is the sinning monotheists who enter the Fire on account of their misdeeds. They will not remain there forever; they are exempted from eternal residence, for everlasting punishment is reserved exclusively for the unbelievers and the polytheists. As for these monotheists, even though they do enter the Fire, they are excluded from abiding therein eternally—“except as your Lord wills”—because they will be taken out of it, either through the intercession of those allowed to intercede, by Allah’s permission, or by Allah’s pardon. Thus the exception here refers to the people of tawḥīd, the disobedient yet believing servants.

As for the exception in His words, “But as for those who are blessed, they will be in Paradise, abiding therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as your Lord wills,” the exegetes have given two explanations:

1. The first view holds that it likewise concerns the sinning monotheists. Those of them who were first cast into the Fire will have missed a portion of their stay in Paradise at the very beginning; some of the everlasting term has passed them by because they spent a period in the Fire before entering the Garden.

2. The second view says that the purpose of the exception is to show that their everlasting abode in Paradise is not something inherently binding; rather, it depends entirely on Allah’s will. They remain there by His will, and their eternal stay is not compulsory in and of itself.

Question: Concerning the person for whom the Fire has been decreed, yet who is not judged to remain in it forever—will his final state be punishment or bliss?

Answer: Such people will first enter the Fire and remain there as long as Allah wills. Then they will be brought out after they have been burnt and reduced to charcoal, and they will be cast into a river called “the River of Life,” where their bodies will grow anew. Once they have been cleansed and purified, they will be granted permission to enter Paradise. Their final destiny is everlasting life in Paradise.