| Page: 55

The Recompense of the Transgressors

Know that when the Almighty described the reward of the pious, He immediately followed it by describing the punishment of the transgressors (الطاغين). This is to ensure that the warning follows the promise, and deterrence follows encouragement.

The Almighty mentioned various aspects of Hellfire. The first is their final destination:

This stands in direct contrast to His statement regarding the pious (mentioned previously): {This is it. And indeed, for the pious is the best of destinations.} (Sad: 49). Thus, the Almighty clarified that the state of the transgressors is the opposite of the state of the pious.

There is a difference of opinion regarding who is meant by Al-Tāghīn (the transgressors):

1. The Majority of Commentators: They interpret it as referring to the disbelievers (Kuffār).
2. Al-Jubbā’ī: He held that it refers to those who commit major sins (Kabā’ir), whether they are disbelievers or not.

Given this, Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with him) stated that the meaning is: those who transgressed and denied the Messengers have the worst destination (i.e., the worst return and end).

Then He said: {Hell, they will burn therein.} This means that after establishing that the transgressors have the worst destination, the Almighty explained it by saying, {Hell, they will burn therein.}

Then He said: {How wretched the resting place!} This is similar to: {For them is a resting place of Hell, and above them coverings [of fire].} (Al-A‘rāf: 41). God likened the fire beneath them to a mihād (a resting place or mattress) upon which a sleeper reclines.

Then the Almighty said: {This! So let them taste scalding water and purulent discharge.}

Issue 1: Grammatical Structure There are two interpretations:

1. Anticipation and Postponement: The meaning is: {This is scalding water and purulent discharge; so let them taste it.}
2. Continuation: The meaning is: {Hell, they will burn therein, how wretched the resting place! This [is what they taste].} Then a new sentence begins: {Scalding water and purulent discharge.}

Issue 2: The Meaning of Ghassāq (غساق) There are several views on the meaning of Ghassāq (which is read with both light and heavy shaddah on the Sīn):

1. It is what flows out from the pus/discharge of the people of Hell. It is said that ghasaqat al-‘ayn means the eye shed tears. Ibn Umar said it is the pus that flows out and gathers, which they are made to drink.
2. Ḥamīm (scalding water) burns with its heat, while Ghassāq burns with its coldness. Al-Azhari mentioned that Ghāsiq means cold, which is why night is called ghāsiq (it is colder than the day).
3. It is something foul-smelling. Al-Zajjāj narrated that if a drop of it were dropped in the East, it would stink up the people of the West, and if dropped in the West, it would stink up the people of the East.
4. Ka‘b said it is a spring in Hell into which the venom of every venomous creature (scorpion, snake) flows.

Issue 3: Recitation of Ghassāq Hamzah, Al-Kisā’ī, and Ḥafṣ (from ‘Āṣim) recited it as Ghassāq (with a shaddah on the Sīn). The rest recited it as Ghassāq (with a light sīn). Abu Ali Al-Fārisī preferred the light reading because if it is read with shaddah, it must be either a noun or an adjective. If it is a noun, few nouns follow this pattern. If it is an adjective, it stands in place of the noun it describes, which is generally not permissible.

Then the Almighty said: {And others of its kind, in pairs.}

Issue 1: Recitation of Wa Ākhar Abu ‘Umar (and others) recited {Wa Ākhar} (with a ḍammah on the Alif) as a plural, meaning "other kinds" of torment. The rest recited {Wa Ākhar} (with a fatḥah on the Alif) as singular, meaning "another torment."

• If read as plural (Ākhar): It means other types of torment similar to this one in severity and horror. {Azwāj} (in pairs/kinds) means categories.
• If read as singular (Ākhar): The structure is: "And another torment, and kinds [of torment]." Azwāj is an adjective for Ākhar, or it describes the three things: Ḥamīm, Ghassāq, and Ākhar.
• The author of Al-Kashshāf noted that {Min Shiklihi} is also read with a kasrah (i.e., Min Shiklihi), which is a linguistic variation. However, Al-Ghanjaf (a related word) is only read with a kasrah.

The Dialogue of the Inhabitants of Hell

Know that after describing the dwelling, food, and drink of the transgressors, the Almighty recounted their interactions: first, with those they loved in the world, and second, with those who were their enemies in the world.

This begins with: {This is a troop rushing in with you.}

This is a narration of the speech of the leaders of the people of Hell addressing each other, evidenced by the response of the followers that follows: {They will say, "Nay, you are those who shall not be welcomed! You brought this upon us."}

Another view suggests that {This is a troop rushing in with you} is the speech of the gatekeepers addressing the leaders of the disbelievers concerning their followers. The leaders then respond: {Nay, welcome to them! Indeed, they shall enter the Fire.}

The meaning of {This is a troop rushing in with you} is: This is a dense crowd that has rushed into the Fire along with you, just as they rushed into ignorance and misguidance along with you. Iqtihām (rushing/plunging) means entering the Fire in your company. Iqtihām implies riding into severity, and Qihmah means severity.

