Religious scholars have long attributed the tenets of Christian faith more to Paul’s teachings than to those of Jesus. But as much as I would like to jump into that subject, I think it best to back up and take a quick, speculative look at the Old Testament.

The Old Testament teaches that Jacob wrestled with God. In fact, the Old Testament records that Jacob not only wrestled with God, but that Jacob prevailed (Genesis 32:24-30). Now, bear in mind, we’re talking about a tiny blob of protoplasm wrestling the Creator of a universe 240,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles in diameter, containing over a billion galaxies of which ours—the Milky Way Galaxy—is just one (and a small one, at that), and prevailing? I’m sorry, but someone was a couple pages short of a codex when they scribed that passage. The point is, however, that this passage leaves us in a quandary. We either have to question the Jewish concept of God or accept their explanation that “God” does not mean “God” in the above verses, but rather it means either an angel or a man (which, in essence, means the Old Testament is not to be trusted). In fact, this textual difficulty has become so problematic that more recent Bibles have tried to cover it up by changing the translation from “God” to “man.” What they cannot change, however, is the foundational scripture from which the Jewish Bible is translated, and this continues to read “God.”

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Unreliability is a recurring problem in the Old Testament, the most prominent example being the confusion between God and Satan! II Samuel 24:1 reads: “Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, ‘Go, number Israel and Judah.’” However, I Chronicles 21:1 states: “Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.” Uhhh, which was it? The Lord, or Satan? Both verses describe the same event in history, but one speaks of God and the other of Satan. There is a slight (like, total) difference. Christians would like to believe that the New Testament is free of such difficulties, but they are sadly deceived. In fact, there are so many contradictions that authors have devoted books to this subject. For example, Matthew 2:14 and Luke 2:39 differ over whether Jesus’ family fled to Egypt or Nazareth. Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 differ over the wording of the “Lord’s Prayer.” Matthew 11:13-14, 17:11-13 and John 1:21 disagree over whether or not John the Baptist was Elijah. Things get worse when we enter the arena of the alleged crucifixion: Who carried the cross—Simon (Luke 23:26, Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21) or Jesus (John 19:17)? Was Jesus dressed in a scarlet robe (Matthew 27:28) or a purple robe (John 19:2)? Did the Roman soldiers put gall (Matthew 27:34) or myrrh (Mark 15:23) in his wine? Was Jesus crucified before the third hour (Mark 15:25) or after the sixth hour (John 19:14-15)? Did Jesus ascend the first day (Luke 23:43) or not (John 20:17)? Were Jesus’ last words, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit my spirit’” (Luke 23:46), or were they “It is finished” (John 19:30)?

These are only a few of a long list of scriptural inconsistencies, and they underscore the difficulty in trusting the New Testament as scripture. Nonetheless, there are those who do trust their

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salvation to the New Testament, and it is these Christians who need to answer the question, “Where is the ‘Christ’ in ‘Christianity?’ “This, in fact, is a supremely fair question. On one hand we have a religion named after Jesus Christ, but on the other hand the tenets of orthodox Christianity, which is to say Trinitarian Christianity, contradict virtually everything he taught. I know, I know—those of you who aren’t screaming “Heretic!” are gathering firewood and planting a stake. But wait. Put down the high-powered rifle and listen. Trinitarian Christianity claims to base its doctrines on a combination of Jesus’ and Paul’s teachings. The problem is, these teachings are anything but complementary. In fact, they contradict one another.

Take some examples: Jesus taught Old Testament Law; Paul negated it. Jesus preached orthodox Jewish creed; Paul preached mysteries of faith. Jesus spoke of accountability; Paul proposed justification by faith. Jesus described himself as an ethnic prophet; Paul defined him as a universal prophet. 1 Jesus taught prayer to God, Paul set Jesus up as intercessor. Jesus taught divine unity, Pauline theologians constructed the Trinity.

For these reasons, many scholars consider Paul the main corrupter of Apostolic Christianity and Jesus’ teachings. Many early Christian sects held this view as well, including the second-century Christian sects known as “adoptionists”– “In particular,

1 Jesus Christ was one more prophet in the long line of prophets sent to the astray Israelites. As he so clearly affirmed, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) When Jesus sent the disciples out in the path of God, he instructed them, “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6) Throughout his ministry, Jesus was never recorded as having converted a Gentile, and in fact is recorded as having initially rebuked a Gentile for seeking his favors, likening her to a dog (Matthew 15:22-28 and Mark 7:25-30). Jesus was himself a Jew, his disciples were Jews, and both he and they directed their ministries to the Jews. One wonders what this means to us now, for most of those who have taken Jesus as their ‘personal savior’ are Gentiles, and not of the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” to whom he was sent.

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they considered Paul, one of the most prominent authors of our New Testament, to be an arch-heretic rather than an apostle.” 2 Lehmann contributes:

“What Paul proclaimed as ‘Christianity’ was sheer heresy which could not be based on the Jewish or Essene faith, or on the teaching of Rabbi Jesus. But, as Schonfield says, ‘The Pauline heresy became the foundation of Christian orthodoxy and the legitimate church was disowned as heretical.’ … Paul did something that Rabbi Jesus never did and refused to do. He extended God’s promise of salvation to the Gentiles; he abolished the law of Moses, and he prevented direct access to God by introducing an intermediary.” 3 Bart D. Ehrman, perhaps the most authoritative living scholar of textual criticism, comments:

“Paul’s view was not universally accepted or, one might argue, even widely accepted …. Even more striking, Paul’s own letters indicate that there were outspoken, sincere, and active Christian leaders who vehemently disagreed with him on this score and considered Paul’s views to be a corruption of the true message of Christ …. One should always bear in mind that in this very letter of Galatians Paul indicates that he confronted Peter over just such issues (Gal. 2:11-14). He disagreed, that is, even with Jesus’ closest disciple on the matter.” 4 Commenting on the views of some early Christians in the Pseudo-Clementine literature, Ehrman wrote:

“Paul has corrupted the true faith based on a brief vision, which he has doubtless misconstrued. Paul is thus the enemy of the

2 Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. 2004. Oxford University Press. P. 3. 3 Lehmann, Johannes. 1972. The Jesus Report. Translated by Michael Heron. London: Souvenir Press. pp. 128, 134. 4 Ehrman, Bart D. 2003. Lost Christianities. Oxford University Press. Pp. 97-98.

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apostles, not the chief of them. He is outside the true faith, a heretic to be banned, not an apostle to be followed.” 5 Others elevate Paul to sainthood. Joel Carmichael very clearly is not one of them:

“We are a universe away from Jesus. If Jesus came “only to fulfill” the Law and the Prophets; If he thought that “not an iota, not a dot” would “pass from the Law,” that the cardinal commandment was “Hear, O Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is one,” and that “no one was good but God”….What would he have thought of Paul’s handiwork! Paul’s triumph meant the final obliteration of the historic Jesus; he comes to us embalmed in Christianity like a fly in amber.” 6 Dr. Johannes Weiss contributes:

“Hence the faith in Christ as held by the primitive churches and by Paul was something new in comparison with the preaching of Jesus; it was a new type of religion.” 7 A new type of religion, indeed. And hence the question, “Where is the ‘Christ’ in ‘Christianity?’ “If Christianity is the religion of Jesus Christ, where are the Old Testament laws and strict monotheism of the Rabbi Jesus’ Orthodox Judaism? Why does Christianity teach that Jesus is the son of God when Jesus called himself the “son of Man” eighty-eight times, and not once the “son of God?” Why does Christianity endorse confession to priests and prayers to saints, Mary and Jesus when Jesus taught his followers: “In this manner, therefore, pray: ‘Our Father …’” (Matthew 6:9)?

5 Ehrman, Bart D. 2003. Lost Christianities. Oxford University Press. P. 184. 6 Carmichael, Joel, M.A. 1962. The Death of Jesus. New York: The Macmillan Company. p. 270. 7 Weiss, Johannes. 1909. Paul and Jesus. (Translated by Rev. H. J. Chaytor). London and New York: Harper and Brothers. p. 130.

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And who appointed a pope? Certainly not Jesus. True, he may have called Peter the rock upon which he would build his church (Matthew 16:18-19). However, a scant five verses later, he called Peter “Satan” and “an offense.” And let us not forget that this “rock” thrice denied Jesus after Jesus’ arrest—poor testimony of Peter’s commitment to the new church. Is it possible that Christians have been denying Jesus ever since? Transforming Jesus’ strict monotheism to the Pauline theologians’ Trinity, replacing Rabbi Jesus’ Old Testament law with Paul’s “justification by faith,” substituting the concept of Jesus having atoned for the sins of mankind for the direct accountability Jesus taught, discarding Jesus’ claim to humanity for Paul’s concept of Jesus having been divine, we have to question in exactly what manner Christianity respects the teachings of its prophet. A parallel issue is to define which religion does respect Jesus’ teachings. So let’s see: Which religion honors Jesus Christ as a prophet but a man? Which religion adheres to strict monotheism, God’s laws, and the concept of direct accountability to God? Which religion denies intermediaries between man and God? If you answered, “Islam,” you would be right. And in this manner, we find the teachings of Jesus Christ better exemplified in the religion of Islam than in Christianity. This suggestion, however, is not meant to be a conclusion, but rather an introduction. Those who find their interest peaked by the above discussion need to take the issue seriously, open their minds and then … read on!

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The Journey into the Hereafter (part 1 of 8): An Introduction

Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam who passed away in 632, related:

“Gabriel came to me and said, ‘O Muhammad, live as you wish, for you shall eventually die. Love whom you desire, for you shall eventually depart. Do what you please, for you shall pay.

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Know that the night-prayer1 is the honor of a believer, and his pride is being independant on others.’” (Silsilah al-Saheehah) If there is only one thing certain about life, it is that it ends. This truism instinctively raises a question which preoccupies most people at least once in their life: What lies beyond death?

At the physiological level, the journey that the deceased takes is plain for all to witness. If left alone to natural causes, 2 the heart will stop beating, the lungs will stop breathing, and the body’s cells will be starved of blood and oxygen. The termination of blood flow to the outer extremities will soon turn them pale. With the oxygen cut off, cells will respire anaerobically for a time, producing the lactic acid which causes rigor mortis – the stiffening of the corpse’s muscles. Then, as the cells begin to decompose, the stiffness wanes, the tongue protrudes, the temperature drops, the skin discolors, the flesh rots, and the parasites have their feast - until all that is left is dried-out tooth and bone. As for the journey of the soul after death, then this is not something that can be witnessed, nor can it be gauged through scientific enquiry. Even in a living body, the conscious, or soul, of a person cannot be subjected to empirical experimentation. It is simply beyond human control. In this regard, the concept of a Hereafter - a life beyond death, resurrection, and a Day of Reckoning; not to mention the existence of a Divine, Omnipotent Creator, His angels, destiny, and so on - comes under the subject of belief in the unseen. The only way in which man can come to know anything of the unseen world is through divine revelation.

