What is the response to those who say that the Fire is not eternal, citing Allah’s statement about the people of the Fire: “Abiding therein as long as the heavens and the earth exist”?
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The Shaykh : Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner :[Hud 11:106] Abiding therein.
The Shaykh :[Hud 11:106] .
The questioner :[Hud 11:106-107] .
The Shaykh :[Hud 11:107] .
The questioner :[Hud 11:107] So, Shaykh, how do we respond to this doubt?
The Shaykh : We respond to them with a very easy response from two angles. The first angle is that Allah said something similar regarding Paradise, saying:[Hud 11:108] Do they then say that Paradise is not eternal?
They do not say that, because Allah said:[Hud 11:108] But here He said: [Hud 11:107] And the difference between the two is apparent.
Paradise is a favor and a blessing, so Allah indicated the effect of the favor and blessing in it, saying:[Hud 11:108] As for the Fire, it is retribution and justice, so Allah concluded it with His saying: What? [Hud 11:107] And from His doing what He wills, that He keeps these people in the Fire for eternity, do you understand?
This is from one angle. The second angle is: suppose this verse is problematic and we do not know the reason for the exception in it. Is it the way of those firmly grounded in knowledge to take the ambiguous and leave the clear, or to take the clear and leave the ambiguous? The latter.
So, the clear texts for us are three verses from the Qur’an:[An-Nisa 4:57] Three clear verses from the Qur’an. So why do we turn away from them to something doubtful that allows for multiple interpretations?
We do not do this, because this is the action of those in whose hearts is deviation, who follow what is ambiguous therein. For this reason, we find that the people of the Sunnah and the community mention in their books that Paradise and the Fire currently exist and that they will not be destroyed.
If someone asks: How does Allah the Exalted place this disbeliever in the Fire for eternity? We say: Because this disbeliever spent his entire worldly life in disobedience to Allah the Exalted, so Allah spent his entire afterlife in His punishment.
Then, was this disbeliever left alone without a warner coming to him? A warner came to him:[An-Nisa 4:165] With clear signs, upon which humans believe. So he has no excuse, neither in this world nor in the Hereafter. The eternality of the Fire and those in it does not contradict wisdom; rather, it is the ultimate wisdom. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The questioner :
As for those who were [destined to be] wretched, they will be in the Fire
فأما الذين شقوا ففي النارThe Shaykh :
For them therein is [violent] exhaling and inhaling.
لَهُمْ فِيهَا زَفِيرٌ وَشَهِيقٌThe questioner :
For them therein is [violent] exhaling and inhaling. (107) [They will be] abiding therein
لَهُمْ فِيهَا زَفِيرٌ وَشَهِيقٌ * خَالِدِينَ فِيهَاThe Shaykh :
as long as the heavens and the earth endure
مَا دَامَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُThe questioner :
as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except what your Lord should will
مَا دَامَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ رَبُّكَThe Shaykh : We respond to them with a very easy response from two angles. The first angle is that Allah said something similar regarding Paradise, saying:
And as for those who were [destined to be] prosperous, they will be in Paradise, abiding therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except what your Lord should will
وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ سُعِدُوا فَفِي الْجَنَّةِ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا مَا دَامَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ رَبُّكَThey do not say that, because Allah said:
a bestowal uninterrupted.
عَطَاءً غَيْرَ مَجْذُوذٍIndeed, your Lord is an effecter of what He intends.
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ فَعَّالٌ لِمَا يُرِيدُParadise is a favor and a blessing, so Allah indicated the effect of the favor and blessing in it, saying:
a bestowal uninterrupted.
عَطَاءً غَيْرَ مَجْذُوذٍIndeed, your Lord
إِنَّ رَبَّكَan effecter of what He intends.
فَعَّالٌ لِمَا يُرِيدُThis is from one angle. The second angle is: suppose this verse is problematic and we do not know the reason for the exception in it. Is it the way of those firmly grounded in knowledge to take the ambiguous and leave the clear, or to take the clear and leave the ambiguous? The latter.
So, the clear texts for us are three verses from the Qur’an:
wherein they abide forever
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَداًWe do not do this, because this is the action of those in whose hearts is deviation, who follow what is ambiguous therein. For this reason, we find that the people of the Sunnah and the community mention in their books that Paradise and the Fire currently exist and that they will not be destroyed.
If someone asks: How does Allah the Exalted place this disbeliever in the Fire for eternity? We say: Because this disbeliever spent his entire worldly life in disobedience to Allah the Exalted, so Allah spent his entire afterlife in His punishment.
Then, was this disbeliever left alone without a warner coming to him? A warner came to him:
messengers as bringers of good tidings and warners
رُسُلاً مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَThe questioner : May Allah bless you.