11-96 And certainly We sent Moses with Our signs and a clear authority,
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَىٰ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَسُلْطَـٰنٍۢ مُّبِينٍ (۹۶)
11-97 To Pharaoh and his chiefs, but they followed the bidding of Pharaoh; and Pharaoh’s bidding was not right-directing.
إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَإِي۟هِۦ فَٱتَّبَعُوٓا۟ أَمْرَ فِرْعَوْنَ ۖ وَمَآ أَمْرُ فِرْعَوْنَ بِرَشِيدٍۢ (۹۷)
11-98 He will lead his people on the day of Resurrection, and bring them down to the Fire. And evil the place to which they are brought!a
يَقْدُمُ قَوْمَهُۥ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ فَأَوْرَدَهُمُ ٱلنَّارَ ۖ وَبِئْسَ ٱلْوِرْدُ ٱلْمَوْرُودُ (۹۸)
11-98a: أَوْرَد – دُرُودis arriving at water and is also used for arriving at some other thing. Here, and elsewhere in the Quran, أَوْرَد is used in the context of fire, that is instead of water they will find fire (R). The use of وَرَد is only for arriving but before entering it, as in وَلَمَّا وَرَدَ مَآءَ مَدْيَنَ (And when he came to the water at Midian) (28:23). When a person has reached a town but has not yet entered it, it is described as وَرَدَ بَلَدَ کذا . However, according to some وَرَدَ can be used regardless of whether a person has just reached or entered. According to Jauhari ورود is used for a group reaching a place but before they have entered (LA). وِرۡد are those people or camels who reach the water. The watering place is called وِرۡد and وِرۡد is also the repeated recitation of a portion of the Quran (LA). The meaning of وَارِد is a person who goes in advance to bring water, as in فَأَرْسَلُوا۟ وَارِدَهُمْ (and they sent their water-drawer) (12:19) (R).
11-99 And they are overtaken by a curse in this (world), and on the day of Resurrection. Evil the gift which shall be given!a
وَأُتْبِعُوا۟ فِى هَـٰذِهِۦ لَعْنَةًۭ وَيَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ ۚ بِئْسَ ٱلرِّفْدُ ٱلْمَرْفُودُ (۹۹)
11-99a: رفد – رِفۡد is a gift, and رَفۡدٌ is gave a gift (R).
11-100 This is an account of the towns which We relate to thee. Of them are some that stand and (others) mown down.
ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ أَنۢبَآءِ ٱلْقُرَىٰ نَقُصُّهُۥ عَلَيْكَ ۖ مِنْهَا قَآئِمٌۭ وَحَصِيدٌۭ (۱۰۰)
11-101 And We wronged them not but they wronged themselves. And their gods whom they called upon besides Allah availed them naught when the decree of thy Lord came to pass. And they added to them naught but ruin.a
وَمَا ظَلَمْنَـٰهُمْ وَلَـٰكِن ظَلَمُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۖ فَمَآ أَغْنَتْ عَنْهُمْ ءَالِهَتُهُمُ ٱلَّتِى يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مِن شَىْءٍۢ لَّمَّا جَآءَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ ۖ وَمَا زَادُوهُمْ غَيْرَ تَتْبِيبٍۢ (۱۰۱)
11:101a: تَتْبِيبٍۢ – تَبّ and تیاب means to perish or to stay in a loss, as in تَبَّتْ يَدَآ أَبِى لَهَبٍۢ (Abu Lahab’s hands will perish) (111:1) and وَمَا كَيْدُ فِرْعَوْنَ إِلَّا فِى تَبَابٍۢ (And the plot of Pharaoh ended in naught but ruin) (40:37)
11-102 And such is the punishment of thy Lord, when He punishes the towns while they are iniquitous. Surely His punishment is painful, severe.
