WHAT IS HELL IN ISLAM

Jahannam
Jahannam (Arabic: ﺟﻬﻨﻢ (etymologically related to Hebrew
גיהנום Gehennom and Greek : γέεννα), is one of the names
for the Islamic concept of Hell . Other names for hell (or
the different gates of hell[1] ) occurring in the Quran
include: an-Nar ("The Fire" [2] ), Jaheem ("Blazing Fire" [3] ),
Hatamah ("That which Breaks to Pieces" [4] ), Haawiyah
("The Abyss" [5] ), Ladthaa , Sa’eer ("The Blaze" [6] ), Saqar . [7]
[8] The hadith of Islamic prophet Muhammad, and some
writings of later Islamic scholars also describe Jahannam.
According to the Qur'an, on the Last Day[9] the world will
be destroyed and all people (and jinn) will be raised from
the dead to be judged by Allah as to whether they deserved
to be sent to paradise (Jannah ) or hell. [10] Hell will be
occupied by those who do not believe in God (Tawhid), have
disobeyed His laws, and/or reject His messengers. [7] One
group that will not have to wait until the Last Day to enter
hell are "Enemies of Islam", who are sentenced
immediately to Hell upon death. [10]
Suffering in hell is both physical and spiritual, [10][11] and
varies according to the sins of the condemned. [12] As
described in the Quran, Hell has seven levels (each one
more severe than the one above it[10] ); seven gates (each
for a specific group of sinners [13] ); a blazing fire, boiling
water, and the Tree of Zaqqum . [14] Not all Muslims and
scholars agree whether hell is an eternal destination or
whether some or even all of the condemned will eventually
be forgiven and allowed to enter paradise. [7][10][12]
Sources
Most of how Muslims picture and think about Jahannam
comes from the Qur'an , according to scholar Einar
Thomassen, who found nearly 500 references to
Jahannam/hell (using a variety of names) in the Qur'an. [15]
The Hadiths (the corpus of the reports of the teachings,
deeds and sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad)
introduce punishments, reasons and revelations not
mentioned in the Quran. In both Quranic verses and
hadiths, "the Fire" (Jahannam) is "a gruesome place of
punishment that is always contrasted with Jannah , "the
Garden" (paradise). Whatever characteristic "the Garden
offered, the Fire usually offered the opposite
conditions." [16] Several hadith describes a part of hell that
is extremely cold rather than hot, known as Zamhareer. [17]
Eschatological manuals
In addition to the Quran and hadith are "Eschatological
manuals". These were written after the other two sources
and developed descriptions of Jahannam "in more deliberate
ways". [18] While the Quran and hadith tend to describe
punishments that unbelievers are forced to give
themselves, the manuals illustrate external and more
dramatic punishment, through demons, scorpions, and
snakes. [19]
Manuals dedicated solely to the subject of Jahannam
include Ibn Abi al-Dunya 's Sifat al-nar , and al-Maqdisi's
Dhikr al-nar . Other manuals—such as texts by al-Ghazali
the influential Muslim theologian of the 9th century, and
12th century scholar Qadi Ayyad -- "dramatise life in the
Fire", and present "new punishments, different types of
sinners, and the appearance of a multitude of demons," to
exhort the faithful to piety. [1] His hell has a structure with
a specific place for each type of sinners. [19]
Al Ghazali, in his book The Remembrance of Death and the
Afterlife , describes and discusses the "wrongdoer" and
graphic, sometimes violent scenes of Jahannam. [20]
Like al-Ghazali, the thirteenth-century Muslim scholar Al-
Qurtubi describes hell as a gigantic sentient being, rather
than a place. In Paradise and Hell-fire in Imam al Qurtubi ,
Qurtubi writes, "On the Day of Judgment, hell will be
brought with seventy thousand reins. A single rein will be
held by seventy thousand angels…" [21]
In The Soul’s Journey After Death , Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya , a
theologian in the 14th century, writes explicitly of
punishments faced by sinners and unbelievers in
Jahannam. These are directly related to the wrongdoer’s
earthly transgressions. [22]
General characteristics
The Qur'an uses a number of different terms and phrases
to refer to hell. Al-nar (the fire) is used 125 times,
jahannam 77 times, jaheem (blazing flames) 26 times. [23]
One collection [24] of Quranic descriptions of hell include
"rather specific indications of the tortures of the Fire":
flames that crackle and roar; [25] fierce, boiling waters [26]
scorching wind, and black smoke, [27] roaring and boiling as
if it would burst with rage. [28] Its wretched inhabitants sigh
and wail, [29] their scorched skins are constantly exchanged
for new ones so that they can taste the torment anew, [30]
drink festering water and though death appears on all sides
they cannot die, [31] are linked together in chains of 70
cubits, [32] wearing pitch for clothing and fire on their
faces, [33] have boiling water that will be poured over their
heads, melting their insides as well as their skins, and
hooks of iron to drag them back should they try to escape,
[34] their remorseful admissions of wrongdoing and
pleading for forgiveness are in vain. [35][36][37]
The description of Jahannam as a place of blazing fire
appears in almost every verse in the Qur'an describing hell.
