Surah Baqarah ayat 80 Tafsir Quran 2:80

﴿وَقَالُوا لَن تَمَسَّنَا النَّارُ إِلَّا أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَةً ۚ قُلْ أَتَّخَذْتُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَهْدًا فَلَن يُخْلِفَ اللَّهُ عَهْدَهُ ۖ أَمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾
[ البقرة: 80]

2:80 And they say, "Never will the Fire touch us, except for a few days." Say, "Have you taken a covenant with Allah? For Allah will never break His covenant. Or do you say about Allah that which you do not know?"

And they say when the Prophet promised them the Fire ‘the Fire shall not touch us that is afflict us save a number of days’ only a short time of forty days the same length of time their forefathers worshipped the calf after which time it the Fire will cease. Say to them Muhammad (s) ‘Have you taken with God a covenant? a pledge from Him to this? God will not fail in His covenant in this matter or — nay — say you against God what you do not know? a’ttakhadhtum the conjunctive hamza has been omitted on account of the interrogative hamza sufficing.

They say: Fire will not touch us but for a certain number of days. Say to them, O Muhammad: Was that a promise Allah made to you granting you future security against vindication and in consequence you are relieved, knowing that Allah never breaks His promise! Or do you relate to Allah a world in a grain of sand or a heaven in a wild flower and your comfort flows from ignorance

The Jews hope They will only remain in the Fire for a Few Days Allah mentioned the claim of the Jews, that the Fire will only touch them for a few days, and then they will be saved from it.
Allah refuted this claim by saying, قُلْ أَتَّخَذْتُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَهْدًا ( Say (O Muhammad to them ): "Have you taken a covenant from Allah').
Hence, the Ayah proclaims, `if you had a promise from Allah for that, then Allah will never break His promise.
However, such promise never existed.
Rather, what you say, about Allah, you have no knowledge of and you thus utter a lie about Him.' Al-`Awfi said that Ibn `Abbas said about the Ayah, وَقَالُواْ لَن تَمَسَّنَا النَّارُ إِلاَّ أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَةً ( And they (Jews ) say, "The Fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days.").
"The Jews said, `The Fire will only touch us for forty days."' Others added that this was the period during which the Jews worshipped the calf. ( When Khaybar was conquered, a roasted poisoned sheep was presented to the Prophet as a gift (by the Jews ).
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered, `Assemble before me all the Jews who were here.' The Jews were summoned and the Prophet said ( to them ), `Who is your father' They replied, `So-and-so.' He said, `You have lied; your father is so-and-so.' They said, `You have uttered the truth.' He said, `Will you now tell me the truth, if I ask you about something' They replied, `Yes, O Abul-Qasim; and if we should tell a lie, you will know our lie as you have about our fathers.' On that he asked, `Who are the people of the ( Hell ) Fire' They said, `We shall remain in the ( Hell ) Fire for a short period, and after that you will replace us in it.' The Prophet said, `May you be cursed and humiliated in it! By Allah, we shall never replace you in it.' Then he asked, `Will you tell me the truth if I ask you a question' They said, `Yes, O Abul-Qasim.' He asked, `Have you poisoned this sheep' They said, `Yes.' He asked, `What made you do so' They said, `We wanted to know if you were a liar, in which case we would get rid of you, and if you were a Prophet then the poison would not harm you.') Imam Ahmad, Al-Bukhari and An-Nasa'i recorded similarly.

(2:80) They also say, "The fire of Hell is not going to touch us, and even if it does at all, it will be only for a few days". *91 Say, "Have you obtained a promise from Allah which He would not break? Or, do you attribute to Allah things you do not know? Why will not the fire of Hell touch you?

And they say, "Never will the Fire meaning

*91).
This is a misconception entertained by all Jews, laymen as well as rabbis.
They felt sure that no matter what they did, they would remain immune from hell-fire just by virtue of being Jews! The worst they could conceive of was the possibility of a transient punishment before they were transported to heaven.

 

The Jews hope They will only remain in the Fire for a Few Days Allah mentioned the claim of the Jews, that the Fire will only touch them for a few days, and then they will be saved from it.
Allah refuted this claim by saying, قُلْ أَتَّخَذْتُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَهْدًا ( Say (O Muhammad to them ): "Have you taken a covenant from Allah').
Hence, the Ayah proclaims, `if you had a promise from Allah for that, then Allah will never break His promise.
However, such promise never existed.
Rather, what you say, about Allah, you have no knowledge of and you thus utter a lie about Him.' Al-`Awfi said that Ibn `Abbas said about the Ayah, وَقَالُواْ لَن تَمَسَّنَا النَّارُ إِلاَّ أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَةً ( And they (Jews ) say, "The Fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days.").
"The Jews said, `The Fire will only touch us for forty days."' Others added that this was the period during which the Jews worshipped the calf. ( When Khaybar was conquered, a roasted poisoned sheep was presented to the Prophet as a gift (by the Jews ).
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered, `Assemble before me all the Jews who were here.' The Jews were summoned and the Prophet said ( to them ), `Who is your father' They replied, `So-and-so.' He said, `You have lied; your father is so-and-so.' They said, `You have uttered the truth.' He said, `Will you now tell me the truth, if I ask you about something' They replied, `Yes, O Abul-Qasim; and if we should tell a lie, you will know our lie as you have about our fathers.' On that he asked, `Who are the people of the ( Hell ) Fire' They said, `We shall remain in the ( Hell ) Fire for a short period, and after that you will replace us in it.' The Prophet said, `May you be cursed and humiliated in it! By Allah, we shall never replace you in it.' Then he asked, `Will you tell me the truth if I ask you a question' They said, `Yes, O Abul-Qasim.' He asked, `Have you poisoned this sheep' They said, `Yes.' He asked, `What made you do so' They said, `We wanted to know if you were a liar, in which case we would get rid of you, and if you were a Prophet then the poison would not harm you.') Imam Ahmad, Al-Bukhari and An-Nasa'i recorded similarly.

( And they say ) i.e. the Jews: ( Hellfire will not touch us save for a certain number of days ) only for 40 days, the number of days in which our forefathers worshipped the calf. ( Say ) O Muhammad: ( Have ye received a covenant from Allah ) for what you are saying-( truly Allah will not break His covenant ) if indeed you have a covenant with Allah-( or tell ye ) or do you indeed tell ( concerning Allah that which ye know not? ) that which you know does not exist in your Book?

And they (Jews) say, "The Fire (i.e. Hell-fire on the Day of Resurrection) shall not touch us but for a few numbered days." Say (O Muhammad Peace be upon him to them): "Have you taken a covenant from Allah, so that Allah will not break His Covenant? Or is it that you say of Allah what you know not?"

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