Quran Universe
2:80

وَقَالُواْ لَن تَمَسَّنَا ٱلنَّارُ إِلَّآ أَيَّامٗا مَّعۡدُودَةٗۚ قُلۡ أَتَّخَذۡتُمۡ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ عَهۡدٗا فَلَن يُخۡلِفَ ٱللَّهُ عَهۡدَهُۥٓۖ أَمۡ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ

Waqaloo lan tamassana alnnaru illa ayyaman maAAdoodatan qul attakhathtum AAinda Allahi AAahdan falan yukhlifa Allahu AAahdahu am taqooloona AAala Allahi ma la taAAlamoona

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?"

Word by word
  1. وَقَالُواْAnd they say
  2. لَنNever
  3. تَمَسَّنَاwill touch us
  4. ٱلنَّارُthe Fire
  5. إِلَّآexcept
  6. أَيَّامٗا(for) days
  7. مَّعۡدُودَةٗۚnumbered
  8. قُلۡSay
  9. أَتَّخَذۡتُمۡHave you taken
  10. عِندَfrom
  11. ٱللَّهِAllah
  12. عَهۡدٗاa covenant
  13. فَلَنso never
  14. يُخۡلِفَwill break
  15. ٱللَّهُAllah
  16. عَهۡدَهُۥٓۖHis Covenant
  17. أَمۡOr
  18. تَقُولُونَ(do) you say
  19. عَلَىagainst
  20. ٱللَّهِAllah
  21. مَاwhat
  22. لَاnot
  23. تَعۡلَمُونَyou know
Al-Baqarah · 2:80Madinah

We will only burn a few days. Says who?

A comfortable claim with no promise behind it

Their claim
only a few daysthen we are out
asked
did Allah promise you?He keeps promises
or
you speak without knowing
The test of a claim
I feel safe
where is the covenant?show the promise

Some claimed the Fire would touch them only for a few counted days. Ibn Abbas reported they said forty. The Prophet ﷺ was told to ask: did you take a covenant from Allah? If so, He never breaks it. If not, you are saying about Allah what you do not know.

I pray sometimes, I am from a good family, I will be fine. It is the voice that lets you skip the hard change today. Ask it the same question: who promised you that? Real hope is built on what Allah actually said.

I will be fine in the end, whatever I do.

My hope should rest on what Allah promised, not on what I assume about myself.

Try this

Write down one easy assumption you make about your fate. Ask honestly where that promise came from.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

And they (Jews) say, "The Fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days." Say (O Muhammad ﷺ 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? (80)

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 ﷺ 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,

وَقَالُوا لَن تَمَسَّنَا النَّارُ إِلَّا 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.

Also, Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr bin Marduwyah reported Abu Hurayrah saying,

(When Khaybar was conquered, a roasted poisoned sheep was presented to the Prophet ﷺ 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 ﷺ 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 ﷺ 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.