al-Dukhān

إِنَّ شَجَرَتَ الزَّقُّومِ

طَعَامُ الْأَثِيمِ

كَالْمُهْلِ يَغْلِي فِي الْبُطُونِ

كَغَلْيِ الْحَمِيمِ

43. Verily, the tree of Zaqqum
44. Will be the food of the sinners.
45. Like boiling oil, it will boil in the bellies.
46. Like the boiling of scalding water.

The word zaqqum indicates a kind of undesirable food served in Hell. Mohl is used in the sense of molten or impure metal or copper. The four Verses concern the torment of sinners, particularly disbelievers. By

disbelievers may be intended since the preceding Verses were about disbelievers and the general theme of the Verses indicate that one who believes in Divine Unity, Resurrection, the prophethood of the Seal of the Prophets (S), and the imamate of the Infallible Imams (as), even if he happens to be a sinner, he will not be inflicted with such torment. Based on the above, some exegets maintain that the Verses in question allude to the cursed Abu Jahl who went to the extreme in disbelief, grudge, and animosity against the Prophet (S). It is reported that once Abu Jahl was eating some dates mingled with butter and was saying mockingly that it was the Zaqqum against which Muhammad warned us and we eat our fill of it.

Rejecting his false claim, God Almighty said that the fruit of the tree of Zaqqum was the food of sinners rather than what Abu Jahl conceived of it. Any molten metal, e.g. gold, silver, and copper, is called muhl. Some also hold that by it oil impurities are being meant such that when oil is heated, its impurities settle as sediment or dregs which are also called durdiy al-zit (“oil dregs”). The fruit of the tree of Zaqqum boils in bellies in the manner of boiling scalding water cutting up their intestines. The Almighty (jabbar) and All-Subjugating (qahhar) Sovereign addresses the myrmidons, i.e., the angels who thrust the damned into Hell (zabaniya) wrathfully.