Discussion of the issue of the extinction of the Fire, and the statements of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim regarding it.

The Shaykh : ... His Shaykh, Ibn Taymiyyah, that the scholars have two positions on this issue: one is that the Fire does not cease, and the other is that it ceases and no trace of it remains forever.
Ibn al-Qayyim relates this from his Shaykh, but does not mention that he preferred one position over the other. As for Ibn al-Qayyim himself, he elaborated on these two positions after this report with a sufficient explanation, mentioning the evidence for each and discussing them. Then he concluded by directing the reader’s attention to look carefully at the evidence of both groups and to choose from that what appears to him to be the truth.
First: regarding Ibn Taymiyyah, it is not reported from him that he adopted one of the two positions.
Second: some later scholars mention that Ibn Taymiyyah adopted the position of the Fire’s annihilation. Personally, I have not seen him explicitly state this in any of his books. Rather, I found in a manuscript in the "Zahiriyyah Library" in the handwriting of "Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Hadi al-Hanbali." This man appears to have been a scribe, or rather a copyist... the letters in the "Zahiriyyah Library" in his handwriting. I do not mean a copyist in the sense of a mere scribe, but rather a scholar who was a copyist, because he has many letters in his own handwriting and authorship. Among these letters is an interesting one.
Before the existence of the Zahiriyyah Library, there were many endowment libraries in various locations in Damascus. One was called the "Al-'Umarriyyah Library." When these manuscripts were gathered from these private libraries, they were collected and placed in the Zahiriyyah Library. So the manuscripts currently in the Zahiriyyah Library are actually a collection from libraries that were scattered since ancient times in Islamic households. Among these endowment libraries is the Al-'Umarriyyah Library. "Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Hadi" has a specific letter listing the endowment manuscripts in the Al-'Umarriyyah Library, and this letter is very useful.

The questioner: A catalog.

The Shaykh: Yes, a catalog. Among what he mentions is a letter from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah regarding the non-annihilation of the Fire, or stating the permanence of the Fire. This is Ibn Taymiyyah. This is what concerns Ibn Taymiyyah.

Eid Abbasi: But I did not find this.

The Shaykh: I have not seen it, unfortunately.

Eid Abbasi: Glory be to Allah!

The Shaykh: As for Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, he addressed the issue as we mentioned, in the manner we indicated in the previously mentioned book, "Shifa' al-'Alil." He also addressed this issue in the manner mentioned in his other book, "Hadi al-Arwah ila Bilad al-Afrah." There too, you do not get an explicit opinion from him regarding his inclination toward one of the two positions mentioned. However, he orders the reader to take what the evidence indicates. But I found for Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah an explicit statement that can be considered and relied upon; I found another statement by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah on this issue that can be considered the decisive word in it. He mentioned in his book "al-Wabil al-Sayb fi Sharh al-Kalim al-Tayyib" that the Fire is two fires: a Fire that ceases and a Fire that remains and does not cease. The Fire that ceases is the Fire of the monotheists, and the Fire that remains and does not cease is the Fire of the disbelievers. And Allah is sufficient for the believers in fighting.
And peace be upon you.

Those present: And upon you peace.