not entering it, as Allah, exalted is He, says: “And when he came to the water of Midian...” (al-Qasas 28:23)—meaning, he came into its presence. (1)
ʿIkrimah said: “The verse concerns the disbelievers, for they will enter it and never leave it.” (2)
It is narrated from Ibn Masʿud, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said concerning, “There is not one of you but will come to it”: “That is, the Resurrection.” (3) Thus, the pronoun refers back to it.
The first view is sounder, and it is the position of Ahl al-Sunnah: all of them will enter the Fire, then Allah, mighty and majestic is He, will bring the people of faith out of it, as indicated by His saying, exalted is He:
“Then We will save those who feared Allah and leave the wrongdoers there, on their knees.” (19:72)
“Then We will save those who feared Allah”: that is, those who avoided associating partners with Him; they are the believers. Deliverance can only be from something that one has entered. (4)
Al-Kisaʾi and Yaʿqub recited “We will save” without gemination, while the others recited it with gemination.
The evidence for this is what Ahmad ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Salihi informed us: Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Hiri informed us; Hajib ibn Ahmad al-Tusi informed us; ʿAbd al-Rahim ibn Munib informed us; Sufyan informed us from al-Zuhri, from
(1) This was the view of Ubayd ibn Umayr. See Zad al-Masir, 5:256.
(2) See al-Tabari, 16:111. It is also narrated from Ibn Abbas.
(3) Reports from Ibn Masud, may Allah be pleased with him, concerning this verse differ. This interpretation is attributed to him; it is also reported that he explained it as entering the Fire, and, in a third report, as passing over the Sirat. See al-Tabari, 16:111; al-Shawkani, Fath al-Qadir, 3:346; Tafsir al-Khazin, 4:207.
(4) The exegetes differed regarding the meaning of wurud (coming upon or entering) and the antecedent of the pronoun, as noted above. This is the view preferred by the author, who stated that it is the position of Ahl al-Sunnah; it was rejected by Abu Hayyan, al-Tabari, and others. The principal views are as follows: (1) the address is directed to the disbelievers, in which case they are the ones who enter the Fire; (2) the address is general, applying to both believers and disbelievers. Those who held this view differed over the meaning of wurud, advancing five interpretations: first, entering it; second, passing over it; third, being brought before it; fourth, that the Muslims' coming upon it means passing over the Sirat, whereas the polytheists' coming upon it means entering the Fire; and fifth, that the believers' coming upon it refers to the fever that afflicts them in this world. See Zad al-Masir, 5:254-257.
The strongest of these views is that adopted by al-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, who said: “All will come upon it; then the believers will depart from it, and Allah will save them, while the disbelievers will plunge into it. Their coming upon it is what the reports from the Messenger of Allah establish regarding their passage over the Sirat erected over the midst of Hell: some will be saved, while others will be hurled into it.” He then cited the hadiths. This is also the view preferred by the author of Sharh al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, who stated, p. 478: “The more apparent and stronger view is that it means passing over the Sirat.” See Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 3:132-134; al-Bahr al-Muhit, 6:209-210.