وَأَحَاطَتْ بِهِ خَطِيئَتُهُ
His sin has encompassed him. (Al-Baqarah 2:81)
This passage is invoked to argue for perpetual punishment. The reply considers encirclement by sin as an overwhelming condition that eliminates faith, rather than merely the commission of an acknowledged major sin by someone remaining a believer.
The verse is also interpreted alongside other decisive evidence. The word sayyiʾah alone does not settle that every transgression, however classified, entails eternal residence in Hell.