“And with God are the keys of the unseen, none knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is in (or on) the earth and

1 Formal prayers (salat) prayed voluntarily at night after the last (isha) and before the first (fajr) of the five daily prayers. The best time to pray them is in the final third of the night. 2 Although a heart can be kept artificially beating, and blood artificially pumping, if the brain is dead, so too is the being as a whole.

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in the sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record.” (Quran 6:59) While what has come down to us of the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel - the scriptures revealed to early prophets - all speak of a Hereafter, it is only through God’s Final Revelation to humanity, the Holy Quran, as revealed to His Final Prophet, Muhammad, that we learn most about the afterlife. And as the Quran is, and will forever remain, preserved and uncorrupted by human hands, the insight it gives us into the world of the unseen is, for the believer, as factual, real and true as anything that can be learnt through any scientific endeavor (and with a zero margin of error!). “…We have neglected nothing in the Book; then unto their Lord they shall all be gathered.” (Quran 6:38) Coupled with the question of what happens after we die, is the question: Why are we here? For if there is indeed no greater purpose to life (that is, greater than simply living life itself), the question of what happens after death becomes academic, if not pointless. It is only if one first accepts that our intelligent design, our creation, necessitates an intelligence and designer behind it, a Creator who will judge us for what we do, that life on earth carries any significant meaning. “Then did you think that We created you in vain and that to Us you would not be returned? Therefore exalted be God, the Sovereign, the Truth; no deity is there save Him, Lord of the Supreme Throne.” (Quran 23:115-116)

If aught else, a discerning person would be forced to conclude that life on earth is full of injustice, cruelty and oppression; that the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, is what is paramount; that if one cannot find happiness in this life, whether due to an absence of material comforts, physical love, or other joyous experiences, then life is simply not worth living. In fact, it is precisely because

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a person despairs of this worldly life while having little, no, or imperfect faith in an afterlife, that they may commit suicide. After all, what else do the unhappy, unloved and unwanted; the dejected, (desperately) depressed and despairing have to lose?! 3 “And who despairs of the Mercy of his Lord except those who are astray?” (Quran 15:56) So can we accept that our death is limited to mere physiological termination, or that life is merely a product of blind, selfish evolution? Surely, there is more to death, and so to life, than this.

3 According to a United Nations report marking ‘World Suicide Prevention Day’, “More people kill themselves each year than die from wars and murders combined ... Some 20 million to 60 million try to kill themselves each year, but only about a million of them succeed.” (Reuters, September 8, 2006)

The Journey into the Hereafter (part 2 of 8):The Believer in the Grave

A Grave World

We will now take a brief look at the journey of the soul after death. This is truly an amazing story, all the more so because it is true and one which we all must take. The sheer depth of knowledge we have concerning this journey, its precision and detail, is a manifest sign that Muhammad was truly God’s Last Messenger to humanity. The revelation he received and then communicated to us from His Lord is as unambiguous in its description of the afterlife as it comprehensive. Our glimpse into this knowledge will begin with a brief exploration of the journey of the believing soul from the moment of death to its final resting place in Paradise. When a believer is about to depart this world, angels with white faces come down from the heavens and say: “O peaceful soul, come out to forgiveness from God and His pleasure.” (Hakim and others) The believer will look forward to meeting his Creator, as the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, explained:

“…when the time of the death of a believer approaches, he receives the good news of God’s pleasure with him and His blessings upon him, and so at that time nothing is dearer to him

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than what lies ahead of him. He therefore loves meeting God, and God loves meeting him.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari) The soul peacefully passes out of the body like a drop of water which emerges from a water-skin, and the angels take hold of it: The angels gently extract it, saying: “…Do not fear and do not grieve, but receive good tidings of the Paradise which you were promised. We were your allies in this worldly life and [are so] in the Hereafter, and you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you request [or wish], as a hospitality from the Forgiving and Merciful.” (Quran 41:30-32) Once extracted from the body, the angels wrap the soul in a shroud smelling of musk and ascend up to the heavens. As the Gates of Heaven open for the soul, the angels greet it: “A good soul has come from the earth, may God bless you and the body you used to dwell in.” …introducing it with the best names it was called with in this life. God commands his “book” to be recorded, and the soul is returned back to earth.

The soul then remains in a place of limbo in its grave, called the Barzakh, awaiting the Day of Judgment. Two fearsome, dread-inspiring angels called Munkar and Nakeer visit the soul to ask it about its religion, God, and prophet. The believing soul sits upright in its grave as God grants it the strength to answer the angels with full faith and certainty. 4 Munkar and Nakeer: “What is your religion?” Believing soul: “Islam.” Munkar and Nakeer: “Who is your Lord?”

4 Musnah Ahmad

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Believing soul: “Allah.” Munkar and Nakeer: “Who is your Prophet?” (or “What do you say about this man?”) Believing soul: “Muhammad.” Munkar and Nakeer: “How did you come to know these things?” Believing soul: “I read the Book of Allah (i.e. the Quran) and I believed.” Then, when the soul passes the test, a voice from the heavens will call out: “My slave has spoken the truth, supply him with furnishings from Paradise, clothe him from Paradise, and open a gate for him to Paradise.”

The believer’s grave is made roomy and spacious and filled with light. He is shown what would have been his abode in Hell - had he been a wicked sinner - before a portal is opened for him every morning and evening showing him his actual home in Paradise. Excited and full of joyful anticipation, the believer will keep asking: ‘When will the Hour (of Resurrection) come?! When will the Hour come?!’ until he is told to calm down. 5

5 Al-Tirmidhi

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The Journey into the Hereafter (part 3 of 8): The Believer on Judgment Day

The Day of Judgment

“That Day, a man shall flee from his brother; from his mother and his father; from his wife and his children. For on that Day, every man will have enough to make him indifferent to others.” (Quran 80:34-37) The Hour of Resurrection will be a terrifying, overwhelming event. Yet, despite its trauma, the believer will be ecstatic, just as Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, related from his Lord:

God says, “By My Glory and Majesty, I will not give My slave two securities and two terrors. If he feels secure from Me in the world6, I will instill fear in him on the Day when I gather My

6 In the sense that he does not fear God’s punishment and thus commits sins.

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slaves together; and if he fears Me in the world, I will make him feel safe on the Day when I gather My slaves together.” 7 “Unquestionably, for the allies of God there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve: those who believed and used to fear God (in this life); for them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. No change is there in the words of God. Indeed in that is the great success.” (Quran 10:62-64)

When all humans ever created are gathered to stand naked and uncircumcised on a great plain under the ferocious scorching heat of the Sun, an elite group of pious men and women will be shaded under the Throne of God. The Prophet Muhammad foretold just who these fortunate souls will be, on that Day when no other shade will avail: 8 • a just ruler who did not abuse his power, but established divinely revealed justice among people • a young man who grew up worshipping his Lord and controlled his desires in order to remain chaste • those who hearts were attached to the Mosques, longing to return every time they left them • those who loved one another for God’s sake • those who were tempted by seductively beautiful women, but their fear of God stopped them from sinning • the one who spent in charity sincerely for God’s sake, keeping their charity secret • the one who wept out of God’s fear in solitude Specific acts of worship will also keep people safe on that day, namely:

7 Silsila Al-Saheehah. 8 Saheeh Al-Bukhari.

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• efforts in this world to relieve the woes of the distressed, to help the needy, and to overlook the mistakes of others will relieve people’s own distress on Judgment Day9

• leniency shown to the indebted10

• the just who are fair to their families and matters entrusted to them11

• controlling anger12

• whoever calls to prayer13

• growing old while in a state of Islam14

• performing ritual ablution (wudu’) regularly and properly15

• those who fight alongside Jesus son of Mary against the Anti-Christ and his army16 • martyrdom God will bring the believer close to Him, shelter him, cover him, and ask him about his sins. After acknowledging his sins he will believe he is doomed, but God will say: “I concealed it for you in the world, and I forgive it for you this Day.”

He will be rebuked for his shortcomings, 17 but will then be handed his record of good deeds in his right hand. 18

9 Saheeh Al-Bukhari. 10 Mishkat. 11Saheeh Muslim.. 12 Musnad. 13 Saheeh Muslim. 14 Jami al-Sagheer. 15 Saheeh Al-Bukhari. 16 Ibn Majah.

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“Then as for he who is given his record in his right hand, he will be judged with an easy account and return to his people in happiness.” (Quran 84:7-8) Happy to look at his record, he will announce his joy: “So as for he who is given his record in his right hand, he will say, ‘Here, read my record! Indeed, I was certain that I would be meeting my account.’ So he will be in a pleasant life – in an elevated Garden, its [fruit] to be picked hanging near. [He will be told], ‘Eat and drink in satisfaction for what you put forth in the days past.’” (Quran 69:19-24) The record of good deeds will then be weighed, literally, to determine whether it outweighs the person’s record of bad deeds, and so that reward or punishment be meted out accordingly. “And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [any deed even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We to take account.” (Quran 21:47) “So whoever worked even an atom’s weight of good will see (the good fruits of his labor).” (Quran 99:7) “The heaviest thing that will be placed in a person’s Balance on the Day of Resurrection [after the testimony of Faith] is good manners, and God hates the obscene, immoral person.” (Al-Tirmidhi) The believers will quench their thirst from a special reservoir dedicated to the Prophet Muhammad. Whoever drinks from it shall never experience thirst again. Its beauty, immenseness, and sweet, fine taste have been described in detail by the Prophet.

17.Mishkat. 18 Saheeh Al-Bukhari. A sign that they are from the inhabitants of Paradise, as opposed to those who will be given their record of deeds in their left hands or behind their backs.

