Al-Radd ʿalā man qāla bi-fanāʾ al-Janna wa-al-Nār - Ibn Taimiya - (74)

Al-Radd ʿalā man qāla bi-fanāʾ al-Janna wa-al-NārIbn Taimiya

And He, exalted is He, says:

“Those who disbelieve will have the Fire of Hell; no sentence of death will be passed on them so that they might die, nor will any portion of its punishment be lightened for them. Thus do We recompense (1) every stubborn unbeliever. There they will scream, ‘Our Lord, bring us out so that we may do righteous deeds, other than those we used to do!’ (It will be said,) ‘Did We not grant you lives long enough for anyone who wished to take heed to take heed, and a warner came to you? Taste, then, (the punishment), for the wrongdoers shall have no helper.’” (2)

And He, exalted is He, says:

“If you could only see when they are made to stand before the Fire and they say, ‘Would that we were sent back, so that we would not deny the signs of our Lord and would be among the believers!’ No indeed; what they had been concealing before will now be laid bare to them. Yet even if they were sent back, they would return to what they were forbidden—and indeed they are liars.” (3)

These verses and others like them in the Quran show that the deniers will abide forever in Hell: they will neither die therein nor live (4), and (5) they will ask for one thing after another but will receive no response.

This proves that they will remain eternally in Hell—the abode of punishment—for as long as that punishment endures. They will not be released from it while it and its torment continue, in contrast to the people of tawḥīd (monotheism), who will be brought out of it by intercession and, at times, without intercession while the Fire and its punishment persist—just as certain prisoners are freed from a jail in which the suffering of those who remain continues.

[Hadiths on Intercession]

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, likewise said in the sound ḥadith recorded by Muslim (6):

Abū Saʿīd reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “As for the people of the Fire who are its (permanent) inhabitants, they will neither die therein nor live. But there are others whom the Fire reaches because of their sins, and Allah will cause them to die …”

(1) In the original it reads “yujzi,” but the reading retained here is that of Hafs, as in the Uthmani rasm. (2) Surah Fatir, verses 36–37. (3) Surah al-An'am, verses 27–28. (4) In the main text it is written “ta yakhrujun,” noting that it appears thus in another copy. (5) In the main text: “fa-innahum,” with the emendation recorded in the margin. (6) This hadith was cited earlier on p. 56.

وقال تعالى: {وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَهُمْ نَارُ جَهَنَّمَ لا يُقْضَى عَلَيْهِمْ فَيَمُوتُوا وَلا يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمْ مِنْ عَذَابِهَا كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي (١) كُلَّ كَفُورٍ وَهُمْ يَصْطَرِخُونَ فِيهَا رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَالِحاً غَيْرَ الَّذِي كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ أَوَلَمْ نُعَمِّرْكُمْ مَا يَتَذَكَّرُ فِيهِ مَنْ تَذَكَّرَ وَجَاءَكُمُ النَّذِيرُ فَذُوقُوا فَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ نَصِيرٍ} (٢) . وقال تعالى: {وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ وُقِفُوا عَلَى النَّارِ فَقَالُوا يَا لَيْتَنَا نُرَدُّ وَلا نُكَذِّبَ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّنَا وَنَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بَلْ بَدَا لَهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يُخْفُونَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلَوْ رُدُّوا لَعَادُوا لِمَا نُهُوا عَنْهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَاذِبُونَ} (٣) . فهذه النصوص وأمثالها في القرآن تبين أنهم خالدون في جهنم لا يموتون ولا يحيون (٤) ، وأنهم (٥) يسألون هذا وهذا فلا يجابون. وهذا يقتضي خلودهم في جهنم - دار العذاب - مادام ذلك العذاب باقيا ولا يخرجون منها مع بقائها وبقاء عذابها، كما يخرج أهل التوحيد، فإن هؤلاء يخرجون منها بالشفاعة، وغير الشفاعة مع بقائها، كما يخرج ناس من الحبس الذي فيه العذاب مع بقاء الحبس والعذاب لذي فيه على من لم يخرج. [أحاديث الشفاعة] وهكذا قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في الحديث الصحيح "صحيح مسلم" (٦) : عن أبي سعيد عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: "أما أهل النار الذين هم أهلها فإنهم لا يموتون فيها ولا يحيون، ولكن ناس أصابتهم النار بذنوبهم، فأماتهم الله

(١) في الأصل هكذا" يجزي" وما أثبته هو قراءة حفص، كما في رسم المصحف. (٢) سورة فاطر، الآيتان: ٣٦-٣٧. (٣) سورة الأنعام، الآيتان: ٢٧-٢٨. (٤) كتب فوقها في الصلب ط يخرجون" مع الإشارة إلى كونها جاءت هكذا في نسخة أخرى. (٥) في الصلب "فإنهم" ومصوبة بالهامش كما أثبتها. (٦) الحديث سبق تخريجه ص ٥٦.