Tafsir of An-Naba' 78:30

This is a consequence of their denial of the Reckoning and their rejection of the signs. The causality of this "tasting" and the command to do so is abundantly clear. It has been said that it is more appropriately linked to the words of the Almighty: “They will not taste therein any coolness…” (An-Naba: 24), implying that when they have tasted the boiling water and the pus, it is said to them, “So taste! For We will never increase you...” In that case, the sentences between them are parenthetical. However, this is extremely far-fetched, in addition to the excessive use of interpolation it entails. The shift in address (iltifat) is for the purpose of intensification, by presuming their presence at the time of the command so they may be addressed with reproach and rebuke, which is greater in humiliation and debasement. Had a speech marker (e.g., "saying") been assumed, there would have been no such shift.

'Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, al-Tabarani, and Ibn Marduyah recorded from al-Hasan that he asked Abu Barzah al-Aslami, “Which verse in the Book of Allah is the most severe for the people of the Fire?” He replied, “The saying of Allah: ‘So taste! For We will never increase you except in torment.’” The reason for its severity, as has been said, is that it is a reproach on the Day of Judgment, an expression of wrath from the Most Merciful of the merciful, and a severing of all hope for them. Furthermore, the particle lan (never)—based on the view that it signifies perpetuity—implies that the cessation of the increase is like an impossibility that does not fall under the realm of possibility.

It has also been said that it may mean this is the most powerful argument in the Quran against the people of the Fire; for if this threat reached them in the worldly life and they did not fear it, they have effectively accepted eternal torment in exchange for disbelief, leaving them no excuse on the Day of Judgment when the verdict of eternal fire is passed upon them. There is much that is far-fetched in this interpretation.

The matter of "increasing the torment" has been questioned, as it contradicts the principle that recompense should be commensurate with deeds. It has been answered that the increase serves to preserve the essential nature of the punishment; for if it were not for the increase, they would become accustomed to the torment they received initially and would no longer feel pain from it—and this is as you see it.

Others have said that since the torment is for disbelief and disobedience, and these increase in ugliness at every moment—for instance, disbelief in the second interval is uglier than in the first, and so on—and because Allah, the Almighty, knew of their continued persistence in this due to their evil disposition, this necessitated an increase in the torment and its intensity day by day. Another view is that since their disbelief was the greatest of disbeliefs, it necessitated the most severe torment, and that which is increased day by day is among the most severe of torments. Other explanations have been offered as well, so reflect upon it.