How do we answer the question: Why is the torment of the Hereafter greater than the torment of this world, and is it just for a person to commit a crime in this world for an hour and be punished for it for thousands of years?

The eternity of disbelievers in Hell is due to their insistence on disbelief and their resolve to persist in it. Had they lived forever, they would have continued in their disbelief. The proof for this is the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: "When two Muslims confront each other with their swords, the killer and the killed are both in Hell." This is because the one who was killed was eager to kill his companion. Moreover, disbelief is a permanent and unchangeable cause, unlike the sins of monotheists, which are considered temporary causes. If the disbelievers were to be sent back [to life], they would return to what they were forbidden from. In the Hereafter, they are blind and astray, just as they were in this world. Had Allah known any good in them, He would have made them hear. They do not possess an atom's weight of goodness that would qualify them to exit Hell.