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The believers in Islam – both the sinful amongst them and the pious – as well as the hypocrites will be left in the great plain after the unbelievers are driven to Hell. A long bridge traversing the Hellfire and engulfed in darkness will separate them from Paradise. 19 The faithful will take strength and comfort in their swift crossing over the roaring fires of Hell and in the ‘light’ that God will place in front of them, guiding them to their eternal home: “On the Day you see the believing men and believing women, their light proceeding before them and on their right, [it will be said], ‘Your good tidings today are of gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide eternally.’ Indeed in that is the great success.” (Quran 57:12)

Finally, after crossing the bridge, the faithful will be purified before they are entered into Paradise. All scores between believers will be settled so that no one man nurses a grudge against another. 20

19 Saheeh Muslim. 20.Saheeh Al-Bukhari

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The Journey into the Hereafter (part 4 of 8): The Believer and Paradise

Paradise

The believers will be ushered on towards the grand eight gates of Paradise. There, they will receive a joyous angelic reception and be congratulated on account of their safe arrival and salvation from Hell. “But those who feared their Lord will be driven to Paradise in groups until, when they reach it while its gates have been opened and its keepers say, ‘Peace be upon you; you have become pure; so enter it to abide eternally therein.” (Quran 39:73)

(It will be said to the pious): “O (you) the one in (complete) rest and satisfaction! Come back to your Lord, Well-pleased and well-pleasing unto Him! Enter you then among My honored slaves. Enter you My Paradise!” (Quran 89:27-30)

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The best of the Muslims will enter Paradise first. The most righteous of them will ascend to the highest levels. 21 “But whoever comes to God as a believer (in His Oneness, etc.) and has done righteous good deeds; for such are the high ranks (in the Hereafter).” (Quran 20:75) “And the foremost (in faith) will be foremost (in the Hereafter); those are the ones brought near to God in the Gardens of Pleasure; they will enter in one rank with bright faces.” (Quran 56:10-2)

The Quranic description of Paradise gives us a vision of just what a fantastic place it is. An eternal home that will fulfill all our wholesome desires, seduce all our senses, grant us everything we could possibly want and much more besides. God describes His Paradise as having earth made of is fine musk powder, 22 soil of saffron, 23 bricks of gold and silver, and pebbles of pearls and rubies. Beneath the gardens of Paradise are flowing rivers of sparkling water, sweet milk, clear honey, and non-intoxicating wine. The tents on their banks are domes of hollow pearls. 24 The whole space is filled with sparkling light, sweet-smelling plants and fragrances that can be savored from afar. 25 There are lofty palaces, huge mansions, grapevines, date palms, pomegranate trees, 26 lotus and acacia trees whose trunks of made of gold. 27 Ripe, abundant fruit of all kinds: berries, citrus, drupes, grapes, melons, pomes; all kinds of fruit, tropical and exotic; anything the faithful could possibly desire! “…And therein is whatever each soul desires and delights the eyes...” (Quran 43:71)

21Sahih al-Jami.. 22 Saheeh Muslim 23 Mishkat 24 Saheeh Al-Bukhari 25 Sahih al-Jami 26 Quran 56:27-32 27 Sahih al-Jami

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Each believer will have a most beautiful, pious and pure spouse, wearing exquisite clothing; And there will be so much more in a new world of eternal, radiant joy. “And no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes [i.e. satisfaction] as reward for what they used to do.” (Quran 32:17) As well as physical delights, Paradise will also give its residents a state of emotional and psychological bliss, as the Prophet said: “Whoever enters Paradise is blessed with a life of joy; he will never feel miserable, his clothes will never wear out, and his youth shall never fade away. The people will hear a divine call: ‘I grant you that you will be healthy and never fall sick, you will live and never die, you will be young and never age, you will be joyful and never feel miserable.’” (Saheeh Muslim) Ultimately, the thing that will most delight the eyes will be the Countenance of God Himself. For the true believer, to see this blessed vision of God is to have won the ultimate prize. “[Some] faces, that Day, will be radiant, looking at their Lord.” (Quran 75:22-23) This is the Paradise, the eternal home and final destination of the righteous believer. May God, Most High, make us worthy of it.

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The Journey into the Hereafter (part 5 of 8): The Unbeliever in the Grave

As death approaches the wicked disbeliever, he is made to feel something of the heat of the Hellfire. This taste of what is to come causes him to plead for a second chance on earth to do the good he knew he should have done. Alas! His pleading will be in vain. “Until, when death comes to one of them, he says: ‘O my Lord. Send me back to life (on earth) in order that I may do good deeds in the things that I neglected.’ By no means! It is only an utterance that he says. And before them is a barrier (preventing them from returning: the life of the grave) until the Day (of Resurrection) they are ressurected.” (Quran 23:99-100) Divine wrath and punishment is conveyed to the wicked soul by hideously ugly, dark angels who sit far away from it: “Receive glad tidings of boiling water, wound discharge, and multiple, similar torments.” (Ibn Majah, Ibn Katheer) The disbelieving soul will not look forward to meeting its Lord God, as the Prophet explained:

“When the time of the death of a disbeliever approaches, he receives the evil news of God’s torment and His Requital, whereupon nothing is more hateful to him than what is before

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him. Therefore, he hates the meeting with God, and God too, hates the meeting with him.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari) The Prophet also said: “Whoever loves to meet God, God loves to meet him, and whoever hates to meet God, God hates to meet him.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari) The Angel of Death sits at the head of the disbeliever in his grave and says: “Wicked soul, come out to the displeasure of Allah” as he snatches the soul out of the body. “And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, saying, ‘Save yourselves! Today you will be awarded the punishment of extreme humiliation for what you used to say against God other than the truth, and that you were, toward His verses, being arrogant.” (Quran 6:93) “And if you could not see when the angels take the souls of those who disbelieved… striking their faces and their backs and saying, ‘Taste the punishment of the Blazing Fire.’” (Quran 8:50)

The evil soul leaves the body with great difficulty, drawn out by the angels as a thronged skewer is dragged through wet wool. 28 The Angel of Death then seizes the soul and puts it in a sack woven from hair which gives off a putrid stench, as foul and offensive as the most foul-smelling rotting corpse found on earth. The angels then take the soul up past another company of angels who inquire: “Who is this wicked soul?” to which they reply: “So and so, the son of so and so?” - using the very worst of names that he was ever called during his time on earth. Then, when he is brought to the lowest heaven, a request is made that its gate be opened for him, but the request is denied. Whilst the

28 Al-Hakim, Abu Dawood, and others.

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Prophet was describing these events, when he reached this point, he recited: “The gates of heaven will not be opened for them and they will not enter paradise until a camel can pass through the eye of a needle.” (Quran 7:40) God will say: “Record his book in Sijjeen in the lowest earth.” …and his soul is cast down. At this juncture, the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, recited: “He who assigns partners to Allah is as if he had fallen down from heaven and been snatched up by the birds, or made to fall by the wind in a place far distant.” (Quran 22:31) The wicked soul is then restored to its body and the two fearsome, dread-inspiring angels, Munkar and Nakeer, come to it for its interrogation. After making him sit up, they ask: Munkar and Nakeer: “Who is your Lord?” Disbelieving soul: “Alas, alas, I do not know.” Munkar and Nakeer: “What is your religion?” Disbelieving soul: “Alas, alas, I do not know.” Munkar and Nakeer: “What do you say about this man (Muhammad) sent to you?” Disbelieving soul: “Alas, alas I do not know.”

Having failed his test, the disbeliever’s head will be struck with an iron hammer with a force so violent that it would crumble a mountain. The cry will be heard from heaven: “He has lied, so spread out carpets of Hell for him, and open for him a portal into Hell.” 29 The floor of his grave is thus set alight with some

29 Musnad Ahmad.

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of Hell’s fierce fire, and his grave is made narrow and constricted to the extent that his ribs become intertwined as his body is crushed. 30 Then, an incredibly ugly being, wearing ugly garments and giving off a foul and offensive odor comes to the disbelieving soul and says: “Be grieved with what displeases you, for this is your day which you have been promised.” The disbeliever will ask: “Who are you, with your face so ugly and bringing evil?” The ugly one will reply: “l am your wicked deeds!” The disbeliever is then made to taste bitter remorse as he is shown what would have been his abode in Paradise - had he lived a righteous life - before a portal is opened for him every morning and evening showing him his actual home in Hell. 31 Allah mentions in His Book how the wicked people of Pharaoh are, at this very moment, suffering from such an exposure to Hell from within their graves: “The Fire: they are exposed to it, morning and afternoon, and on the Day when the Hour will be established (it will be said to the angels): ‘(Now) cause Pharaoh’s people to enter the severest torment!’” (Quran 40:46) Overcome with fear and loathing, anxiety and despair, the disbeliever in his grave will keep asking: “My Lord, do not bring the last hour. Do not bring the last hour.” The Companion, Zaid b. Thabit, narrated how, when the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions were once passing some graves of polytheists, the Prophet’s horse bolted and almost unseated him. The Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, then said:

“These people are being tortured in their graves, and were it not that you would stop burying your dead, I would ask God to let

30 Musnad Ahmad. 31 Ibn Hibban.

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you hear the punishment in the grave which I (and this horse) can hear.” (Saheeh Muslim)

The Journey into the Hereafter (part 6 of 8): The Unbeliever on Judgment Day

A great terror will befall the resurrected on the mighty Day of Resurrection: “…He only delays them until a Day when eyes will stare (in horror).” (Quran 14:42) The unbeliever is resurrected from his ‘grave’ as described by God: “The Day they will emerge from the graves rapidly as if they were, toward an erected idol, hastening. Their eyes humbled, humiliation will cover them. That is the Day which they had been promised.” (Quran 70:43) The heart will be trembling, confused about what evil retribution lies in store for it: “And (other) faces, that Day, will have upon them dust. Blackness will cover them. Those are the unbelievers, the wicked ones.” (Quran 80:40-42)

“And never think that God is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only delays them (i.e., their account) until a Day when eyes will stare (in horror). Racing ahead, their heads raised up, their glance does not come back to them, and their hearts are void.” (Quran 14:42)

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The disbelievers will be gathered as they were born - naked and uncircumcised – upon a great plain, driven on his faces, blind, deaf, and mute: “We will gather them on the Day of Resurrection (fallen) on their faces – blind, dumb, and deaf. Their refuge is Hell; every time it subsides We increase them in blazing fire.” (Quran 17:97) “And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressing life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind.” (Quran 20:124) Three times they will “meet” God. The first time they will attempt to defend themselves in futile argument against God Almighty, saying things such as: “The prophets did not come to us!” Even though Allah revealed in His Book: “…And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.” (Quran 17:15) “…Lest you say: ‘There came unto us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner….’” (Quran 5:19) The second time, they will present their excuses while acknowledging their guilt. Even the devils will try to excuse themselves from their crimes of leading men astray: “His (man’s) personal demon will say: ‘Our Lord! I did not push him to transgress. Rather, he was himself in error, far astray.’” (Quran 50:27) But God, Most High and Just, will not be fooled. He will say: “Dispute not in front of me. I have already advanced before you the threat. The sentence that comes from Me cannot be changed. And I am not unjust (in the least) to the slaves.” (Quran 50:28-29)

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The third time the wicked soul will meet its Maker to receive its Book of Deeds32, a record omitting nothing. “And the record [of deeds] will be placed [open], and you will see the criminals fearful of that within it, and they will say: ‘Oh, woe to us! What is this book that leaves nothing small or great except that it has enumerated it?’ And they will find what they did present [before them]. And your Lord does not do injustice to anyone.” (Quran 18:49) Upon receiving their records, the wicked ones will be rebuked in front of the whole of mankind. “And they will be presented before your Lord in rows, (and He will say), ‘You have certainly come to Us, just as We created you the first time.’ But you claimed that We would never have an appointment!” (Quran 18:48)

The Prophet Muhammad said: “These are the ones who did not believe in God!” 33 And it is these whom God will question regarding the blessings they took for granted. Each one will be asked: ‘Did you think We would meet?’ And as each one will answer: ‘No!’ God will tell him: ‘I will forget about you as you forgot Me!’ 34 Then, as the disbeliever will attempt to lie his way out, God will seal his mouth, and his body parts instead will testify against him. “That Day, We will seal over their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify about what they used to earn.” (Quran 36:65) Besides his own sins, the disbeliever will also bear the sins of those he misled.

