themselves.
[42] The word sulika (سُلِكَ) is a metaphor indicating the extreme narrowness of Saqar (Hell)—as if something large is being forced into a small, dark hole.
[43] This indicates that abandoning prayer is a cause for entering Saqar (Hell), and likewise, for disbelievers, punishment results from abandoning religious duties (furu‘) along with their disbelief.