al-Wāqi‘ah

ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ أيُّهَا الضَّالُّونَ الْمُكَذِّبُونَ

لَآكِلُونَ مِن شَجَرٍ مِّن زَقُّومٍ

فَمَالِؤُونَ مِنْهَا الْبُطُونَ

51. "Then moreover, indeed you the erring deniers!

52. "You indeed shall eat of the tree of Zaqqum.

53. "Then you shall fill your bellies therewith.

Proceeding with the enumeration of the chastisements of the people on the Left Hand, the blessed Verses 51-53 address them saying: "Then, O erring deniers! You shall eat of the tree of Zaqqum filling your bellies by it." The preceding Verses just treated of the dwelling place of the people on the Left Hand in Hell, but the blessed Verses in question deal with their food. In this respect, they stand in contrast to those nearest unto Divine Threshold and the people on the Right Hand.

It is worthy of note that the phrase

"the erring deniers"

mentioned in the blessed Verse 51 is applied to those who besides erring they are obdurate against Truth and persist in their error. As mentioned above, Zaqqum is a bitter, foul of smell and taste, whose juice is inflammatory. It is at times applied to any disgusting food given to the people of Hell.² The clause:

"Then you shall fill your bellies therewith"

reflects that they shall be so hungry that they devour such disgusting food and fill up their bellies with it.

Footnotes

1. 2. Raghib'sMufradat; Lisan al-‘Arab; Ruh al-Ma‘ani.