His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And the companions of the left, what are the companions of the left?" "In scorching wind and scalding water" "And a shade of black smoke" "Neither cool nor generous" "Indeed, they were before that indulging in luxury" "And they were insisting on the great sin" "And they were saying, 'When we have died and become dust and bones, are we indeed to be resurrected?'" "And our forefathers the former ones?" "Say, 'Indeed, the former and the later'" "Will surely be gathered together for the appointment of a known day.'"

The grammatical analysis of His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And the companions of the left, what are the companions of the left?" has been previously mentioned in its similar context. The meaning here indicates a turning towards them and magnifying their calamity.

"The scorching wind" is the most intense of dry heat that has no moisture with it.

"The scalding water" is the black one, and it is a term of exaggeration. People have differed regarding this black thing that shades the people of the Fire; what is it? Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Abu Malik, and Ibn Zayd said: It is smoke, and this is the opinion of the majority. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, also said: It is the curtain of the Fire that surrounds its inhabitants, for it rises from every direction until it shades them. Al-Naqqash reported that "the black smoke" is a name from the names of Hell, and this was said by Ibn Kaysan. Ibn Buraidah and Ibn Zayd also said in the book of Al-Thaalabi: It is a black mountain in the Fire that terrifies the people of the Fire, and they flee to its peaks and find it the most intense and bitter.

His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And neither generous". Al-Tabari and others said: Its meaning is that it has no attribute of praise in the shades. This is as you say: A generous garment and a noble lineage, meaning that it has praiseworthy attributes. It is also possible to describe it as lacking generosity in the sense that there is no honor for them, for a person in this world may endure a bad place due to a companion of honor he receives from someone. Thus, this shade in the Fire is gathered in that it is of bad quality and they are humiliated in it.

"The indulging one" is the one who is pampered in extravagance and excess. And "they insist" means they hold a belief they do not intend to abandon. Ibn Zayd said: They do not repent nor seek forgiveness. And "the great sin" is the sin. From it is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Whoever dies having three children who have not reached the age of maturity, the sins will not be attached to them." He meant, peace and blessings be upon him, that they have not reached puberty, so sins do not attach to them. Al-Khattabi said: The great sin in the speech of the Arabs is the heavy injustice, comparing sin to it. The interpreters have differed regarding the intended meaning of this sin. Qatadah, Al-Dahhak, and Ibn Zayd said: It is polytheism, and this is the apparent meaning. Some people, as mentioned by Makki, said: It is the sin in their oath which is included in His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And they swore by Allah with the most earnest of oaths" [An-Nahl: 38] in denying resurrection. This also includes disbelief, so the statement regarding it in its generality is preferable. Al-Sha'bi said: The great sin is the false oath.

And it has been mentioned previously regarding the differences among the reciters in His saying, 'Is it that' and 'Are we'. It is specifically noted in this context that Ibn 'Amir differs from his origin, as he reads: 'Is it that' and 'Are we' with the realization of the two hamzah letters in both for the purpose of questioning. Abu Bakr narrated it from 'Asim in His saying, 'Are we to be resurrected?'. The operative element in His saying, 'Is it that' is an implied verb indicated by His saying, 'to be resurrected', its estimation being: 'Are we resurrected or gathered?'. And what follows it does not operate because it is added to it. 'Isa al-Thaqafi read: 'We died' with a dammah on the meem. The majority of the people read: 'We died' with a kasrah on it. This is according to the dialect of those who say: 'I died' and 'I die', in the form of fi'l with a kasrah on the 'ain, and it is done with a dammah. And nothing has been reported from the Arabs except this expression and another which is 'fadl' meaning 'to prefer'. Some of the reciters read: 'Or our fathers' with the waw of 'or' being silent. The meaning of the verse is the distancing of the possibility that they and their fathers would be resurrected at the same time, in terms of distancing. The majority read: 'Or our fathers' with the waw being moved, as it is the waw of conjunction that has been entered upon by the alif of questioning. Its meaning is the intensity of the distancing regarding the fathers, as if they were distanced from being resurrected, then they brought up a mention of resurrection among them that is even more distant. This is clear to the people of knowledge in the Arabic tongue.

Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to inform them that the world is gathered and resurrected for a known appointed day. 'Miqat' is a masdar from 'waqt', like 'mi'ad' from 'wa'ad'.