Al-Baqarah: (161-162) Indeed, those who disbelieved...

Issues concerning the verse:

The apparent meaning of the Almighty's saying, {Indeed, those who disbelieve and die while they are disbelievers} is general, applying to everyone who fits this description. There is no reason to restrict it to a specific group.

Abu Muslim argued that it must be applied to those previously mentioned—those who conceal the signs. His evidence is that after mentioning those who conceal the signs, and then mentioning those among them who repent, Allah also mentioned those among them who die without repentance. Furthermore, since Allah stated that those concealers are cursed during their lifetime, this verse clarifies that they are also cursed after death.

The response: This argument is valid only if those who die without repentance are not already covered by the first statement. If they are already included, mentioning them again is redundant. Therefore, the statement must refer to a new matter (a subsequent ruling).

Since the statement implies that the threat becomes binding upon death in disbelief, and since a conditional statement is void when the condition is absent, we know that if the disbeliever repents before death, his situation will not be like this.

If it is asked: How can all people curse them when the people of their own religion do not curse them? The answer has several aspects:

1. In the Hereafter: The people of their religion will curse them in the Hereafter, based on Allah's saying: {Then on the Day of Resurrection, some of you will deny others, and some of you will curse others} (Al-Ankabut: 25).
2. The Believers are "The People": Qatadah and Al-Rabi' said that "all people" refers only to the believers, as if their opinion is not counted, and the ruling is that believers are the true "people" and no others.
3. Cursing Injustice/Ignorance: Everyone curses the ignorant and the unjust because the ugliness of these traits is established in reason. If the person is inherently ignorant or unjust, even if they are unaware of it themselves, the curse upon the ignorant and unjust encompasses them (according to Al-Saddi).
4. Entitlement to Cursing: The curse can be interpreted as referring to the entitlement to the curse, in which case it is comprehensive.

Abu Bakr Al-Razi stated that this verse indicates that Muslims are obligated to curse whoever dies a disbeliever, and that the removal of legal accountability (taklīf) upon death does not negate our duty to curse them and disavow them. This is because the phrase {and all people} implies an order to curse them after their death.

This suggests that if a disbeliever were to become insane (majnūn), the removal of accountability due to insanity would not nullify the curse and disavowal. Similarly, matters that necessitate praise and loyalty, such as faith and righteousness, are not changed by the death or insanity of the person; their previous state remains the basis of the ruling.

Those who hold the view of Muwāfāh (that the ruling is contingent upon dying in that state) used this verse as evidence. They argue that Allah conditioned the obligation of cursing upon their dying in disbelief. If they deserved this curse before death, the condition would be meaningless. Thus, disbelief only warrants the curse if the person dies upon it, just as faith only warrants praise if the person dies upon it.

The response: The ruling connected to those who die in disbelief comprises several things, including the curse upon death and eternal dwelling in the Fire. Why do you claim that this entire set of consequences, or even just the curse, is only realized upon death?

The Mu'tazila, who hold that kufr (disbelief) is a legal term (shar'ī) and not based on its original linguistic meaning, argued based on {and die while they are disbelievers}. Allah described them as disbelievers at the moment of their death. Since disbelief linguistically means covering or concealing, this state cannot persist after death, as concealment requires a living, understanding being.

The verse indicates the permissibility of specificity combined with emphasis. Allah said {and all people}, yet this is specific according to those who interpret "people" as referring only to some people.

Concerning the Almighty's saying: {Abiding therein}

Khulūd means prolonged adherence. From this, one says: Akhlada ilā kadhā (He adhered to such-and-such).

The operative factor for {Abiding} (khālidīn) is the prepositional phrase {upon them} ('alayhim), because it carries the meaning of permanence/settling. Thus, it is a circumstantial adverb (ḥāl) describing the pronoun hūm (them) in 'alayhim, similar to saying: "The money is upon them, while they are humbled (ṣāghirīn)."

{Abiding therein} means abiding in the curse. It is also said that it means abiding in the Fire, with the Fire being omitted for the sake of glorification and awe, similar to {Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Decree} (Al-Qadr: 1).

The first interpretation (the curse) is preferable for several reasons:

1. When a pronoun has an explicit antecedent mentioned previously, referring it back to that antecedent is better than referring it to something unmentioned.
2. Applying the pronoun to the curse yields greater benefit than applying it to the Fire. The curse involves being distanced from reward through the imposition of punishment in the Hereafter and its manifestation in the world. Thus, the curse encompasses the Fire plus more, making it the more appropriate reference.
3. The statement {Abiding therein} describes the current state (ḥāl). If the pronoun refers to the curse, this state is realized immediately. If it refers to the Fire, it is not realized immediately, requiring interpretation. Therefore, the first option is superior.

The Three Descriptions of the Punishment

The Almighty described this punishment with three characteristics:

1. Eternity (Al-Khulūd): For us, this means prolonged dwelling; for the Mu'tazila, it means permanent dwelling, as discussed previously regarding the verse: {Yes, whoever earns an evil deed and his sin encompasses him—those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally} (Al-Baqarah: 81).
2. No Mitigation ('Adam Al-Takhfīf): This means that what afflicts them from Allah's punishment is uniform across all times; no part of the time becomes less severe than another.

• Objection: This uniformity is impossible for several reasons: a. Imagining the state of another person undergoing severe punishment is itself a form of mitigation. b. Allah will make up for the time units of punishment they missed, and then this excess will cease, which constitutes mitigation. c. When they are addressed with {Be gone therein, and do not speak to Me} (Al-Mu'minun: 108), their grief undoubtedly increases at that moment.

• Response: The variation in these minor matters is negligible. One completely consumed by severe torment will not notice such a small degree of difference. Furthermore, since the verse indicates this punishment is uniform, it must be perpetual. If they were allowed to imagine its cessation, that would mitigate their suffering. This is because if someone in great distress in this world is promised release after a few days, they rejoice, feel ease, and their ordeal becomes easier to bear. The greater the ordeal, the greater the relief felt by imagining its end.

3. No Respite (Wa Lā Hum Yunẓarūn): Inẓār means postponement or delay, as in {then grant him respite until his term} (Al-Baqarah: 280). The meaning is that their punishment is not postponed; rather, it is present and continuous with similar punishment.

It is as if Allah informed us that the ruling of the Abode of Punishment and Reward differs from the ruling of this world. In this world, they are given respite until terms set by Allah. In the Hereafter, there is absolutely no respite. If they ask for respite, they are not granted it; if they seek aid, they are not aided; if they seek reconciliation, they are not reconciled. Instead, they are told: {Be gone therein, and do not speak to Me} (Al-Mu'minun: 108). We seek refuge in Allah from that.

In summary, these three characteristics described by Allah for the punishment in this verse indicate the disbeliever's despair of cessation, mitigation, and postponement.

Al-Baqarah: 163

{And your God is one God. There is no deity except Him, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.}