Part 4

Does Anybody See Hell in Reality Before the Day of Resurrection? We know that our Prophet (saw) saw Hell, just as he saw Paradise during his lifetime. al-Bukhaari and Muslim report from 'Abdullaah ibn 'Abbaas that the Prophet (saw) said concerning Salaat al-Khusf (eclipse prayer): "I saw Paradise and I reached out to take a bunch of its fruits. If I had managed to do so you would have eaten from it until the end of time. And I saw Hell, and I have never seen anything more terrifying. I saw that most of its inhabitants are women". (Mishkaat al-Masabeeh, 1/480) Imaam Ahmad reports from al-Mugheerah ibn Shu'bah that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said: "Hell was brought so close to me that I tried to blow its heat away from my face. I saw there the man with the stick with the crooked end, and one who had tended al-Baheerah (a she-camel let loose for pasture for idols, upon which nothing was allowed to be carried), and the man of Humayr and the woman who had imprisoned the cat". (sahih al-Jaami', 2/181 #1968) Muslim reports from Jaabir (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said: "Paradise and Hell were shown to me. Paradise was brought close to me, so that I tried to take fruit from it but I could not reach it. Hell was shown to me, and was brought so close that I stepped back for fear that it would touch me. I saw a Humayr woman who was tall and black, being punished on account of a cat that she owned: she had tied it up, not giving it anything to eat or drink, or allowing it to eat of the vermin of the earth. I also saw Abu Thumaamah 'Umar ibn Maalik being dragged by his trachea through Hell". (sahih al-Jaami', 2/298, #2394) After people die they are shown, in al-Barzakh (the period between death and Judgement) their position in Paradise (if they are believers) or Hell (If they are disbelievers).

How Hell Affects this Earth and its Inhabitants al-Bukhaari reports in his sahih that Abu Hurayrah said: "Hell complained to its Rabb, saying "O my Rabb, some parts of me have consumed others." So He allowed it to exhale twice, once in the winter and once in the summer. That is why you find extreme heat (in the summer) and extreme cold (in the winter)". al-Bukhaari also narrated from Abu Sa'eed (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said: "Delay your prayers until it cools down, for the intensity of heat is from the exhaled air of Hell". (sahih al-Bukhaari, Kitaab Bad' al-Khalq, Baab Siffaat an-naar wa annaha makhluqah and Fath al-Baari 6/330. The author of Jaami' al-Usool 10/517 attributed these two reports to al-Bukhaari, Muslim and atTirmidhi).

al-Jannah wa an-Naar – In the Light of the Qur'aan and Sunnah

The People of Hell and Their Evil Deeds 1. The People Who Will Abide Therein Forever The people of Hell who will abide therein forever, never leaving it and never dying, are the disbelievers and polytheists. Allaah (swt) says: "But those who reject Allaah, for them will be the Fire of Hell. No term shall be determined for them, so they should die, nor shall its penalty be lightened for them". (35:36) "But those who reject Faith and belie Our Signs, they shall be companions [or dwellers] of the Fire; they shall abide therein". (2:39) "Verily those who reject faith and die rejecting - on them is Allaah's Curse and the Curse of the Angels and of all mankind. They will abide therein: their penalty will not be lightened, nor will respite be their lot." (2:161-162) "Know they not that for those who oppose Allaah and His Messenger is the Fire of Hell - wherein they shall dwell? That is the supreme disgrace". (9:63) "It is not for such as join gods with Allaah to visit or maintain the Mosques of Allaah while they witness against their own souls to infidelity [or disbelief]. The works of such bear no fruit: In Fire shall they dwell." (9:17) Because they will abide therein forever, Allaah (swt) described the torment of Hell as a lasting torment, one that will never end, one that is eternal: "Their wish will be to get out of the Fire, but never will they get out therefrom: their Penalty will be one that endures". (5:37) "At length it will be said to the wrongdoers: "Taste you the enduring punishment! You get but the recompense of what you earned!" (10:52) Death will be slaughtered, as is stated in the hadith narration from Ibn 'Umar by al-Bukhaari and in Muslim from Abu Sa'eed who said: "The Messenger of Allaah of Allaah (saw) said: "Death will be brought like a horned ram, and will be made to stand between Paradise and Hell". It will be said, "O people of Paradise, do you know what this is?" They will raise their heads and look, and will say, "Yes, this is death". It will be said, "O people of Hell, do you know what this is?" They will raise their heads and look, and will say, "Yes, this is death". Then the command will be given for death to be slaughtered. Then it will be said, "O people of Paradise, it is eternal, there is no death. O people of Hell, it is eternal, there is no death". Then the Messenger of Allaah (saw) recited: "And warn them of the Day of Grief and regrets when the case has been decided, while [now] they are in a state of carelessness, and they believe not". (19:39) and in the narration of Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Sa'eed al-Khudree added: "If any were to die of joy it would be the people of Paradise and if any were to die of despair, it would be the people of Hell". (atTirmidhi, said "This is a sahih hasan hadith").

