His words, Exalted is He:

Some faces on that day will be humbled,

That is, [they will face] humiliation (dhalīla), because God, Exalted is He, had ordered them to submit, become humble, and show neediness towards Him in this life, but they did not, so He brought them low in the Hereafter with everlasting humiliation (dhilla bāqiya).^{1MSS Z515, f. 132b, F638, f. 65a have madhalla whereas F3488, f. 315a and the published edition have dhilla.}

His words, Exalted is He:

toiling, weary,

That is, toiling in this world with innovations (bidaʿ)^{1All the MSS (Z515, f. 132b, F638, f. 65a and F3488, f. 315a) have simply al-bidaʿ instead of anwāʿ al-bidaʿ as in the published edition.} and aberrations (ḍalālāt), weary in the Hereafter from the punishment in the lowest regions of Hell (darakāt).

made to drink from a boiling spring,

That is, from a spring of pus whose heat has reached its extreme, which He also called ḥamīm ʾān [55:44], meaning that it has reached its ultimate degree of heat.

His words, Exalted is He:

Other faces on that day will be radiant with bliss,

That is, [in] blessing (niʿma) and honour (karāma).

pleased with their efforts,

in the Hereafter.^{1That is, in this world they should only have an eye on the shortcomings and inadequacy of their efforts.}

His words, Exalted is He:

Therein is a flowing spring,^{1That is, in the lofty garden (vs. 10) in which the blessed will find themselves in Paradise.}

flowing [freely] (muṭṭarada), without [being impeded] by any furrow (ghayr ukhdūd).

and therein are raised couches,

That is, raised beds, upon each of which are seventy mattresses (firāsh) each as lofty as a high palace (ghurfa) of this world.^{1According to Winter’s translation of Ghazālī’s Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, Kitāb Dhikr al-mawt, p. 237, n. A., the word ghurfa (root gh-r-f) has been traditionally associated with the idea of ‘exaltation’. See for example Tirmidhī, Nawādir al-uṣūl, vol. 3, pp. 93–4, and al-Murtaḍā al-Zabīdī, who in his Itḥāf al-sāda al-muttaqīn bi-sharḥ asrār Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn (Cairo, 1894), vol. 10, p. 528, defines ghuraf (plural of ghurfa) as ‘high palaces’.}

Sahl said:

God, Exalted is He, mentioned these bounties to make it [Paradise] enticing for them. While He warns them that His punishment is in proportion to His authority (sulṭān), [He also informs them that] His generosity (karāma) is in proportion to His tremendousness (ʿaẓīm al-shaʾn) and authority (sulṭān). However, the hearts of the disbelievers in Mecca did not benefit from this, even though He reminded them of His omnipotence (qudra), in order that they might take a lesson [from it].

Then He says, Exalted is He:

Will they not consider the camels, how they are made?

In its inner meaning it is a command for the believers to humble themselves before Him and declare their neediness for Him. He says: ‘Consider the camels, how they have been created and how, notwithstanding their make up and their strength, they yield to a boy driving them without showing bewilderment (taḥayyur), and without choosing to do anything else.’^{1The use of the word bewilderment (taḥayyur) is interesting here because the related word ḥayra can have the meaning of being confused in one’s faith by doubt based on one’s own reasoning (or lack of it). In Sufism, however, ḥayra and taḥayyur can have other more positive meanings. See, for example, Hujwīrī, Kashf al-maḥjūb, p. 401; trans. Nicholson, p. 275: ‘Gnosis is continual amazement (al-maʿrifa dawām al-ḥayra)’. See also Ibn ʿArabī’s explanations of ḥayra, translated by William Chittick in his Sufi Path of Knowledge (Albany, NY, 1989), pp. 3, 114, 211, 296 and 380; and several examples cited in Keeler, Sufi Hermeneutics, pp. 194, 251–3; and 258–9.} Thus, you are not incapable of being with your Lord as the camel is with its owner, and this is why the Messenger ﷺ said: ‘Be for your Lord as the yielding camel’,^{2The editor of the Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya edition notes that this may be an allusion to a ḥadīth which appears in Nīsābūrī, al-Mustadrak, vol. 1, p. 130: Inna’l-muʾmin ka’l-jamali’l-anif.} meaning compliant (miṭwāʿ).^{3All the MSS (Z515, f. 132b, F638, f. 65a and F3488, f. 315b) have miṭwāʿ.}

But God, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows best.