وَنادَوا يا مالِكُ لِيَقضِ عَلَينا رَبُّكَ ۖ قالَ إِنَّكُم ماكِثونَ

They will call out: ‘O Mālik! Let your Lord finish us off!’ He will say: ‘Indeed you will stay on.’

EXEGESIS

According to some exegetes, the use of the verb nādaw (they will call out) indicates that the inhabitants of hell will be at some distance from Mālik, as opposed to qālū (they will say).^{‎[1]Rahnama, 17/104.}

Yaqḍi (finish) is the imperfect from of the verb qaḍā whose root meaning is the completion and termination of a thing.^{‎[2]Lisan, 15/187.} Muṣṭafawī states that it means to bring something to an end – whether in speech or action – in the sense of completion and reaching the ultimate point in both. Its examples include: rendering a decisive, final judgement in any matter; reaching the intended conclusion in fulfilling a need; performing and completing the hajj, worship, and prayer; settling a debt or fulfilling a right; and completing a task and reaching its end.^{‎[3]Tahqiq, 9/284-285.}

Based on this root, the Quran has used this verb in different instances that can all be considered as forms of completion and termination.

Rabbuka (your Lord) instead of rabbunā (our Lord) does not indicate that the inhabitants of hell do not believe in Allah’s lordship, for on that day everyone will attest to this truth and there can be no denial. Rather, it is a means of encouraging Mālik to intercede on their behalf.^{‎[4]Alusi, 13/101.}

It is noteworthy that Mālik’s reply begins with qāla (he will say) and not faqāla. The latter would indicate an immediate reply. Many exegetes have stated that the reply will be given to them after a long period of time. According to Ibn Abbas and Suddī, it will be after a thousand years, whilst according to ʿAbd-Allāh ibn ʿUmar, it will be after forty years, and according to Nawf, after a hundred years.^{‎[5]Tabrisi, 9/87; Tibyan, 9/217; Tabari, 20/649-651.} Shaʿrānī postulates that this discrepancy could either be due to these companions not recording the narration accurately, or they may all just be metaphorical ways of stating ‘a long period of time’, for the idea of days, months, and years, as we know them in this realm, is not conceivable in that realm.^{‎[6]Pezhūhishhā-ye Qurʾānī, 3/1159.}

Mākithūn (stay on) is the active participle of the verb makatha, which according to Farāhīdī, means to pause or wait,^{‎[7]Ayn, 5/353.} whereas other linguists add that it means to remain or stay somewhere in expectation or anticipation of something.^{‎[8]Raghib, 1/772.} Based on this, some exegetes suggest that perhaps Mālik’s response is a form of mockery, such as how one responds to someone who asks for something which they do not deserve by telling them to wait.^{‎[9]Amthal, 16/99.} Others add that another layer of mockery lies in the fact that this verb seems to suggest a form of intentionality, as if the inhabitants of hell can voluntarily opt to wait in the hellfire.^{‎[10] Alusi, 13/102.}

EXPOSITION

Although every individual instinctively flees from death and desires life’s continuation and permanence, when afflictions repeatedly befall them and they feel utterly trapped, they sometimes beseech God for death. While such a wish may occur for some people in this world, there it encompasses all the guilty; every one of them wishes for death (25:13).^{‎[11] Amthal, 16/99.}

According to scriptural traditions, Mālik is the angel charged with the custody of hell. Certain exegetes inclined toward mystical hermeneutics propose that the keeper of hell bears the name Mālik (lit. possessor or owner) by virtue of his specific association with those who possessed (malaka) the worldly life and gave it precedence. This interpretation draws upon the divine statement, As for he who rebelled and preferred the life of this world, his refuge shall indeed be hell (79:37-39). By parallel reasoning, the keeper of paradise is named Riḍwān (lit. good pleasure) on account of his association with those with whom God is pleased (raḍiya allāhu ʿanhum) and who are pleased with Him.^{‎[12] Maḥāsin al-Taʾwīl, 8/401.}

Some exegetes add that the fact that the inhabitants of hell will address Mālik indicates that they would be disappointed addressing God directly.^{‎[13] Rahnama, 17/104.} This could possibly be supported by verses such as, No indeed! They will be alienated from their Lord on that day (83:15), and, He will say: ‘Begone in it, and do not speak to Me!’ (23:108).^{‎[14] Mizan, 18/123; Amthal, 16/100.}

This is further supported by the fact that this address – Begone in it, and do not speak to Me! – was directed at them before despair took hold, for it was a response to their plea to be released from the fire, when they said, Our Lord! Bring us out of this! Then, if we revert, we will indeed be wrongdoers (23:107). However, the request mentioned here occurs after despair, according to verse 75, and they will be despondent in it.^{‎[15] Hadi, 3/265.} Alternatively, it could be the case that they simply asked Mālik because he is one of God’s closest angels.^{‎[16] Amthal, 16/100.}

