88:1 Has the news of the overwhelming Event reached you?
88:2 Some faces on that day will be humiliated,
88:3 laboring, weary,
88:4 burning in a blazing fire,
88:5 given to drink from a boiling spring,
88:6 no food for them but thorns,
88:7 neither fattening nor availing against hunger.
Tafsir
88:1 Has the news of the overwhelming Event reached you?
The interrogation is to magnify the great horrors of the Day of Judgment. It is called ‘Ghashiyah, the overwhelming Event’ because its horrors will overwhelm people so that they cannot think about anything but its terrors and overwhelming events.
O noble Messenger Muhammad, has the news of the overwhelming Event reached you? Has the news of the Day of Judgment reached you? It will overwhelm people with its terrifying events that they will feel as if they did not receive any important news before its coming.
The surah begins by referring to the horrors of the Day of Judgment to attract people’s attention. This introduction implies that the news and events of the Day Judgment are important matters that people should prepare themselves to encounter.
88:2 Some faces on that day will be humiliated,
On the Day of Judgment, the faces of the disbelievers will be humiliated because of the severe torment that they will be experiencing in Hell.
The faces are specifically mentioned because the face is the most honored part of the human body and effects of humiliation mainly appear on it.
88:3 laboring, weary,
The wicked dwellers of Hell, whose faces will be humiliated because of the severe torment that they will be experiencing, will be laboring and weary on the Day of Judgment. They will do hard work, such as pulling heavy chains and carrying heavy loads in Hell, which will make them weary.
These attributes of dwellers of Hell are mentioned to criticize them, as they refrained from in Allah’s Oneness, and performing righteous deeds in the worldly life. In addition, they favored the fleeting enjoyment of the worldly life over the lasting pleasures of the Hereafter. Thus, their recompense will be humiliation and hard work after which there is no rest.
88:4 burning in a blazing fire,
The wicked dwellers of Hell will be burning in the blazing fire of Hell on the Day of Judgment.
88:5 given to drink from a boiling spring,
The wicked dwellers of Hell will be given to drink from a boiling spring. The drink of this spring will be boiled until it reaches the maximum heat temperature.
88:6 no food for them but thorns,
88:7 neither fattening nor availing against hunger.
The wicked dwellers of Hell will have no food but thorns, which are bitter trees in Hell with foul odor. This food will neither fatten them nor avail them against the great hunger that they will be suffering in Hell.
In sum, the wicked dwellers of Hell will drink an extremely hot drink and eat bitter and foul thorny plants that will increase them nothing but severe pain and great suffering. They deserve such painful punishment because they disbelieved in Allah’s Oneness and were wicked in the worldly life.
Learned Lessons from Surah al-Ghashiyah Ayah 1-7
• The Day of Judgment is a great day and it will overwhelm people with its horrors.
• On the Day of Judgment, the faces of the disbelievers will be humiliated.
• The disbelievers will be laboring and weary in Hell.
• The disbelievers will burn in the very hot fire of Hell and they will be given to drink from a boiling spring.
• The food of the disbelievers will be thorny plants that will be neither nourishing, nor fattening, nor availing against hunger.
• Mentioning the severe punishment of the dwellers of Hell should make one refrain from doing the things that lead them to suffer such painful torment, namely, disbelief in Allah’s Oneness and doing evil deeds.
The Noble Quran English Translation of Surah al-Ghashiyah
The Noble Quran, Tafsir of Ibn Kathir, Surah al-Ghashiyah
The Noble Quran Introduction to Tafsir of Surah al-Inshiqaq
The Noble Quran Surah Hud English Translation and Tafsir
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