37:71 As-Saaffaat (Those drawn up in Ranks)

{ وَلَقَدْ ضَلَّ قَبْلَهُمْ } أي: قبل هؤلاء المخاطبين { أَكْثَرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ } وقليل منهم آمن واهتدى.

يخبر تعالى عن الأمم الماضية أن أكثرهم كانوا ضالين يجعلون مع الله آلهة أخرى.

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).

And verily most of the ancients of past communities went astray before them

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.