Qurʾānic Exegesis and the Future of Humanity: Interpretation of the Divine Exception in Qurʾān 11:106–108

This paper considers exegesis of Qurʾān 11:106–108 by three influential commentators: Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923), al-Zamakhsharī (d. 538/1144), and Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1209). The commentaries of these authors reveal early and sustained debate regarding the possibility of universal salvation. This exegetical debate centered around the idea that God will provide an exception (istithnāʾ) to his own threat of eternal damnation. All three exegetes examined in this paper limit the scope of this exception and hold that unbelievers will be punished in hell forever. At the same time, all three bear witness to the views of other Muslims, who (centuries prior to the well-known universalist writings of IbnʿArabī and Ibn Taymiyya) held that God will exempt all people from eternal punishment and bring everyone to a future state of happiness. The paper thus suggests the diversity of Islamic reflection about the ultimate future of humanity.