Tafseer of The Criterion · Al-Furqaan · 25:65
And those who say, "Our Lord, avert from us the punishment of Hell. Indeed, its punishment is ever adhering;
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اصْرِفْ عَنَّا عَذَابَ جَهَنَّمَ (And those who say: "Our Lord, turn away from us the punishment of Hell") — the Exalted and Praised says: and those who call upon Allah to turn away His chastisement and His punishment from them, out of fear of Him and dread of Him. And His saying: إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَامًا (truly, its punishment is unrelenting and devastating) — He means: the punishment of Hell (jahannam) is a persistent (muliḥḥan), abiding (dā-iman), cleaving (lāziman), and never-departing (ghayru mufāriqin) calamity for whoever among the disbelievers (kuffār) is punished by it, and a destruction for him. From this one says: "a man is mughram (a debtor)," from al-ghurm (debt) and indebtedness. And from this one says of the creditor (gharīm): gharīm, on account of his demanding his right and his pressing his debtor for it. And from this one says of a man who is infatuated with women: "he is mughram (bewitched) by women," and: "so-and-so is mughram (bewitched) by so-and-so": when he cannot do without him. From this also is the saying of al-Ashaaf:
"If he punishes, it is an unrelenting calamity (gharaman); and if he gives abundantly — then he cares nothing for critics."
He means: if he punishes, his punishment is an unrelenting calamity that never leaves the one who bears it and destroys him. And the saying of Bishr ibn Abi Khazim:
"And the day of al-Nisar and the day of al-Jifar were punishment and an unrelenting calamity (gharaman)."
And in agreement with what we have said concerning this, the people of the exegetes spoke.
The narration of those who said that:
ʿAli ibn al-Hasan al-Lani related to me, saying: al-Muafi ibn Imran al-Mawsili informed us, on the authority of Musa ibn Ubayda, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Kab, concerning His saying إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَامًا (truly, its punishment is an unrelenting calamity): he said: "Allah called the disbelievers to account for His favors, but they did not render them back to Him, so He made them pay the penalty (aghramamahum) and caused them to enter Hell."
He said: al-Muafi related to us, on the authority of Abu al-Ashhab, on the authority of al-Hasan, concerning His saying إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَامًا (truly, its punishment is an unrelenting calamity): he said: "they knew that every creditor (gharim) eventually releases his debtor, except the creditor of Hell."
Yunus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَامًا (truly, its punishment is an unrelenting calamity): he said: "al-gharam: the evil."
Al-Qasim related to us, saying: al-Husayn related to us, saying: Hajjaj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning His saying إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَامًا (truly, its punishment is an unrelenting calamity): he said: "it never leaves him."