This is the matter: or this is as mentioned, 'So evil is the resting place,' as His saying, 'For them is a resting place from Hell, and above them are canopies.' He likens what is beneath them from the fire to the resting place that the sleeper spreads out. That is: this is boiling water, so let them taste it. Or this is the punishment, so let them taste it. Then He began by saying: 'It is boiling water and a foul fluid.' Or: this is what they should taste, similar to His saying, 'And fear Me alone.' That is, let them taste this. The foul fluid, with both light and heavy pronunciation, is what flows from the pus of the people of the Fire. It is said: 'The eye flowed' when its tears flowed. It is said: 'The boiling water burns with its heat, and the foul fluid burns with its coldness.' It is said: 'If a drop of it were to fall in the east, it would cause the people of the west to smell bad, and if a drop of it were to fall in the west, it would cause the people of the east to smell bad.' And from Al-Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him, the foul fluid is a punishment that only Allah, the Exalted, knows.

Indeed, the people concealed obedience to Allah, so He concealed for them a reward in His saying, 'No soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for the eyes.' And they concealed disobedience, so He concealed for them a punishment. And another, and other tastes similar to this taste, of the same severity and horror, are pairs of kinds. And it was recited: 'And another,' meaning: and another punishment. Or another taste.

And pairs are an attribute of 'another,' because it may be types. Or an attribute of the three, which are boiling water, foul fluid, and another of its kind. And it was recited: 'of its kind,' with a kasra [the vowel mark indicating a short 'i' sound]. This is a language. As for 'the shape,' it is only with a kasra. This is a dense group that has rushed in with you. This is a large gathering that has entered the Fire in your company and association. Rushing in means to take on severity and enter into it. 'Al-Qahma' refers to severity. This is a narration of the words of the tyrants among themselves, meaning: they say this. The intended meaning of 'the group' is their followers who have rushed into misguidance with them, so they rush into punishment with them. 'No welcome for them' is a curse from them upon their followers. You say to one whom you invite: 'Welcome,' meaning: you have come from a spacious land, not a narrow one; or your land is spacious. Then you enter upon him 'no' in a curse.

And with them is a statement for those who are called upon, that they are the fuel of the Fire. This is a justification for their deserving the curse upon them. Similar to His saying, 'Whenever a nation enters, it curses its sister.' It is said: This is a group that has stormed in with you: the words of the keepers to the leaders of the disbelievers regarding their followers. And 'No welcome for them, for they are the fuel of the Fire' is the speech of the leaders. It is said: All of this is the speech of the keepers. They said, 'But you are the ones who deserve no welcome,' meaning the curse that you invoked upon us, you are more deserving of it. They justified this by saying, 'You have brought it upon us,' and the pronoun refers to the punishment or to their crucifixion. If you say: What is the meaning of them bringing the punishment upon themselves? I say: The one who brings it is the one who commits the evil deed. Allah, the Most High, said, 'Taste the punishment of the burning; that is because of what your own hands have sent before.' However, since the leaders were the cause of it by leading them astray, and the punishment was a recompense for them because of it, it was said, 'You have brought it upon us.' Thus, the leaders are made the ones who brought it, and the recompense is what has been brought. Two metaphors are combined here, for the doers are the ones who truly bring it, not their leaders, and the deed is what is brought, not its recompense. If you say: Then what about the statement 'No welcome for them' being from the words of the keepers? What is to be made of the statement 'But you are the ones who deserve no welcome,' and the addressees—meaning their leaders—did not speak in a way that would make this a response to them? I say: It is as if it was said: This is what the keepers invoked upon us; you, O leaders, are more deserving of it than we are because of your leading us astray and your causing us to be in the punishment we are in. This is correct, just as if a people beautified for another people some faults, and they committed them, and it was said to the beautifiers: May Allah disgrace these; how evil is their deed? The beautifier would then say to the beautifiers: Rather, you are more deserving of disgrace than we are; if it were not for you, we would not have committed that. They said, 'They are the followers as well.' 'So increase for him a punishment double,' meaning multiplied. Its meaning is: of double severity. Similar to His saying, 'Our Lord, these have led us astray, so give them a punishment double.' This means to increase upon his punishment like it, so it becomes doubled, as Allah, the Most Exalted, said, 'Our Lord, give them double the punishment.' And curse them with a great curse; the story is one. Ahmad said: And in it is evidence that the two doubles are two from one thing, contrary to what others have said, because in one place it was said, 'So increase for him a punishment double,' and the intended meaning is: like his punishment, so there would be two punishments. And in two places it was said, 'double,' and the intended meaning is: of two punishments. And it has come in the interpretation, 'a punishment double': snakes and scorpions.