[38] Jahannam is described as being located below heaven,
[39][40] having seven gates, each for a specific group [1] or
at least a different "portion" or "party" [41] of sinners. The
Quran also mentions wrongdoers having "degrees (or ranks)
according to their deeds" [42] which scholar believe refers
to the seven gates. [23] The one mention of levels of hell is
that hypocrites will be found in its very bottom. [23][43]
Jahannam inhales and has "breath" according to verse 67:7,
[34] and a "voice" according to verse 50:30, where God asks
Jahannam on Judgment Day if it is full and Jahannam
answers: "Are there any more (to come)?" [44]
The fuel for the fire of Jahannam, according to the Quran,
are sinners, [45] disbelieving Jinn, [46] and stones. [47] The
fire burns their skins, changing their colour to black due to
its intensity. Jahannam has a shadow of smoke ascending
"in three columns", but this provides "no shade of
coolness". Its sparks are described to be as "huge as a
palace." [48]
The Quran mentions three different sources of food in hell:
dari, a dry desert plant that is full of thorns and fails to
relieve hunger or sustain a person (73:13); [49][50][51]
ghislin , which is only mentioned once (in 39:36, which
states that it is the only nourishment in hell); [51][52]
zaqqum is mentioned three times. [51]
The Tree of Zaqqum is mentioned in verses 17:60, [53]
37:62-68, [54] 44:43, [55] and 56:52, [56] of the Quran. [57]
Quran 4:168 and Quran 37:23 talk of a road that leads to
hell. [23] [6]
Hadith
The Quran describes Jahannam as having "nineteen"
angels, [58][59] the keeper named "Maalik" explains to hell's
inhabitants who appeal to him to be let out that they must
remain in Hell because "they abhorred the truth when the
truth was brought to them." [60] According to the Traditions
of Muhammad, the 19 are angels and Maalik leads them.
[ citation needed ] Maalik is very severe and harsh, and will
listen to condemned persons' requests for remission of
their punishments after 1000 years but then deny those
requests as well. [ citation needed ] In Islamic art, Maalik is
often depicted with a stern expression on his face. [ citation
needed ] Hell is perceived to be so deep that if a stone were
thrown into it, it would fall for 70 years before reaching the
bottom. [59] (According to one calculation this would make
it over 190,000,000 km deep, a far greater distance than
the diameter of Earth. [61] ) The breadth of each of Hell's
walls is equivalent to a distance covered by a walking
journey of 40 years. [59] Malik in Hadith quotes Mohammed
as saying that the fire of Jahannam was seventy times
greater than fire on earth. [62] He also described that fire
as "blacker than tar". [63]
In book 87 Hadith 155, "Interpretation of Dreams" of Sahih
al-Bukhari , Muhammad talked of angels each with "a mace
of iron" who guarded hell, and then expanded on the
Qur'an’s discourse describing Jahannam by recounting it as
a place that
“
"was built inside like a well and it had side posts like
those of a well, and beside each post there was an angel
carrying an iron mace. I saw therein many people
hanging upside down with iron chains, and I recognized
therein some men from the Quraish ". [64]
”
Manuals
The Quran gives several names for hell: Jaheem ("Blazing
Fire" [3] ), Hatamah ("That which Breaks to Pieces", [4] ),
Haawiyah ("The Abyss" [5] ), Ladthaa , Sa’eer ("the blaze"[6] ),
Saqar . [7] [8] In an eschatological manual by Qadi Ayyad,
(Daqa'iq al-akhbarfi dhikr al-janna wa-l-nar ), these are
names for the different gates of hell, which each specialize
in a type of condemned (polytheists, Christian, Jews,
Zorastrians, etc.). [1][65]
Judgement and condemnation
Further information: Islamic eschatology § Resurrection of the
dead
The period of time between a person's death and the Day
of Judgement, is known in Islam as barzakh. [66][67]
Although not yet in hell, it is believed that the sinners and
unbelievers destined for it will suffer during this time. [68]
According to theologian Al-Ghazali , Afterlife will start with
the "Day of the Arising" and a trumpet blast [69] which will
wake the dead from their graves. "The Perspiration" [70][71]
—when all created beings, including men, angels, jinn,
demons and animals gather and sweat unshaded from the
sun—will follow. [72] Sinners and unbelievers will suffer and
sweat longer on this day, which lasts for "50,000 years".
