(47–50) “And when they dispute in the Fire, the weak will say to those who were arrogant, ‘We were your followers, so can you relieve us of any portion of the Fire?’ Those who were arrogant will say, ‘All of us are in it. Allah has already judged between His servants.’ And those in the Fire will say to the keepers of Hell, ‘Call upon your Lord to lighten the punishment for us for one day.’”

Allah Most High tells of the disputes among the inhabitants of the Fire, how they reproach one another and appeal to the keepers of the Fire for help, all to no avail. He says: “And when they dispute in the Fire”—the followers will argue that those whom they followed led them astray, while those who were followed will disavow their followers. “The weak”—meaning the followers—will say to their leaders, “those who were arrogant” toward the truth and called them to the falsehood born of their arrogance: “We were your followers. You led us astray, caused us to deviate, and made polytheism and evil seem attractive to us. So can you relieve us of any portion of the Fire?”—even a little.

“Those who were arrogant will say,” acknowledging their powerlessness and that the divine judgment applies to them all: “All of us are in it. Allah has already judged between His servants” and allotted to each his share of the punishment. Nothing will be added to it or subtracted from it, nor can the judgment of the All-Wise be altered.

“And those in the Fire”—both the arrogant and the weak—“will say to the keepers of Hell, ‘Call upon your Lord to lighten the punishment for us for one day,’” so that perhaps they might obtain some relief.

“They will say” to them, rebuking them and making clear that their intercession will not avail them and their supplication will benefit them nothing: “Did your messengers not come to you with clear proofs,” through which the truth, the straight path, what draws one near to Allah, and what distances one from Him were all made clear to you?