Tafsir of Al-A'la 87:13

"Then he will neither die therein, and thus find rest, nor will he live," that is, any life that benefits him. It has been said that the soul of one of them becomes stuck in his throat, so it does not exit so that he may die, nor does it return to its place in the body so that he may live. This requires the qualification of "a complete life," yet it is still not free from debate. The "then" (thumma) denotes a delay in status, for this state is more horrific and greater than the act of burning itself.

'Isam al-Din said: It is possible that this expression is a metonymy for the lack of salvation, because salvation from punishment only occurs in a realm where the worker dies and lives. The arrangement of the verse is closer to this meaning. How could it not be, when that which is appropriate for the preceding meaning is "then he will neither be dead therein nor alive"? So reflect upon this. End quote.

There is a manifest refutation in the claim that what he mentioned is more appropriate for the preceding meaning than what is in the noble arrangement of the text. The apparent reality is that it is appropriate for it while also preserving the rhythm of the verse endings (fawasil). Similarly, there is obscurity in his argument that what was mentioned is a metonymy for the lack of salvation, and it seems that is why he commanded reflection. It may be said that such a statement is spoken to one who has fallen into a severe hardship and remains in it; thus, it is not unlikely that it contains an indication of their eternity in the punishment. The matter of the delay in status is also evident, for it is clear that eternity in the Great Fire is more horrific than merely entering it and being burned by it.

Know that the lack of death in the Fire, as affirmed by more than one scholar, is specific to the disbelievers. As for the disobedient believers who enter it, they do die therein. Evidence for this is provided by what Muslim narrated from Abu Sa'id, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "As for the people of the Fire who are its inhabitants, they do not die therein nor do they live. But there are people whom the Fire afflicted due to their sins"—or he said: "their wrongdoings"—"so Allah, the Exalted, caused them to die a death. Then, when they become like charcoal, permission is granted for intercession, and they are brought in bundles and scattered along the rivers of Paradise. Then it is said: 'O people of Paradise, pour water upon them,' and they sprout like the sprouting of a seed in the silt of a flood."

Al-Hafiz Ibn Rajab said: This indicates that these people truly die and their souls depart from their bodies. He supported this with the emphasis of the verb with its verbal noun (masdar) in his (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying: "fa-amatahum Allahu ta'ala imatan" (Allah, the Exalted, caused them to die a death). More explicit than this is what al-Bazzar narrated from Abu Hurayrah in a marfu' (attributed to the Prophet) narration: "The lowest of the people of Paradise in portion or share are a people whom Allah, the Exalted, will bring out of the Fire, and the Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, will feel compassion for them because they used to associate nothing with Allah. They will be cast onto a barren land and will sprout as herbs sprout. Then, when the souls enter their bodies, they will say: 'Our Lord, just as You brought us out of the Fire and returned the souls to our bodies, turn our faces away from the Fire,' and their faces will be turned away from the Fire."

This "causing to die," according to what more than one scholar has chosen, occurs after they have tasted the punishment they deserve according to their sins, as the Hadith of Muslim implies. Keeping them in the Fire as dead bodies until the time for intercession is permitted, rather than delaying their entry into Paradise for that duration, is a completion of their punishment in a different form. Thus, their sins necessitated that they be punished by the Fire for a period, then detained within it without punishment for a period. They are like someone who committed a sin in this world, was beaten, and then imprisoned after the beating as a penalty for his sin. They do not remain alive in it without punishment like its guardians, either to be further removed from the horror of witnessing it, or so that the death and the exit of the soul may also be part of the punishment.

Al-Qurtubi said: It is possible that their death occurs upon their entry into it, and that their mere containment and the withholding of the blessings of Paradise from them for the duration of their stay is their punishment, like imprisonment in a cell without chains or shackles, for example. It is also possible that they are in pain at the moment of their death, similar to the pain of the disbeliever after his death—and it is said, at the rising of the Hour—and this would be lighter than their pain had they remained alive, just as the pain of the disbeliever after death in his grave is lighter than his pain when he is entered into the Fire after the Resurrection. As you can see, in Matami' al-Afham, it is permissible that the "death" mentioned here and in the Hadith refers to "sleep." Allah, the Exalted, has called sleep "death" because there is a type of lack of sensation in it. In the marfu' Hadith: "When Allah, the Exalted, causes the monotheists to enter the Fire, He causes them to die therein, and when the Almighty wishes for them to emerge, He brings the punishment to an end for them at that hour." End quote.

The reliance is upon what we have mentioned first, and Allah, the Exalted, knows best.