The Quran

128

Preface

وَيَومَ يَحشُرُهُم جَميعًا يا مَعشَرَ الجِنِّ قَدِ استَكثَرتُم مِنَ الإِنسِ ۖ وَقالَ أَولِياؤُهُم مِنَ الإِنسِ رَبَّنَا استَمتَعَ بَعضُنا بِبَعضٍ وَبَلَغنا أَجَلَنَا الَّذي أَجَّلتَ لَنا ۚ قالَ النّارُ مَثواكُم خالِدينَ فيها إِلّا ما شاءَ اللَّهُ ۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكيمٌ عَليمٌ

Yusuf Ali

One day will He gather them all together, (and say): “O ye assembly of Jinns!¹ Much (toll) did ye take of men.” Their friends amongst men will say: “Our Lord! we made profit² from each other: but (alas!) we reached our term - which thou didst appoint for us.” He will say: “The Fire be your dwelling-place: you will dwell therein for ever, except as God willeth.”³ for thy Lord is full of wisdom and knowledge.

Jinns are spirits-here evil spirits. See 6:100, n. 929.
It is common experience that the forces of evil make an alliance with each other, and seem thus to make a profit by their mutual log-rolling. But this is only in this material world. When the limited term expires, their unholy bargains will be exposed, and there will be nothing but regrets.
Eternity and infinity are abstract terms. They have no precise meaning in our human experience. The qualification, “except as God willeth,” makes it more intelligible, as we can form some idea-howev-er sinadequate-of a Will and Plan, and we know God by His attribute of Mercy as well as of justice.