It is noteworthy that another conversation of a similar nature has been reported in 40:49-50, Those in the fire will say to the keepers of hell: ‘Supplicate your Lord to lighten for us [at least] a day’s punishment.’ They will say: ‘Did not your apostles use to bring you manifest proofs?’ They will say: ‘Yes.’ They will say: ‘Then supplicate [Him] yourselves.’ But the supplications of the faithless only go awry. Most exegetes seem to read these as two different conversations in that the inhabitants will first ask the keepers of hell to supplicate for a reduction in punishment and thereafter will ask Mālik to supplicate for their annihilation.^{‎[17] Qurtubi, 16/117.} This could be supported by 35:36, As for the faithless there is for them the fire of hell: they will neither be done away with (lā yuqḍā ʿalayhim) so that they may die, nor shall its punishment be lightened for them.^{‎[18] Ibn Kathir, 7/221.} Some exegetes have reversed the order and suggest that the inhabitants of hell will first ask Mālik for them to be annihilated and only thereafter will they ask for partial relief from the punishment.^{‎[19] Atyab, 12/58.}

The plea of the people of hell, calling upon its keeper to ask God to end their existence, demonstrates that even in their state of ultimate despair and punishment they inherently acknowledge that their final destiny rests solely with God’s supreme power and command. This shows that belief in Allah’s absolute authority is universal and inescapable on the Day of Resurrection, acknowledged even by those condemned to it.^{‎[20] Rahnama, 17/104.}

Some exegetes postulate that the people of the fire have various states. In some of them, despair overwhelmingly prevails. In others, a glimmer of hope appears to them. As such, this verse would constitute a genuine cry for rescue, driven by unbearable agony. Others suggest that it is possible that their call to Mālik is merely an expression of the intensity of their suffering, and thus this verse is indicating towards a sheer expression of a hopeless wish. In reality they know there is no salvation, but the intensity of their suffering may have overwhelmed that knowledge, leading them to beg instinctively.^{‎[21] Razi, 27/644; Kashif, 6/560.}

This verse is similar to 14:17 in that there is no death in hellfire and the punishment is everlasting, death will assail him from every side, but he will not die, and there is [yet] a harsh punishment ahead of him.^{‎[22] Atyab, 12/57.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. It has been reported from the Prophet concerning the inhabitants of the fire: ‘When they despair of the keepers of hell, they turn to Mālik, the chief of the guards, and hope that he might deliver them from that humiliation. Allah, majestic is His glory, says, They will call out: ‘O Mālik! Let your Lord finish us off!’ Then they are left without a response for forty years while they are in torment. Then he answers them as Allah the exalted says in His preserved book, He will say: ‘Indeed you will stay on.’ Thereat they despair of their Master, the Lord of the worlds – who was the slightest thing in their eyes during their worldly life, and each one of them had preferred his own desires over Him throughout their lifetime.’^{‎[23] Burhan, 4/883.}
2. It has been reported that Imam Ali (a) was asked about the various meanings of qaḍāʾ (decree) in the Quran. He said: ‘They are ten forms with different meanings. Among them are: 1. A decree of completion. 2. A decree of covenant/promise. 3. A decree of notification/informing. 4. A decree of action. 5. A decree of obligation. 6. A decree that is written. 7. A decree of perfection/completion. 8. A decree of judgement and final decision. 9. A decree of creation. 10. A decree of the descent of death. As for the decree of the descent of death, it is like the words of the people of the fire in Sūrat al-Zukhruf, They will call out: ‘O Mālik! Let your Lord finish us off!’ He will say: ‘Indeed you will stay on.’ That is: “Let death be sent down upon us.”’^{‎[24] Bihar, 90/19.}

[1] Rahnama, 17/104.
[2] Lisan, 15/187.
[3] Tahqiq, 9/284-285.
[4] Alusi, 13/101.
[5] Tabrisi, 9/87; Tibyan, 9/217; Tabari, 20/649-651.
[6] Pezhūhishhā-ye Qurʾānī, 3/1159.
[7] Ayn, 5/353.
[8] Raghib, 1/772.
[9] Amthal, 16/99.
[10] Alusi, 13/102.
[11] Amthal, 16/99.
[12] Maḥāsin al-Taʾwīl, 8/401.
[13] Rahnama, 17/104.
[14] Mizan, 18/123; Amthal, 16/100.
[15] Hadi, 3/265.
[16] Amthal, 16/100.
[17] Qurtubi, 16/117.
[18] Ibn Kathir, 7/221.
[19] Atyab, 12/58.
[20] Rahnama, 17/104.
[21] Razi, 27/644; Kashif, 6/560.
[22] Atyab, 12/57.
[23] Burhan, 4/883.
[24] Bihar, 90/19.