فَشارِبونَ عَلَيهِ مِنَ الحَميمِ

فَشارِبونَ شُربَ الهيمِ

And drink boiling water on top of it,

drinking like thirsty camels.’

EXEGESIS

Hīm is the plural of haymān and hāʾim (or ahyam and haymāʾ) meaning one who is extremely thirsty. The root meaning is to be astonished, stunned, or dumbstruck, and to wander aimlessly. One cause for this could be extreme thirst. It is especially used for extremely thirsty camels, which roam out of control and wander away aimlessly,^{‎[1]Ayn; Raghib; Tahqiq, under h-y-m.} or a sickly thirsty camel (or person) whose thirst is never slaked; it drinks until it dies.^{‎[2]Tibyan, 9/502; Tabrisi, 9/334.} Hīm has also been interpreted by Ibn Abbas and others to gravel and sand, which take in water thirstily and insatiably (see Insights from Hadith).^{‎[3]Alusi, 14/146.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Drinking in three sips is better than gulping down a drink in one drought.’ The narration continues by reporting that the Imam considered it reprehensible (makrūh) to be like al-hīm, which he interpreted as animals that carry mankind or articles. In another narration, he interpreted al-hīm as camels, or specifically to old female camels. It has also been interpreted as gravel and sand, which take in water thirstily and insatiably. Finally, al-hīm has also been interpreted as drinking without invoking the name of God.^{‎[4]Faqih, 3/353-354, h. 4246; Maani, pp. 149-150, h. 3; Daqaiq, 13/43-45.}

Note: Since gulping down a drink hurriedly and without interruption is an act of the inhabitants of hell, it can thus be deduced that one should avoid drinking like that.^{‎[5]Furqan, 28/82.} This is of course some layer of the verse’s interpretation and is clearly obtained from the Quran, but by no means is it a primary or central theme of the verse; it should be taken as a by-product of the verse. But if one were to take the noble verses of the Quran only to these directions and content one’s self to such inferences, then the person has indeed ridiculed the book of God and has qualified for the Prophet’s complaint: O my Lord! Indeed my people consigned this Quran to oblivion (25:30).

[1] Ayn; Raghib; Tahqiq, under h-y-m.
[2] Tibyan, 9/502; Tabrisi, 9/334.
[3] Alusi, 14/146.
[4] Faqih, 3/353-354, h. 4246; Maani, pp. 149-150, h. 3; Daqaiq, 13/43-45.
[5] Furqan, 28/82.