Remember that Iblis asked for time until the Day of Resurrection, and that human history, the unfolding of time, is the result granted by GOD. As I said earlier, fire too requires time to operate; it subsides and must be replenished.
Their place is Hell; whenever it abates, We increase the burning for them. (Q17:97)
مَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ كُلَّمَا خَبَتْ زِدْنَاهُمْ سَعِيرًا
This is a process with a purpose. The Day of Judgement and its aftermath are not meant solely to pass judgement but also to instill judgement. In other words, it is not sufficient for the Divine Plan that you suffer; you must know why you suffer.
They swore by GOD the strongest oaths that GOD would never resurrect the dead. On the contrary, it is a pledge He must fulfill – but most of mankind does not know – / that He might clarify for them what they dispute about and so the ones who had rejected [truth] might know that they were liars. (Q16:38-39)
وَأَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ لاَ يَبْعَثُ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَمُوتُ بَلَى وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ
لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ الَّذِي يَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا كَاذِبِينَ
AL-LAH wants this clarification to take place in this world, of course. But if the timing is delayed, for whatever reason . . . He still wants it.
AL-LAH desires to make things clear for you. (Q4:26)
يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ
As GOD’s servant in the cause of drastic Enlightenment, the Fire performs this function of making Hell a teachable moment – a lesson that lasts for as long as it takes to learn it. To some, the Fire says, in effect, ‘This is what you are.’ And to others, it conveys, ‘This is what you need’. In both cases, the truth, intended as a blessing, is taken to be a punishment. And it remains a punishment for as long as one fails to see in it the light of truth, but rather as something to be avoided. Either way, the truth, burning or enlightening, retains its absolute nature of being everlasting.
Then it is said to those who were oppressors, “Taste the punishment of everlastingness. Are you rewarded other than with what you used to earn? / They ask you, “Is it true?” Say, “By my Master, yes! Indeed it is the truth, and you are not escaping it.” (Q10:52-53)
ثُمَّ قِيلَ لِلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا ذُوقُوا عَذَابَ الْخُلْدِ هَلْ تُجْزَوْنَ إِلاَّ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْسِبُونَ
وَيَسْتَنْبِئُونَكَ أَحَقٌّ هُوَ قُلْ إِي وَرَبِّي إِنَّهُ لَحَقٌّ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُعْجِزِينَ
Eventually, however, the desired clarification comes. How do we know? Because, without fail,
Verily AL-LAH performs what He desires. (Q22:14)
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ
The question then becomes, ‘What happens when the inhabitants of Hell finally learn their lesson? Does the Qur’an not constantly refer to the punishment of everlastingness, in which they stay forever, and from which there is no escape?
Truth, when we no longer want to escape from it, is no longer a punishment. When we accept the truth as true, we have ceased to be deniers and liars. And only deniers and liars – those who reject the truth – are in Hell forever. We mortals are a changeable lot, going from one spiritual state to another. But Truth, whether we leave it or eventually love it, remains unchanged.
Fire, any fire, performs three tasks. It burns; that is its most basic function. It sheds light, which is why fire is never simply a negative force in the Qur’an. And finally, it transforms. It substantially changes what it burns, and illuminates what it does not directly touch.
As long as the devils, deniers, and dealers in drugs, destruction, and death remain who they are, they remain where they are. A bonfire is made over them to ‘honour’ their undying resistance. They could, on the other hand, accept the truth of who they have been and Who GOD has always been, and immediately put themselves out of their misery, literally (not in the sense of dying, however, for there is no death in the Everafter). When the truth finally reaches to the core of their being, they themselves become truthful, and belong with AL-LAH, the Absolutely True.
The GOD You Already Know 