32 Ibn Majah, Musnad, and Al-Tirmidhi. 33 Saheeh Muslim. 34 Saheeh Muslim.

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“And when it is said to them: ‘What has your Lord sent down?’ They say: ‘Legends of the former peoples,’ that they may bear their own burdens (i.e., sins) in full on the Day of Resurrection and some of the burdens of those whom they misguide without knowledge. Unquestionably, evil is that which they bear.” (Quran 16:24-25) The psychological pain of deprivation, loneliness and abandonment will all to the physical torture. “…and God will not speak to them or look at them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them; and they will have a painful punishment.” (Quran 3:77)

While the Prophet Muhammad will intercede on behalf of all believers, no intercessor will the disbeliever find; he who worshipped false deities besides the One, True God. 35 “…And the wrongdoers will not have any protector or helper.” (Quran 42:8) Their saints and spiritual advisors will dissociate themselves, and the disbeliever would wish he could come back to this life and do the same to those who now disown them: “(And they should consider that) when those who have been followed disassociate themselves from those who followed (them), and they [all] see the punishment, and cut off from them are the ties [of relationship]. Those who followed will say, ‘If only we had another turn [at worldly life] so we could disassociate ourselves from them as they have disassociated themselves from us.’ Thus will God show them their deeds as regrets upon them. And they are never to emerge from the Fire.” (Quran 2:167)

The sorrow of the sin-ridden soul will be so intense that he will actually pray: ‘O God, have mercy on me and put me in the

35 Saheeh Al-Bukhari.

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Fire.’ 36 He will be asked: ‘Do you wish you had a whole earth-full of gold so you could pay it to set yourself free?’ To which he will answer: ‘Yes.’ Whereupon he will be told: ‘You were asked for something much easier than that - worship God alone.’ 37 “And they were not commanded except that they should worship Allah (alone), being sincere to the upright religion (of Islam)….” (Quran 98:5) “But the disbelievers – their deeds are like a mirage in a lowland which a thirsty one thinks is water until, when he comes to it, he finds it is nothing, but he finds God before Him, Who will pay him in full his due; and God is swift in account.” (Quran 24:39) “And We shall turn to what deeds they have done, and We shall make them as dust dispersed.” (Quran 25:23) The disbelieving soul will then be handed in his left hand and from behind his back, his written record which was kept by angels who noted his every deed in his earthly life. “But as for he who is given his record in his left hand, he will say: ‘Oh, I wish I had not been given my record, and had not known what is my account.’” (Quran 69:25-26) “But as for he who is given his record behind his back, he will cry out for his destruction.” (Quran 84:10-11) Finally, he will be made to enter Hell:

“And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups until, when they reach it, its gates are opened and its keepers will say: ‘Did there not come to you messengers from yourselves, reciting to you the verses of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?’ They will say: ‘Yes, but the word

36 Tabarani. 37 Saheeh Al-Bukhari.

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(i.e., decree) of punishment has come into effect upon the disbelievers.’” (Quran 39:71)

The first to enter Hell will be the pagans, followed by those Jews and Christians who corrupted the true religion of their prophets. 38 Some will be driven to Hell, others will fall in it, snatched by hooks. 39 At that point, the disbeliever will wish that he had could have been turned into dust, rather than reap the bitter fruits of his evil works. “Indeed, We have warned you of a near punishment on the Day when a man will observe what his hands have put forth and the disbeliever will say: ‘Oh, I wish that I were dust!’” (Quran 78:40)

38 Saheeh Al-Bukhari. 39 Al-Tirmidhi.

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The Journey into the Hereafter (part 7 of 8): The Unbeliever and Hell

Hell will receive the faithless with its fury and roar: “…and We have prepared for those who deny the Hour, a Blaze. When it [Hellfire] sees them from a distant place, they will hear its fury and roaring.” (Quran 25:11-12) When they near it, they will anticipate their shackles and their destiny as fuel: “Indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and a blaze.” (Quran 76:4) “Indeed, with Us are shackles and burning fire.” (Quran 73:12) Angels will rush at God’s command to seize and shackle him: “Seize him and shackle him.” (Quran 69:30) “…and We will put shackles on the necks of those who disbelieved.” (Quran 34:33) Bound in chains… “…a chain whereof the length is seventy cubits.” (Quran 69:32) …he will be dragged along:

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“When iron collars will be rounded over their necks, and the chains, they shall be dragged along.” (Quran 40:71) While they are being tied down, chained, and dragged to be thrown into Hell, they will hear its rage: “And for those who disbelieved in their Lord is the punishment of Hell, and wretched is the destination. When they are thrown into it, they hear from it a [dreadful] inhaling while it boils up. It almost bursts with rage....” (Quran 67:6-8) Since they will be driven from the great plain of gathering, naked and hungry, they will beg the inhabitants of Paradise for water: “And the companions of the Fire will call to the companions of Paradise: ‘Pour upon us some water, or from whatever God has provided you.’ They will say: ‘Indeed God has forbidden them both to the disbelievers.’” (Quran 7:50) At the same time the faithful in Paradise will be received with honor, made comfortable, and served with delicious banquets, the disbeliever will dine in Hell: “Then indeed, you, the stray, the deniers, will be eating from trees of zaqqoom and filling your bellies with it.” (Quran 56:51-53) Zaqqoom: a tree whose roots are in the bottom of Hell and which branches into its other levels; its fruit resembles the heads of the devils: “Is that (Paradise) better as hospitality or the tree of zaqqoom? Indeed, We have made it a torment for the wrongdoers. Indeed, it is a tree issuing from the bottom of the Hellfire, its emerging fruits as if it was heads of the devils. And indeed, they will eat from it and fill with it their bellies.” (Quran 37:62-66)

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The wicked will have other food to eat as well, some that chokes, 40 and some like dry, thorny bushes. 41 “Nor any food except from the (foul) discharge of wounds; none will eat it except the sinners.” (Quran 69:36-37)

And to wash down their melancholy meals, an extremely cold mix of their own pus, blood, sweat and wound discharge42 as well as boiling, scolding water which dissolves their intestines: “…and are given to drink scalding water that will sever their intestines.” (Quran 47:15) The clothing of the denizens of Hell will be made of fire and pitch: “...but those who disbelieved will have cut out for them garments of fire.” (Quran 22:19) “Their garments of liquid pitch and their faces covered by the Fire.” (Quran 14:50)

Their sandals, 43 bed, and canopies will likewise be made of fire; 44 a punishment encapsulating the entire body, from heedless head to transgressing toe: “Then pour over his head from the torment of scalding water.” (Quran 44:48) “On the Day the punishment will cover them from above them and from below their feet and it is said: ‘Taste what you used to do.’” (Quran 29:55) Their punishment in Hell will vary according to their disbelief and other sins.

40 Quran 72:13. 41 Quran 88:6-7. 42 Quran 78:24-25. 43 Saheeh Muslim. 44 Quran 7:41.

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“By no means! He will surely be thrown into the Crusher. And what can make you know what is the Crusher? It is the fire of God, [eternally] fueled, which mounts directed at the hearts. Indeed, it [Hellfire] will be closed down upon them. In extended columns.” (Quran 104:5-9) Every time the skin will burn through, it will be replenished with new skin: “Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our verses – We will drive them into a Fire. Every time their skins are roasted through, We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the punishment. Indeed, God is ever Exalted in Might and Wise.” (Quran 4:56) Worst of all, the punishment will keep increasing: “So taste [the penalty], and never will We increase you except in torment.” (Quran 78:30) The psychological effect of this punishing chastisement will be tremendous. A chastisement so severe that its sufferers will cry out for it to be multiplied on those who led them astray: “They will say: ‘Our Lord, whoever brought this upon us – increase for him double punishment in the Fire.’” (Quran 38:61) The daring will make their first attempt to break out, but: “And for them are maces of iron. Every time they want to get out of it from anguish, they will be returned to it, and [it will be said]: ‘Taste the punishment of the Burning Fire!’” (Quran 22:21-22) After failing several times, they will seek assistance from Iblees, the Great Satan himself.

“And Satan will say when the matter has been concluded: ‘Indeed, God had promised you the promise of truth. And I promised you, but I betrayed you. But I had no authority over you

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except that I invited you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; but blame yourselves. I cannot be called to your aid, nor can you be called to my aid. Indeed, I deny your association of me [with God] before. Indeed, for the wrongdoers is a painful punishment.’” (Quran 14:22) Giving up on Satan, they will turn to the angels guarding Hell to get their torment reduced, even if just for a day: “And those in the Fire will say to the keepers of Hell: ‘Supplicate your Lord to lighten for us [even] one day from the punishment.’” (Quran 40:49) Awaiting the response for as long as God wills, the guards will come back and ask: “‘Did there not come to you your messengers with clear proofs?’ They will say, ‘Yes.’ They (Hell’s keepers) will reply: ‘Then supplicate yourselves, but the supplication of the disbelievers is nothing but (an exercise in) futility.’” (Quran 40:50) Losing hope in the reduction of punishment, they will seek death. This time they will turn to the Hell’s Chief Keeper, the angel, Malik, pleading to him for forty years: “And they will call: ‘O Malik, let your Lord put an end to us!...’” (Quran 43:77) His curt rebuttal after a thousand years will be: “…Indeed, you will remain.” (Quran 43:77) Eventually, they will return to He Whom they refused to turn to in this world, asking for one last chance: “They will say, ‘Our Lord, our wretchedness overcame us, and we were a people astray. Our Lord, remove us from it, and if we were to return [to evil], we would indeed be wrongdoers.’” (Quran 23:106-107)

