| Pain, Pleasure and Prejudice The Complete Layman’s Guide to the Koran Chapter 19 Hell 39:71 And the unbelievers shall be driven to Hell in throngs; so that when they have reached it, its gates will be opened and its keepers will say to them: “Have not Messengers from your own people come to you reciting to you the Revelations of your Lord and warning you against the Encounter of this your Day?” They will say: “Yes, indeed”; but the word of punishment has come to pass against the unbelievers. 39:72 It will be said: “Enter the gates of Hell, dwelling therein forever. Wretched is the dwelling of the arrogant.” The keeper of Allah’s Hell is a fellow named Malik. 43:74 Indeed the criminals shall suffer the punishment of Hell forever. 43:75 They will not be relieved and they are in it completely confounded. 43:76 We did not wrong them, but they were the wrongdoers themselves. 43:77 They call out: “O Malik, let your Lord be done with us.” He will say: “You are surely staying on”. Another word for Hell is Gehennam. 32:13 Had We wished, We would have granted every soul its guidance, but My Word is now fulfilled: “I shall fill Gehennam (Hell) with jinn and men, all together.” And still another is Saqar, a place where everything is flammable. 74:25 “This is only the discourse of mortals.” 74:26 I will roast him in Saqar (The reference is to al-Walib Ibn al-Mughirah an enemy of Islam). 74:27 If only he knew what is Saqar. 74:28 It leaves nothing or spares nothing. 74:29 Scorching mankind Allah revealed the number of angels guarding Hell as proof for Christians and Jews that He knows what he is talking about and to make a statement about freewill. 74:31 We have only made angels the guardians of the Fire; and we have not fixed their numbers except as a temptation for those who have disbelieved; so that those who received the Book (Christians and Jews) might be certain and those who have believed increase in belief; and that those who received the Book and the believers together may not doubt; and that those in whose hearts there is a sickness together with the unbelievers might say: “What did Allah mean by this allegory?” Thus Allah leads those whom he wishes astray and guides those whom He wishes rightly. None knows the hosts of your Lord except He. He is only a reminder for mankind. Hell’s Fire will never go out or lose its intensity. 17:97 Whoever Allah guides is certainly well-guided, and those whom He leaves in error you shall not find for them, besides Allah, any protectors. We shall gather them on the Day of Resurrection, falling on their faces, blind, dumb and deaf. They dwelling shall be Hell, and whenever it abates, We shall rekindle its flames. Verses about criminals burning in Hell e.g. 43:74 may not refer to ordinary criminals such as robbers and murderers, but again to unbelievers, as is the case for wrongdoers. 74:38 Every soul is a hostage to what it has earned; 74:39 Except for the Companions of the Right; 74:40 In Gardens (Paradise), they will ask, 74:41 Concerning the criminals: 74:42 “What drove you into Saqar?” 74:43 They will say: “We were not among those who prayed, 74:44 “And we were not among those who fed the destitute; 74:45 “And we used to romp with the rompers; 74:46 “And we used to deny the Day of Judgement; 74:47 “Till the Certainty came to us.” Allah likes to anthropomorphize i.e. ascribe human features to things, including natural and supernatural phenomena – take His beloved Fire for example. In surah 104, The Backbiter he refers to Hell’ Fire as the Smasher whose flames creeps toward victims bound and stretched out on pillars and eventually will reach and burn through their flesh to reach and burn their hearts. 104:5 And if only you knew what is the Smasher. 104:6 It is Allah’s kindled Fire, 104:7 Which attains even the hearts. 104:8 Upon them it is closing in; 104:9 On pillars stretch out. Same thing for Hell, for Allah it is a living thing. 67:6 And to those who have disbelieved in their Lord, the punishment of Hell is reserved; and what an evil resort! 67:7 When they are cast into it, they hear its heavy breathing as it boils over. 67:8 It almost bursts with rage. Every time a new throng is cast into it, its keepers ask them: Has no warner come to you?” ---- 25:11 No, they deny the Hour (the Last Day); yet We have prepared for those who deny the Hour a blazing Fire. 25:12 When it (Hell) sights them from a distance, they hear its raging and exhalation. ---- 78:21 Hell is, indeed, lying in ambush; 78:22 A refuge for the transgressors; 78:23 Tarrying therein for ages; On Judgement Day, Hell will be brought forward. 89:21 No; when the earth is demolished completely. 89:22 And your Lord comes, together with the angels, in rows upon rows ----------------------- Angels come in a variety of configurations which would make the spectacle even more impressive. 35:1 Praise be to Allah, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Who appointed the angels as messengers, having wings twofold, threefold and fourfold. He increases the creation as He wills. Allah, indeed, has power over everything. ----------------------- 89:23 And Hell is brought forth on that Day. Then man will remember on that Day; but wherefrom will remembrance come to him? 89:24 He will say: “Would that I had advanced something for (this) my life!” 89:25 On that Day, none shall punish like His (Hell’s) punishment. Allah appears much more at ease when He is describing the horrors of Hell than when He is expounding on the delights to be found in Heaven. The fact that Hell is a place where no distinction is made between men, women and children probably makes it much easier to describe than Paradise with its double standard for men and women. 