I say (1): Such statements are meant to convey absence of limit, exhaustion, or cessation. The intent is that the words of Allah have no end—they can neither be depleted nor terminated. Al-Rabiʿ, moreover, mentioned the bliss of Paradise, for Allah the Exalted has said,
“Indeed, this is Our provision; it shall never run out.” (2)
He thus informed us that it will not be exhausted, that it will never come to an end, cease, or reach a final point at which it is finished (3). These opinions and the detailed discussion concerning them are expanded upon elsewhere (4). What concerns us here (5) is the question of the annihilation of Paradise and Hell. It has become evident that the claim that Paradise will perish is unknown among the early generations or the leading Imams; it is merely the view of Jahm and those like him, and its falsehood is established both by reason and by transmitted texts. As for the claim that the Fire will perish, there are two well-known positions on the matter among both the early and later scholars, and the dispute over it is recorded from the Followers and those who came after them (6).
(1) In the original it reads “qala” (he said), with a note above indicating that this is how it appears in another copy. In the margin, however, “qultu” (I said) is written, accompanied by a citation justifying its integration into the main text, and thus it has been retained.
(2) Quran, Surah Sad (38:54).
(3) In the original it reads “yantahi ’anhu” (it ceases from it), which was marked for deletion but emended in the margin and is therefore retained as corrected.
(4) The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—expounded these positions in Manhaj al-Sunnah, vol. 2, pp. 358–360; al-‘Aql wa’l-Naql, vol. 2, pp. 255–304, 308; and al-Safadiyyah, vol. 2, p. 54.
(5) In the original, after “fi” (in) the word “baqa’” (eternity) was written, with a note above indicating this reading in another copy. However, the surrounding text consistently supports “fana’” (perishing), so that reading is retained.
(6) In the margin of the original appears the heading “The doctrine of the annihilation of Hell,” with no indication that it was incorporated into the body text. In manuscript “S,” which begins this passage, it reads: “Shaykh al-Islam Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Taymiyya—may Allah have mercy on him—in a treatise refuting those who claimed the annihilation of Paradise and Hell, said: ‘As for the doctrine of the annihilation of Hell…’” Ibn al-Qayyim reproduces this text in Hadi al-Arwah, p. 344, attributing it to Shaykh al-Islam; see also the introduction to Raf‘ al-Astar li-Ibtāl Adillat al-Qā’ilīn bi-Fanā’ al-Nār by Shaykh al-Albani, pp. 53–55.