Quran Universe
2:39

وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَكَذَّبُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَآ أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلنَّارِۖ هُمۡ فِيهَا خَٰلِدُونَ

Waallatheena kafaroo wakaththaboo biayatina olaika ashabu alnnari hum feeha khalidoona

And those who disbelieve and deny Our signs - those will be companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally."

Word by word
  1. وَٱلَّذِينَAnd those
  2. كَفَرُواْwho disbelieve [d]
  3. وَكَذَّبُواْand deny
  4. بِـَٔايَٰتِنَآOur Signs
  5. أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَthose
  6. أَصۡحَٰبُ(are the) companions
  7. ٱلنَّارِۖ(of) the Fire
  8. هُمۡthey
  9. فِيهَاin it
  10. خَٰلِدُونَ(will) abide forever
Al-Baqarah · 2:39Madinah

Turning away from the signs is a choice with an end.

The other side of the promise to Adam's children

Two ways after the fall
follow guidanceno fear, no grief
deny the signscompanions of the Fire
What decides it
where I was bornluck
what I do with guidancefollow or deny

Right after the promise to whoever follows guidance comes its opposite. Ibn Kathir pairs it with the verse that whoever turns from My reminder will have a hard life. Those who deny the signs remain in the Fire with no way out.

You know the reminder is true. You hear it in a khutbah, read it in a verse your friend shares. Then you scroll past. The verse is sober about where a lifetime of scrolling past leads. The door to follow is still open today.

Ignoring reminders is harmless as long as I do not reject them outright.

Turning away again and again is a path, and it has a destination.

Try this

The next reminder that reaches you today, stop and act on one word of it.

Related20:124
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 2:38)

We said: "Get down all of you from this place (the Paradise), then whenever there comes to you Hudan (guidance) from Me, and whoever follows My guidance, there shall be no fear on them, nor shall they grieve (38)But those who disbelieve and belie Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) ـ such are the dwellers of the Fire. They shall abide therein forever. (39)

Allah stated that when He sent Adam, Hawwa', and Shaytan to earth from Paradise, He warned them that He will reveal Books and send Prophets and Messengers to them, i.e., to their offspring. Abu Al-'Aliyah said, "Al-Huda, refers to the Prophets, Messengers, the clear signs and plain explanation."

فَمَن تَبِعَ هُدَايَ

(And whoever follows My guidance) meaning, whoever accepts what is contained in My Books and what I send the Messengers with,

فَلاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ

(There shall be no fear on them) regarding the Hereafter,

وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

(nor shall they grieve) regarding the life of this world. Similarly, in Surat Ta Ha, Allah said,

قَالَ اهْبِطَا مِنْهَا جَمِيعًا ۖ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ ۖ فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُم مِّنِّي هُدًى فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا يَضِلُّ وَلَا يَشْقَىٰ

(He (Allah) said: "Get you down (from the Paradise to the earth), both of you, together, some of you are an enemy to some others. Then if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, he shall neither go astray, nor shall he be distressed.)(20:123)

Ibn 'Abbas commented, "He will not be misguided in this life or miserable in the Hereafter." The Ayah,

وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَن ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكًا وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَىٰ

(But whosoever turns away from My Reminder (i.e. neither believes in this Qur'an nor acts on its teachings) verily, for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection.)(20:124) is similar to what Allah stated here,

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَكَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

(But those who disbelieve and belie Our Ayat ـ such are the dwellers of the Fire. They shall abide therein forever), meaning, they will remain in Hell for eternity and will not find a way out of it.

يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ وَإِيَّايَ فَارْهَبُونِ - وَآمِنُوا بِمَا أَنزَلْتُ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ وَلَا تَكُونُوا أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍ بِهِ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِي ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا وَإِيَّايَ فَاتَّقُونِ