ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا۟ لَن تَمَسَّنَا ٱلنَّارُ إِلَّآ أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَٰتٍ ۖ وَغَرَّهُمْ فِى دِينِهِم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَفْتَرُونَ 24
Translations
That is because they say, "Never will the Fire touch us except for [a few] numbered days," and [because] they were deluded in their religion by what they were inventing.
Transliteration
Dhālika bi-annāhum qālū lan tamassanā al-nāru illā ayyāman ma'dūdāt; wa-gharrahum fī dīnihim mā kānū yaftarūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah condemns the false belief of the Children of Israel who claimed that the Fire of Hell would only touch them for a limited number of days, a misconception rooted in their invented religious doctrines. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this statement reflects their arrogance and their self-deceptive interpretation of their scripture, where they misunderstood the concept of atonement and divine mercy. Al-Qurtubi notes that this ayah serves as a warning against fabricating religious claims and relying on false hopes regarding divine punishment.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Ali 'Imran's broader discussion of the People of the Book and their misguided beliefs regarding salvation and accountability. It addresses the specific Jewish claim mentioned in their traditions that their punishment in the afterlife would be limited in duration, a belief contradicted by the Qur'an's assertion of accountability for all deeds.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Each soul will taste death' (Qur'an 3:185). Related hadith in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim emphasize that no one has immunity from divine punishment except through sincere repentance and righteous deeds, refuting any claim of automatic or time-limited salvation.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah warns believers against creating comforting illusions about the consequences of our actions or inventing religious doctrines that contradict divine truth; true security comes only through genuine faith, righteous conduct, and sincere repentance, not through false hopes or inherited assumptions.
Related Ayahs
رَّبَّنَآ إِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُنَادِى لِلْإِيمَـٰنِ أَنْ ءَامِنُوا۟ بِرَبِّكُمْ فَـَٔامَنَّا ۚ رَبَّنَا فَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَكَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّـَٔاتِنَا وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ ٱلْأَبْرَارِ
Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)] calling to faith, [saying], 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die among the righteous.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ وَقَالُوا۟ لِإِخْوَٰنِهِمْ إِذَا ضَرَبُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ أَوْ كَانُوا۟ غُزًّى لَّوْ كَانُوا۟ عِندَنَا مَا مَاتُوا۟ وَمَا قُتِلُوا۟ لِيَجْعَلَ ٱللَّهُ ذَٰلِكَ حَسْرَةً فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحْىِۦ وَيُمِيتُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
O you who have believed, do not be like those who disbelieved and said about their brothers when they traveled through the land or went out to fight, "If they had been with us, they would not have died or have been killed," so Allāh makes that [misconception] a regret within their hearts. And it is Allāh who gives life and causes death, and Allāh is Seeing of what you do.
وَمَا يَفْعَلُوا۟ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَلَن يُكْفَرُوهُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌۢ بِٱلْمُتَّقِينَ
And whatever good they do - never will it be denied them. And Allāh is Knowing of the righteous.
وَلَقَدْ صَدَقَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَعْدَهُۥٓ إِذْ تَحُسُّونَهُم بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا فَشِلْتُمْ وَتَنَـٰزَعْتُمْ فِى ٱلْأَمْرِ وَعَصَيْتُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ مَآ أَرَىٰكُم مَّا تُحِبُّونَ ۚ مِنكُم مَّن يُرِيدُ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرِيدُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ ۚ ثُمَّ صَرَفَكُمْ عَنْهُمْ لِيَبْتَلِيَكُمْ ۖ وَلَقَدْ عَفَا عَنكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
And Allāh had certainly fulfilled His promise to you when you were killing them [i.e., the enemy] by His permission until [the time] when you lost courage and fell to disputing about the order [given by the Prophet (ﷺ)] and disobeyed after He had shown you that which you love. Among you are some who desire this world, and among you are some who desire the Hereafter. Then He turned you back from them [defeated] that He might test you. And He has already forgiven you, and Allāh is the possessor of bounty for the believers.