Part 8

The Wisdom Behind There Being So Many People In Hell The reason why there will be so many people in Hell is not that the truth failed to reach them all, wherever or whenever they lived. Allaah does not blame anyone whom His call did not reach: "..Nor would We punish with Our Wrath until We had sent a Messenger [to give warning]." (17:15)

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

"..And there never was a people, without a Warner having lived among them [in the past]". (35:24) The reason behind it is the fact that those who responded to the Messengers were few in number, while those who disbelieved were great. Furthermore, many of those who responded were not pure and sincere in faith. In his book, at-Takhweef min an-Naar, Ibn Rajab discussed the reason why so few people will enter Paradise and so many will enter Hell: "These hadith and other similar reports prove that most of the children of Aadam will enter Hell, and that the followers of the Messengers are few in number when compared to the rest of mankind. Those who did not follow the Messengers will enter Hell, except for those whom the Message did not reach, or who could not understand it because of the garbled form in which they heard it. Many of those who claim to be followers of the Messengers are in fact adhering to a distorted religion and an altered book, and they too will be among the people of Hell, " as Allaah (swt) says: "...But those of the sects that reject it [the Qur'aan] the Fire will be their promised meetingplace" (11:17) As for those who claim to follow the Book and Law of Allaah (swt) the true religion, many of them will also enter Hell. These are the Munaafiqoon (the hypocrites) who will be in the lowest level of the Fire. Many of those who claim to follow it openly and in secret will be tested by ambiguities and doubts - these are the misguided inventors and followers of bid'ah (reprehensible innovations, heresies). Several hadith have been narrated which state that the ummah will split into seventy-odd sects, all of which will be in the Hell except for one. Many people will also be tested with forbidden desires for which the promised punishment is Hellfire, although in this case it is not necessarily an eternal punishment. No one from this ummah will be saved from the Fire, or deserve the absolute promise of Paradise, apart from the one sect or group, who follow the example and practice of the Prophet (saw) and his Companions openly and in secret, and are saved from the temptation and trials of desires and doubts. Such are very few indeed, especially in latter times". (atTakhweef min an-Naar, Ibn Rajab, p.214) The main reason why so many follow their desires is that the love of such things is deeply rooted in the human psyche: "Fair in the eyes of men is the love of things they covet: women and children; heaved-up hoards of gold and silver [wealth]; horses branded [for blood and excellence]; and [wealth of] cattle and well-tilled land. Such are the possessions of this world's life.." (3:14) Many people want to fulfill these desires in whatever way they wish, without paying attention to the revealed laws of Allaah (swt), and by adhering to the customs of their forefathers in ways that contradict these laws: "Just in the same way, whenever We sent a Warner before you [Muhammad] to any people, the wealthy ones among them said: "We found our fathers following a certain religion, and we will certainly follow in their footsteps". [The Warner] said: "What! Even if I brought you better guidance than that which you found your fathers following?" They said, "For us, we deny that you [Prophets] are sent [on a mission at all]". (43:23-24) Loving the ways of one's forefathers to the point of sanctifying them is a disease which many nations are suffering from, and its effects on the deeply-rooted desires of men are no less, if it is not counted as a desire in itself.

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

Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, and an-Nasaa'ee report from Abu Hurayrah (ra) that the messenger of Allaah (saw) said, "When Allaah (swt) created Hell, He told Jibreel, "Go and look at it." Jibreel went and looked at it, and when he came back he said, "By Your Glory, I fear that no-one who hears of it will enter it". So He surrounded it with desires, and said, "Go and look at it." Jibreel went and looked at it, and when he came back, he said, "By Your Glory, I fear that there will be no-one left who does not enter it". (the version narrated by an-Nasaa'ee adds the words, "and at what I have prepared for its inhabitants in it".) [Jaami al-Usool, 10/250, # 8068. Al-Tirmidhi described it as sahih hasan]. al-Bukhaari and Muslim narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (saw) said, "Hell is veiled in desires and Paradise is veiled in hardships". Siddeeq Hasan Khan said, "What is meant by desires is the things that people want and enjoy". al-Qurtubee said, "Desires are all those things that people like and towards which they are inclined, and surrounding a thing means placing something all around it, so that it cannot be reached without going through it". (Yaqadhat uli al-I'tibar, p.220)