33

God’s respond will be thus: “Remain despised therein and do not speak to Me.” (Quran 23:108) The pain from this response will be worse than their fiery torment. For the disbeliever will know his stay in Hell will be for an eternity, his omission from Paradise absolute and final: “Indeed, those who disbelieve and commit wrong – never will God forgive them, nor will He guide them to a path except the path of Hell; they will abide therein forever. And that, for God, is easy.” (Quran 4:168-169) The greatest deprivation and sorrow for an unbeliever will be spiritual: he will be veiled from God and will be deprived of seeing Him: “No! Indeed, from their Lord, that Day, they will be partitioned.” (Quran 83:15) Just like they refused to “see” Him in this life, they will be separated from God in the next life. The faithful will jeer at them. “So Today, those who believed are laughing at the disbelievers, on adorned couches, observing. Have the disbelievers [not] been rewarded [this Day] for what they used to do?” (Quran 83:34-36) Their total despair and grief will culminate when death is brought in the form of a ram and slaughtered in front of them, so they know no refuge will ever be found in a final dissolution. “And warn them, (O Muhammad), of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be concluded; and yet they are heedless, and they do not believe!” (Quran 19:39)

The Journey into the Hereafter (part 8 of 8): Conclusion

Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, who passed away in 632, related: “This world is a prison for the believer, but for the disbeliever it is a Paradise. While for the disbeliever, the Hereafter will be a prison, but for the believer, it will be his Paradise.” Once, in the early period of Islam, a poor Christian happened upon one of the great scholars of Islam, who was at the time mounted upon a fine horse and clad in fine garments. The Christian recited to the well-to-do Muslim the hadeeth quoted above, before remarking: “Yet I stand before you a non-Muslim, poor and destitute in this world, while you are a Muslim, rich and prosperous.” The scholar of Islam replied: “Indeed so. But if you knew the reality of what might await you (of eternal punishment) in the Hereafter, you would consider yourself now to be in Paradise by comparison. And if you knew the reality of what might await me (of eternal bliss) in the Hereafter, you would consider me now to be in prison by comparison.”

Thus, it is from the great mercy and justice of God that he created Heaven and Hell. Knowledge of the Hellfire serves to dissuade man from wrong-doing while a glimpse into the treasures

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of Paradise incites him towards good deeds and righteousness. Those who deny their Lord, work evil and are unrepentant will enter Hell: a place of real pain and suffering. While the reward for righteousness is the place of unimaginable physical beauty and perfection that is His Paradise. Often, people testify to the goodness of their own souls by claiming that any good they do is purely and solely out of a genuine love of God or to live by a universal moral and virtuous code, and for that, they do not need any sticks or carrots. But when God speaks to man in the Quran, He does so knowing the fickleness of his soul. The delights of Paradise are real, physical, tangible delights. Man can begin to appreciate just how desirable the perfect, abundant and unending food, clothing and homes of Paradise can be precisely because he is aware of how satisfying and sweet those things can be in this present reality. “Beautified for men is the love of things they covet: women, children, hoards of gold and silver, branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. Such is the pleasure of the present life; but with Allah is the excellent return (to Paradise).” (Quran 3:14) Likewise, man can begin to appreciate just how tortuous and terrifying Hellfire and its furnishings could be precisely because he is aware of how awful a burning by fire can be in this world. So, the journey of the soul after death, as described to us in vivid detail by God and His Prophet, Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, should and must serve as nothing but an incentive to what all of humanity surely and truly recognizes as its noble purpose: the worship and service of its Creator in selfless love, awe and gratitude. After all, “…they were not commanded except that they should worship Allah (alone), being sincere to the upright religion (of Islam).” (Quran 98:5)

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But, as for those many multitudes amongst mankind who, throughout the ages, neglect their moral duty to their Lord God and their fellow man, let then not forget that: “Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So whoever is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, it is indeed he who has succeeded. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion.” (Quran 3:185)

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Conversations in Paradise and Hell (part 1 of 3): Talking to Angels

We begin with a new series of articles about the conversations that take place in Paradise and Hell. It is hoped, that by reminding ourselves of what has been described to us of Paradise/the Heavenly Gardens and Hell, we will be able to experience and imagine the events that will take place when we come face to face with our abode in the Hereafter. Why does God give us insight into these conversations? The Quran is filled with not just descriptions of the Heavenly Gardens and Hell, but conversations, dialogues, discourses and intellectual discussions. When similar scenarios are repeated over and over it is an indication that God is saying, “pay attention!” It is therefore incumbent upon us to do just that - pay careful attention, with either hope for the blissful abode known as the Heavenly Gardens or seek to protect ourselves from the fires of Hell. Information is repeated over and over in order to make us think long and hard.

In the following articles we will look at several different categories of conversations. The conversations of the angels with the people of the Heavenly Gardens and with the people of the

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Hellfire, the conversations that take place between the people of the Heavenly Gardens and Hell with their family members, and the conversations God has with the people of both the Heavenly Gardens and Hell. In addition to this we will look at what the people of both the Heavenly Gardens and Hell say between themselves, to each other and their internal dialogues. Let us begin with the conversations between the angels and the people of the Hereafter.

Conversing with Angels

Angels dwell amongst human beings from our beginning until the very end. They are responsible for breathing the souls into the foetuses, they record our good and bad deeds and they extract the souls from our bodies at the point of death. As we enter our eternal abode, our afterlife, they are with us and we will be able to converse with them.

The People of the Heavenly Gardens

The eternal abode of those who have lived their lives with patience in the face of adversity, and strived to be righteous through times of difficulty and ease, is the eternal, Heavenly Gardens known as Jannah. When the people who will spend eternity in the Heavenly Gardens enter into their new home the angels will greet them. These are the gatekeepers of the Heavenly Gardens and they will say, “enter here in peace, because of your patience!” The Heavenly Gardens is a place of eternal serenity and total satisfaction. And those who kept their duty to their Lord will be led to the Heavenly Gardens in groups, till, when they reach it, and its gates will be opened (before their arrival for their reception) and its keepers will say: Salamun ‘Alaikum (peace be upon you)! You have done well, so enter here to abide therein.” (Quran 39:73)

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All sense of injury or pain will be removed from their hearts. They will reply to the angels by praising God, and the conversation continues. “…All the praises and thanks be to God, Who has guided us to this, and never could we have found guidance, were it not that God had guided us! Indeed, the Messengers of our Lord did come with the truth.” And it will be cried out to them: “This is the the Heavenly Gardens which you have inherited for what you used to do.” (Quran 7:43)

The people of the Hell fire

The conversations that will take place between the people of the Hellfire and the angels will be entirely different. The dwellers of the Hellfire will be having an entirely different experience. Instead of waiting eagerly to be entered into their eternal abode the people destined for Hell will have to be herded and dragged by the angels in charge of the fire. As the bereft people are cast into it the angels will say, “Didn’t a warner come to you?” It almost bursts up with fury. Every time a group is cast therein, its keeper will ask: “Did no warner come to you?” They will say: “Yes, indeed a warner did come to us, but we belied him and said: ‘Allah never sent down anything (of revelation); you are only in great error.’“ And they will say: “Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!” (Quran 67:8-10) This however was not the first time these dwellers of the fire carried on a conversation with the angels. When the angel of death and his assistants gather to remove the souls of such people they ask pointedly, where are those you worshipped besides God? Because at this stage of a person’s life his idols are conspicuously absent.

…when Our Messengers (the angel of death and his assistants) come to them to take their souls, they (the angels) will say:

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“Where are those whom you used to invoke and worship besides God,” they will reply, “They have vanished and deserted us.” And they will bear witness against themselves, that they were disbelievers. (Quran 7:37) After some period of time the dwellers of the Hellfire begin to lose all hope. They have been calling out to God but receive no response, so they begin to beg the angels, the gatekeepers. Call on your Lord they say, ask Him to lighten our punishment. The angels respond with words that increase their disappointment. And those in the Fire will say to the keepers (angels) of Hell: “Call upon your Lord to lighten for us the torment for a day!”They will say: “Did there not come to you, your Messengers with (clear) evidence (and signs)?” They will say: “Yes.” They will reply: “Then call (as you like)! … (Quran 40:49-50)

Conversations in Paradise and Hell (part 2 of 3): Dialogues and Discussions

Conversations between the people of Paradise and the people of Hell

The dialogue that takes place between the people of Paradise and the people whose abode is the Hellfire is mentioned in several places in the Quran. When we read and ponder over these verses it is incumbent upon us to reflect and try to learn something from the despair of those who face the horrors of hell. We should taste their fear and learn from their mistakes. Reading about them in the Quran allows us to experience something of their pain but it also allows us to see how easily we can avoid this destination. In Paradise they will ask one another about the guilty (polytheists, criminals, and disbelievers), (and they will ask them), “What has caused you to enter Hell?” They will say: “We were not of those who used to offer the prayer, nor did we feed the poor; and we used to talk falsehood (all that which God hated) with vain talkers and we used to belie the Day of Recompense, until there came to us (the death) that is certain.” (Quran 74:40-47)

The dwellers of Paradise will call out to the dwellers of Hell: “We have found that what our Lord promised us is true. Have you

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found that what your Lord promised you is true?” They will say: “Yes, we have!”... (Quran 7:44) The dwellers of Hell will call out to the dwellers of Paradise: “Throw down some water to us, or some of what Allah has provided you with.” They will say: “God has forbidden them to the disbelievers.” (Quran 7: 50) It is clear that the suffering of those in Hell is increased by them being able to see and hear the blessings bestowed upon the dwellers of Paradise.

