وَأَمَّا القاسِطونَ فَكانوا لِجَهَنَّمَ حَطَبًا

As for the perverse, they will be firewood for hell.”’

EXEGESIS

Jahannam is one of the names of hell.^{‎[1]Raghib, under j-h-n-m.} According to Ibn Manẓūr, jihannām in Arabic denotes a deep hole. The sentence biʾr jahannam means a well whose pit is deep. Hell has been named jahannam as it contains a pit that is profound.^{‎[2]Lisan, under j-h-n-m.} However, some lexicologists consider this term to have been adopted into Arabic from either Persian^{‎[3]Bahrayn and Raghib, under j-h-n-m.} or Hebrew.^{‎[4]Qamus, under jahannam.} The term jahannam has been used in the Quran to signify the place for punishment in the afterlife that the infidels and transgressors have been promised. The word has occurred seventy-seven times in the Quran.^{‎[5]Qamus, under jahannam.}

Ḥaṭab is a noun that means firewood.^{‎[6]Lisan and Raghib, under ḥ-ṭ-b.} According to this verse, the infidels from the jinn and mankind^{‎[7]See 2:24 and 66:6.} shall serve as the firewood for igniting the hellfire.^{‎[8]Shawkani, 5/369.}

EXPOSITION

This is the retribution of the infidels who were presented with clear proofs from God, yet they rejected them and took on the path of deviation.^{‎[9]Fadlallah, 23/159.}

The purport of this verse has been reiterated in part of 3:10, 2:24, and 66:6. Whilst 2:24 and 66:6 emphasise that hell shall be set ablaze through the humans themselves together with stones, 3:10 and the verse under discussion further clarify the identity of the people who will be the fuel of hell as the infidels (kāfirūn) and the transgressors (qāsiṭūn). What is inferred from these verses is that the fire of hell is caused by nothing but the very presence of the disbelievers^{‎[10] Kawthar, 1/88.} from the jinn and humans. Thus, as man is the fuel for the fire, he will also be set aflame in it as understood from 40:72 and 104:7. In other words, the humans and the jinn will be punished with a fire that has been lit by their own beliefs, attitudes, and actions.^{‎[11] Mizan, 1/89.}

This verse has been considered by many exegetes to be the end of narration of the speech of the jinn who became Muslims after they listened to the Quran.^{‎[12] Mizan, 20/46.}   

[1] Raghib, under j-h-n-m.
[2] Lisan, under j-h-n-m.
[3] Bahrayn and Raghib, under j-h-n-m.
[4] Qamus, under jahannam.
[5] Qamus, under jahannam.
[6] Lisan and Raghib, under ḥ-ṭ-b.
[7] See 2:24 and 66:6.
[8] Shawkani, 5/369.
[9] Fadlallah, 23/159.
[10] Kawthar, 1/88.
[11] Mizan, 1/89.
[12] Mizan, 20/46.