The term 'Khulood' denotes a long stay

3-1-2018 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaamu alaykum:
https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/179517
In this fatwa, you said that Khulood means a very long time, but not eternity. Does that mean that the words Khaalid and Khaalideena in the Quran do not mean forever? So what about the translations that say that it means "forever", such as 5:119?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

There is no conflict in this regard, because saying that the word Khulood does not necessarily mean eternity is correct. It, rather, means that the punishment may last forever or may come to an end. Al-Aloosi said, “The Muʻtazilah held that Khulood means eternity without an end; however, we believe that it denotes a long stay, whether it comes to an end or not.” [Tafseer Al-Aloosi]

So, if the word Abadan (forever) is mentioned with the word Khulood, as in the verse which you referred to {Khaalideena feeha abadan} [Quran 5:119], this indicates eternity without an end; i.e. an everlasting bliss or punishment.

The Quran and Sunnah texts indicate that the bliss of Paradise shall be everlasting without an end. However, the punishment of Hellfire is of two kinds: the first is the punishment of the sinners from among those who believed in Tawheed (Oneness of Allah); their punishment shall not be everlasting. These sinners will be punished for their sins, but their punishment will come to an end, at which they will come out of Hell and enter Paradise. The second is the punishment of the disbelievers, which will be everlasting, and their Hellfire is enduring and will never perish, according to Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jamaaʻah. This is the truth without any doubt.

Allah knows best.