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَخْذُ رَبِّكَ إِذَآ أَخَذَ ٱلْقُرَىٰ وَهِىَ ظَـٰلِمَةٌ ۚ إِنَّ أَخْذَهُۥٓ أَلِيمٌۭ شَدِيدٌ (۱۰۲)
11-103 Surely there is a sign in this for him who fears the chastisement of the Hereafter. That is a day on which people will be gathered together, and that is a day to be witnessed.
إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَةًۭ لِّمَنْ خَافَ عَذَابَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمٌۭ مَّجْمُوعٌۭ لَّهُ ٱلنَّاسُ وَذَٰلِكَ يَوْمٌۭ مَّشْهُودٌۭ (۱۰۳)
11-103a: مَّشْهُود – The meaning of شہود is to be present, and مشھود here is in the meaning of شاھد that is it will definitely be witnessed or that it will definitely come (R).
11-104 And We delay it not but for an appointed term.
وَمَا نُؤَخِّرُهُۥٓ إِلَّا لِأَجَلٍۢ مَّعْدُودٍۢ (۱۰۴)
11-105 On the day when it comes, no soul will speak except by His permission; so (some) of them will be unhappy and (others) happy.a
يَوْمَ يَأْتِ لَا تَكَلَّمُ نَفْسٌ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ فَمِنْهُمْ شَقِىٌّۭ وَسَعِيدٌۭ (۱۰۵)
11-105a: شَقِىٌّۭ andسَعِيدٌۭ – شَقَاوۃ is the opposite of سعادۃ. سَعۡد and سَعَادۃ is Divine assistance rendered to a person in attaining anything good. شَقَاوۃ and سَعَادۃ can be worldly or pertaining to the Hereafter. The greatest سَعَادۃ is Paradise (R) or سَعۡد is یُمن that is a blessing.
Here the division between شَقِىٌّۭ andسَعِيدٌۭ is that those who enter paradise are سَعِيدٌۭ and those who enter hell are شَقِىٌّۭ.
11-106 Then as for those who are unhappy, they will be in the Fire; for them therein will be sighing and groaning —
فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ شَقُوا۟ فَفِى ٱلنَّارِ لَهُمْ فِيهَا زَفِيرٌۭ وَشَهِيقٌ (۱۰۶)
11-106a: زَفِيرٌۭ وَشَهِيقٌ: زَفِيرٌ is to inhale deeply until the rib cage is fully extended and شَهِيقٌ is the exhaling۔ جَبَلٌ شاھِقٌ is a high mountain and شَهِيقٌ is derived from it (R). Both the words are used in connection with hell, as in سَمِعُوا۟ لَهَا شَهِيقًۭا (hear a loud moaning) (67:7) and سَمِعُوا۟ لَهَا تَغَيُّظًۭا وَزَفِيرًۭا (they will hear its raging and roaring) (25:12). Lisan al-Arab states that the first part of the bray of a donkey is زَفِير and the last part is شَهِيق because زَفِير is to inhale and شَهِيق is to exhale. A derivative meaning from this of زَفِير is that a person’s breast is full of sorrow to which he then gives vent.
11-107 Abiding therein so long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as thy Lord please. Surely thy Lord is Doer of what He intends.
خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا مَا دَامَتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ رَبُّكَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ فَعَّالٌۭ لِّمَا يُرِيدُ (۱۰۷)
11-108 And as for those who are made happy, they will be in the Garden abiding therein so long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as thy Lord please — a gift never to be cut off.a
وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ سُعِدُوا۟ فَفِى ٱلْجَنَّةِ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا مَا دَامَتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ رَبُّكَ ۖ عَطَآءً غَيْرَ مَجْذُوذٍۢ(۱۰۸)
11-108a: مَجْذُوذٍۢ – The meaning of جَذّ is to break a thing and to destroy it, as in فَجَعَلَهُمْ جُذَٰذًا (So he broke them into pieces) (21:58). The meaning of غَيْرَ مَجْذُوذٍۢ is غیر مَقۡطُوعٍ عنہم that is it will never be cut off from them (R).
