Tafseer of The Originator · Faatir · 35:36
And for those who disbelieve will be the fire of Hell. [Death] is not decreed for them so they may die, nor will its torment be lightened for them. Thus do we recompense every ungrateful one.
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.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَهُمْ نَارُ جَهَنَّمَ لَا يُقْضَى عَلَيْهِمْ فَيَمُوتُوا وَلَا يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُم مِّنْ عَذَابِهَا كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي كُلَّ كَفُورٍ "And those who disbelieve, for them is the fire of Hell (jahannam); no [death sentence] is decreed upon them that they should die, nor is its punishment lightened for them. Thus do We requite every ingrate" (35:36).
The Exalted, whose mention is lofty, says: And those who disbelieve in Allah and His Messenger, for them is the fire of Hell — He says: for them is the fire of Hell, in which they shall abide eternally; they have no share in the Garden (janna) nor in its delights.
As Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: for them is the fire of Hell; no [sentence] is decreed upon them with death that they should die, for if they died, they would find rest. Nor is its punishment lightened for them — He says: and the punishment of the fire of Hell is not lightened for them by letting them die, so that it would thereby be lightened for them.
As Muṭarrif ibn ʿAbdillāh al-Ḍabbī related to me, he said: Abū Qutayba related to us, he said: Abū Hilāl al-Rāsibī related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Abū al-Sawdāʾ, who said: poor inhabitants of the Fire, they do not die; if they died, they would find rest.
ʿUqba ibn Sinān al-Qazzāz related to me, he said: Ghassān ibn Muḍar related to us, he said: Saʿīd ibn Yazīd related to us — and Yaʿqūb related to me, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Yazīd — and Sawwār ibn ʿAbdillāh related to us, he said: Bishr ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, Abū Salama related to us, on the authority of Abū Naḍra, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "As for the inhabitants of the Fire who are truly its inhabitants — they neither die therein nor live [therein]; but people — or as he said — whom the Fire strikes on account of their sins, or he said: on account of their transgressions, it causes them to die a [real] death, until, when they have become charcoal, permission is granted for the intercession. Then they are brought in groups after groups and scattered over the inhabitants of the Garden. And He [Allah] says: O inhabitants of the Garden, pour [water] over them. Then they sprout forth as the seed sprouts in the silt of the water's flow." Then a man from the company at that time said: it is as though the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had lived in the wilderness.
If a questioner were to ask: how is it said nor is its punishment lightened for them, while in another place it is said whenever it abates, We increase for them the blazing flame? Then it is answered: the meaning of that is: and this particular kind of punishment is not lightened for them.
And His statement Thus do We requite every ingrate. The Exalted, whose mention is lofty, says: thus does He reward, on the Day of Resurrection, every denier of the favors of his Lord, by causing them to enter the fire of Hell on account of their evil deeds which they sent ahead in the worldly life.
