themselves, by fabricating alterations to the description of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. “And woe to them for what they earn”—that is, their ill-gotten gains; and it is also said: their sins.

“And they say, ‘The Fire shall never touch us except for a few numbered days.’ Say, ‘Have you taken a covenant with Allah? For Allah will never break His covenant. Or do you say of Allah what you do not know?’ Yes indeed: whoever earns an evil deed and is encompassed by his sin—they are the inhabitants of the Fire, abiding therein forever. But those who believe and do righteous deeds—they are the inhabitants of Paradise, abiding therein forever. And when We took the covenant of the Children of Israel: ‘Worship none but Allah; show kindness to parents, relatives, orphans, and the needy; speak kindly to people; establish the prayer; and give zakah.’ Then you turned away, except for a few of you, and you were averse.” (80–83)

“And they say,” meaning the Jews, “The Fire shall never touch us”—that is, the Fire shall never afflict us (1)—“except for a few numbered days”: a fixed period, after which the punishment will be removed from us and succeeded by bliss.

The scholars differed concerning this verse. Ibn ʿAbbas and Mujahid said: The Jews used to say, “This world will last seven thousand years, and we will be punished one day for every thousand years; then the punishment will cease after seven days.” Qatadah and ʿAtaʾ said: They meant the forty days during which their forefathers worshipped the calf. Al-Hasan and Abu al-ʿAliyah said: The Jews said, “Our Lord became displeased with us over our conduct, and so He swore that He would punish us for forty days. Thus, the Fire shall touch us for no more than forty days, in fulfillment of the oath.”

Allah, exalted is He, refuted them, saying: “Say, O Muhammad, ‘Have you taken a covenant with Allah?’” The interrogative alif is prefixed to the connecting alif. That is, have you taken from Allah a binding covenant that He will not punish you except for this period? “For Allah will never break His covenant,” that is, His promise. Ibn Masʿud said: A covenant of affirming Allah’s oneness. This is indicated by His saying: “Except for one who has taken a covenant with the Most Merciful” (19:87)—that is, his declaration: “There is no god but Allah.” “Or do you say of Allah what you do not know?”

Then He said: “Yes indeed.” The particles “rather” and “yes indeed” are particles of correction: they negate the preceding statement and affirm what follows. “Whoever earns an evil deed,” meaning associationism, “and is encompassed by his sin.” The people of Medina recited it in the plural: “his sins.” To encompass something is to surround it on every side.

Ibn ʿAbbas, ʿAtaʾ, al-Dahhak, Abu al-ʿAliyah, al-Rabiʿ, and others said: It is associationism, upon which one dies. It is also said: the evil deed is a grave sin, and being encompassed by it means persisting in it and dying without repentance. This was stated by ʿIkrimah and al-Rabiʿ ibn Khuthaym. Mujahid said: They are sins that encompass the heart; whenever he commits a sin, it rises