Surah Al-Waaqia 56:54 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection
سُورَةُ الوَاقِعَةِ · Meccan · Verse 54 of 96
فَشَٰرِبُونَ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلْحَمِيمِ
English: and drink scalding water,
Bengali: অতঃপর তার উপর পান করবে উত্তপ্ত পানি।
Meaning & Reflection
'And will drink boiling water on top of it.' al-Saadi and Ibn Ashur note the compounding torment — the bitter, choking food of Zaqqum washed down not with relief but with 'hamim', scalding water: one torment poured on top of another. Ask yourself: the horror is in the *compounding* — no relief between sufferings, each 'remedy' making it worse. It is the far end of a road I can already glimpse: the drink taken to soothe the harm that only inflicts more harm, misery answered with what deepens misery. It underscores that a life cut off from God is not a flat neutrality but an accelerating spiral, each attempt at relief adding to the pain. Where am I already 'drinking boiling water' on my troubles — reaching for a cure that is secretly compounding the disease?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i.
Reflect with the Five Lenses
Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Al-Waaqia 56:54:
- Wording. Look closely at the specific words and structure. Which word stands out, and why might Allah have chosen it here?
- Quranic Worlds. Place the verse in its context — what is happening around it, and what world does it open up?
- Personal Experience. Ask not just what this means, but what it means TO me and FOR me, right now in my life.
- Connections. How does this verse connect to other verses, to the Sunnah, or to themes across the Quran?
- General Lessons. What timeless lesson or action point can I carry away and live by?