The Meaning of Eternity
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner asks: How do we understand the verse in Surat al-Nisa' where Allah the Exalted says:[An-Nisa 4:93]? This verse contains a severe warning because it uses the word "eternity." So how do we respond to the Khawarij who cite it as evidence?
Answer:
The scholars have agreed that no one remains in the Fire eternally in the same way the disbelievers do. Rather, they remain for a temporary eternity. A temporary eternity means a long duration. Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) does not say that he remains in the Fire forever. That is the view of the Khawarij. Rather, he says that he must be punished.
He must be punished. Other scholars say it is under Allah's will: if Allah wills, He forgives him, and if He wills, He punishes him. As for Ibn 'Abbas, he says: No, he must be punished. But he does not say that he remains in the Fire as the disbelievers remain. No one from the people of the Sunnah has said that.
The questioner asks: How do we understand the verse in Surat al-Nisa' where Allah the Exalted says:
But whoever kills a believer intentionally
وَمَن يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُّتَعَمِّدًاAnswer:
The scholars have agreed that no one remains in the Fire eternally in the same way the disbelievers do. Rather, they remain for a temporary eternity. A temporary eternity means a long duration. Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) does not say that he remains in the Fire forever. That is the view of the Khawarij. Rather, he says that he must be punished.
He must be punished. Other scholars say it is under Allah's will: if Allah wills, He forgives him, and if He wills, He punishes him. As for Ibn 'Abbas, he says: No, he must be punished. But he does not say that he remains in the Fire as the disbelievers remain. No one from the people of the Sunnah has said that.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، معنى الخلود\صالح الفوزان\كبار العلماء — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.