Tafseer Ibn Kathir of FAATHIR [36]

36. But those who disbelieve, for them will be the fire of Hell. Neither will it have a complete killing effect on them so that they die nor shall its torment be lightened for them. Thus do We requite every disbeliever ! 37. Therein they will cry: ”Our Lord! Bring us out, we shall do righteous good deeds, not that we used to do.'' (Allah will reply:) ”Did We not give you lives long enough, so that whosoever would receive admonition could receive it And the warner came to you. So taste you. For the wrongdoers there is no helper.'' Having told us how the blessed will be (in Paradise), Allah now starts to tell us what the state of doomed will be. He says:

(But those who disbelieve, for them will be the fire of Hell. Neither will it have a complete killing effect on them so that they die) This is like the Ayah:

(Wherein he will neither die nor live) (20:74). It was reported in Sahih Muslim that the Messenger of Allah said:

(As for the people of Hell who will dwell therein, they will neither live nor die there. ) And Allah says:

(And they will cry (to the keeper of Hell): ”O Malik! Let your Lord make an end of us.'' He will say: ”Verily, you shall abide forever.'') (43:77). When they are in this state, they will think that if only they could die, it would be a time of rest for them, but that can never happen to them. Allah says:

(Neither will it have a complete killing effect on them so that they die nor shall its torment be lightened for them. ) This is like the Ayat:

(Verily, the criminals will be in the torment of Hell to abide therein forever. (That) will not be lightened for them, and they will be plunged into destruction with deep regrets, sorrows and in despair therein.) (43:74-75).

(whenever it abates, We shall increase for them the fierceness of the Fire) (17:97), and

(So taste you. No increase shall We give you, except in torment.) (78:30). Then Allah says:

(Thus do We requite every disbeliever!) meaning, this is the recompense of everyone who disbelieved in his Lord and denied the truth.

(Therein they will cry) means, they will call out in the Fire, beseeching Allah with their voices:

(”Our Lord! Bring us out, we shall do righteous good deeds, not that we used to do.'') which means, they will ask to go back to the worldly life so that they can do something different to the first deeds they did. But Allah, may He be glorified, knows that if He sent them back to this world, they would go back to what they had been forbidden to do, and He knows that they are lying, so He will not respond to their plea. This is like the Ayah where Allah tells us that they will say:

(Then is there any way to get out (of the Fire). (It will be said): ”This is because, when Allah Alone was invoked you disbelieved (denied), but when partners were joined to Him, you believed!) (40:11,12) i.e., `there will be no response for you because you were like that; if you were to return to this world, you would just go back to that which you had been forbidden to do.' Allah says here:

(Did We not give you lives long enough, so that whosoever would receive admonition could receive it And the warner came to you.) meaning, `did you not live for long enough in the world that if you were to be among those who would benefit from the truth, you would have benefited from it during your lifetimes' Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet said:

(Allah has left no excuse for the person who lives to be sixty or seventy years old; Allah has left no excuse for him; Allah has left no excuse for him.) Imam Al-Bukhari also recorded, in the Book of Riqaq in his Sahih, that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, ”The Messenger of Allah said:

(Allah has left no excuse for a man who reaches the age of sixty.)'' Ibn Jarir recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, ”The Messenger of Allah said:

(Whoever is granted a long life until the age of sixty, Allah has left no excuse for him.)'' This was also recorded by Imam Ahmad and An-Nasa'i in Ar-Riqaq. Because this is the age at which Allah removes any excuse from His servants, this is the usual age of people in this Ummah, as was reported in the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, ”The Messenger of Allah said:

(The usual life span in my Ummah is between sixty and seventy years, and only a few pass this age.)'' This was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah in the Book of Zuhd ï´¿of his Sunanï´¾.

(And the warner came to you. ) It was reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, `Ikrimah, Abu Ja`far Al-Baqir, may Allah be pleased with him, Qatadah and Sufyan bin `Uyaynah said, ”This means grey hair.'' As-Suddi and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said, ”This means the Messenger of Allah '' and Ibn Zayd recited,

(This is a warner of the (series of) warners of old.) (53:56). This is the correct view according to Shayban who narrated that Qatadah said, ”Proof will be established against them by the fact that they lived long enough and that Messengers came to them.'' This is also the view favored by Ibn Jarir, and it is the apparent meaning of the Ayah:

(And they will cry (to the keeper of Hell): ”O Malik! Let your Lord make an end of us.'' He will say: ”Verily, you shall abide forever.'' Indeed We have brought the truth to you, but most of you have a hatred for the truth.)(43:77-78) meaning: `We showed you the truth clearly through the Messengers, but you rejected it and opposed it.' And Allah says:

(Every time a group is cast therein, its keepers will ask: ”Did no warner come to you'' They will say: ”Yes, indeed a warner did come to us, but we denied him and said: `Allah never sent down anything; you are only in great error'.'') (67:8-9).

(So taste you. For the wrongdoers there is no helper.) means, `taste the punishment of the Fire, as a recompense for your going against the Prophets in all your deeds, for today you will have no helper to save you from your fate of punishment and chains.'