*Paul* said:
I was going to ask this in the dir forum but it would doubtless end in a debate so i'll ask here:
Surah 40. The Believer, The Forgiver (god)
49. Those in the Fire will say to the Keepers of Hell: "Pray to your Lord to lighten us the Penalty for a day (at least)!" 50. They will say: "Did there not come to you your apostles with Clear Signs?" They will say, "Yes". They will reply, "Then pray (as ye like)! But the prayer of those without Faith is nothing but (futile wandering) in (mazes of) error!"
Interpretation S.Abdul A'La Moududi:
That is, 'When the fact is this that the Messengers had come to you with the clear Signs, and you have already been sentenced to suffer punishment here, because you had refused to believe in them, it is not possible for us to pray for you to Allah. For obviously there should be some plea for such a prayer, and you have exhausted every plea by your misconduct. So, you pray for yourselves if you so like: but we would tell you beforehand that the prayers of the people who had disbelieved in the world like you have been of no avail.
What are these clear signs that leave unbelievers without excuse or hope for mercy? Who are these apostles? Who qualifies as an unbeliever?
First when you give a verse of Quran please take the time to find the Tafsir of this Ayat. ayat is the term in arabic for signs. It also means evidences, or verses, or books from Allah, or any miracle Allah performs through his creation as an evidence for the people to believe. The proper context of the verse will be achieved through the tafsir. they use what is authentic. Now the tafsir of the ayat starts from verse 47 and should be included as part of the verses.
Surah Ghafir 40:
47 - "
And when they will dispute in the Fire, the weak will say to those who were arrogant: "Verily, we followed you, can you then take from us some portion of the Fire?"
48 -
Those who where arrogant will say: "We are all (together) in this (Fire)! Verily, Allah has judged between (His) servants!"
49 -
And those in the Fire will say to the keepers (angels) of Hell: "Call upon your Lord to lighten for us the torment for a day!"
50 -
they will say: "Did there not come to you, your Messengers with (clear) evidences?" they will say: "Yes". They will reply: "Then call (as you like)! And the invocation of the disbeleivers is nothing but in vain!"
the dispute of the People of Hell
Allah tells us how the people of Hell will dipute and argue with one another, and Firawn and his people will be among them. the weak, who were the followers, will say to those who were arrogant, who were the leaders and masters:
Verily, we followed you, meaning we obeyed you and heeded your call to disbelief and misguidance in the world,
can you then take from us some portion of the fire?
means can you carry a part of our burden for us?
Those who were arrogant will say: "we are all together in this (fire)!...
meaning we will not bear any part of your burden for you our own punishment is enough for us to bear.
Verily, Allah has judged His servants
means, He has shared out the punishment among us according to what each of us deserves. This is like the Ayah:
He will say for each one there is double (torment), but you will know not 7:38
and those in the fire will say to the keepers of hell: Call upon Your Lord to lighten for us the torment for a day!"
They know Allah willl not answer them and will ot listen to their prayer, because He said, "Remain you in it with ignominy! And speak you not to Me! 23:108
So they will ask the keepers of hell, who are like jailers watching over the people of Hell, to pray to Allah to lessen the punishment in the Fire for them if only for one day. but the keepers of Hell will refuse, saying to them,
Did there not come to you, your Messengers with clear (evidences)?
meaning, was not the proof established in the world on thelips of the Messengers?
they will say: "Yes" they will reply: then call as you like!...
means, you are on your own. we will not pray for you or listen to you; we do not want you to be saved and we have nothing to do with ou. Moreover, we tell you that it is all the same whether you offer supplication or not, because Allah willl not respond and he will not lighten the torment for you.' they will say
And the invocation of the disbelievers is nothing but in vain
meaning it will not be accepted or responded to.
From the Tafsir of ibn kathir Vol 8 (abridged version)
this particular ayat is talking to the disbelievers in general. So when it says Messenegers or as you translated apostles it is talking about them collectively because Hellfire has all of the the disbeleivers and the disbelievers are the one's who disbelieved in the Messneger. so in your case it would be Muhammed and the Quran for he came after jesus and before you so he is your prophet whether you accept it or not. In the time of Jesus the disobedient Jews of his time. Moses it would be Pharoah and his people. Each to their own. this is a future conversation between the angels who watch hell and those that occupy it.
But in general the amount of signs or evidences are truly endless. for they are everywhere and displayed in abundance throughout the creation of Allah. the signs of Allah's infinite power and strength and control, and wisdom all constant all eternal. One sign is the Quran. It is a sign of the mercy of Allah and the truth and reality of why we were created and what steps one must take to lead a blessed life in the present and in the hereafter. It guides man to the truth of their one true Lord and tells them how to truly worship Him alone without partner and instructs the mankind through the example by the one who gave us the book. Prophet Muhammed is a sign to mankind to Allah. An unlettered prophet who not only changed the unjust social order of Arabia at that time and elevated an illiterate nation to be the leaders of the known free world but changed and impacted the social order of the globe at that time. a time where the world was in darkness and filled with injustice and oppression. A time where the superpowers of the world usurped the lives of its people for their own personal gains. Allah sent a man to the world to remind them about Him and warn them of the punishment of the grave, the Day of Judgment, and Hellfire for those who disobey and disbelieve in Allah and or disobey His prophet. He established this all under the banner of a comprehensive and complete system of rules for establishing a truely peaceful and just society. Facts that people such as Michael Hart and many other acclaimed historians have shown and illustrated in books like the 100 most influential people of all time who Hart list Muhammed as number one and illustrates why,
the signs of creation within the creation itself. The infinitely complex structures which we call the human body. Our eyes, our ears, our minds if one truly contemplates on the billions of things going on in our body all automatic, all the time. Look at the kidneys and how it processess and analyses millions of solutions and things taken in by the body cataloguing what is bad and creating something to fight it. Look at the earth and the different ecosystems and millions of factors which not only sustain life but keeps it in constant balance at all times. Look at the number of creation. How many creatures there are on the planet. Look at the stars and the planets and the order of their orbits and the power and beauty of the stars. Look at the size of the creation.
Look at the signs of life and death how continuous yet none of us has control over it. Look at the signs of the Prophets who came before and gave miracle or signs to their people to proof they were men appointed by Allah to deliver a message to their people and to teach them the guidance of Allah's word. There are signs everywhere and in everything.
so to make sure you understood the apostles or Messengers it speaks of are all them for the disbelievers are in hellfire collectively.
the signs are many and they are clear. Who qualifies as a disbeliever. anyone who disobeys Allah, worships anything other then Him or associate anything to Him, and to disobey the ones whom God chose to give his Messege.