Tafsir of Az-Zukhruf 43:77

(And they will call)—that is, due to the intensity of the torment.

In some reports, it is stated that hunger will be cast upon the people of the Fire until it equals the torment they are already in. So they will say, "Call upon Malik." They will call out, (O Malik, let your Lord put an end to us)—that is, let Him cause us to die. "To put an end to" (qada') is used when one causes death. Their intent is: "Ask your Lord to finish us off so that we may find rest." Their attributing the Lord to His pronoun is to urge Him, not to deny Him. This does not contradict their state of despair (iblas) according to the first interpretation, for it is a cry and a wish for death born from the excess of intensity. As for the second interpretation—that though he (Malik) denied it, one period of time is different from another, for the times of torment are protracted and its epochs are extended—their conditions vary; they fall silent at times due to the dominance of despair and their knowledge that there is no escape for them, even through death, and they cry out at times of extreme intensity due to what has befallen them. This is countered by the fact that it does not suit the permanence of the nominal sentence, namely: "And they will be in despair." It has been said that "and they will call" is linked by the waw, which does not require sequence; it is not hidden that this sentence is circumstantial and inseparable from their eternity.

'Ali—may Allah ennoble his face—Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Wathab, and al-A'mash read it as "Ya Mal" (O Mal), using apocope (tarkhim) according to the dialect of those who anticipate. Abu al-Siwar read it as "Ya Mal" using apocope as well, but according to the dialect of those who do not anticipate.

Ibn Jinni said: There is a secret to this apocope in this context, which is that due to the magnitude of what they are in, their strengths have weakened and their souls have been humbled; thus, this was a matter of necessity for brevity. This provides an answer to the statement of Ibn 'Abbas when this reading was narrated to him according to the first dialect: "How occupied the people of the Fire are with apocope!" He was indicating his disapproval of it, for "Ma" is for exclamation and contains a sense of mockery, meaning: they are in a state that should occupy them from turning to apocope and abandoning the call in the most common usage. The essence of the answer is that this apocope did not originate from them out of an intention to manipulate or embellish the speech, as in the saying: "He revives the remnants of bones through the night."

The truth is that "O Mal" is not for eloquence, but rather for helplessness and the narrowness of their capacity to complete the word, as is witnessed in some of those who are deeply distressed.

(He [Malik] will say): (Indeed, you are to remain).

(Abiding in the torment forever; there is no escape for you from it through death or otherwise.) This is to cast them into despair and to inflict upon them agony beyond what they are already in. It does not harm his knowledge of their despair, if we hold that view. Some of the great scholars mentioned that there is mockery in it, because he placed "remaining" (makithun) in the position of "eternity" (khulud), and "remaining" implies interruption, because—as al-Raghib said—it is "staying with an expectation." It is possible that the aspect of mockery lies in the expression "you are to remain," in that it suggests choice, and his answering them only after a duration of time.

Ibn 'Abbas said: He answers them after the passing of a thousand years. Nawf said: After a hundred. It has also been said: eighty, and another said: forty.