There is a clear difference here between abiding in paradise and hell. The term إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ (except as thy Lord pleases) appears in both cases but is followed in the case of hell by surely thy Lord is Doer of what He intends, that is if He intends, He can take them out of Hell, and in the case of paradise it is followed by a gift never to be cut off, that is no one will be taken out of paradise. This difference clearly indicates that hell does not have the permanency that paradise has. This draws our attention to the question whether the inmates of hell will ever be taken out of hell. Ibn Jarir has put forward four interpretations in explaining verse 11:107.
The first interpretation is that the exception granted in إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ رَبُّكَ (except as thy Lord pleases) is for inmates who believed in One God. Thus, all inmates of hell will forever stay in hell except those sinful inmates who believed during their life that there is One God.
The second interpretation is that the exception granted in إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ رَبُّكَ (except as thy Lord pleases) is for the prohibition of sinful monotheists from entering hell, that is all sinful souls will enter the fire but not so the monotheists.
The third interpretation is that إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ رَبُّكَ (except as thy Lord pleases) is a general exemption applicable to all inmates of hell, that is all sinful souls will be ultimately taken out of hell.
The fourth interpretation is that Allah has not communicated His will. He may increase or decrease the punishment as He desires.
The second of these interpretations is patently incorrect because the entry into fire of transgressing believers is clearly established from Quranic verses and hadiths. The part of the fourth explanation which states that the exception means that if God desires, He may increase the punishment of the people of the fire is on the face of it unsound because the exception is from being subjected to everlasting punishment and there can be no question about increasing or decreasing something that is everlasting. The only exception to an everlasting punishment can be to take the inmates out of hell. Thus, the only interpretations left to consider are the first and third one. A discussion of the first interpretation is taken next.
Quran makes no distinction in the everlasting punishment for believing and disbelieving sinners: According to Jamhur, disobedient but believing inmates of fire will be taken out from the fire. The Mutazilites and Khawarij disagree. According to them, those who enter the fire will forever stay in it. Jamhur’s opinion is based on those ahadith that deal with intercession. However, the question is whether the Quran has made any distinction between the punishment for disobedient believers and disbelievers. This can be readily answered. Anyone who has read the Quran can see for himself that the Quran does not makes this distinction and has prescribed the same abiding punishment for both. It has not only stated that hell is the abode for all evildoers, without making any distinction whether one does evil after believing or while being a disbeliever, but states clearly that disobedience of Allah’s commands, by which is meant those who claim to be believers, will be consigned to abasing chastisement by the fire. For example, take the verse that follows the laws of inheritance and which very clearly addresses Muslims who disobey these laws of inheritance and states: وَمَن يَعْصِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَيَتَعَدَّ حُدُودَهُۥ يُدْخِلْهُ نَارًا خَـٰلِدًۭا فِيهَا وَلَهُۥ عَذَابٌۭ مُّهِينٌۭ (And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and goes beyond His limits, He will make him enter fire to abide in it, and for him is an abasing chastisement) (4:14). In other places in the Quran as well, the punishment for the disobedience of His Messenger is described in similar words and the word ابدا has been added to it, as in: وَمَن يَعْصِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَإِنَّ لَهُۥ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًا (whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, surely for him is the Fire of hell, to abide therein for ages) (72:23). Excluding the disobeying believers from the category of whoever disobeys is patently against the wording of the Quran. So as far as the words خلود and ابدا are concerned, they are equally applicable to a transgressing monotheist and a disbeliever and if there is an exception for the one, then there is also an exception for the other. If there had been any authentic hadith of the Holy Prophet in which he had said that the exception granted in إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ رَبُّكَ is only for the monotheists, then that would have been an acceptable testament. However, a statement from any person from the generation that followed the Holy Prophet or the one that came after cannot be accepted as proof. Furthermore, in another place the Quran mentions the disbelievers who do not accept Islam and states: قَالَ ٱلنَّارُ مَثْوَىٰكُمْ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ (Allah will say: The Fire is your abode – you shall abide therein, except as Allah please) (6:128). The exception here is stated here in favor of the disbelievers, that is they can be taken out of the everlasting punishment. There remains the hadith regarding intercession and that is discussed later on.
