Tafseer of The Inevitable · Al-Waaqia · 56:53
And filling with it your bellies
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.
Then He said: فَمَالِئُونَ مِنْهَا الْبُطُونَ ("and filling your bellies therewith"); He means: from the tree (al-shajara). And if He had said: "fa-māliʾūna minhu" (and filling therefrom, in the masculine), while al-shajar had not been mentioned, that would have been correct, referring to al-shajar in "minhu," treating al-shajar as masculine. And "minhā" (feminine) is then a reference to al-shajar, for al-shajar is used both as feminine and as masculine, just as al-tamr (dates) is used both as feminine and as masculine.
The correct view concerning this, in our opinion, is the second view, namely that by His statement فَمَالِئُونَ مِنْهَا ("and filling therewith") al-shajar is meant, which is treated as feminine on account of the meaning, and that He said فَشَارِبُونَ عَلَيْهِ ("and you will drink thereon") in the masculine on account of the word al-shajar.