[73]
God will judge each soul, [74] accept no excuses, and
examine every act and intention—no matter how small. [75]
It is believed those whose good deeds outweigh the bad
will be assigned to Jannah (heaven), and those whose bad
deeds outweigh the good to Jahannam . [76][77]
Finally the souls will traverse over hellfire [78] via the bridge
of sirat . For sinners, it is believed the bridge will be thinner
than hair and sharper than the sharpest sword, impossible
to walk on without falling below to arrive at their
destination. [79]
Inhabitants
The people that end up in Hell will be "the companions of
the left hand". [ Quran 56:9 ] Various groups of people
described by the Quran as being in Jahannam include:
disbelievers, [80] hypocrites (Munafiq), [81] polytheists , [82]
the People of the Book who reject the truth, [83] arrogant
rejectors of truth, [84] sinners and criminals, [85] tyrants,
[86] the unjust, [87] transgressors, [88] concealers of God's
revelations, [89] persecutors of believers, [90] people who
commit suicide, and murderers (of believers). [91]
The suffering of the hypocrites and disbelievers is
emphasized in the Qur'an:
"surely Allah will gather together the hypocrites and the
unbelievers all in hell." [ Quran 4:140 ]
"surely those who disbelieve from among the followers of
the Book and the polytheists shall be in the fire of hell,
abiding therein; they are the worst of men." [ Quran 98:6 ]
The idea that hypocrites are the worst class of sinners in
Islam has been traced to verse stating: "The Hypocrites
will be in the lowest depths of the Fire". [ Quran 4:145 ] [92]
Those who commit shirk (polytheists) are singled out for
special mention in 9:63. [93]
Some prominent people in, or destined to arrive in, hell
mentioned in the Hadith and Quran are: Fir'awn (viz., the
pharaoh of The Exodus), the wives of Nuh and Lut , and
Abu Lahab and his wife (contemporaries and enemies of
Muhammad).
Inhabitants in hadith
Other people mentioned in Hadith include, but are not
limited to, the mighty, the proud and the haughty. [94]
According to one hadith, out of every one thousand people
entering into the afterlife nine hundred and ninety-nine of
them will end up in the fire. [95][96][97] Another states that
women are the majority population in Jahannam. [98]
Sahih Muslim quotes Muhammad as saying that suicides
would reside in Jahannam forever. [99] According to Hadith
collector Muwatta Imam Malik (Imam Malik), Muhammad
said "Truly a man utters words to which he attaches no
importance, and by them he falls into the fire of
Jahannam". [100]
Al-Bukhari in book 72:834 added to the list of dwellers in
Jahannam: "The people who will receive the severest
punishment from Allah will be the picture makers ". [101]
[102] Use of utensils made of precious metals could also
land its users in Jahannam: "A person who drinks from a
silver vessel brings the fire of Jahannam into his belly".
[103] As could starving a cat to death: "A woman was
tortured and was put in Hell because of a cat which she
had kept locked till it died of hunger." [104] (An extreme
penalty according to one Christian critic.) [105]
Eternal or temporary
Who will be sent to hell, and who will be there for eternity
is disputed. [10][12] At least two verses in the Quran
(6:128 [106] and 11:107 [107] ) emphasise that consignment
to hell is horrible and eternal, with the caveat "except as
God (or your Lord) wills it".
Religiousfacts.com quotes IslamOnline:
“
"Ultimately, God will remove from Hell those believers
whose sins were not forgiven nor atoned for by good
deeds in their lifetimes, and they will then enter Paradise.
The remaining inhabitants of Hell will stay there
eternally." [10][108]
”
In one Hadith, it is related that on or after Judgement Day
Muhammad and then Allah will intercede to remove sinners
from Jahannam. These include "any who sincerely
professed the Shahada," [109] and then anyone with "even
an atom’s measure of goodness in his or her heart".
