Al-Ṭabarī related—through Yūnus, who said: Ibn Wahb narrated to us, from Ibn Zayd—concerning His words:

“they will remain therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as your Lord wills.”

He continued to recite until he reached:

“an unceasing gift” (1).

Thus He informed us of what He willed for the people of Paradise, saying,

“an unceasing gift,”

but He did not inform us of what He wills for the people of the Fire (2).

Al-Suddi said about the phrase,

“except as your Lord wills,”

that on the day this verse was revealed they entertained hopes of an eventual release.

Regarding His statement,

“they will remain therein forever” (3),

al-Baghawī reported from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd that he said: “Allah, exalted be He, has told us what is in store for the people of Paradise, declaring,

‘an unceasing gift,’

yet He has not told us what He wills for the people of the Fire (4).”

The scholars of the Sunnah and ḥadīth have transmitted on this matter numerous reports from the Companions and Successors, such as those narrated by Harb al-Kirmānī, Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī, Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭabarī, and others.

In al-Ṭabarānī’s Musnad (5) it is mentioned that

“watercress will sprout there” (6).

Accordingly, the argument for the Fire’s eventual extinction is supported by the Book, the Sunnah, and the statements of the Companions—whereas those who claim it will remain forever have neither Book nor Sunnah nor any saying of the Companions to uphold their view.

Among the proofs is what was narrated by Harb and al-Bayhaqī. Harb al-Kirmānī said: “I asked Isḥāq about….”