Surah As-Saffat, Ayah 71

فَانظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـقِبَةُ الْمُنذَرِينَ إِلاَّ عِبَادَ اللَّهِ الْمُخْلَصِينَ

(Then see what was the end of those who were warned. Except the chosen servants of Allah).

By saying: طَلْعُهَا كَأَنَّهُ رُ‌ءُوسُ الشَّيَاطِينِ (Its fruits are like the heads of the shaitans.- 65), the fruits of zaqqum have been likened to the heads of the satans. Some commentators have translated the word: الشَّيَاطِينِ (ash-shayatin) in this verse as 'serpents' since the fruit of zaqqum resembles the hood of the serpent. Therefore, in Urdu and Hindi too, it is called 'nagphan' (hood of the serpent) for this very reason. But most

commentators have said that the word: الشَّيَاطِينِ (ash-shayatin) here should be taken in its well-recognized sense. Thus, it would mean that, in its ugliness, the fruit of zaqqum is like the head of the satans. Now, let there be no doubt here that nobody has seen the Shaitan, why then, would something be likened to him? The reason is that it is an imaginative simile. Speaking metaphorically, things ugly and grotesque are commonly likened to Shaitans, Jinns and ghosts. The purpose is only to express an extreme degree of ugliness. The simile used here is also of this very nature. (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani and others).

The sense of the rest of the verses is clear from their translation.

Paradise will be a world of aesthetic and noble activity. There will be interesting meetings; there will be enjoyable experiences; intellectually stimulating conversations and all kinds of limitations and unpleasantness will have come to an end. Believing in the Hereafter does not mean a simple acceptance of it but rather considering the existence of the Hereafter as so very real and so very important that its concept should prevail over one’s entire life and one should be prepared to risk one’s all for its sake. Those who had thought of believers who were ever conscious of the Hereafter as being mad will be wonderstruck on seeing their success in the Hereafter. On the other hand, the believers in the Hereafter themselves will be surprised to see their own glory, finding it difficult to believe that God could have rewarded them so generously for their small acts of goodness. How strange is one who does not pine for such a heaven and who does not perform such deeds as will help him achieve it.