Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:42
سُورَةُ الوَاقِعَةِ · Meccan · Verse 42 of 96
فِى سَمُومٍۢ وَحَمِيمٍۢ
Translation
They will dwell amid scorching wind and scalding water
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'In scorching wind and boiling water.' al-Saadi and Ibn Ashur note the exact inversion of the right-hand delights: where they had cool flowing water and gentle shade, these have 'samum' (a searing, penetrating wind) and 'hamim' (boiling water). Every comfort turned to its opposite. Ask yourself: the punishment is drawn as the precise negative of the reward, the same categories (water, shade, air), all inverted into torment. It is a sobering picture of a life lived against the grain of mercy: the very things meant to comfort become the means of suffering. It presses the truth that there is no neutral ground, I am moving toward either the cool spring or the scorching wind. Which direction is the daily grain of my choices actually running?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:42 is discussed in 6 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:42 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.