(18–20) “Is one who is a believer like one who is defiantly disobedient? They are not equal. As for those who believe and do righteous deeds, they will have the Gardens of Refuge as hospitality for what they used to do. But as for those who were defiantly disobedient, their refuge will be the Fire. Whenever they wish to leave it, they will be returned to it, and they will be told, ‘Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny.’”
Allah Most High calls people’s minds to recognize what is already established within them: that two who are utterly different and opposed cannot be equal, and that His wisdom requires that they not be treated equally. He therefore says: “Is one who is a believer”—whose heart is filled with faith, whose limbs submit to its laws, and whose faith produces its proper effects and necessary consequences, including abandoning the things that incur Allah’s displeasure, which (1), when present, harm faith—
“Like one who is defiantly disobedient?” His heart is ruined and devoid of faith. He has no religious restraint, so his limbs hasten, under the impulses of ignorance and injustice, into every sin and act of disobedience, and through his defiance he departs from obedience to Allah.
Can these two people be equal?
“They are not equal,” whether according to reason or revealed law, just as night and day, and light and darkness, are not equal. Likewise, their recompense in the Hereafter will not be equal.
“As for those who believe and do righteous deeds”—⦗656⦘ both obligatory and voluntary—“they will have the Gardens of Refuge”; that is, gardens which are the abode of delights, the source of every good, the place of joy and of bliss for hearts, souls, and spirits, the everlasting abode beside the Sovereign who is worshipped, where they will delight in nearness to Him, behold His Face, and hear Him address them.
“As hospitality” for them—that is, as a welcoming reception and feast—“for what they used to do.” The deeds which Allah graciously enabled them to perform brought them to those precious, lofty abodes. Such abodes cannot be attained by expending wealth, by armies and servants, or by children—indeed, not even by sacrificing lives and souls. Nothing whatsoever leads to them except faith and righteous deeds.
“But as for those who were defiantly disobedient, their refuge will be the Fire”; that is, the Fire will be their dwelling and everlasting abode. It encompasses every torment and misery, and their punishment will not be eased for even a moment.
“Whenever they wish to leave it, they will be returned to it.” Whenever the desire to escape stirs within them because the torment has afflicted them to the utmost, they will be driven back into it. The relief offered by that prospect of deliverance will vanish, and their anguish will intensify.
“And they will be told, ‘Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny.’” This is the punishment of the Fire, which will be their dwelling and refuge. As for the punishment that precedes it and serves as its prelude—namely, the punishment of barzakh (the intermediate realm)—it is mentioned in His words: