Tafseer of The Inevitable · Al-Waaqia · 56:51
Then indeed you, O those astray [who are] deniers,
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.
The discourse concerning the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ أَيُّهَا الضَّالُّونَ الْمُكَذِّبُونَ ("Then indeed you, O you who are astray, you who deny") (51)
The Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says to the companions of the left hand: then indeed you, O you who are astray from the path of right guidance, who deny the threat of Allah and His promise, shall truly eat from a tree of zaqqūm.
And His statement: فَمَالِئُونَ مِنْهَا الْبُطُونَ ("and fill therewith your bellies"). He says: and you shall fill your bellies from the zaqqūm-tree.
The scholars of language have differed concerning the manner in which "the tree" (al-shajar) is made feminine in His statement: فَمَالِئُونَ مِنْهَا الْبُطُونَ ("and fill therewith your bellies"), that is to say: from the tree, فَشَارِبُونَ عَلَيْهِ ("and you shall drink upon it"), because al-shajar is used as both feminine and masculine. He made it feminine because he carried it upon al-shajara (the singular "tree"), since al-shajara can denote the whole. For the Arabs indeed say: "before us grew a bitter tree (shajara) and a bad herb (baqla)," while they mean the whole. And some of the grammarians of Kūfa have said.