Testimony that hell will cease to exist: There is only one explanation which is left and in support of which there is not only the statements of the Companions but also the hadith about intercession. Among the statements of the Companions, there is a saying of Ibn Abbas that the fire will consume the denizens of hell, and there is a saying of Ibn Masud:لیاتتِینَّ علیٰ جہنم زمان تُخۡفَقُ ابوابُھا لَیۡس فیھا احدٌ و ذلك بعد ما یَلۡبَثُونَ فیھا اَحۡقابا (A time will come when the doors of hell will be knocked but there will be no one in it, and this will happen after those who had resided in it had lived there for aeons). Both these sayings are cited in Ibn Jarir. Another citation there is by Shobi which states: جہنم اَسۡرَعُ الدَّارین عِمۡراناً و اَسۡرَ عُہما خراباً (The house of hell is the quicker to construct out of the two houses and in terms of being deserted will also be the earliest to be deserted). In the explanation of this verse in Tafsir Fatah ul Bayan, Shobi cites Munadi al Kabir whose summary is as follows: The punishment of the disbelievers will be to abide in hell forever; apart from this, the rest of the statements are subject to interpretation. For example, the statement of Sheikh Mohyuddin Ibn Arabi that the chastisement of the people in hell will last for a time, but then their nature will adapt to it and for this reason, they will even begin to derive pleasure from it. Another opinion is that fulfilling the promise of punishment is a commendable affair but an admonition that is not followed by chastisement is not. In fact, going beyond the promised punishment is a commendable affair. He has further written that there is a group that believes that hell will ultimately be destroyed because Allah has decreed a time for it and when it reaches that time, it will be destroyed. It is then stated that Sheih ul Islam Ibn Taymiyya has collected statements of Companions, and from a party of second generation Muslims (Tabbaiin) that hell will ultimately be destroyed, and Ibn Qayyim has supported this view. However, Jamhur claims this belief to be obsolete and says that it is only the disobedient believers who will be taken out of hell and not the disbelievers. After reproducing these statements, Fatah al Bayan goes on to cite statements favorable to the other point of view that hell is only transitory by first giving a statement by Umar which states:
لو لَبِثَ اھلُ النارِ فی النار کقدرِ رَمۡلٍ عَلِجٍ لکان لہم علی ذٰلك یومٌ یُخۡرجون فیهِ (Even if the dwellers of hell stay in hell for as many years as the grains in heaps of sand, a day will come when they will be taken out of it) and has termed its transmitters trustworthy. There is a saying also of Abu Hurairah: سیاتی علی جہنم زمانٌ لا یبقَی فیھا احدٌ (A time will come when there will be no one in hell). Fatah ul Bayan then goes on to reproduce the statement of Ibn Masud already cited above and of Ibn Umar, and the statement of Ibn al Aas: لیأتِیَنَّ علیٰ جہنم یوم تُصۡفَقُ فیھا ابوابُھا لَیۡس فیھا احدٌ (A time will come when the doors of hell will be closed, and no one will remain in it). It is further stated in this book that there are other statements from the Companions that have been narrated by previous writers just like the statements of Ibn Umar, Abu Hurairah, and Ibn Masud, and include statements by for example Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar, Jabar and Abi Saeed. There are also similar statements from the second-generation Muslims as well. Finally, Fatah ul Bayan concludes that this proves the credibility of what Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim have stated and proves the weakness of the views of Ibn Hajar and Munadi. This is in fact true because the view that only the disobedient believers will be taken out of hell and the disbelievers will stay in hell is in no way tenable in light of the statements by the Companions. The statements that the doors of hell will be closed, there will be nobody left in hell, that all will be taken out from it, shows clearly that the chastisement of hell is not infinite.