The statement {Nay, welcome to them!} is a curse from the leaders upon their followers. When a person wishes well for another, he says, "Welcome" (Marḥaban), meaning, "You have arrived at a spacious place, not a narrow one," or "May your land be spacious." The particle Lā (No) is then added to invoke evil.

The phrase {upon them} clarifies who is being cursed: they deserve the curse because {they shall enter the Fire}. This serves as the justification for cursing them. A similar verse is: {Every time a nation enters [the Fire], it will curse its sister nation.} (Al-A‘rāf: 38).

The followers then reply: {Nay, you are those who shall not be welcomed!} They mean that the curse you invoked upon us, O leaders, is more deserving of you. They justify this by saying: {You brought this upon us.}

The pronoun in {brought this upon us} refers either to the torment or to entering the Fire.

If it is asked: What is the meaning of them "bringing the torment" upon themselves? We reply that the cause for bringing it forward is the evil deed. God says: {Taste the torment of the burning. That is for what your hands have put forth.} (Āl ‘Imrān: 181-182). However, since the leaders were the cause of the misguidance, and the torment is their due reward, it is said: {You brought this upon us}, making the leaders the ones who brought it forth, and the reward the thing brought forth.

The pronoun in {brought this upon us} can also be an allusion to the transgression implied by the preceding verses: {And indeed, for the transgressors is the worst of destinations... How wretched the resting place!}

The followers then supplicate: {Our Lord, whoever brought this upon us, then increase his torment twofold.} This means increasing it by a double measure. This is similar to: {Our Lord, these misled us, so give them double the torment.} (Al-A‘rāf: 38), and: {Our Lord, we obeyed our masters and our chiefs, and they led us astray from the way. Our Lord, give them double the torment.} (Al-Aḥzāb: 67-68).

If it is asked: Any measure of torment prescribed, if it equals the desert, it is not doubled. If it exceeds it, then God is unjust, which is impossible. We reply that the meaning here relates to the Prophet’s saying: (Whoever establishes a bad precedent bears its burden and the burden of all who act upon it until the Day of Resurrection.) The meaning is that the torment will be twofold: one part for the sin of misguidance (their own), and the second part for the sin of misleading others. And God knows best.

This concludes the explanation of the state of the disbelievers with those they loved in the world.

As for their state with those who were their enemies in the world, it is stated: {And they will say, "What is the matter with us that we do not see men whom we used to count among the wicked?}

When the disbelievers look around Hell, they will say this. They are referring to the poor Muslims whom they disregarded in the world and whom they counted among the wicked—either meaning they were base people with no benefit, or because they followed a religion contrary to theirs, making them wicked in their view.

Then they say: {Did we take them in ridicule?}

Issue 1: Recitation of Atakhadhnāhum Abu ‘Amr, Hamzah, and Al-Kisā’ī recited {Al-Ashrār * Atakhadhnāhum} (connecting the Alif of Atakhadhnāhum to the preceding word), implying a statement. The rest recited it with a fatḥah on the Alif as a question. Abu ‘Ubayd preferred the connected reading because the question was already established in {What is the matter with us that we do not see men...}. Furthermore, the polytheists did not doubt that they mocked the believers, as God informed them: {So you took them in ridicule until you made me forget the remembrance of Me.} (Al-Mu’minūn: 110). How then would it be appropriate for them to ask about something they knew? Al-Farrā’ answered that this is a question meaning astonishment and reprimand, which is permissible even for known matters. As for those who included the interrogative Hamzah, they argue that it must be included to balance the structure with the following potential question: {or did our eyes stray from them?} If the first reading (statement) is adopted, the corresponding question is omitted, meaning: "Are they absent, or did our eyes stray from them?"

Issue 2: Recitation of Sukhriyyan Nāfi‘ recited {Sukhriyyan} (with a ḍammah on the Sīn), while the rest recited it with a kasrah. Some say they mean the same thing. Others say the kasrah means mockery/jesting, while the ḍammah means humiliation and subjugation.

Issue 3: Syntactical Arrangement based on Recitations

• If read as a statement (connected Alif): The meaning is: "What is the matter that we do not see them present? Either because we dismissed them due to their insignificance, or because our eyes strayed from them." Their insignificance is expressed by saying, {Did we take them in ridicule?}
• If read as a question (interrogative Hamzah): The meaning is: "Is it because we took them in ridicule, yet they were not like that, so they did not enter the Fire? Or is it because our eyes strayed from them?"

Know that after narrating these debates, the Almighty stated that what was narrated is true and must have occurred. He then clarified what that debate was: {The people of the Fire dispute among themselves.} God named those words Khaṣāmah (dispute/litigation) because the statement of the leaders ({Nay, welcome to them!}) and the statement of the followers ({Nay, you are those who shall not be welcomed!}) are forms of contention.

| Surah Sad (38): Verses 7-11