Surah 20

Surah 20:74

"Surely the one who comes to his Lord as a sinner, surely for him (there is) Gehenna, where he will neither die nor live."
The Magicians admonish Fir'awn Verses 20:74-76
Show Full Scripture Context (20:74-76) — 3 Verses
Verse 74

إِنَّهُۥ مَن يَأۡتِ رَبَّهُۥ مُجۡرِمٗا فَإِنَّ لَهُۥ جَهَنَّمَ لَا يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحۡيَىٰ

Surely the one who comes to his Lord as a sinner, surely for him (there is) Gehenna, where he will neither die nor live.

Verse 75

وَمَن يَأۡتِهِۦ مُؤۡمِنٗا قَدۡ عَمِلَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَٰتِ فَأُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمُ ٱلدَّرَجَٰتُ ٱلۡعُلَىٰ

But whoever comes to Him as a believer, (and) he has done righteous deeds, those – for them (there are) the highest ranks:

Verse 76

جَنَّـٰتُ عَدۡنٖ تَجۡرِي مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَاۚ وَذَٰلِكَ جَزَآءُ مَن تَزَكَّىٰ

Gardens of Eden, through which rivers flow, there to remain. That is the payment for the one who purifies himself.

The clear intent of this is to be a completion of what the magicians admonished Fir'awn with. They warned him of the vengeance of Allah and His eternal and everlasting punishment. They also encouraged him to seek Allah’s eternal and endless reward. They said,

Quoted Scripture
"Verily, whoever comes to his Lord as a criminal,"

This means, whoever meets Allah on the Day of Judgment while being a criminal.

Quoted Scripture
"then surely, for him is Hell, wherein he will neither die nor live."

This is similar to Allah’s statement,

Neither will it have a complete killing effect on them so that they die, nor shall its torment be lightened for them. Thus do We requite every disbeliever!

Allah also said,

But it will be avoided by the wretched, who will enter the great Fire. There he will neither die nor live.

And they will cry: “O Malik (Keeper of Hell)! Let your Lord made an end of us." He will say: "Verily, you shall abide forever.”

«Paradise has one hundred levels and betiveen each level is a distance like the distance between the sky and the earth. Al-Firdaws is the name of the highest of its levels. From it springs the four rivers and the Throne is above it. Therefore, ivhen you ask Allah, then ask Him for Al-FirdawsJ

This narration was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi.

In the Two Sahihs it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah said,

«Verily, the people of the Tlliyyin will see those xvho are above them just as you see the fading star in the horizon of the sky, due to the different status of virtue between them.» The people said, “O Messenger of Allah, these are the dwellings of the Prophets.” He replied, «0/ course. Arid I swear by the One Whom my soul is in His Hand, (it is for) men who had faith in Allah and they believed the Messengers.»

In the Sunan collections this narration is mentioned with the additional wording,

“And verily Abu Bakr and 'Umar are of them and they will be most favored.»

His saying,

{Adn Gardens, } meaning established as a residence. It is merely used here in reference to the high ranks mentioned previously.

Quoted Scripture
"under which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever ,"

meaning that they will abide in it for eternity.

Quoted Scripture
"and such is the reward of those who purify themselves."

One who purifies himself from dirt, filth and associating partners with Allah. This is the person who worships Allah alone, without ascribing partners to Him, and he follows the Messengers in the good they came with all that they claim.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 6, Page 364-368)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.