48:6 And that He may punish the hypocrites, men and women, and the unbelievers, men and women, who think evil thoughts of Allah. Upon them is the evil turn of fortune. Allah is wrathful at them, curses them and has prepared Hell for them; and what a wretched fate! 15:43 “Hell shall be the appointed place for them all. Hell has seven gates by which sinners will enter depending on the sins they committed. 15:44 Seven gates it has; and to each gate a part of them is assigned. Those condemned to roast in Allah’s Fire exist in a state between life and death. 87:12 He who shall roast in the great Fire, 87:13 Then, he will neither die therein nor live. Hell also has its couches but they are not as comfortable as those in heaven. 7:41 Hell shall be their couch and over them shall be canopies [of fire]. Thus We punish the wrongdoers. 38:56 “Hell, in which they roast. Wretched is their couch!” Refreshments are available but leave a lot to be desired. 38:57 “That, let them taste it, as boiling water and pus. 38:58 “And another of the same kind, manifold. ---- 78:24 Wherein, they do not taste any coolness or fresh drinks; 78:25 Except for boiling water and freezing hail; 78:26 As an appropriate reward. ---- 88:4 Roasting in a scorching fire; 88:5 Given to drink from a boiling spring. And the food! You will eat like cattle, pus-eating cattle. 47:12 Allah shall admit those who believe and do the righteous deeds into gardens beneath which rivers flow but the unbelievers shall take pleasure and eat like cattle, and the Fire shall be their abode. ---- 69:36 “And no food except foul pus; 69:37 “Which only the sinners will eat.” You will choke on your food. 73:11 And let Me deal with those who deny and live in luxury; and give them a little respite. 73:12 We have indeed shackles and a blazing Fire; 73:13 And food upon which they choke and painful punishment. Even the vegetables! 88:6 They will have no nourishment except from poisonous cactus, 88:7 Which neither fattens nor appeases hunger. At the bottom of the lowest level of Hell grows the tree of bitterness, the Zaqqum tree. It fruits may leave a lot to be desired and must be consumed while drinking boiling water and having boiling water poured on one’s head perhaps by Allah himself. 44:43 The Tree of Zaqqum (the Tree of Bitterness) will certainly be 44:44 The food of the sinner. 44:45 Like molten lead, which boils in the bellies; 44:46 Like boiling water. 44:47 “Take him and trust him into the pit of Hell. 44:48 “Then poor over his head the agony of the boiling water; 44:49 “Saying: Taste, you are truly the mighty and noble one.’ 44:50 “That is the punishment which you used to doubt.” More verses about that horrible tree. 37:64 It is a tree that grows out of the bottom of Hell; 37:65 Its shoots are like the heads of devils. 37:66 They shall eat from it until they fill their bellies. 37:67 In addition, they have with it a mixture of boiling water. Don’t expect a warm welcome … or is it expect a warm welcome? 38:59 “This is another throng marching with you; no welcome to them, they will roast in the Fire.” You will fight among yourselves, accusing one another of having lied about Allah. You will ask Allah to increase the punishing of those you claim mislead you. 38:60 They say: “No welcome to you; you have offered it to us in advance, and what a wretched resting-place!” 38:61 They say: “Our Lord, whoever has offered this to us, multiply his punishment in the Fire.” 38:62 And they say: “What is it with us that we do not see men here we used to reckon among the wicked? 38:63 “We took them for a laughing-stock, or have eyes been diverted away from them”? 38:64 This is perfectly true, the feuding of the people of the Fire. In keeping with Allah’s creative mind when it comes to inflicting pain, the retribution for some will be in keeping with their sin. 9:35 On the Day when all that will heated in the Fire of Hell, and their foreheads, sides and backs will be branded with it. This is what you hoarded for yourselves; taste now what you used to hoard. What about people who accused the Prophet of plagiarism? 68:15 If our verses are recited to him, he says: “Legends of the ancients.” 68:16 We shall brand him upon the muzzle. People in Hell will also have awnings, above and beneath them, and they will be made of fire. 39:16 They shall have over them awnings of fire and under them other awnings. That is what Allah frightens His servants with: “O My servants fear Me, then.” Shades will not be made of fire but neither will they offer any relief from the heat or protection from the flame for those who did not believe in Allah’s Hell or Fire. 77:29 Go fourth to what you used to denounce as lies. 77:30 Go forth to a three-pronged shade; 77:31 Which neither shades nor avail against the flames. Even in Hell clothing is not optional. 14:50 Their garments made of pitch, and their faces covered with fire. People in Hell will not need the services of a barber. 70:15 No, it is truly a blazing fire; 70:16 Which strips off the scalps. And entertainment will be fireworks like you have never seen before. 