Conversations the dwellers of Paradise have between themselves

The Words of God, in the Quran, tell us that the dwellers of Paradise will ask each other about their past lives. “And they will approach one another, inquiring of each other. They will say, “Aforetime we were afraid with our families [of the punishment of God], but God has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire.” (Quran 52:25-27) The majority of verses describing the conversations amongst the people of Paradise confirm that they will continue their righteous behaviour by praising and thanking God for the blessings He has bestowed upon them. Although they had believed the promise of God to be true and thus behaved accordingly, the supreme magnificence of Paradise overwhelms them with gratitude. And they will say: “All the praises and thanks be to God Who has removed from us (all) grief. Verily, our Lord is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Ready to appreciate (good deeds and to recompense). Who, out of His Grace, has lodged us in a home that will last forever, where toil will touch us not nor weariness will touch us.” (Quran 35:34-35)

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And they will say: “All the praises and thanks be to God Who has fulfilled His Promise to us and has made us inherit (this) land. We can dwell in Paradise where we will; how excellent is the reward of those who labour!” (Quran 39:74)

Conversations the People of the Hellfire have amongst themselves

When the people destined to spend eternity in the Hellfire have been herded into the fire, they will be shocked that the people or idols they had trusted and followed are not able to help them. The leaders, who are called the arrogant in the Quran, admit to their weaker followers that they were themselves astray. Thus anyone who followed them, followed them into a life bereft of mercy. And they will turn on one another accusingly. They will say: “You came to us from a position of power [i.e. ordered us with polytheism, and stopped us from the truth].” They will reply: “No! It was you who would not believe - we had no authority over you - and you were already exceeding all limits. Our Lord’s sentence on us is just and we must all taste the punishment. We led you astray as we ourselves were astray.” (Quran 37:27-32) And they all shall appear before Allah (on the Day of Resurrection); then the weak will say to those who were arrogant, “Verily, we were following you; can you avail us anything against God’s Torment?” They will say: “Had God guided us, we would have guided you. It makes no difference to us (now) whether we rage, or bear (these torments) with patience; there is no place of refuge for us.” (Quran 14:21)

And when the matter is decided, that is the matter of who is destined for Paradise and who is destined for Hell, the Hellfire’s most infamous, notorious occupant, Satan himself will reveal a great truth. It is a truth and scenario that God revealed to us in the Quran, but one that many people did not take seriously. That he,

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Satan, was a liar. Satan’s promises were never going to be fulfilled, his promises were empty and he himself believed in God. And Satan will say when the matter has been decided: “Verily, God promised you a promise of truth. And I too promised you, but I betrayed you. I had no authority over you except to call you, and you responded to my call. So do not blame me but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor can you help me. I deny your former act in associating me (Satan) as a partner with God (by obeying me in the life of the world). Verily, there is a painful torment for the wrong-doers.” (Quran 14:22)

Conversations in Paradise and Hell (part 3 of 3): And I shall never hereafter be angry with you

Internal dialogues

When the matter has been decided, and the people of the Hellfire have been lead away, and the people of Paradise have entered the garden, each group of people will talk amongst themselves. Their lives in the world are not forgotten and for both groups there is an eternity in which to look back and analyse why - why am I suffering, or why am I entitled to this luxury? The matter has been decided, the short time that was spent in the life of this world is over and life everlasting has begun.

He (God) will say: “What number of years did you stay on earth. They will say: “We stayed a day or part of a day. Ask of those who keep account.” He (God) will say: “You stayed not but a little, if you had only known! (Quran 23:113)

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We know that the dwellers of both Paradise and Hell will turn to each other questioning, however what will they say to themselves, how will they feel, bereft, alone and forsaken? God tells us that they will sigh, in fear, in frustration. It is hard for us to imagine but we do know that they appear to give up hope. “As for those who are wretched, they will be in the Fire, sighing in a high and low tone.” (Quran 11:106) “…and has prepared for them a flaming Fire (Hell). Wherein they will abide forever, and they will find neither a protector, nor a helper. On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say: “Oh, would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger “. (Quran 33:64-66) When the people of the Hellfire ponder about why those whom they followed in this world are not able to help them in their suffering, in it is a lesson for us to learn. In the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad we are able to read and see with our mind’s eye just what our own situation could potentially be. What a contrast and a delight it will be for those who are entered into Paradise. They will have the extreme pleasure of seeing God, this is something that will be denied to the people of the Hellfire. “Surely they will be veiled from seeing their lord that day”. (Quran 83:15)

The People of Paradise and the Dwellers of the Hellfire Conversing with Family Members

There are not many verses of Quran or traditions from Prophet Muhammad, may God praise him, that show us conversations taking place between people in their eternal abodes with their family members. There is however evidence to show that they will indeed remember their lives in this world and think about their family members.

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“And they will approach one another, inquiring of each other. They will say, “Aforetime we were afraid with our families [of the punishment of God], but God has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire. Verily, we used to invoke Him (Alone) before. Verily, He is the Most Kind, the Most Merciful.” (Quran 52:25-28)

Conversations between God and the Dwellers of the Hellfire

The conversations that we find between God and the people of the Hellfire are not numerous. We more easily find verses from Quran where they, the dwellers of the Hellfire converse amongst themselves or with the angels who guard the gates of Hell. However there is one conversation that is striking and it should be clear in our minds, so that we protect ourselves from ever hearing these awful words. The dwellers of Hell will say: “Our Lord! Bring us out of this. If ever we return (to evil), then we would indeed be wrongdoers.” He (God) will say: “Remain you in it, in a state of humiliation! And do not speak to Me!” (Quran 23:107-108)

Conversations between God and the People of Paradise

In the traditions of Prophet Muhammad we find a very touching and delightful conversation between God, and the last person to exit from the torment of Hellfire by the mercy of God. The man is invited to enter Paradise and so he will go to it and think that Paradise is full. The man returns to God and says “My Lord, I found Paradise full,” and God will reply, “Go and enter Paradise for there you have something ten times better than the world and everything in it”. Prophet Muhammad said, “That is the one who is lowest in status of the people of Paradise”. 1

1 Saheeh Al-Bukhari

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Another man will be asked by God if he has everything he wants and he will reply to his Lord saying “Yes, but I like to grow things.” So he will go and plant his seeds, and within the blinking of an eye they will grow, ripen, be harvested and piled up like mountains. 2We will finish our three part series with a very beautiful saying in the hope that each and every one who reads or hears this beautiful conversation will, at the end of their lives and the beginning of their Hereafter, be a part of this conversation.

God will say to the people of Paradise: “O People of Paradise! They will respond: “Here we are, Our Lord, and all the good is in Your Hands.” God will say: “Are you satisfied? They will answer: “Why shouldn’t we be satisfied when You have bestowed on us what You have not bestowed on any of Your other creation.” He will say “Shall I not bestow upon you something even better than that? They will say: “O Our Lord! What could be better than that? God will say: “I bestow upon you My pleasure and I shall never hereafter be angry with you.” 3

2 Saheeh Al-Bukhari 3 Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim

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Islam teaches that Hell is a real place prepared by God for those who do not believe in Him, rebel against His laws, and reject His messengers. Hell is an actual place, not a mere state of mind or a spiritual entity. The horrors, pain, anguish, and punishment are all real, but different in nature than their earthly counterparts. Hell is the ultimate humiliation and loss, and nothing is worse than it: “Our Lord! Surely, whom You admit to the Fire, indeed You have disgraced him, and never will the wrongdoers find any helpers.” (Quran 3:192) “Know they not that whoever opposes God and His Messenger (Muhammad), certainly for him will be the Fire of Hell to abide therein? That is the extreme disgrace.” (Quran 9:63)

The Names of Hell

Hell Fire has different names in Islamic texts. Each name gives a separate description. Some of its names are: Jaheem – fire - because of its blazing fire. Jahannam - Hell - because of the depth of its pit. Ladthaa - blazing fire - because of its flames.

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Sa’eer - blazing flame - because it is kindled and ignited. Saqar - because of the intensity of its heat. Hatamah - broken pieces or debris - because it breaks and crushes everything that is thrown into it. Haawiyah - chasm or abyss - because the one who is thrown into it is thrown from top to bottom

Paradise and Hell Presently Exist and are Eternal

Hell exists at the present time and will continue to exist forever. It will never die down, and its inhabitants will remain in it forever. No one will come out of Hell except sinful believers who believed in the Oneness of God in this life and believed in the specific prophet sent to them (before the coming of Muhammad). The polytheists and unbelievers will reside in it forever. This belief has been held from classical times and is based on clear verses of the Quran and confirmed reports from the Prophet of Islam. The Quran speaks of Hell in the past tense and states that it has already been created: “And fear the Fire which is prepared for the disbelievers.” (Quran 3:131) The Prophet of Islam said: “When any of you dies, he is shown his position (in the Hereafter) morning and evening. If he is one of the people of Paradise, he is shown the place of the people of Paradise. If he is one of the people of Hell, he is shown the place of people of Hell. He is told, ‘this is your position, until God resurrects you on the Day of Resurrection.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim) In another report, the Prophet said:

“Surely, the soul of a believer is a bird hanging on the trees of Paradise, until God returns it to his body on the Day of Resurrection.” (Muwatta of Malik)

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These texts make it clear that Hell and Paradise exist, and that souls may enter them before the Day of Resurrection. Speaking of Hell’s eternity, God says: “They will long to leave the Fire, but never will they leave there from; and theirs will be a lasting torment.” (Quran 5:37) “…And they will never leave of the Fire.” (Quran 2:167) “Surely, those who disbelieve and did wrong; God will not forgive them, nor will He guide them to any way except the way of Hell, to dwell therein forever.” (Quran 4:168-169) “Surely, God has cursed the disbelievers, and has prepared for them a flaming Fire wherein they will abide for ever.” (Quran 33:64) “And whosoever disobeys God and His Messenger, then surely, for him is the fire of Hell, he shall dwell therein forever.” (Quran 72:23)

The Keepers of Hell

Mighty and stern angels stand over Hell who never disobey God. They do precisely as ordered. God says: “O you who believe, save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is men and stones over which are (appointed) angels, stern and severe, who flinch not (from executing) the commands they receive from God, but do (precisely what) they are commanded.” (Quran 66:6) They are nineteen keepers of Hell as God says: “Soon I will cast him into Hell Fire. And what will explain to you what is Hellfire? Nothing does it allow to endure, and nothing does it leave alone! Darkening and changing the color of man! Over it are nineteen (angels as keepers of Hell).” (Quran 74:26-30)

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One should not think that the inhabitants of Hell will be able to overcome the keepers of Hell because there are just nineteen of them. Everyone of them has the strength to subdue all humanity by himself. These angels are called the Guards of Hell by God in the Quran: “And those in the Fire will say to the Guards of Hell, ‘Call upon your Lord to lighten for us the torment for a day!’” (Quran 40:49) The name of the chief angel guarding over Hell is Malik, as mentioned in the Quran: “Surely, the disbelievers will be in the torment of Hell to abide therein forever. (The torment) will not be lightened for them, and they will be plunged into destruction with deep regrets, sorrows and in despair therein. We wronged them not, but they were the wrongdoers. And they will cry: ‘O Malik! Let your Lord make an end of us’ He will say: ‘Surely, you shall abide forever.’ Indeed We have brought the truth to you, but most of you have a hatred for the truth” (Quran 43:74-78)

Its Location

There is no exact mention from the Quran or the sayings of Prophet Muhammad which pinpoint the location of Hell. No one knows its exact place except God. Due to some linguistic evidence and context of certain hadeeth, some scholars have stated that Hell is in the heavens, yet others say it is in the lower earth.

Its Size

Hell is huge and immensely deep. We know this through several ways.

