Tafseer of The Bee · An-Nahl · 16:88
Those who disbelieved and averted [others] from the way of Allah - We will increase them in punishment over [their] punishment for what corruption they were causing.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted be His remembrance, says: Those who, O Muhammad, have denied your prophethood and called you a liar in what you have brought them from your Lord, and who have turned away from belief (īmān) in Allah and His Messenger, and whoever desired that — to them We add, on the Day of Resurrection, an additional punishment in Hell (jahannam), over and above the punishment they already had before this additional punishment was added. And it has been said: This addition which Allah has promised to add to them consists of scorpions and serpents.
Those who said this:
Muhammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh ibn Murra, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh, concerning زِدْنَاهُمْ عَذَابًا فَوْقَ الْعَذَابِ : he said: scorpions with fangs like palm trees.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh ibn Murra, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh — the like of the above.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya and Ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh ibn Murra, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh, concerning زِدْنَاهُمْ عَذَابًا فَوْقَ الْعَذَابِ : he said: To them were added scorpions with fangs like tall palm trees.
Ibrāhīm ibn Yaʿqūb al-Jawzajānī related to us, saying: Jaʿfar ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Al-Aʿmash informed us, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh ibn Murra, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh — the like of the above.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Sulaymān, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh ibn Murra, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh — the like of it in import.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Murra, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh: he said concerning زِدْنَاهُمْ عَذَابًا فَوْقَ الْعَذَابِ : he said: vipers (afāʿī).
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Murra, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh: he said: vipers in the Fire.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Murra, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh — the like of the above.
Mujāhid ibn Mūsā and al-Faḍl ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ related to us, they said: Jaʿfar ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Al-Aʿmash informed us, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr, who said: In Hell (jahannam) there are pits — in them are serpents as large as Bactrian camels and scorpions as large as black mules. The inhabitants of the Fire seek refuge from those pits or their banks, whereupon those creatures leap upon them and seize them by their lips and run along the sides of their bodies down to their feet. Then they seek refuge from that in the Fire and cry out: "The Fire! The Fire!" — whereupon those creatures keep pursuing them until they feel its heat and go back. He said: And those creatures dwell in burrows (asrāb).
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ḥayyū ibn ʿAbdullāh informed me, on the authority of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ḥublī, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr, who said: In Hell there are shores (sawāḥil) upon which dwell serpents and scorpions with necks like the necks of Bactrian camels.
And His word بِمَا كَانُوا يُفْسِدُونَ — He says: We added to them this additional punishment over and above what they already endure of punishment, because of the corruption (fasād) they used to commit — on account of their disobedience to Allah in the worldly life and their commanding His servants to disobey Him. That was their spreading of corruption (ifsād). O Allah, we beseech You for well-being (ʿāfiya) — You who are the Sovereign over the worldly life and the everlasting life.
