يَومَ يُسحَبونَ فِي النّارِ عَلىٰ وُجوهِهِم ذوقوا مَسَّ سَقَرَ
The day when they are dragged into the fire on their faces, [it will be said to them:] ‘Taste the touch of hell!’
EXEGESIS
Yawma (the day) is a time adverb. It could be a time adverb for the previous verse, or for an elided verb, like consider, remind them, and suchlike.
The verb saḥaba means to pull or drag.[1]
Saqar is a proper noun and refers to hell or a place in it (see 74:26-27, 74:42). It was initially used to describe the effects of being exposed to the harsh rays of the sun which included a change in skin colour and a feeling of pain. This name was then given to hellfire because it also had the property of inflicting pain and changing skin colour.[2] Whilst some say Saqar is a general name of hell, others suggest, based on a narration, that this is a name for a specific region in the fire which is more excruciating than the rest.[3] Others say this might be the name of one of the gates of hell.[4]
This verse can be seen as a temporal adverb of when the guilty shall be in error and madness (previous verse). It has also been suggested that the phrase, the day when they are dragged, is a temporal adverb of when they will be told, taste the touch of hell!.[5]
Being dragged into the fire on their faces is a sign of disgrace and humiliation.[6] Perhaps it is also a reflection of the arrogance and power that they wielded in this world and thus in the hereafter it is reflected through such humiliation.[7]
EXPOSITION
This verse describes the painful punishment that the guilty ones shall face on the Day of Judgement. They shall be dragged into the fire. Whilst being dragged itself is a painful punishment, being dragged on their faces is even more painful as the face is a very sensitive part of the body (see also 44:49-50).[8]
Being asked to Taste the touch of hell is a way of taunting them, challenging them on whether the fire is a fable and lie or actually real, just as they had been promised.[9] Perhaps that is why the word touch has been used as it is by directly touching something that one may have certainty of its reality.[10] Others have suggested that the verb Taste has been used because tasting is the most sensitive faculty, for it not only experiences coldness, hotness, smoothness, and roughness, but also experiences bitterness.[11] Interestingly, verse 46 describes that day as most bitter.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- It has been reported from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a): ‘Indeed there is a valley in hellfire specifically for the arrogant ones called Saqar. It once complained to Allah about the intensity of its heat and asked to be given permission to breathe, so it breathed and thus set the whole hell ablaze.’[12]
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Some exegetes have suggested that the verb touch indicates that perhaps the fire shall only burn their skin and not the entirety of their body, including their internal organs. This is based on the understanding that touching is primarily associated with the skin and not other sensory organs. The skin is the most sensitive area of the body and hence this punishment is primarily directed at the skin (see also 4:56).[13] This view is contrary to common sense and also to some other Quranic verses. For example, mention is made of the food of the inmates of hellfire that will burn their insides: Indeed, the tree of Zaqqūm will be the food of the sinful. Like molten copper it will boil in the bellies, boiling like boiling water (44:43-46). Other verses indicate that due to their intense thirst, they will be given scalding water to drink that would cut up their bowels: like those who abide in the fire and are given to drink boiling water which cuts up their bowels (47:15; see also 14:16, 18:29, and 56:54-55). Other verses also mention that those who usurp the wealth of orphans are literally eating fire (4:10).
[1] Ibn Ashur, 27/204.
[2] Amthal, 17/345.
[3] Amthal, 17/345.
[4] Tibyan, 9/460.
[5] Razi, 29/325.
[6] Munyah, 27/222.
[7] Fadlallah, 21/295.
[8] Mudarrisi, 14/263.
[9] Amthal, 17/345; Munyah, 27/222.
[10] Munyah, 27/222.
[11] Razi, 29/325.
[12] Kafi, 2/310, h. 10.
[13] Mudarrisi, 14/263.