إِنَّا جَعَلْنَـٰهَا فِتْنَةً لِّلظَّـٰلِمِينَ 63
Translations
Indeed, We have made it a torment for the wrongdoers.
Transliteration
Inna ja'alnaha fitnatan lil-zalimeen
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the tree of Zaqqum, which Allah has made a trial and punishment for the wrongdoers in the Hellfire. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the tree serves as a source of suffering and torment for those who rejected Allah's signs and committed injustices in the worldly life. The word 'fitnah' (trial/test) here emphasizes that this tree is both a punishment and a clear manifestation of divine justice for the unjust.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within the Meccan surah As-Saffat, which was revealed to warn the Meccan polytheists about the Day of Judgment and the consequences of disbelief. The context describes the punishment awaiting the deniers of resurrection, with the Zaqqum tree serving as a vivid description of Hell's torment to inspire fear of Allah's punishment and encourage repentance.
Related Hadiths
The tree of Zaqqum is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim in various hadiths where the Prophet (ﷺ) described its bitter taste and its role as food for the people of Hell. One relevant hadith from Jami' at-Tirmidhi describes the Prophet's vivid depiction of Hellfire's punishments to warn believers away from disobedience.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds us that Allah's justice is absolute and that every action has consequences; the vivid description of punishment should motivate believers to avoid oppression and injustice, seeking instead righteous conduct and submission to Allah's will in this life before facing the inevitable accountability in the next.
Related Ayahs
وَحَرَٰمٌ عَلَىٰ قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَـٰهَآ أَنَّهُمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ
And it is prohibited to [the people of] a city which We have destroyed that they will [ever] return
فَذَرْنِى وَمَن يُكَذِّبُ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلْحَدِيثِ ۖ سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُم مِّنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
So leave Me, [O Muḥammad], with [the matter of] whoever denies this statement [i.e., the Qur’ān]. We will progressively lead them [to punishment] from where they do not know.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا۟ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا۟ فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ ٱلْحَرِيقِ
Indeed, those who have tortured the believing men and believing women and then have not repented will have the punishment of Hell, and they will have the punishment of the Burning Fire.
أَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن قَرْنٍ مَّكَّنَّـٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَا لَمْ نُمَكِّن لَّكُمْ وَأَرْسَلْنَا ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْهِم مِّدْرَارًا وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرَ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهِمْ فَأَهْلَكْنَـٰهُم بِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَأَنشَأْنَا مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ قَرْنًا ءَاخَرِينَ
Have they not seen how many generations We destroyed before them which We had established upon the earth as We have not established you? And We sent [rain from] the sky upon them in showers and made rivers flow beneath them; then We destroyed them for their sins and brought forth after them a generation of others.