statement spoken by the people of the Fire; after it, they will speak no more, except for gasping and exhaling. They will have a howling like the howling of dogs: they will neither understand nor be understood. It is narrated from Abd Allah ibn Amr that the people of Hell will call upon Malik, the keeper of the Fire, for forty years: (1) “O Malik, let your Lord put an end to us!” (al-Zukhruf 43:77). He will not answer them; then he will say, “You will certainly remain.” (al-Zukhruf 43:77) Then they will call upon their Lord: “Our Lord, bring us out of it; then, if we return, we will indeed be wrongdoers.” He will leave them for twice the lifespan of the world, then reply to them: “Be banished therein, and do not speak to Me.” Thereafter, the people will not utter a single word; there will be nothing but exhaling and gasping.

Al-Qurtubi said: “When they are told, ‘Be banished therein, and do not speak to Me,’ their hope will be cut off. They will begin barking in one another’s faces, and it will be closed over them.”

“Indeed, there was a group of My servants who would say, ‘Our Lord, we believe; so forgive us and have mercy upon us, for You are the Best of those who show mercy.’ But you took them in mockery until they made you forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them. Indeed, today I have rewarded them for their patience: they are indeed the successful.” (109–111)

“Indeed”: the pronoun in “indeed” is an introductory, pleonastic pronoun, also called the unspecified pronoun. “There was a group of My servants”—namely, the believers—“who would say, ‘Our Lord, we believe; so forgive us and have mercy upon us, for You are the Best of those who show mercy.’ But you took them in mockery.” The people of Madinah, Hamzah, and al-Kisa’i recited it as sukhriyyan, with a dammah on the sin here and in Surah Sad, whereas the rest recited both with a kasrah. They all agreed on the dammah in Surah al-Zukhruf.

Al-Khalil said: “They are two linguistic forms, like their saying: lujjiyy, with either dammah or kasrah on the lam; similarly, durriyy and dirriyy for a brilliant star.” Al-Farra’ and al-Kisa’i said: “The kasrah denotes mockery in speech, while the dammah denotes putting others to work and enslaving them through action.” They agreed regarding Surah al-Zukhruf that it has the meaning of putting others to work. “Until they made you forget”—that is, your preoccupation with mocking and exploiting them made you forget—“My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them.” Its parallel is: “Indeed, those who sinned used to laugh at those who believed” (al-Mutaffifin 83:29).

Muqatil said: “It was revealed concerning Bilal, Ammar, Khabbab, Suhayb, Salman, and the poor among the Companions. The disbelievers of Quraysh used to mock them.” (2) “Indeed, today I have rewarded them for their patience”—for enduring your harm and mockery in this world—“they are indeed the successful.” Hamzah and al-Kisa’i recited it as innahum, with kasrah on the alif, as an independent clause. The others recited it with fathah, making it the second object: “Indeed, today I have rewarded them for their patience with success in Paradise.”