إِنَّ الَّذينَ فَتَنُوا المُؤمِنينَ وَالمُؤمِناتِ ثُمَّ لَم يَتوبوا فَلَهُم عَذابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُم عَذابُ الحَريقِ
Indeed those who persecute the faithful men and women, and then do not repent, for them there is the punishment of hell, and for them there is the punishment of burning.
EXEGESIS
Fatanū (persecute) is derived from the root verb fatana, which originally denotes testing the purity of gold or silver by heating them in the kiln. This evolved to signify trial and tribulation (fitnah), as well as torture and punishment, like in the verse, It is the day when they will be tormented (yuftanūn) in the fire, [and will be told:] ‘Taste your torment (fitnatakum). This is what you used to hasten’ (51:13-14). While some interpret fatanū here specifically as ‘burning’, there is no need to restrict its meaning to burning only. Although that is the context of the earlier verses, the declaration can also be understood in a general way.
EXPOSITION
This verse continues from the previous verse, explaining that while God allows the oppressors and evildoers to perform their vile acts in this world, He is a witness to those actions, and will not leave them unpunished. His final judgement will befall the wicked and they will be punished accordingly.
By the leave of God, the believers are the subject of the fitnah of the transgressors. Like gold thrown in a kiln to test its purity, the tribulations faced by the believers test the purity of their faith: Do the people suppose that they will be let off because they say: ‘We have faith,’ and they will not be tested (yuftanūn)? Certainly We tested (fatannā) those who were before them. So Allah shall surely ascertain those who are truthful, and He shall surely ascertain the liars (29:2-3).
These tribulations are of course difficult for the believers and hence they seek refuge with God from facing such difficult times, Our Lord! Do not make us a trial for the faithless, and forgive us (60:5).
While it is possible that this verse is a specific reference to the Men of the Ditch, its general tone indicates that it is not merely restricted to them. Hence anyone who persecutes believers because of their faith, whatever form that persecution may take, they will have to face the punishment of hell. Certainly this verse echoed with the nascent Muslim community in Mecca and the persecution they were facing because of their faith.
Note also the specification of women in the verse – the faithful men and women. This highlights the brutality of the oppressors, who could not excuse themselves with simply wanting to take out a military threat and so should have only targeted the fighting men, but rather took out their vindictive attitude against all the believers, men, women and presumably children. It also is a painful reminder that often in such violent genocides the softest of targets are often the vulnerable women, upon whom the brutalisers mercilessly prey.
The statement then do not repent is effectively making an exception for those who may later regret their actions. No sin is so great that sincere repentance cannot wipe it away, however, those who commit the vilest of sins become incapable of repenting, because as we discussed, they do not see their actions as evil. So were the Men of the Ditch, who took glee in their actions, gathering around the ditch to watch the men, women, and children burn therein. It is not easily imaginable that such a person would be capable of sincere repentance, although God has left the door of repentance open for them.
Someone might ask why is the punishment of burning mentioned separately again, even though the punishment of hell has already been mentioned? Presumably this is because hell has a variety of punishments of which burning is only one. Burning is also specified here because of its relation to what they had done to the believers. It is mentioned in some reports that the people of hell will face punishments tailored to the crimes they had committed. So just like someone who has burned believers will burn themselves, the arrogant will be given tiny and diminutive forms, those who backbite others will be forced to scratch their own faces with copper nails, and so on; the punishment of hell truly is a fitting requital (78:26). This should not be misunderstood to mean that other inhabitants of hell will not face the punishment of burning, merely that this specific punishment is most appropriate for them because of the nature of their crime.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Some early commentators interpreted the phrase for them there is the punishment of hell, and for them there is the punishment of burning to mean that ‘they will suffer the punishment of hell in the hereafter, as well as the punishment of burning in this world’. This latter assertion is based on the idea that the fire rose from the ditch and consumed the perpetrators.
[1] Raghib, p. 623, f-t-n; Lisan, 13/317, f-t-n; Qurtubi, 19/295.
[2] Nemuneh, 26/344.
[3] Tibyan, 10/318; Tabrisi, 10/710; Tabari, 30/87-88.
[4] See also 10:85.
[5] Razi, 31/113.
[6] Tabrisi, 10/710.
[7] Tirmidhi, 4/11, h. 2492.
[8] Ahmad, 3/224; Abu Dawud, 2/451, h. 4878; Bihar, 72/222.