(53) “The wicked will see the Fire and become certain that they are bound to fall into it, and they will find no escape from it.”

That is, when the Day of Resurrection comes, the reckoning has taken place, every group among creation has been distinguished according to its deeds, and the sentence of punishment has fallen due upon the wicked, they will see Hell before entering it. They will become alarmed and intensely anxious, convinced that they are bound to fall into it. The commentators state that this conviction means certainty: they will know with certainty that they are entering it. “And they will find no escape from it”—that is, no other course to which they can turn, nor will they have any intercessor except by His permission. This contains such warning and intimidation as to make hearts tremble.