(80–82) “They say, ‘The Fire will not touch us except for a limited number of days.’ Say, ‘Have you taken a covenant with Allah—for Allah will never break His covenant—or do you say about Allah what you do not know?’ * Yes indeed! Whoever earns an evil deed and is encompassed by his sin—those are the companions of the Fire, and they will abide therein forever. * But those who believe and do righteous deeds—those are the companions of Paradise, and they will abide therein forever.”
After mentioning their vile deeds, He further states that they declared themselves pure, attesting that they would be delivered from Allah’s punishment and attain His reward. They claimed that the Fire would touch them only for a limited number of days—that is, a few days that could be counted on one’s fingers. Thus, they combined wrongdoing with a sense of security.
Since this was merely a claim, Allah Most High refuted them, saying: “Say” to them, O Messenger, “Have you taken a covenant with Allah”—by believing in Him and His messengers and obeying Him? That would entail a promise ensuring salvation for whoever possesses it, a promise that neither changes nor alters. “Or do you say about Allah what you do not know?” Allah Most High thus states that the truth of their claim depends upon one of two possibilities, with no third: either they have taken a covenant with Allah, in which case their claim is true; or they have fabricated lies against Him, in which case their claim is false, rendering their disgrace and punishment all the more severe.
Their conduct makes it clear that they had taken no covenant with Allah: they denied many prophets, even going so far as to kill some of them; they refused to obey Allah and broke their covenants. It necessarily follows that they were fabricators and liars, saying about Him what they did not know. Speaking about Allah without knowledge is among the gravest prohibitions and most heinous evils.
Allah Most High then states a general ruling that applies to everyone, including the Children of Israel and others. This is the only true ruling—not their wishful thinking and claims concerning who is doomed and who is saved. He says: “Yes indeed!” The matter is not as you have claimed, for your assertion has no basis in reality. Rather, “whoever earns an evil deed”—the expression “an evil deed” is indefinite within a conditional clause and therefore encompasses polytheism and all lesser sins. Here, however, it refers to polytheism, as indicated by His words, “and is encompassed by his sin.” That is, his sin completely surrounds the one who committed it, leaving him no way of escape. This occurs only with polytheism, for whoever possesses faith cannot be completely encompassed by his sin.
“Those are the companions of the Fire, and they will abide therein forever.” The Kharijites cited this verse as evidence that a person who commits a sin is an unbeliever. Yet, as is evident, the verse is actually evidence against them, for it clearly refers to polytheism. Likewise, whenever an advocate of falsehood cites a verse or an authentic hadith in support of his false position, the very evidence he cites will inevitably constitute proof against him.
“But those who believe” in Allah, His angels, His scriptures, His messengers, and the Last Day, “and do righteous deeds”—deeds can be righteous only when two conditions are met: they must be performed sincerely for Allah alone and in accordance with the Sunnah of His Messenger.
The conclusion of these two verses is that those who attain salvation and success are the people of faith and righteous deeds, whereas those who are doomed to the Fire are the polytheists who disbelieve in Allah.