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.