In the Name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful

They will turn to one another with questions. One of them will say: “I had a close companion on Earth who used to ask me: ‘Do you really believe that after we have died and become mere dust and bones we shall be brought for judgment?’ He adds: ‘Would you like to look down?’ Then he looks and sees him in the midst of the fire.

He will then say: ‘By God! You almost brought me to ruin! But for the grace of God I should have also been brought there.’ ‘But then is it truly so, that we are not to die except for our first death, and that we are not to suffer? This is indeed the supreme triumph.’ Everyone should strive to attain this goal.”

Is this the better welcome, or the Zaqqum tree? We have made it a test for the wrongdoers. It is a tree that grows in the very heart of the blazing fire of Hell. Its fruit is like devils’ heads. They will indeed eat of it, filling their bellies. Then on top of it, they will be given polluted, scalding water to drink. Then again, their ultimate goal is Hell. (Ranged in Rank, Al-Saffat: 37: 50-68)

The first few Verses in this passage speak of a group of the people of heaven, when one of them wonders about the fate of one of his close friends. In the life of this world, that friend used to deny the resurrection of all creatures and mankind’s accountability for their deeds. He invites his brethren in heaven to join him in finding out what happened to him. He looks in search and soon discovers that the man is in the midst of the fire of Hell. He marvels at his own escape. He only escaped the same fate by God’s grace, and by the fact that he remained a believer, firmly certain that a second life is inevitable when everyone will be requited for their deeds.

When he sees him in his suffering, he turns to him and says: you could have led me astray and ruined me by what you whispered in my ear. It was only through God’s favor that I did not listen to you: “He will then say: ‘By God! You almost brought me to ruin! But for the grace of God I should have also been brought there.’ I could have ended up in the same position and been driven with the herd to the same position you now are in.”

His awareness of what happened to his friend makes him feel more acutely the great blessing he and his fellow believers are experiencing. Therefore, he wants to assert it and be reassured that it will last: “But then is it truly so, that we are not to die except for our first death, and that we are not to suffer? This is indeed the supreme triumph.”

A short comment is made here, alerting hearts to the need to work hard in order to achieve such a goal. “Everyone should strive to attain this goal.” The goal is a pure and everlasting happiness that cannot be ended by death or prevented by torture. It is the type of goal that deserves hard effort. Compared to this, other goals people strive for seem worthless.

In order to highlight the great gulf between this everlasting, pure happiness and the other destiny awaiting the unbelievers, the Surah explains what awaits the latter after they have been held to account: “Is this the better welcome, or the Zaqqum tree? We have made it a test for the wrongdoers. It is a tree that grows in the very heart of the blazing fire of Hell. Its fruit is like devils’ heads. They will indeed eat of it, filling their bellies. Then on top of it, they will be given scalding water to drink. Then again, their ultimate goal is Hell.”

Rhetorically they are asked whether the pure endless bliss is a better position and place or the Zaqqum tree. What is this tree, then? The answer is simple: “It is a tree that grows in the very heart of the blazing fire of hell. Its fruit is like devils’ heads.” Needless to say, people do not know how devils’ heads look. Nevertheless, it is a frightening image. It is sufficient only to think of these heads to be scared. How, then, would they countenance the prospect of these very heads becoming the food with which they fill their bellies?

God made this tree a test for the wrongdoers. When they heard its name, they made fun of it, saying: “How could a tree grow in Hell without being burned?” One of them, Abu Jahl, said in sarcasm: “People of the Quraysh! Do you know what the Zaqqum tree is that Muhammad holds up to scare you with? It is the dates of Madinah cooked with butter. Should we get it, we will swallow it without hesitation.”

The fact is, however, that the Zaqqum tree was something different from the food they knew: “They will indeed eat of it, filling their bellies.” When it stings their throats and burns their bellies — as it grows in the fire it is of the same substance — they will look for a cool drink to stop the burning. However, they will only drink contaminated, boiling water: “Then on top of it, they will be given polluted, scalding water to drink.”

After this meal, they leave the table to return to their permanent abode, which is far from welcoming: “Then again, their ultimate goal is Hell.” Thus ends the first part of the Surah.