Most of Those Who Enter Hell Will be Women Most of the sinners amongst the monotheists who enter Hell will be women, as is reported in as-Saheehayn, via Ibn 'Abbaas: in the khutbah given during a solar eclipse, the Prophet (saw) said, "I saw Hell and I saw that most of its inhabitants were women". al-Bukhaari and Muslim report from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri that the Prophet (saw) said, "O women give in charity, for I have seen that you form the majority of the people of Hell." They asked, "Why is that so, O Messenger of Allaah (saw)?" He said, "Because you curse too much and are ungrateful for good treatment". al-Bukhaari and Muslim report from Usaamah ibn Zayd that the Prophet (saw) said "I stood at the gate of Hell, and saw that most of those who entered were women". Muslim reports from 'Imraan ibn Husayn (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said, "Few of the inhabitants of paradise are women". This does not contradict the fact that every man in Paradise will have more than one wife. What is referred to by the women who will be the majority of the inhabitants of Hell is women who are descendants of Aadam: the inhabitants of Paradise will have many wives from among al-Hoor al-'Iyn. "Women will be few among the inhabitants of Paradise because in most cases they prefer the immediate pleasures of this life, as they are less wise and unable to keep the Hereafter in mind. They are too weak to strive and prepare themselves for it, and are more inclined towards this world. In spite of all this, they are the strongest factor in this world that distracts men from the Hereafter, because men are inclined to desire them and they are not concerned with the Hereafter. They are quick to follow those who call them to deviate from Islaam, and reluctant to follow those pious people who call them to the Hereafter, and righteous deeds". (al-Qurtubee, at-Tadhkirah, 1/369) In spite of all this, there are many righteous women among them, who stay within the limits set by Allaah (swt), adhere to His laws, and obey Allaah (swt) and His Messenger. Many of these women will enter Paradise, and many of them excel over men in their faith and righteous deeds.

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

The Huge Size of the People of Hell When the People of Hell enter the Fire they will be huge in size, in a form that none can comprehend, except the One Who Created them. According to a hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah, the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said: "The distance between the shoulders of the Kaafir in Hell will be like three day's travelling for a fast rider" (Muslim, 4/290) Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said: "The molar of the kaafir or the eyetooth of the kaafir, will be like Uhud, and the thickness of his skin will be like a journey of three (days)". (Muslim, 4/2189, Al-Tirmidhi, al-Haakim, Ibn Maajah and Ahmad) Zayd ibn Arqam said, "The man who is destined for Hell will become huge in preparation for it, so that one of his molars will be as big as Mount Uhud". This is narrated by Ahmad, who attributes it to the Prophet (saw) but Zayd did not state that he heard it from the Prophet (saw). (Silsilat al-Ahadith as-Sahihah, 4/131, al-Albaani said its isnaad is sahih according to Ibn Maajah and Ahmad) Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (saw) said: "The kaafir's skin will be forty-two cubits thick and his molar will be like Uhud and the space he occupies will be as wide as the distance between Makkah and Madinah." (Al-Tirmidhi) (Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh 3/103, sahih hasan) Abu Hurayrah (ra) reported that the Prophet (saw) said: "The molar of the kaafir on the Day of Resurrection will be like Uhud, and the thickness of his skin will be seventy cubits. His upper arm will be like al-Bayda', his thigh will be like Warqaan and the space he occupies will be like the distance between me and ar-Rabdhah" (al-Haakim and Ahmad - Silsilah al-Ahadith as-Sahihah, 4/94. alBaydaa` could be the name of a mountain or it may refer to the well-known city in Morocco) This increasing of the kaafir's body size will increase his suffering and torment. Commenting on the hadith narrated by Muslim on this subject, Al-Nawawi said, "All of this is in order to intensify the suffering, and all of this is possible for Allaah (swt). We must believe in it, because the truthful (Prophet) has told us about it" [Sharh Al-Nawawi 'alaa Muslim, 17/186]. Ibn Katheer in a comment on these hadith said, "So that their punishment and suffering may be more severe, as Allaah (swt) the Severe in punishment says: "...that they may taste the Penalty". (4:46) [Ibn Katheer, an-Nihayah, 2/139]

The Food, Drink and Clothing of the People of Hell The food of the people of Hell is ad-Daree and az-Zaqqum, and their drink is al-Hameem, al-Ghasleen and alGhassaaq. Allaah (swt) says: "No food will there be for them but a bitter Daree obnoxious thorny plant, which will neither nourish nor satisfy hunger". (88:6-7)

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