Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (Abiding therein for ages)
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Exegesis of His saying, the Exalted: (Abiding therein for ages)
Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Naba: 23] Meaning: remaining therein for ages;Meaning: long periods, and the Noble Qur'an has indicated that these periods have no end, and that they are eternal periods, as is explicitly stated in three verses of the Book of Allah: -In Surat al-Nisa, in the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Nisa: 168-169] .
-And in Surat al-Ahzab: [Al-Ahzab: 64-65] .
-And in Surat al-Jinn, in the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Jinn: 23] .
If Allah has explicitly stated in three verses of His Book that the inhabitants of the Fire are to remain therein forever, then it follows that the Fire must remain forever,And this is the position of the people of the Sunnah and the community: that the Fire and Paradise are created entities that will never cease to exist. There is a slight disagreement among some of the people of the Sunnah regarding the eternity of the Fire, and they claimed that it is not eternal, citing arguments that are in reality mere doubts with no proof for their position when compared to the other evidence; thus, it is a disagreement where the dissenting view and its proponent are not to be relied upon.
It is obligatory for the believer to believe in what the Book of Allah indicates with a clear indication that does not admit of figurative interpretation, and the verses, as you have heard, are all clear, decisive verses to which abrogation or ambiguity does not apply. The reason abrogation does not apply to them is that they are reports, and the reports of Allah the Mighty and Majestic are not abrogated, nor are the reports of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); because the abrogation of one report by another necessitates that one of them is a lie: either intentionally by the reporter, or out of ignorance of the situation, and all of this is impossible in the report of Allah and the report of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) which is based on revelation.
The important point, my brothers, is that it is obligatory for us to believe in two matters: The first matter: the existence of Paradise and the Fire now.
The evidence for this from the Qur'an and the Sunnah is abundant,Among them is His saying, the Exalted: AND HASTEN TO A FORGIVENESS FROM YOUR LORD AND A GARDEN EXTENDED IN WIDTH, THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, PREPARED FOR THE RIGHTEOUS) [Al-Imran: 133] Preparation is making ready, and this verb (PREPARED) is a past tense verb indicating that the preparation has taken place,And Allah the Exalted also said regarding the Fire:[Ali 'Imran 3:131] Preparation is making a thing ready, and the verb here is past tense indicating that it has occurred. The Sunnah has explicitly stated this, in that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Paradise and saw the Fire.
The second matter: Believing that they are two eternal abodes; whoever enters them and is among their people will remain in them forever. As for Paradise, whoever enters it will not be brought out of it,As Allah the Exalted said: AND THEY WILL NOT BE BROUGHT OUT OF IT [Al-Hijr: 48] , and as for the Fire, the sinners among the believers will enter it for as long as Allah wills them to remain in it, and then their destination will be Paradise, as attested by the authentic reports from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
So His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): [Al-Naba: 23] does not indicate in any way that these ages are eternal,Meaning: until a limit and then they end,Rather, the meaning is: many ages with no end.
Allah the Exalted said:
In which they will remain for ages [unending].
لابِثِينَ فِيهَا أَحْقَاباً(168) Indeed, those who disbelieve and commit wrong [or injustice] - never will Allah forgive them, nor will He guide them to a path. (169) Except the path of Hell; they will abide therein forever. And that, for Allah, is [always] easy.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَظَلَمُوا لَمْ يَكُنِ اللَّهُ لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَلا لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ طَرِيقاً * إِلَّا طَرِيقَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَداً وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيراً-And in Surat al-Ahzab:
(64) Indeed, Allah has cursed the disbelievers and prepared for them a Blaze. (65) Abiding therein forever, they will not find a protector or a helper.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَعَنَ الْكَافِرِينَ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ سَعِيراً * خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَداً لا يَجِدُونَ وَلِيّاً وَلا نَصِيراً-And in Surat al-Jinn, in the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger - then indeed, for him is the fire of Hell; they will abide therein forever.
وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَإِنَّ لَهُ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَداًIf Allah has explicitly stated in three verses of His Book that the inhabitants of the Fire are to remain therein forever, then it follows that the Fire must remain forever,And this is the position of the people of the Sunnah and the community: that the Fire and Paradise are created entities that will never cease to exist. There is a slight disagreement among some of the people of the Sunnah regarding the eternity of the Fire, and they claimed that it is not eternal, citing arguments that are in reality mere doubts with no proof for their position when compared to the other evidence; thus, it is a disagreement where the dissenting view and its proponent are not to be relied upon.
It is obligatory for the believer to believe in what the Book of Allah indicates with a clear indication that does not admit of figurative interpretation, and the verses, as you have heard, are all clear, decisive verses to which abrogation or ambiguity does not apply. The reason abrogation does not apply to them is that they are reports, and the reports of Allah the Mighty and Majestic are not abrogated, nor are the reports of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); because the abrogation of one report by another necessitates that one of them is a lie: either intentionally by the reporter, or out of ignorance of the situation, and all of this is impossible in the report of Allah and the report of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) which is based on revelation.
The important point, my brothers, is that it is obligatory for us to believe in two matters: The first matter: the existence of Paradise and the Fire now.
The evidence for this from the Qur'an and the Sunnah is abundant,Among them is His saying, the Exalted: AND HASTEN TO A FORGIVENESS FROM YOUR LORD AND A GARDEN EXTENDED IN WIDTH, THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, PREPARED FOR THE RIGHTEOUS) [Al-Imran: 133] Preparation is making ready, and this verb (PREPARED) is a past tense verb indicating that the preparation has taken place,And Allah the Exalted also said regarding the Fire:
And fear the Fire, which has been prepared for the disbelievers.
وَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ) [آل عمران:١٣١]The second matter: Believing that they are two eternal abodes; whoever enters them and is among their people will remain in them forever. As for Paradise, whoever enters it will not be brought out of it,As Allah the Exalted said: AND THEY WILL NOT BE BROUGHT OUT OF IT [Al-Hijr: 48] , and as for the Fire, the sinners among the believers will enter it for as long as Allah wills them to remain in it, and then their destination will be Paradise, as attested by the authentic reports from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
So His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He):