the answer—that is, it is Allah’s kindled Fire. Allah, Glorified and Exalted, attributes it to Himself because through it He punishes those who deserve punishment. It is therefore a just punishment, not an unjust one. In other words, it is a Fire with which Allah burns those who deserve to be punished by it. Thus, it is a Fire of justice, not a Fire of injustice, for burning with fire may be either unjust or just. The punishment of the disbelievers in the Fire is undoubtedly just, and the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, is praised for it, since He treats them as they deserve.
Consider the correspondence between His word al-Hutamah (“the Crusher”) and the conduct of this offender, described as humazah lumazah (“a backbiter and slanderer”): hutamah, humazah, and lumazah share the same morphological pattern, so that the recompense corresponds to the deed even in its wording.
“Allah’s kindled Fire”—that is, the fiercely stoked, blazing Fire.
“Which rises over the hearts.” Afidah (“hearts”) is the plural of fuād, meaning the heart. The meaning is that, because of its intense heat, it reaches the hearts—Allah’s refuge is sought—even though hearts are concealed within the breasts, with many layers between them and the outer skin. Nevertheless, this Fire reaches the hearts.
“Indeed, it will be closed down upon them”—that is, the Crusher, Allah’s kindled Fire, will close over every backbiter and slanderer, everyone who amasses wealth and withholds good. The plural pronoun is used even though its antecedent is singular because of the meaning intended: “every backbiter” is general and encompasses all backbiters and all slanderers.
“Closed down”—that is, sealed shut. Its doors will be closed, with no hope of relief for them—Allah’s refuge is sought. “Whenever they wish to emerge from it, they will be returned to it” [al-Sajdah: 20]. That is, they will be raised up toward its gates until they begin to hope that they might escape. They will then be cast headlong back into it and returned to it. All of this is part of the severity of their torment, for when a person hopes for relief and believes that he will be saved and delivered, he rejoices; but when he is sent back, he suffers a fresh setback. Thus, they will be tormented both inwardly and physically. The punishment of the people of the Fire is described in detail in the Quran and the Prophetic sunnah.
Now consider: if a person were inside a room or a car that caught fire, with no means of escape and the doors shut, what—