What is your opinion on the issue of the eternity of Hellfire, and is it a matter of scholarly disagreement that does not necessitate declaring its proponent an infidel, taking into consideration what has been reported from the two Shaykhs, Al-Wadi'i and Al-Fawzan?

The summary of Sheikh Al-Fawzan's كلام (discourse) is that the opinion of the annihilation of Hellfire is not a matter of consensus, nor is it considered an innovation of misguidance. The issue is a matter of scholarly disagreement, and there has been no consensus condemning this view. Furthermore, those who hold this opinion have adduced evidence from the Quran and Sunnah, and an innovation is that which has no original evidence. As for Sheikh Muqbil Al-Wadi'i, he mentioned that Imam Al-Shawkani, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Ibn Al-Qayyim erred in asserting the annihilation of Hellfire. The issue of the annihilation of Hellfire is a subject of lengthy discussion, and there is a distinction between those who assert the annihilation of both Paradise and Hellfire (which is an innovation of misguidance), and the assertion of the perpetuity of Paradise and the annihilation of Hellfire alone. Ibn Al-Qayyim believes that the assertion of the annihilation of Hellfire alone is not among the statements of the people of innovation, because it aligns with the Quran, Sunnah, and the sayings of the Companions. Even if the opinion of the annihilation of Hellfire alone is incorrect, it is not described as an innovation or disbelief, as those who hold it rely on ijtihad (independent reasoning) in understanding the religious texts and the narrations of the Salaf. Imam Al-Alusi believes that the correct opinion is the perpetuity of both Paradise and Hellfire, and that if the assertion of the annihilation of Hellfire were correctly attributed to Ibn Taymiyyah, then some of the early and later scholars held it, and there is nothing in it that necessitates excommunication.