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an-nāru yuʿraḍūna ʿalayhā ghuduwwan wa-ʿashiyyan wa-yawma taqūmu s-sāʿatu ʾadkhilū ʾāla firʿawna ʾashadda l-ʿadhābi
the Fire, to which they are exposed morning and evening. On the day when the Hour sets in, Pharaoh’s clan will enter the severest punishment.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Ghafir - Verse 46
46. The Fire, they are exposed to it, morning and evening. And on the Day when the Hour will be established [it will be said]
Between death and Resurrection lies a period in which sinners find out that their abode is Hellfire. Thus the blessed Verse says that their excruciating torment is the fire in which they suffer every morning and evening. Pharaoh’s people are ordered to taste the most excruciating torment. It is worthy of note that mention is made of Pharaoh’s family, companions, and adherents who were all astray. When they become entangled with such dire fate, Pharaoh will have a far worst fate in store for him.
Secondly, the Verse says that they will taste Hellfire every morning and evening, but they will taste the worst excruciating torment on the Day of Resurrection which explicitly indicates that the former torment will be that of purgatory to be inflicted after this world and prior to the Day of Resurrection and will entail tasting Hellfire. Such torment will make soul shiver with terror and will also affect the body. Thirdly, the phrase:
may either refer to the progression of the torment, as it is said he is our pest morning and evening, i.e. at all times, or it makes reference to the discontinuity of the purgatorial torment, i.e., torments will be inflicted upon them in the morning and in the evening when they were engaged in merry making and boasting their power. The expression:
should not be a source of wonder as to the existence of times of the day in purgatory, since Qur’anic Verses reveal that there will be morning and evening even in the Hereafter as it is reflected elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an:
It is not inconsistent with the permanence of the Bounties of Paradise, as reflected elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an:
since there exists the possibility that despite the permanence of provisions and sustenance, certain Bounties be bestowed upon the people of Paradise.
Footnotes