The hadith of intercession also supports this conclusion. An authentic hadith states: شَفَعَت الملا ئکةُ و شَفَع النّبیّون و شَفَع المومنونَ و لم یَبۡقَ اِلَّا ارحمُ الراحمین فَیَقۡبِضُ قَبۡضةً من النَّار فَیُخۡرج منہا قوماً لم یعملوا خیراً قَطُّ (Allah will say the angels have interceded, the prophets have interceded, and the believers have interceded, and now the Most Merciful of the merciful is left. He will take a handful from the dwellers of hell and will take these people out who had never done anything good) (Muslim). This hadith clearly shows that there is first three types of intercession, namely of angels, prophets, and believers. It is obvious that the intercession by the believers is very limited and is for those with a relationship with the intercessor, beyond that is a broader intercession by the prophets which is for their followers. After that is the intercession of the angels whose sphere of intercession is even greater and is for all those who did good deeds. Finally, ارحمُ الراحمین (the Most Merciful of the Merciful) will take out from hell a people that had no connection with a believer, nor with a prophet, nor with the motivators of goodness, that is the angels, and hence there is no goodness associated with them. Now, there can be no one left outside the handful of God: وَٱلْأَرْضُ جَمِيعًۭا قَبْضَتُهُۥ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ وَٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ مَطْوِيَّـٰتٌۢ بِيَمِينِهِۦ ۚ(and the whole earth will be in His grip on the day of Resurrection and the heavens rolled up in His right hand) (39:67).
In the light of the above narration, a discussion about خلود and ابد is futile because the خلود and ابد for the sinful Muslims and the disbelievers is the same. There is no difference for the two and whatever can create an exception for the one can also create an exception for the other. For the meaning of خلود see 2-25b where it is shown that it does not necessarily mean eternity but means abiding a long period. As far as the word ابد is concerned, Al-Mufradat states in the meaning of تَبَّدَ الشَّئُ that it is و یُعَبَّرُ بَهٖ عَمَّا یَبۡقیٰ مُدَّۃً طَوِیۡلَةً (it is taken to mean a thing that will abide for a long time). Further, in the Arabic language, ابد has a plural اٰباد and if its meaning had been eternity then it could not have a plural. In addition, it has an intensive form اَبَدُ – اَبَدٍ – ابِیدٍ and if its meaning had been only limitless time and eternity then it could not have an intensive form. Imam Raghib states that the fact is that there should not have been a plural of ابد as it is inconceivable that one ابد can be joined with another ابد but the plural اٰباد is used and this is because sometimes ابد is taken to be a specified period and اٰباد is made its plural even though nothing can be said to be a part of a limitless period. This is similar to the situation in which a generic noun is sometimes appropriated for chosen individuals and the dual and plural forms are then created for it, The crux of this explanation is that the word ابد can be used for a specified long period of time as well as for a limitless period of time. Even if it is taken to mean a limitless time, the exception created by إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ رَبُّكَ (except as thy Lord pleases) allows the dwellers of hell to be taken out of eternal punishment and this is further substantiated from another place in the Quran where it is stated: لَّـٰبِثِينَ فِيهَآ أَحْقَابًۭا (Living therein for long years) (78:23). This clearly shows that the ابد of hell is a limited time in contrast with the ابد of heaven for which no word is used which is spoken only for a limited period such as the word أَحْقَاب which is the plural of حقبة . Further the everlasting nature of heaven has been made clear by certifying its ابدیت with عَطَآءً غَيْرَ مَجْذُوذٍۢ (a gift never to be cut off). This shows that the blessings of heaven are eternal.
11-109 So be not thou in doubt as to that which these worship. They worship only as their fathers worshipped before. And surely We shall pay them in full their due undiminished.
فَلَا تَكُ فِى مِرْيَةٍۢ مِّمَّا يَعْبُدُ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ ۚ مَا يَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُهُم مِّن قَبْلُ ۚ وَإِنَّا لَمُوَفُّوهُمْ نَصِيبَهُمْ غَيْرَ مَنقُوصٍۢ (۱۰۹)
Bayan-ul-Quran 