Tafsir of Al-Waqi'ah 56:41

{In scorching fire} In the heat of a fire that penetrates the pores.

{And scalding water} Water that has reached the ultimate degree of heat.

{And a shade of black smoke} From a dark, opaque smoke.

{Neither cool nor beneficial} A negation of the two qualities of shade. He means: it is a shade, but not like other shades. He named it "shade," then negated its coolness, its comfort, and its benefit to those who seek refuge in it from the harm of the heat—which is the "benefit" (karam) of shade—in order to eradicate the sense of relief usually associated with the word "shade." The meaning is that it is a hot, harmful shade. However, negation in such contexts carries a weight that affirmation does not. It contains mockery of the companions of the left, implying they are unworthy of the cool, beneficial shade reserved for their opposites in Paradise. It is also recited in the nominative case (la baridun wa la karimun), meaning: "It is not such."

{The great sin} The grave sin. From this is the saying: "The boy has reached the hinth," meaning puberty and the time of accountability for sins. Also: "He broke (hanatha) his oath," the opposite of fulfilling it. One says tahannatha when one commits a sin or acts with caution.

{Or our forefathers?} The interrogative hamza is prefixed to the conjunction. If you ask: "How is it grammatically sound to conjoin to the hidden pronoun in lamab'uthun (are we to be resurrected) without the emphatic nahnu?" I say: It is sound due to the separator, which is the hamza, just as it is sound in His saying: {We did not associate partners, nor did our forefathers}, due to the separation by la (the emphatic negative). It is also recited as aw aba'una and lamajmu'un.

{To the appointed time of a known day} To the time set for the world, which is a known day. The genitive construction (idafa) is in the sense of "from" (min), like "a ring of silver." The miqat is that by which a thing is timed, i.e., a limit. From this are the miqats of Ihram: the boundaries that one intending to enter Makkah cannot cross without being in a state of Ihram.

{O you who have gone astray} From guidance.

{The deniers} Of the resurrection. They are the people of Makkah and those in their state.

{From trees of Zaqqum} The first "from" (min) denotes the starting point, and the second is for clarification and explanation of the tree. He used the feminine pronoun for the tree based on the meaning, and the masculine based on the wording in His saying: {from it} and {upon it}. Whoever recites min shajaratin min zaqqum has made both pronouns refer to the tree; the second is masculine based on the interpretation of Zaqqum, as it is its explanation and shares its meaning.

{Drinking as the thirsty camels drink} It is recited with three vowel movements (shurb, sharb, shirb). The fathah and dammah are verbal nouns. Ja'far al-Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Days of eating and drinking," with a fathah on the shin. As for the kasrah, it means the "drink" itself—that which the him drink. These are camels afflicted with hiyam, a disease from which they drink but are never quenched. It is the plural of ahyam and hayma'. Dhu al-Rumma said: She became like the thirsty one, neither the water cools her thirst, nor does her thirst cease. It is also said that al-him are the sands. The logic is that it is the plural of hiyam (with a fathah on the ha'), which is sand that does not hold together, pluralized as fi'al like sahab and suhub, then lightened. The meaning is that they are afflicted with such hunger that they are forced to eat the Zaqqum, which is like molten copper. When their bellies are full of it, they are afflicted with such thirst that they are forced to drink the scalding water, which tears their bowels, and they drink it like the him drink water.

If you ask: "How is it valid to conjoin 'drinkers' to 'drinkers' when they refer to the same entities and the same descriptions, making it a conjunction of a thing to itself?" I say: They are not the same, because their being drinkers of the scalding water—given its extreme heat and bowel-tearing nature—is an astonishing matter, and their drinking it in that state like the him drink water is also an astonishing matter; thus, they are two different descriptions.

{The hospitality} The provision prepared for the guest to honor him. It contains mockery, as in His saying: {So give them tidings of a painful punishment}, and like the saying of Abu al-Sha'r al-Dabbi: When the tyrant with his army visits us, we prepare spears and sharp swords as his hospitality. It is also recited as nuzuluhum with the lightened lam.