First, innumerable people will enter Hell, each, as described in a hadeeth, with the molar teeth as large as Uhud (a mountain in

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Medina) 1 The distance between the shoulders of its inhabitants has also been described as being equivalent to three days of walking. 2 Hell will house all the unbelievers and sinners from the beginning of time and there will still be room for more. God says: “On the Day when We will say to Hell: ‘Are you filled?’ It will say, ‘Are there any more (to come)?’” (Quran 50:30) The Fire of Hell is likened to a mill that grinds thousands and thousands of tons of grain and then waits for more to come. Second, a stone thrown from the top of Hell will take a very long time to reach the bottom. One of the companions of the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, describes how they were sitting with the Prophet and heard the sound of something falling. The Prophet inquired if they knew what it was. When they expressed their lack of knowledge, he said:

“That was a stone thrown into Hell seventy years ago and it is yet in the way (the other side) of Hell until now.” 3 Another report states:

“If a stone as big as seven pregnant camels was thrown from the edge of Hell, it would fly through it for seventy years, and yet it would not reach the bottom.” 4 Third, a great many angels will bring Hell on the Day of Resurrection. God speaks of it: “And Hell will be brought near that Day…” (Quran 89:23) The Prophet said:

1 Saheeh Muslim 2 Saheeh Muslim 3 Mishkat 4 Sahih al-Jami’

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“Hell will be brought forth that Day by means of seventy thousand ropes, each of which will be held by seventy thousand angels.” 5

Fourth, another report that indicates the vast size of Hell is that the sun and moon will be rolled up in Hell on the Day of Resurrection. 6

Its Levels

Hell has various levels of heat and punishment, each is reserved according to the extent of their disbelief and sins of those being punished. God says: “Surely, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire.” (Quran 4:145) The lower the level of Hell, the greater is the intensity of heat. Since the hypocrites will suffer the worst punishment, so will they be in the lowest part of Hell. God refers to the levels of Hell in the Quran: “For all will be (ranked) by degrees according to what they did.” (Quran 6:132) “Is one who seeks the good pleasure of God then like the one who draws on himself the wrath of God? His abode is Hell – and worst, indeed, is that destination! They are in varying grades with God, and God is All-Seer of what they do.” (Quran 3:162-163)

The Gates of Hell

God speaks of seven Gates of Hell in the Quran:

“And surely, Hell is the promised place for them all. It has seven gates, for each of these gates is a class of sinners assigned.” (Quran 15:43-44)

5 Saheeh Muslim 6 Tahawi in Mushkal al-Aathaar, Bazzar, Baihaqi, and others.

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Each gate has an allotted share of the damned who will enter through it. Each will enter according to his deeds and assigned a level of Hell accordingly. When the unbelievers are brought to Hell, its gates will open, they will enter it, and stay in it forever: “And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups until, when they reach it, its gates are opened and its keepers will say, ‘Did there not come to you messengers from yourselves, reciting to you the verses of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?’ They will say, ‘Yes, but the word (meaning the decree) of punishment has come into effect upon the disbelievers.’” (Quran 39:71) They will be told after admission: “Enter the gates of Hell to abide eternally therein, and wretched is the residence of the arrogant.” (Quran 39:72) The gates will be shut and there will be no hope of escape as God says:

“But those who reject Our signs, they are the companions of the left hand. On them will be Fire vaulted over (meaning the gates will be locked). 7” (Quran 90:19-20) Furthermore, God says in the Quran: “Woe to every scorner and mocker, who collects wealth and (continuously) counts it. He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal. No! He will surely be thrown into the Crusher. And what can make you know what is the Crushers? It is the fire of God, (eternally) fueled, Which mounts directed at the hearts. Indeed, it (Hellfire) will be closed down upon them in extended columns.” (Quran 104:1-9)

7 Based on the explanation of Ibn Abbas (‘Tafsir Ibn Kathir’).

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The gates of Hell are also closed before the Day of Judgment. The Prophet of Islam spoke of them closing in the month of Ramadan. 8

Its Fuel

Stones and stubborn unbelievers make the fuel of Hell as God says: “O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones...” (Quran 66:6) “…then fear the Fire, whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.” (Quran 2:24) Another source of fuel for Hell will be the pagan gods that were worshipped besides God: “Indeed, you (disbelievers) and what you worship other than God are the firewood of Hell. You will be coming to (enter) it. Had these (false deities) been (actual) gods, they would not have come to it, but all are eternal therein.” (Quran 21:98-99)

The Clothing of its Inhabitants

God tells us that the dress of the people of Hell will be garments of fire tailored for them: “…But those who disbelieved will have cut out for them garments of fire. Poured upon their heads will be scalding water.” (Quran 22:19) “And you will see the criminals that Day bound together in shackles, their garments of liquid pitch (melted copper) and their faces covered by the Fire.” (Quran 14:49-50)

8 Tirmidhi.

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The intense heat, food, and drink of the people of Hell is described in Islamic religious sources.

Its Heat

God says: “And the companions of the left – what are the companions of the left? (They will be) in scorching fire and scalding water and a shade of black smoke, neither cool nor beneficial.” (Quran 56:41-44) Everything people use to cool down in this world – air, water, shade – will be useless in Hell. The air of Hell will be hot wind and the water will be boiling. The shade will not be comforting or cooling, the shade in Hell will be the shadow of black smoke as mentioned in the verse: “And shadow of black smoke.” (Quran 56:43) In another passage, God says: “But he whose balance (of good deeds) will be light, will have his home in a (bottomless) pit. And what will explain to you what this is? (It is) a Fire blazing fiercely.” (Quran 101:8-11) God describes how the shade of Hell’s smoke will rise above the Fire. The smoke that rises from Hell will be divided into three columns. Its shade will neither cool nor offer any protection from the raging Fire. The flying sparks will be like huge castles similar to string of marching yellow camels: “Proceed to a shadow (of smoke) having three columns (but having) no cool shade and availing not against the flame. Indeed, it throws sparks (as huge) as a fortress, as if they were yellow camels (marching swiftly).” (Quran 77:30-33)

The Fire consumes everything, leaving nothing untouched. It burns skin reaching all the way to the bones, melting the contents

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of the stomach, leaping up to the hearts, and exposing the vital organs. God speaks of the intensity and affect of the Fire: “I will drive him into Hellfire. And what can make you know what is Hellfire? It lets nothing remain and leaves nothing (unburned), altering the skins.” (Quran 74:26-29) The Prophet of Islam said: “Fire as we know it is one seventieth part of the Fire of Hell. Someone said, ‘O Messenger of God, it is enough as it is!’ He said, ‘It is as if sixty-nine equal portions were added to fire as we know it.’” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari) The Fire never extinguishes: “So taste you (the results of your evil deeds). No increase shall We give you except in torment.” (Quran 78:30) “…Whenever it abates, We shall increase for them the fierceness of the Fire.” (Quran 17:97) The torment will never be reduced and the unbelievers will not have any break: “…Their torment shall not be lightened nor shall they be helped.” (Quran 2:86)

The Food of its Inhabitants

The food of the people of Hell is described in the Quran. God says: “No food will there be for them except from a bitter, thorny plant which neither nourishes nor avails against hunger.” (Quran 88:6-7)

The food will neither nourish nor taste good. It will only serve as a punishment to the people of Hell. In other passages, God describes the tree of zaqqum, a special food of Hell. Zaqqum is a repulsive tree, its roots go deep into the bottom of Hell, its

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branches stretching all over. Its ugly fruit is like the heads of the devils. He says: “Indeed, the tree of zaqqum is food for the sinful, like murky oil, it boils within bellies, like the boiling of scalding water.” (Quran 44:43-46) “Is that (Paradise) better as hospitality or the tree of zaqqum? Indeed, We have made it a torment for the wrongdoers. Indeed, it is a tree issuing from the bottom of the Hellfire, its emerging fruit as if it was heads of the devils. And, indeed, they will eat from it and fill with it their bellies. Then, indeed, they will have after it a mixture of scalding water. Then, indeed, their return will be to the Hellfire.” (Quran 37:62-68) “Then indeed you, O those astray (who are) deniers, will be eating from trees of zaqqum and filling with it your bellies, and drinking on top of it from scalding water, and will drink as the drinking of thirsty camels. That is their hospitality on the Day of Recompense.” (Quran 56:51-56) People of Hell will get so hungry that they will eat from the obnoxious tree of zaqqum. When they will fill their bellies with it, it will start to churn like boiling oil causing immense suffering. At that point they will rush to drink extremely hot water. They will drink it like thirsty camels, yet it will never quench their thirst. Rather their internals will be torn. God says: “…They will be given to drink boiling water, so that it cuts up their bowels (to pieces).” (Quran 47:15) The thorny bushes and zaqqum will choke them and stick in their throats because of their foulness: “Surely, with us are fetters (to bind them) and a ranging Fire (to burn them), and a food that chokes and a penalty grievous.” (Quran 73:12-13)

The Prophet of Islam said:

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“If a drop from zaqqum were to land in this world, the people of earth and all their means of sustenance would rot. So how must it be for one who must eat it?” (Tirmidhi) Another food served to the people of Hell will be festering puss that oozes out of their skin, the discharge that flows from the private parts of adulterers and the decaying skin and flesh of those being burnt. It is the “juice” of the people of Hell. God says: “So no friend has he here this Day, nor has he any food except filth from the washing of wounds which none do eat but those in sin.” (Quran 69:35-37) “This – so let them taste it – is scalding water and (foul) purulence. And other (punishments) of its type (in various) kinds.” (Quran 38:57-58) Lastly, some sinners will be fed fire from Hell as a punishment. God says: “Indeed, those who devour the property of orphans unjustly are only consuming into their bellies fire.” (Quran 4:10) “Indeed, they who conceal what God has sent down of the Book and exchange it for a small price – those consume not into their bellies except the Fire.” (Quran 2:174)

Its Drink

God tells in the Quran about the drink of people of Hell: “They will be given to drink boiling water, so that it cuts up their bowels (to pieces).” (Quran 47:15) “…And if they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like murky oil, which scalds (their) faces. Wretched is the drink, and evil is the resting place.” (Quran 18:29)

“Before him is Hell, and he will be given a drink of purulent water. He will gulp it but will hardly (be able to) swallow it. And

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death will come to him from everywhere, but he is not to die. And before him is a massive punishment.” (Quran 14:16-17) “A boiling fluid and fluid dark, murky, intensely cold.” (Quran 38:57) The types of drink people of Hell will get to drink are as follows: • Extremely hot water as God says: “They will go around between it and scalding water, heated (to the utmost degree).” (Quran 55:44) “They will be given drink from a boiling spring.” (Quran 88:5) • Flowing puss from the flesh and skin of an unbeliever. The Prophet said: “Anyone who drinks intoxicants will be made to drink the mud of khabal. They asked, ‘O Messenger of God, what is the mud of khabal?’ He said, ‘The sweat of the people of Hell’ or the ‘juice of the people of Hell.’” (Saheeh Muslim) • A drink like boiling oil described by the Prophet as: “It is like boiling oil, when it is brought near a person’s face, the skin of the face falls off into it.” (Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi)