77:32 It (Hell) shoots forth sparks as huge as a castle; 77:33 Which look like golden, camel-herds. Confessing your sins and asking forgiveness will only make it more likely that the Compassionate One will confine and torment you in His Hell for an eternity. 67:9 They will say: “Yes indeed; a warner came to us but we disbelieved and said: ‘Allah did not send down anything; you are simply in grave error.’ 67:10 And they will also say : “Had we listened or reasoned, we would not be among the companions of the Fire.” 67:11 So, they will confess their sin. Away then, with the Companions of the Fire.” Let us take a moment to remember the Companions of the Left, even if it is displeasing to the Compassionate One. While the Companions of the Right are pounding their couches, breaking hymens, popping grapes and drinking non-alcoholic wine, the Companions of the Left will be in Hell, in shackles. 56:41 As for the Companions of the Left; and what are the Companions of the Left; 56:42 Amid searing wind and boiling water; 56:43 And a shadow of thick smoke, 56:44 Which is neither cool nor bounteous. ---- 89:26 And none shall bind with fetters like His. Heaven or Hell! Which will it be? Only Allah knows for sure. 17:54 Your Lord knows you best. If He pleases, He will have mercy on you, and if He pleases He will torture you. We have not sent you to be their guardian. ----------------------- Is Allah referring to the Prophet when He says: "If He pleases, He will have mercy on you, and if He pleases He will torture you"? One expert's opinion: This is to declare that a Prophet is sent to convey the Message and not to decide whether a person will receive mercy or get chastisement. It does not, however, mean that, God forbid, the Holy Prophet himself did such a thing and Allah had to warn him. In fact, this is to warn the Muslims that when the Prophet himself is not in a position as to decide the fates of the people, they should never think of such a thing as to assign Paradise and Hell to anyone. Abul A’la Maududi ----------------------- On the Wall Between Heaven and Hell Between Heaven and Hell is said be a fortress-like wall on top of which special people will be seen on Judgement Day walking towards Paradise. 7:46 Between them (the people of Paradise and the people of the Fire) is a veil, and on the Ramparts are men who know everyone by his mark. And they will call out to the People of Paradise: “Peace be upon you.” That is, before they enter it, though they hope to do so. 7:47 And when their eyes are turned towards the people of the Fire, they will say: “Lord, do not place us among the wrongdoing people.” 7:48 And the people of the Ramparts will cry out to some men who they will recognize by their marks saying: “Your amassing [of wealth] and your arrogance are of no avail to you.” 7:49 “Are those the people that you swore Allah will have no mercy on?” [To these people will be said]: “Enter Paradise, you have nothing to fear, and you shall not grieve.” And to these fortunate ones who will make their way to Paradise via the Ramparts and witness the terrible things Allah is doing to people they once knew, it will be forbidden by the Compassionate One to share a single drop of water to alleviate their thirst because they enjoyed life among the living a little too much and forgot about Allah. 7:50 Then the people of the Fire will call out to the people of Paradise: “Pour out upon us some water or part of what Allah has provided you with.” They will say: “Allah forbids them both unto the unbelievers, 7:51 “Who take their religion as amusement and sport, and the present life deludes them.” Today, We forget them as they forgot the encounter of this Day and used to deny Our Revelations. 7:52 And We have brought them a Book, which We have expounded with knowledge, as a guidance and mercy for a people who believe. 7:53 Do they only wait for its fulfilment? The Day its fulfilment comes, those who forgot it before will say: “The Messengers of our Lord brought the truth. Have we then any intercessors to intercede for us, or shall we be taken back, so as to do something other than what we used to do?” They have indeed lost their souls, and what they fabricated has failed them. Answers to Pertinent Questions about Hell The Bridge over Hell There is a bridge over Hell called Sirat. Muslim tradition maintains that after we have been judged, we must travel over this razor sharp, jagged bridge that stretches to the horizon to get into Paradise. The angels will already have thrown the worst sinners into hell. Everyone else will have to make the journey. The righteous and the prophets will zoom above it and get to the other side unscathed. Those who have sinned will only make it part of the way before falling screaming into the flames below. Others whose sins are minor may find themselves hovering between heaven and hell, what Islam calls The Heights, a type of purgatory, as a reminder of where they could have ended up if Allah had not been merciful. Then again, Hell itself may do double-duty as both purgatory i.e. as a temporary abode for lesser sinners (the “removed from Hell” reference in the following revelation) and a permanent abode for the more recalcitrant. 3:185 Every soul shall taste death; and you shall receive your rewards in full on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever is removed from Hell and is admitted into Paradise wins. Life in this world is nothing but an illusory pleasure.
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