His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "They will not taste therein coolness or drink, except for hot water and pus, a recompense proportionate. Indeed, they were not expecting an account, and they denied Our signs with a denial. And everything We have enumerated in writing. So taste, for We will not increase you except in punishment. Indeed, for the righteous is a place of success, gardens and grapevines, and full-breasted companions of equal age, and a cup overflowing. They will not hear therein any idle talk or falsehood, a reward from your Lord, a gift accounted for. Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, the Most Merciful; they do not possess from Him any speech." Abu Ubaidah, Al-Kisai, Al-Fadl ibn Khalid, and Mu'adh the grammarian said: "Coolness in this verse means sleep, and the Arabs describe it as such because it cools the heat of thirst. From their speech: 'The coolness prevented the coolness.'" The majority of people said: "The coolness in the verse refers to the touch of cool air, which is the coldness, meaning that nothing from it will touch them that they find pleasurable and that alleviates the punishment of heat. Thus, the tasting - according to these two sayings - is metaphorical. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The coolness is the cold drink that is pleasurable." From this is the saying of Hassan ibn Thabit:

They will drink from the spring of Al-Baris, upon them is coolness that is poured from the pure wine.

And from this is the saying of another:

Hopes from Su'da, beautiful as if She quenched your thirst with Su'da while you were thirsty, coolness.

Then His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And no drink except for hot water," the exception is connected. "Hot water" is the hot, melting liquid, and its most common usage is for hot water and sweat. From this is the bath. Ibn Durayd said: "Hot water is the tears of their eyes." Al-Naqqash said: "Hot water is the melted yellow liquid of extreme heat." People have differed regarding "pus." Qatadah, Al-Nakha'i, and a group said: "It is what flows from the bodies of the people of the Fire, such as pus and similar substances. It is said: 'The wound has pus' when it flows from it pus and blood, and 'the eye has pus' when it weeps and its discharge comes out." Ibn Abbas and Mujahid said: "Pus is a drink for them of extreme coldness, as if it is on the other side of hot water, scorching the faces with its coldness." Abdullah ibn Bureidah said: "Pus is the foul-smelling liquid."

Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, Nafi', Ibn Amer, Asim, and a group from the majority read: "Pus" with a lightened 's', which is a name as we have mentioned. Hamzah, Al-Kisai, and Hafs from Asim, Ibn Abu Ishaq, Al-Sha'bi, Al-Hakam ibn Uyaynah, Qatadah, and Ibn Wathab read: "Pus" with a doubled 's', and it is an adjective that has taken the place of the described, as if He, exalted and glorified is He, said: "And a drink that is pus," meaning a liquid from their bodies.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿A reward in accordance﴾ means: for their deeds and their disbelief, that is: it is their reward that is fitting for them, corresponding with the warning for their deeds. They are disbelief and the reward is fire. And 'they hope' Abu Ubaidah and others said: its meaning is: they fear. Others said: hope here is in its proper sense, and there is no hope except that it is accompanied by fear, and there is no fear except that it is accompanied by hope. So he mentioned one of the two categories because the intent is to express their denial as if He, exalted is He, said: indeed, they did not believe in the reckoning, so for that reason they do not hope for it nor fear it. And the majority of the people read: 'liar' with a heavy د and a broken ك, which is a source in the language of some Arabs, specifically the Yemenis. From it is the saying of one of them when he is asking for a fatwa: 'Is the throat more beloved to you or the short ones?' And from it is the saying of the poet:

I have often been deterred from my companions And from the matters whose resolution is among my cures.

And this, among them, is a source of فَعَّلَ. And Al-Tabari said: the readers did not differ in this place regarding 'liar', and I think he meant the seven. As for the rare reading, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Awf the Bedouin, and 'Isa - with differences - and Al-Amash, and Abu Rija' read: 'liar' with a broken ك and a light د. And Abdullah ibn Umar ibn Abdul Aziz read: 'liar' with a dammed ك and a heavy د on the basis that it is the plural of كاذب, and its case is accusative, as Abu Hatim said.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And everything We have enumerated﴾ means: everything whose matter is to be enumerated. And in this news is a connection of the parts of the story with its beginning, that is: they are deniers and disbelievers, and we have enumerated. So the saying to them in the Hereafter is: 'Taste, for We will not increase you except in punishment.' And Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, used to say: no verse has been revealed concerning the people of the Fire that is more severe than His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So taste, for We will not increase you except in punishment.﴾ And it was narrated by Abu Huraira from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him.

And when He, exalted is He, mentioned the affair of the people of the Fire, He followed it with the mention of the people of Paradise to clarify the difference. And 'the victory' is the place of success; because they were removed from the Fire and entered Paradise. And 'the gardens' are the orchards which have walls or enclosures. And 'equal in age' means: of one age. And 'the two companions' are those who touched the soil at the same time. And 'the abundant' is what the majority said, and Ibn Jubair and Mujahid said its meaning is: the following, and it is from الدهق. And Ikrimah said: it is the pure. And in Al-Bukhari, Ibn Abbas said: I heard Ubayy in the pre-Islamic period saying to the cupbearer: 'Pour us a cup that is abundant.' And 'the idle talk' is the useless speech, and it is of types. And the saying regarding 'liar' has preceded, except that Al-Kisai among the seven read in this place 'liar' with a lightening, and it is a source, and from it is the saying of Al-A'sha:

The interpreters have differed regarding His saying, exalted is He: "a reckoning." The majority of the commentators and linguists said: Its meaning is: sufficient, from their saying: "I reckon this matter for me," meaning it is enough for me, and from it, "Allah is sufficient for me." Mujahid said its meaning is: "a reckoning" means equitable concerning deeds, because the very entry into Paradise is by the mercy of Allah and His grace, not by deeds. The ranks in it and the blessings are according to the deeds. If Allah, exalted is He, multiplies the good deeds of a people by seven hundred times, then among them is the one who does many deeds and the one who does few; each one takes seven hundred according to his deeds. And likewise in every multiplication, so the reckoning is in accordance with the deeds of the people. The majority read "a reckoning" with a broken 'ḥā' and a light open 'sīn.' Ibn Qutaybah read "a reckoning" with a opened 'ḥā' and a stressed 'sīn.' Abu al-Fath said: It came with the name from 'af'ala on 'fiʿāl' as they said: "adraka" and he is: "dirāk." Ibn Abbas and Sirāj read: "a good reward" with a 'nūn' from 'ḥusn.' Al-Mahdawi narrated from him that he read: "ḥasiba" with an opened 'ḥā' and a silent 'sīn' and with a 'bā.' Shurayḥ ibn Yazid al-Ḥimṣī read: "ḥisāb" with a broken 'ḥā' and a stressed open 'sīn.' Nafiʿ, Abu ʿAmr, al-Aʿraj, Abu Jaʿfar, Shaybah, and the people of the two sacred places read: "the Lord" in the nominative, and likewise "the Most Merciful." Ibn ʿAmir, ʿĀsim, Ibn Masʿūd, Ibn Abī Isḥāq, Ibn Muḥaysin, and al-Aʿmash read: "the Lord" in the genitive, and likewise "the Most Merciful." Hamzah and al-Kisāʾī read: "the Lord" in the genitive and "the Most Merciful" in the nominative, which is the reading of al-Ḥasan, Ibn Waththāb, al-Aʿmash, and Ibn Muḥaysin, with differences among them. The aspects of these readings are clear. And His saying, exalted is He: "They do not possess from Him any speech," the pronoun refers to the disbelievers, meaning: they do not possess from His favors and generosity to speak to Him with an excuse or otherwise, and this is in a specific context.