How many days do they believe the fire will touch them, and why?

Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:

1. They meant forty days. [Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿIkrimah, Abū al-ʿĀliyah, Qatādah, al-Suddī] There are three opinions as to why they claimed this period to be forty days: (i) They said: The distance between the two ends of Hell is a journey of forty years, and we cover the distance of each year in one day, then the punishment will end, and the fire will perish. [Ibn ʿAbbās] (ii) They said: Our Lord rebuked us for a matter, so He swore to punish us for forty nights, and then He will admit us to Paradise. So the fire will not touch us except for forty days to fulfill the oath. [Al-Ḥasan, Abū al-ʿĀliyah] (iii) It is the number of days they worshipped the calf. [Muqātil]

1. The specified days are seven days. This is because, according to them, the world lasts for seven thousand years, and people will be punished for each thousand years for a day of the worldly days, after which the punishment will cease. [Ibn ʿAbbās]