Exempt from intercession will be anyone who participated
in shirk (polytheism). [110] Scholar Qazi Thanaa Ullah in a
work of Hanafi fiqh states "unbelievers" will "undergo eternal
torment in Jahannam", while wrongdoing Muslims will be
released to paradise "after either a long or short duration" in
Jahannam, as appropriate. [111] Author Phil Parshall quotes
other Hadith[112][113][114][115] telling similar stories of
sinning believers being taken out of hell and allowed into
heaven, which he compares to the Catholic doctrine of
Purgatory . [116]
Some commentators have claimed that verses
19:67-72 [117] imply that all mankind will be brought to
Jahannam and that God will save the believers [ citation
needed ] . Others think this idea contradicts verse 21:101,
[118] in which those who have earned Paradise are "kept
far away from it (Hell)" and that only those who have
earned Hell are being referred to in verses 19:67-72.
[ citation needed ] Others maintain that the Qur'an designated
the occupants of Jahannam in several verses, none of
which mention any future as forgiven inhabitants of
Paradise. [ citation needed ]
Punishment
The Quran and Hadith offer detailed descriptions of the
methods of punishment in Jahannam. The Quran states the
punishments will be: the burning of skin, only to be
replaced for reburning; [119] garments of fire to be worn,
[43] and boiling water that will scald the skin and internal
organs [120] and faces; [121] faces on fire; [122] lips burnt
off; [123] backs on fire; [124] from side to side; [125] faces
dragged along fire; [126] bound in yokes then dragged
through boiling water and fire, and wearing a pair of
sandals on fire that will boil your brain. [127] [128]
In the Quran, the punishments of Jahannam (such as
burning) [129] are always followed with contrary protection
of paradise (such as shade[130] ). Hell is said to be filled
with venomous snakes/scorpions, the pain from whose
venom will last 40 years. [131]
Those who prevent others from following the path of Allah
will be punished more severely. [132] Hypocrites are found
in the lowest of depths of the fire. [133] Those who spread
corruption—on top of having already hindered the path of
Allah—will experience harsher punishments.
Nourishment
Surah (chapter) al-Ghashiyah of the Qur'an states that the
only food in Hell will be "dari" or a bitter plant. [134] Another
surah—Sad—states that sinners in hell will taste "a boiling
fluid and a filthy fluid of pus and blood and other penalties
of a similar kind to match them". [135] Verses in four
different surah state that hell's inhabitants food will be the
fruit from the Zaqqum tree [57] —a tree that springs out of
the bottom of hellfire. The shoots of its fruit-stalks are like
the "heads of devils" and eating it is similar to eating
molten brass that will boil their insides "like scalding
water". Sinners drink boiling water that will cut their
bowels when they consume it. If they call for relief, they
shall be given water also described as being like molten
brass , which will scald their faces. [136]
Hadiths
According to one Hadith, the least-suffering person in
Jahannam will have his/her brain boiling from standing on
hot embers. [137]
Types of punishments in Jahannam are often specific to
type of sin, for example those who did not pay Zakat , "on
the Day of Resurrection, his wealth will be presented to
him in the shape of a bald-headed poisonous male snake
with two poisonous glands in its mouth and it will encircle
itself round his neck and bite him over his cheeks and say,
'I am your wealth; I am your treasure.'" [138][139] Another
Hadith relates that a person who committed suicide will be
punished over and over on the Day of Judgment and later in
Jahannam by the very means he/she used to end his/her
life. [140][141][142]
Religious comparison
Christianity
Unlike the hell of Christianity, Jahannam is not the seat of
the devil (Shaytan ), but simply a place created by God to
punish sinners. [12]
The Book of Revelation describes a "lake which burneth
with fire and brimstone: which is the second death", [143]
which most Christians believe to be a description of Hell.
While the Quran describes Jahannam as having seven
levels, each for different sins, the Bible only says that Hell
is a "bottomless pit", [144] although Dante 's Inferno and
other non-Biblical Christian-based writings speak of hell as
being divided into multiple "circles". Some Jewish sources
such as Jerahmeel provide descriptive detail of hell-like
places, divided into multiple levels; usually sheol, which is
translated as a grave or pit, is the place where humans
descend upon death . In all three Abrahamic religions,
humans in hell are said to be cut off from God . [ citation
needed ]
Literalism
While many Christian theologians [ who? ] believe that
account of hell in the bible are symbolic rather than literal,
there is little or no such interpretation among Muslims.
According to one Christian evangelist who has spent 30+
years among Muslims in Asia (Phil Parshall), "I have never
met a Muslim who has attempted to undercut the
bluntness and severity of their doctrine of hell." [145]
Zoroastrianism
Like Zoroastrianism , Muslims believe that on Judgement
Day all souls will pass over a bridge over hell (As-Sirāt in
Islam, Chinvat Bridge in Zorastrianism) which those
destined for hell will find too narrow and fall below into
their new abode. [146]
See also