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The intensity of the fire of Hell will be such that people will be willing to give up their dearest possessions to escape it: “Indeed, those who disbelieve and die while they are disbelievers – never would the (whole) capacity of the earth in gold be accepted from one of them if he would (seek to) ransom himself with it. For those there will be a painful punishment, and they will have no helpers.” (Quran 3:91) The Prophet of Islam said:

“One of the people of Hell who found most pleasure in the life of this world will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection and will be dipped into the Fire of Hell. Then he will be asked, ‘O son of Adam, have you ever seen anything good?’ Have you ever enjoyed any pleasure?’ He will say, ‘No, by God, O Lord.” 9 Few moments in Hell and the person will forget all the good times they had. The Prophet of Islam informs us:

“On the Day of Resurrection, God will ask the one whose punishment in the Fire is lightest, ‘If you had whatsoever you

9 Saheeh Muslim

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wanted on earth, would you give it to save yourself?’ He will say, ‘Yes.’ God will say, ‘I wanted less than that from you when you were still in the loins of Adam, I asked you not to associate anything in worship with Me, but you insisted on associating others in worship with Me.’” 10 The horror and intensity of the Fire is enough to make a man lose his mind. He would be willing to give up everything he holds dear to saved from it, but he never will be. God says: “The criminal will wish that he could be ransomed from the punishment of that Day by his children, and his wife and his brother, and his nearest kindred who shelter him, and all – all that is on earth – so it could save him. No! Indeed, it is the Flame (of Hell), plucking out (his being) tight to the skull!” (Quran 70:11-16) The punishments of Hell will vary in degree. The torment of some levels of Hell will be greater than others. People will be put in a level according to their deeds. The Prophet of Islam said:

“There are some whom the Fire will reach their ankles, others up to their knees, others up to their waists, and yet others up to their necks.” 11 He spoke of the lightest punishment in Hell:

“The person who will receive the least punishment among the people of Hell on the Day Resurrection will be a man, a smoldering ember will be placed under the arch of his foot. His brains will boil because of it.” 12

10 Saheeh Al-Bukhari 11 Saheeh Muslim 12 Saheeh Al-Bukhari

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This person will think no one else is being punished more severely than himself, even though he will be the one receiving the lightest punishment. 13 Many verses of the Quran speak of various levels of punishment for the people of Hell: “The hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire.” (Quran 4:145) “and on the Day that Judgment will be established (it will be said to the angels): Cast the people of Pharaoh into the severest penalty!” (Quran 40:46) The Fire kindled by God will burn the skin of the people of Hell. The skin is the largest organ of the body and the site of sensation where the pain of burning is felt. God will replace the burnt skin with a new one to be burnt again, and this will keep on repeating: “Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our verses – We will drive them into a Fire. Every time their skins are roasted through We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the punishment. Indeed, God is ever Exalted in Might and Wise.” (Quran 4:56) Another punishment of Hell is melting. When super-heated water will be poured on their heads, it will melt away the internals: “…poured upon their heads will be scalding water by which is melted that within their bellies and (their) skins.” (Quran 22:19-20) Prophet Muhammad said:

“Super-heated water will be poured onto their heads and will dissolve through it until it cuts up their innards, expelling them;

13 Saheeh Muslim

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until it comes out of their feet, and everything is melted. Then they will be restored as they were.” 14 One of the ways God will humiliate the sinful in Hell is by gathering them on Judgment Day on their faces, blind, deaf, and dumb. “and We will gather them on the Day of Resurrection (fallen) on their faces – blind, dumb and deaf. Their refuge is Hell; every time it subsides We increase them in blazing fire.” (Quran 17:97) “And brings an evil deed — such will be flung down on their faces into the Fire, (and it will be said), ‘Are you recompensed for anything but what you used to do?’” (Quran 27:90) “The Fire will burn their faces and they will grin therein, their lips displaced.” (Quran 23:104) “The Day their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say, ‘How we wish we had obeyed God and obeyed the Messenger.’” (Quran 33:66) Another painful punishment of unbelievers will be getting dragged on their faces into Hell. God says: “Indeed, the criminals are in error and madness. The Day they are dragged into the Fire on their faces (it will be said), ‘Taste the touch of Hell.’” (Quran 54:47-48) They will be dragged on their faces while they are tied in chains and fettered: “Those who deny the Book (the Quran) and that with which We sent Our messengers – they are going to know, when the shackles are around their necks and the chains; they will be dragged in boiling water; then in the Fire they will be filled (with flame).” (Quran 40:70-72)

14 Tirmidhi

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God will blacken the faces of the people of Hell: “On the Day (some) faces will turn white and (some) faces will turn black. As for those whose faces turn black. (to them it will be said), ‘Did you reject faith after your belief? Then taste the punishment for what you used to reject.’” (Quran 3:106) Their faces will be such as if the night has covered them: “But they who have earned (blame for) evil doings – the recompense of an evil deed is its equivalent, and humiliation will cover them. They will have from God no protector. It will be as if their faces are covered with pieces of the night – so dark (are they). Those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.” (Quran 10:27) The Fire will surround the unbeliever on all sides just as sins surrounded him like a sheet wound around his body: “Theirs will be a bed of Fire and over them coverings (of Fire)…” (Quran 7:41) “On the Day when the torment (of Hell) will cover them from above them and from underneath their feet.” (Quran 29:55) “…and surely Hell will surround the unbelievers…” (Quran 9:49) The Fire of Hell will leap up to the hearts. The Fire will penetrate their super-sized bodies and reach the innermost depths: “No! He will surely be thrown into the Crusher. And what can make you know what is the Crushers? It is the fire of God, (eternally) fueled, which mounts directed at the hearts.” (Quran 104:4-7) The Fire will split the entrails as mentioned by the Prophet:

“A man will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and thrown into the Fire. Then his entrails will be spilled out into the Fire and

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he will be forced to walk around and around like a donkey in a treadmill. The people of Hell will gather around him and say, ‘O so-and-so, what is wrong with you? Did you not enjoin us to do good and forbid us to do wrong?’ He will say, ‘I used to order you to do good, but I did not do it and I used to forbid you to do evil, but I used to do it myself.’ Then he will walk around and around like a donkey in a treadmill.” 15 God has described the chains, yokes, and fetters of Hell. They will be tied up with chains and dragged with yokes on their necks: “for the rejecters We have prepared iron chains, yokes, and a blazing Fire.” (Quran 76:4) “With Us are fetters (to bind them), and a Fire (to burn them), and a food that chokes, and a penalty grievous.” (Quran 73:12-13) “We will put yokes on the necks of the unbelievers. It would only be requital for their evil deeds.” (Quran 34:33) “when yokes will be put round their necks and the chains, they will be dragged along.” (Quran 40:71) “(The stern command will say): seize him and bind him, and burn him in the blazing Fire, further, make him march in a chain, whereof the length is seventy cubits.” (Quran 69:30-32) The pagan gods and all other deities that were worshipped besides God who people thought will be their intercessors with God and bringing them closer to Him will be thrown into Hell with them. This will be to humiliate and demonstrate that these false gods have no power,

“Indeed, you (disbelievers), and that which you worship other than God, 16 are but fuel for Hell. Verily, you will enter it. Had

15 Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim

16 Ibn Katheer, in his tafsir, explains that pious people and prophets from before, who were taken for gods by later generations without their consent, are not included as ‘fuel for the fire’. Only the people who‘ liked to be worshipped’ by their

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these (false deities) been (actual) gods, they would not have entered there, but all will eternally abide therein.” (Quran 21:98-99) When the unbeliever will see Hell, he will be filled with remorse, but it will not be of any benefit: “And they will feel regret when they see the punishment; and they will be judged in justice, and they will not be wronged.” (Quran 10:54) The unbeliever will pray for his death when they sense its heat, “And when they are thrown into a narrow place therein bound in chains, they will cry out thereupon for destruction. (They will be told), ‘Do not cry this Day for one destruction but cry for much destruction.’” (Quran 25:13-14) Their screams will get louder and they will call onto God hoping He will take them out of Hell: “And they will cry out therein, ‘Our Lord, remove us; we will do righteousness – other than what we were doing!’” (Quran 35:37) They will realize theirs sins and the error of stubborn disbelief: “And they will say, ‘If only we had been listening or reasoning, we would not be among the companions of the Blaze.’ And they will admit their sin, so (it is) alienation for the companions of the Blaze.” (Quran 67:10-11) Their prayers will be rejected:

“They will say, ‘Our Lord, our wretchedness overcame us, and we were a people astray. Our Lord, remove us from it, and if we were to return (to evil), we would indeed be wrongdoers.’ He will

worshippers will be thrown therein, along ‘with the ones who worshipped him’ and other non-animate idols. Of people like Jesus, the Quran says: “Those for whom good has preceded from Us will be far removed there-from …” (Quran 21:101)

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say, ‘Remain despised therein and do not speak to Me.’” (Quran 23:106-108) After that, they will call the keepers of Hell asking them to intercede to God on their behalf for reduction in torment: “And those in the Fire will say to the keepers of Hell, ‘Supplicate your Lord to lighten for us a day from the punishment.’ They will say, ‘Did there not come to you your messengers with clear proofs?’ They will say, ‘Yes.’ They will reply, ‘Then supplicate (yourselves), but the supplication of the disbelievers is not except in error.’” (Quran 40:49-50) Their will even plead for their own destruction to relieve themselves of the pain: “And they will call, ‘O Malik, let your Lord put an end to us!’ He will say, ‘Indeed, you will remain.’” (Quran 43:77) They will be told the punishment will never be reduced, it is eternal: “Then be patient or impatient – it is all the same for you. You are only being recompensed for what you used to do.’” (Quran 52:16) They will weep for a long time: “So let them laugh a little and then weep much as recompense for what they used to earn.” (Quran 9:82) They will weep until no tears are left, then that they will weep blood, which will leave its traces as described by the Prophet:

“The people of Hell will be made to weep, and they will weep until they have no tears left. Then they will weep blood until they have, as it were, channels in their faces, if ships were put in them, they would float.” 17

17 Ibn Majah

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As you have seen, the descriptions of Hell in the Islamic scripture are clear and graphic, as are the descriptions of the people who deserve their fate therein. Such is the clarity that any person who believes in Judgment Day and the eternal destinies of the Hereafter must be motivated to at least try not to be of the people thrown inside. The best, and really only, way of avoiding this fate is to seriously search into the true religion God has mandated for humanity. A person should never follow a religion merely because it was that which he was “born into”, nor should they take religion to be a new age fashion. Rather, they should look into the truth about this world and the life to come, and be sure that they have prepared for that judgment from which there is no return, by living a life and system of belief revealed and unchanged from the One High Above.

Source: islamhouse.com/

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