Surah an-Naba' (The News ) 78 : 23

Overview (Verses 21 - 36)

The Fateful Day
 
The surah takes another step, beyond resurrection, to describe the fate of the tyrant unbelievers and also that of the righteous. It begins with the former group who raise doubts about the fateful tiding: “Hell stands as a vigilant watch guard, a home for the tyrants and the transgressors. Therein they shall abide for ages, tasting neither coolness nor any drink, except boiling fluid and decaying filth: a fitting recompense. They did not expect to be faced with a reckoning, and roundly denied Our revelations. But We have placed on record every single thing, [and We shall say]: ‘Taste this, then; the only increase you shall have is increase of torment.’“ (Verses 21-30)
 
Hell has been created so that it may watch the tyrants and transgressors and await their arrival. They find it well prepared to receive them, as if they are returning to their natural home after having sojourned on earth a while. It is a home in which they stay endlessly. But they taste “neither coolness nor any drink.” (Verse 24) The next verse provides an exception to this, but the exception is even worse: “except boiling fluid and decaying filth.” (Verse 25) Their throats and stomachs burn as they drink the boiling fluid, which is the only ‘coolness’ they have, while their other drink is the filth of the burning bodies, decaying in the enormous heat. The Qur’an comments that this is ‘a fitting recompense’. It is in keeping with what they have done in their lives. For they thought they would never return to God: “They did not expect to be faced with a reckoning, and roundly denied Our revelations.” (Verses 27-28) Their denial, as the Arabic verse suggests, is strongly emphatic and stubbornly upheld. But God keeps a meticulous record which does not leave out anything they do or say: “But We have placed on record every single thing.” (Verse 29) Then follows a reproach coupled with the tiding that they can hope for no change in their condition and no abatement of its intensity: “Taste this, then; the only increase you shall have is increase of torment.” (Verse 30)
 
We then have the corresponding scene of the righteous in complete bliss. “The God-fearing shall have a place of security, gardens and vineyards, and high-bosomed maidens, of equal age, for companions, and a cup overflowing. There they shall hear no idle talk, nor any falsehood. Such is the recompense of your Lord, a truly sufficient gift.” (Verses 31-36) If hell is a vigilant watch guard which the tyrants cannot escape, the righteous, the God-fearing will end in a place of security. What a place it is: “gardens and vineyards.” (Verse 32) The vine tree is specifically mentioned because it is well known to the addressees. The God-fearing will also have companions who are described here as high-bosomed and of equal age. They also drink from a cup overflowing with refreshing beverage.
 
These luxuries are given a physical description so that we may better appreciate them. The precise nature of these luxuries and how they may be enjoyed remain unknown to us as our understanding is restricted by our limited world. But the enjoyment provided to the righteous is not purely physical. “There they shall hear no idle talk, nor any falsehood.” (Verse 35) So it is a pure life there, free of the idle chatting and falsehood which give rise to controversy. The reality is known to everyone, which means that there is no room for futile argument. It is a sublime state of affairs suitable for eternal life. Then follows the Qur’anic comment: “Such is the recompense of your Lord, a truly sufficient gift.” (Verse 36)