Al-Ankabut (The Spider): (54-55) They ask you to hasten the punishment, and if not...

This is mentioned to express astonishment. This is because when someone is threatened with a minor harm, like a slap or a punch, and they feel the impact, they might say, "In the name of God, bring it on!" However, when someone is threatened with drowning or burning, and they are certain that the threatener is capable and will not fail in their promise, it would not cross the mind of a sensible person to say, "Bring what you threaten me with!"

Here, He says: {They ask you to hasten the punishment} (يستعجلونك بالعذاب), and the punishment is the fire of Hell encompassing them. Thus, His statement {And they ask you to hasten} (ويستعجلونك) is first a report about them and second an expression of wonder at them. Then, He described how Hellfire will surround them.

Then the Almighty said: {The Day the punishment will cover them from above them and from beneath their feet, and He will say, "Taste what you used to do."} (يغشاهم العذاب من فوقهم ومن تحت أرجلهم ويقول ذوقوا ما كنتم تعملون).

And in this [verse] are two issues:

We say: The purpose is to mention what distinguishes the Fire of Hell from the fire of this world. The fire of this world surrounds the four sides; if one enters it, the flame is behind him, in front of him, to his right, and to his left. However, fire from above does not descend; rather, it usually rises from below in the immediate world. And beneath the feet, the flame under the foot does not remain. But the Fire of Hell descends from above and is not extinguished by stepping upon it.

We say: The descent of fire from above—whether it is directly from the vicinity of the heads or from another location—is astonishing. Therefore, He did not specify the head. As for the fire remaining beneath the feet, that alone is astonishing, because in the worldly fire, if there is a flame beneath the foot, it is usually extinguished by stepping. Therefore, He mentioned what is astonishing, which is what is beneath the feet, where stepping does not extinguish it, and fire from above absolutely.

Then the Almighty said: {And He will say, "Taste what you used to do."} (ويقول ذوقوا ما كنتم تعملون). After describing the torment of their bodies, He described the torment of their souls, which is that it will be said to them as a means of humiliation and disgrace: "Taste the punishment of what you used to do." He made it the very essence of what they used to do as a means of exaggeration, by using the name of the consequence (the punishment) for the cause (their deeds). This is because their deeds were the cause for God making them the cause of their punishment, and this usage is very common.