What is the meaning of the noble verse: "But as for those who were wretched, they will be in the Fire. For them therein is groaning and sighing, abiding eternally therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except what your Lord wills. Indeed, your Lord is an effecter of what He intends. And as for those who were made happy, they will be in Paradise, abiding eternally therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except what your Lord wills — a gift without interruption"? And what is the most preponderant opinion regarding its interpretation? Is it understood from this that whoever enters Paradise will leave it if Allah wills? And have these two verses been abrogated by anything in the Qur'an?

The two verses are not abrogated but are definitive. The meaning of (إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ رَبُّكَ) "except what your Lord wills" is a point of scholarly difference, but they unanimously agreed that the bliss of the people of Paradise is everlasting, continuous, and never ceases or fades, for they will abide therein forever. And His saying (عَطَاءً غَيْرَ مَجْذُوذٍ) "an uninterrupted gift" confirms this.

Scholars have differed in interpreting (إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ رَبُّكَ) "except what your Lord wills" with several opinions: 1. The duration of their stay in the graves, where a door to Paradise is opened for the believer, but it is not Paradise itself. 2. The duration of their standing at the Day of Judgment for reckoning and recompense after exiting the graves. 3. All these times combined: the duration of their stay in the graves, the duration of their standing at the Station, and their passage over the Sirat (bridge); during these times, they are not in Paradise, but they are being transferred to it.

The people of Paradise will abide therein forever and ever, with no death, no illness, no expulsion, no sorrow, no distress, no menstruation, and no post-natal bleeding; rather, they will be in perpetual bliss.

Similarly, the people of Hell will abide therein forever and ever; they will not exit it, nor will Hell be destroyed. And His saying (إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ رَبُّكَ) "except what your Lord wills" is said to refer to the duration of their stay in the graves or at the Station, then they are driven to Hell and will abide therein forever. The saying of some of the Salaf that the torment of Hell will end after a long period is not accepted by the majority of the People of the Sunnah and the Community; rather, it is false and is refuted by numerous proofs from the Qur'an and Sunnah that confirm the eternity of the people of Hell therein, such as His saying, the Most High: (وَمَا هُمْ بِخَارِجِينَ مِنَ النَّارِ) "and they will not be exiting from the Fire" and (فَذُوقُوا فَلَنْ نَزِيدَكُمْ إِلَّا عَذَابًا) "So taste, for We will not increase you except in torment."