al-Jannah wa an-Naar – In the Light of the Qur'aan and Sunnah

2. Hell will be the Dwelling Place of the Kuffar and Mushrikeen Because the disbelievers and polytheists will remain in Hell forever, it is considered to be their abode or dwelling place, just as Paradise is the abode of the believers: "Their abode will be the Fire; and evil is the home of the wrongdoers" (3:151) "Their abode is the Fire, because of the [evil] they earned". (10:8) "Is there not a home in Hell for those who reject Faith?" (29:68) Hell is abode that they deserve: "Your abode is the Fire: that is the proper place to claim you..." (57:15) Hell is the worst abode and destination: "But for the wrongdoers will be an evil place of [final] Return! - they will burn therein - an evil bed [indeed to lie on]!" (38:55-56) 3. Those Who Call Others to Hell Those who follow misguided beliefs and ideologies that contradict the laws of Allaah (Swt) and those who believe in their false causes, these are the ones who call others to Hell: "Those [unbelievers] do [but] beckon you to the Fire.." (2:221) "And We made them [but] leaders inviting to the Fire; and on the Day of Judgement no help shall they find". (28:41) One of them is Shaytaan: "..[would they do so] even if it is Shaytaan beckoning them to the Penalty of the [Blazing] Fire?" (31:21) "He [Shaytaan} only invites his adherents that they may become Companions of the blazing Fire" (35:6) Those who call others to the Fire in this world will lead their people and their followers to the Fire in the Hereafter. An example is Pharaoh: "He will go before his people on the Day of Judgement, and lead them into the Fire." (11:98) All evil leaders who call people to their belief systems that go against Islaam are in fact calling people to the Fire of Hell, because the only way to escape the Fire of Hell and enter Paradise is to follow the path of Faith: "And O my people! [strange] it is for me to call you to salvation while you call me to the Fire!" (40:41) This man's people were calling him to the kufr and shirk of Pharaoh while he was calling them to tawhid and faith in Allaah (swt). Because the kuffaar invite people to the Fire, Allaah (swt) forbade believing men to marry mushrik women, just as He forbade believing women to marry mushrik men:

al-Jannah wa an-Naar – In the Light of the Qur'aan and Sunnah

"And do not marry unbelieving (literally, polytheist) women until they believe. A slave woman who believes is better than a [free] unbelieving woman, even though she allures you. Nor marry [your girls] to unbelievers until they believer; a male slave who believes is better than a [free] unbeliever, even though he allures you. Those [unbelievers] do [but] beckon you to the Fire, but Allaah invites by His Grace to the Garden [of Bliss] and forgiveness, and makes His Signs clear to mankind that they may receive admonition" (2:221)

The Worst Evil Deeds of Those Who Will Remain Forever in Hell The Qur'aan speaks at length of the evil deeds for which those who will abide in the Hell forever deserve their never-ending fate. Here we will mention the most serious of them. (1) Kufr and Shirk: Allaah (swt) tells us that it will be said to those who disbelieved, when they are in the Fire, that Allaah's hatred of them will be greater than their own hatred towards themselves because of their disbelief. Then He explains that their eternal fate in Hell is because of their kufr and shirk: "The unbelievers will be addressed: "Greater was the aversion of Allaah to you than [is] your aversion to yourselves, seeing that you were called to the Faith but you used to refuse. They will say, "Our Rabb! Twice have You made us without life, and twice have You given us life! Now have we recognised our sins: is there any way out [of this]?" [The answer will be]: "This is because, when Allaah was invoked as the Only [object of worship] you did reject Faith, but when partners were joined to Him, you believed! The Command is only with Allaah, All-High, All-Great!" (40:1012) Allaah (swt) tells us that the keeper of Hell will ask the kuffaar as they are approaching Hell: "Did there not come to you your messengers with clear signs?" (40:50) The response will be that they deserved Hell because they disbelieved in the Messengers and their Message: "They will say, "Yes indeed; a Warner did come to us, but we rejected him" and said: "Allaah never sent down any [Message] you are in nothing but a great error!" (67:9) Concerning those who disbelieved in the Qur'aan, Allaah (swt) says: "for We have sent you a Message from Our own presence. If any do turn away therefrom, verily they will bear a burden on the Day of Judgement. They will abide in this [state] and grievous will that burden be to them on that Day". (20:99-101) Concerning those who disbelieve the Qur'aan and associate partners with Allaah (swt), Allaah (swt) says: "Those who reject the Book and the [Revelations] with which We sent Our Messengers: but soon shall they know, when the yokes [shall be] round their necks, and the chains, they shall be dragged along. In the boiling fetid fluid, then in the Fire shall they be burned. Then shall it be said to them, "Where are the deities to which you gave part-worship in derogation to Allaah? They will reply: "They have left us in the lurch. Nay, we invoked not, of old, anything [that had real existence]." Thus does Allaah leave the unbelievers to stray. That was because you were want to rejoice on the earth in things other than the Truth, and that you were want to be ignorant. Enter the gates of Hell, to dwell therein and evil is [this] abode of the arrogant". (40:70-76)