(5–10) “We have indeed adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, made them missiles against the devils, and prepared for them the punishment of the Blazing Fire. * And for those who disbelieve in their Lord is the punishment of Hell—what an evil destination! * When they are cast into it, they will hear it roaring as it boils, * almost bursting with fury. Whenever a group is cast into it, its keepers will ask them, ‘Did no warner come to you?’ * They will reply, ‘Yes, a warner did come to us, but we rejected him and said, “Allah has not sent down anything. You are only in great error.”’ * They will also say, ‘If only we had listened or reasoned, we would not be among the inhabitants of the Blazing Fire.’”
That is, We have indeed beautified “the lowest heaven”—the one you see and which is nearest to you—“with lamps,” namely the stars, despite their varying degrees of light and radiance. Were it not for the stars within it, it would be a dark canopy devoid of beauty and splendor.
But Allah made these stars an adornment ⦗876⦘ for heaven, [a source of beauty], light, and guidance by which people find their way through the darkness of land and sea. His statement that He adorned the lowest heaven with lamps does not preclude many stars from being above the seven heavens, for the heavens are transparent. Thus, the lowest heaven is adorned by them even if the celestial bodies are not actually within it.
“And made them”—that is, the lamps—“missiles against the devils” who seek to eavesdrop upon the news of heaven. Allah made these stars a guard for heaven, preventing the devils from snatching reports concerning the earth. These flaming missiles hurled from the stars are what Allah has appointed for the devils in this world, while “We have prepared for them” in the Hereafter “the punishment of the Blazing Fire,” because they rebelled against Allah and led His servants astray. Accordingly, their followers among the disbelievers are like them, and Allah has prepared the punishment of the Blazing Fire for them as well. He therefore said: “And for those who disbelieve in their Lord is the punishment of Hell—what an evil destination!”—a destination whose people(1) are subjected to the utmost humiliation.
“When they are cast into it” in disgrace and abasement, “they will hear it roaring”—that is, making a dreadful, thunderous sound—“as it boils.”
“Almost bursting with fury”: though it remains whole, its parts almost separate and tear apart because of its intense fury against the disbelievers. What, then, do you imagine it will do to them once they are inside it?
Then He mentioned how its keepers will rebuke its inhabitants, saying: “Whenever a group is cast into it, its keepers will ask them, ‘Did no warner come to you?’” That is, your present condition and your deserving the Fire make it seem as though you had never been told about it and the warners had never cautioned you against it.
“They will reply, ‘Yes, a warner did come to us, but we rejected him and said, “Allah has not sent down anything. You are only in great error.”’” They thus combined their specific rejection of their warner with a general denial of everything Allah had revealed. Nor was that enough for them: they even declared that the warning messengers were astray, though those messengers were rightly guided guides. They did not merely ascribe error to them, but described their error as great. What obstinacy, arrogance, and wrongdoing could compare to this?
“They will also say,” acknowledging that they were unfit for guidance and sound judgment, “‘If only we had listened or reasoned, we would not be among the inhabitants of the Blazing Fire.’” They thereby acknowledged their lack of the avenues to guidance: listening to what Allah revealed and what the messengers brought, and possessing reason that benefits its possessor, acquaints him with the realities of things, leads him to prefer good, and restrains him from everything whose outcome is blameworthy. Thus, there is no hearing [for them], nor any reason.
This is unlike the people of certainty and knowledge and those of sincerity and faith. They reinforced their faith with revealed proofs: they listened to what came from Allah and what the Messenger of Allah brought, learning it, understanding it, and acting upon it.
They also reinforced it with rational proofs: the ability to distinguish guidance from misguidance, beauty from ugliness, and good from evil. Their standing in faith varies according to the extent to which Allah has blessed them with adherence to rational and transmitted proofs. Glory be to Him who singles out whomever He wills for His grace, bestows His favor upon whomever He wills among His servants, and forsakes whoever is unfit for any good.
Allah, Most High, said of these people who enter the Fire and acknowledge their wrongdoing and obstinacy: