Who Wants to Live Forever?

Muslims want the hereafter.

S 3:152 And Allah verified his promise to you when you kill them with his permission until when you lost heart and contended concerning the command and disobeyed after what he showed you what you love. Among you is he who wants the dunya and among you he who wants the hereafter. Then he turned you from them to test you. And he pardoned you. And Allah is a possessor of favour for the believers.

Allah too wants the Hereafter.

S 8:67 It was not for a prophet that he should have prisoners until he should injure in the land. You want the display of the dunya and Allah wants the hereafter. And Allah is mighty, wise.

Allah, we are told, is a believer (S 59:23), which is on a straight path (S 11:56). Is it perhaps a man? If it were to make it to the hereafter, how long would it remain there?

S 6:128 And a day he gathers them all: Company of jinn, you have deemed excessive of men. And their protectors among men said: Our lord, some of us have enjoyed others and we have reached our term which you postponed for us. He said: The fire is your shelter, abiding therein indefinitely except what Allah has willed. Your lord is wise, learned.

S 11:106-108 And as for those who were wretched, in the fire. Theirs therein is exhalation and inhalation. Abiding indefinitely therein for as long as the skies and the Earth have lasted except what your lord has willed. Your lord is a doer of what he wants. And as for those who were happy, in the Jannah. Abiding indefinitely therein for as long as the skies and the Earth have lasted except what your lord has willed, a gift not cut off.

From an Answering Islam article:

Here is a passage that seems to be more definite in limiting the time of hell, and thus more clearly in contradiction to the first block of verses:

[On that Day,] verily, hell will lie in wait [for those who deny the truth] – a goal for all who are wont to transgress the bounds of what is right! In it shall they remain for a long time. S. 78:21-23 Asad

The late Muslim scholar and translator Muhammad Asad noted that the Arabic word for "long time" does not mean forever:

12 I.e., not forever, since the term huqb or hiqbah (of which ahqab is the plural) denotes no more than "a period of time" or "a long time" (Jawhari) - according to some authorities, "eighty years", according to others, "a year" or simply "years" (Asas, Qamus, Lisan al-Arab, etc.). But however one defines this term, it is obvious that it signifies a limited period of time, and not eternity: and this is in tune with many indications in the Qur'an to the effect that the suffering described as "hell" is not eternal (see note 114 on the last paragraph of 6:128), as well as with several authentic sayings of the Prophet (e.g., the one quoted in note 10 on 40:12). (The Message of the Qur’an; source; bold and underline emphasis ours)

Here, also, is what he wrote regarding Q. 6:128:

114 I.e., unless He graces them with His mercy (see verse 12 of this surah, and the corresponding note). Some of the great Muslim theologians conclude from the above and from the similar phrase occurring in 11 : 107 (as well as from several well-authenticated sayings of the Prophet) that - contrary to the bliss of paradise, which will be of unlimited duration - the suffering of the sinners in the life to come will be limited by God's mercy. (See in this connection the hadith quoted in note 10 on 40: 12.) (Source; bold and underline emphasis ours)

Asad isn’t alone since the late Maulana Muhammad Ali of the Ahmadiyya sect argued along similar lines concerning the temporal nature of hell:

Another consideration which shows that this chastisement is of a remedial nature, is that, according to the Qur’an and the Sayings of the Prophet, all those who are in Hell, shall ultimately, when they are fit for a new life, be released from it. This is a point on which great misunderstanding prevails even among Muslim theologians [sic]. They make a distinction between the Muslim sinners and the non-Muslim sinners, holding that all Muslim sinners shall be ultimately taken out of hell, but not the non-Muslim sinners. Neither the Qur’an nor the Tradition uphold this view. There are two words khulud and abad used in connection with abiding in Hell or Paradise, and both these words, while, no doubt, indicating eternity, also bear the significance of a long time. Not only do all authorities on Arabic lexicography agree on this, but the use of these words in the Qur’an also makes it quite clear. The word khulu has been freely used regarding the chastisement in Hell of Muslim as well as of non-Muslim sinners. One example of its use for Muslim sinners is that after stating law of inheritance, it is said: "These are Allah’s limits; and… whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and goes beyond His limits, He causes him to enter fire, to abide in it (khalidin), and for him is an abasing chastisement" (4 : 13, 14). Here clearly Muslim sinners are spoken of, and yet their abiding in Hell is expressed by the word khulud.

Take the other word abad. This word occurs thrice in the Qur’an, in connection with the abiding of sinners in Hell. Ordinarily, it is taken as meaning for ever or eternally, but that it sometimes signifies only a long time, is abundantly clear from the fact that both its dual and plural forms are in use. Raghib says that this is owing to the fact that the word is, in that case, used to express a part of time. And explaining its verb form ta’abbada, he says it signifies the thing existed for abad, and is taken to mean what remains for a long time. Thus a long time, as the significance of abad, is fully recognized in Arabic lexicography. That in the case of those in Hell, it signifies a long time and not for ever, is clear from the fact that the abiding in Hell of even the unbelievers is elsewhere stated to be for ahqab, which is the plural of huqbah, meaning a year or many years (LA.)., or eighty years (R.). At all events it indicates a definite period of time, and hence serves as a clear indication that even abad, in the case of abiding in Hell, means a long time.

The two words khulud and abad, which are generally construed as leading to an eternity of Hell, being thus disposed of, the verses which are generally adduced in support of the idea that those in Hell shall for ever and ever suffer its endless tortures may be considered: "Thus will Allah show them their deeds to be intense regret to them, and they will not escape from the fire" (2 : 167). "Those who disbelieve, even if they had all that is in the earth, and the like of it with it, to ransom themselves with it from the chastisement of the Day of Resurrection, it would not be accepted from them and theirs is a painful chastisement. They would desire to come forth from the fire, and they will not come forth from it, and theirs is a lasting chastisement" (5 : 36, 37). "Whenever they desire to go forth from it, from grief, they are turned back into it" (22 : 22). "And as for those who transgress, their refuge is the Fire. Whenever they desire to go forth from it they are brought back into it, and it is said to them, Taste the chastisement of the Fire, which you called a lie" (32 : 20). These verses are self-explanatory. Those in Hell shall desire to escape from it but shall not be able to do so; even if they could offer the whole earth as a ransom, they would not be able to get out. The evil consequences of sin cannot be avoided, howsoever one may desire, and even so is the fire of Hell. None can escape from it. But not a word is there in any of these verses to show that God will not take them out of it, or that the tortures of Hell are endless. They only show that every sinner must suffer the consequences of what he has done, and he cannot escape them; but that he may be set free when he has undergone the necessary chastisement, or that God may, of His boundless mercy, deliver the sinners when He pleases, is not denied here. (Ali, The Religion of Islam [The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha'at Islam (Lahore) U.S.A., Eighth Edition 2005], Chapter VI. Life After Death, Remedial nature of Hell, pp. 231-233)

The Arabic lexicons support Ali’s conclusions in that they do say that the word doesn’t necessarily refer to perpetuity but can mean a long time. Note, for instance, how the following lexical source defines abad:

Alif-Ba-Dal = he remained/stayed, abode, dwelt constantly/permanently, to render perpetual, time (in an absolute sense), LONG TIME, endless/eternal/forever, unlimited/indivisible, lasting/everlasting, unsocial/unfamiliar, never (when used in negative construction).

abad n.m. 2:95, 4:57, 4:122, 4:169, 5:24, 5:119, 9:22, 9:83, 9:84, 9:100, 9:108, 18:3, 18:20, 18:35, 18:57, 24:4, 24:17, 24:21, 33:53, 33:65, 48:12, 59:11, 60:4, 62:7, 64:9, 65:11, 72:23, 98:8 Lane's Lexicon, Volume 1, pages: 41 42 (Project Root List; source; capital and underline emphasis ours)

The late Maulana also used Q. 6:128 and 11:106-108 to prove that the Arabic term abad doesn’t necessarily mean that hell will last forever:

Even if abad is taken to mean eternity, the abiding in Hell, according to the Qur’an, must cease at some time, because a limit is placed on it by the addition of the words except as Allah pleases (ila ma sha’a Allah) which clearly indicate the ultimate deliverance of those in Hell. The following two verses may be noted in this connection: "He will say, The Fire is your abode – you shall abide therein, except as Allah pleases. Surely thy Lord is Wise, Knowing" (6 : 129). "Then as to those who are unhappy, they will be in the fire; for them will be sighing and groaning – abiding therein so long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as thy Lord pleases. Surely thy Lord is the mighty Doer of what He intends." But these verses show that the abiding in Hell must come to an end. To make this connection clearer still, the Qur’an has used a similar expression for those in Paradise but with quite a different ending: "And as for those who are made happy, they will be in the Garden, abiding therein so long as the heavens and the earth endure, except as thy Lord pleases – a gift never to be cut off" (11 : 108). The two expressions are similar; those in Hell and those in Paradise abide, each in his place, as long as the heavens and the earth endure, with an exception added in each case – except as thy Lord pleases – showing that they may be taken out of that condition. But the concluding statements are different. In the case of Paradise, the idea that those in it will be taken out of it, if God pleases, is immediately followed by the statement that it is a gift that shall never be cut off, showing that they shall not be taken out of Paradise; while in the case of Hell, the idea that those in it will be taken out is confirmed by the concluding statement, that God does as He intends. (Ibid., 232-233)

Ali further sourced a specific narrative to establish his interpretation:

This conclusion is corroborated by Tradition. The Prophet is reported to have said: "Then Allah will say, The angels have interceded and the prophets have interceded and the faithful have interceded and none remains but the Most Merciful of all the merciful ones. So He will take a handful from the fire and bring out a people who have never done any good" (M 1 : 72). Three kinds of intercession are spoken in this tradition – of the faithful, of prophets, and of the angels – and the intercession of each is undoubtedly meant for people who have some sort of close relation with that class. The faithful will intercede for people who have come in contact with them personally; the prophets will intercede for their followers; the angels, who move men to do good, will intercede for people who are not followers of a prophet, but who have done some good. And the report adds that the most Merciful of all still remains, so He will bring out from the fire even people who have never done any good. It follows that, thereafter, none can remain in Hell, and in fact the handful of God cannot leave anything behind. (Ibid., 233-234) Qur'an Contradiction: Will people stay in Hell forever, or not?