Hell

About Hell

Hell is the abode which Allaah (swt) has prepared for those who do not believe in Him (swt), those who rebel against His (swt) laws and disbelieve in His Messengers. It is the punishment for His (swt) enemies, the prison for evildoers.

It is the ultimate humiliation and loss; there is nothing worse:

"Our Lord! Verily, whom You admit to the Fire, indeed, You have disgraced him, and never will the Dhaalimoon [polytheists and wrongdoers] find any helpers" (Quran 3:192)

"Know they not that whoever opposes and shows hostility to Allaah and His Messenger, certainly for him will be the fire of Hell to abide therein? That is extreme disgrace". (Quran 9:63)

"The losers are those who will lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection. Verily, that will be a manifest loss!" (39:15)

How could Hell be other than we have described, when it is full of utterly indescribable torment, pain and grief? It is eternal and its inhabitants will remain there forever. Allaah (swt) has condemned them and their place in the Fire:

"Evil indeed it [Hell] is as an abode and as a place to dwell" (Quran 25:66)

"This is so! And for the Tagheen [transgressors] - will be an evil final return - Hell! Where they will burn, and worst [indeed] is that place to rest!" (Quran 38:55-6)

The Vast Extent of Hell

Hell is huge and vast and immensely deep, as is proven by several things:

(1) Those who will enter Hell are innumerable, yet one of them will be so huge that his molars will be as big as Mount Uhud, and the distance between his shoulders will be equivalent to three days walking. Nevertheless, Hell will accommodate the huge number of Kuffaar and evildoers who have existed throughout history, in spite of their huge size, and there will still be room for more, as Allaah says in the Qur'aan:

"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 like a mill to which are brought thousands upon thousands of tons of grain, which it grinds tirelessly until it is all done, then waits for more. In the hadith that describes the debate between Paradise and Hell, it says that Allaah (swt) said to Hell, "You are My Punishment; I will punish in you whomsoever I will". Both Paradise and Hell will be filled, but Hell will not be filled until Allaah (swt) places His foot in it and it will say, "Enough, enough!". Then it will be filled and its different parts will come closer to one another. Allaah (swt) will not wrong any one of His Creation. Reported by al-Bukhaari and Muslim from Abu Hurayrah (ra) (Jaami' al-Usool, 10/544). [See the narration from Anas in al-Bukhaari, Muslim and Mishkaat ul-Masaabeeh, 3/109 with a similar meaning].

(2) Another indication of its vast depth is the fact that a stone thrown from the top of Hell takes a very long time to reach the bottom. Muslim reports that Abu Hurayrah (ra) said:

"We were with the Messenger of Allaah (saw) and we heard the sound of something falling. The Prophet (saw) said, "Do you know what that was?" We said, "Allaah and His Messenger know best". He said, "That was a stone that was thrown into Hell seventy years ago and it was falling through Hell until now". (Muslim, Kitaab al-Jannah, Baab fi shiddat haar an-naar, 4/2184 no. 2844)

Haakim reports from Abu Hurayrah, and Tabaraani from Mu'aadh and Abu Umamah (ra) that the Prophet (Saw) said, "If there was a huge stone as big as seven khalifaat stones, and it was thrown from the edge of Hell it would fly through it for seventy years before it reached the bottom". (Saheeh al-Jaami' as-Sagheer, 5/58, no. 5124, Its isnaad is saheeh).

(3) The great number of angels who will bring Hell forth on the Day of Resurrection.

The Messenger (saw) described how Hell will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection, concerning which Allaah (swt) said,

"And Hell will be brought near that Day". (Quran 89:23)

The Prophet (saw) said,

"Hell will be brought forth that Day by means of seventy thousand ropes, each of which will be held by seventy thousand angels." (reported by Muslim from 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ud, 4/2184 no.2842)

We can only image the vastness of this terrifying creation that requires such a huge number of strong and powerful angels whose strength is known only to Allaah!

(4) Another indication of the vastness of Hell is the fact that two great creations like the sun and moon will be two rolled-up bulls in Hell. at-Tahhaawee reports, in Mishkil al-Aathaar, that Salamah ibn 'Abdur-Rahman said, "Abu Hurayrah told us that the Prophet (saw) said:

"The sun and moon will be two rolled-up bulls in Hell on the Day of Resurrection"

The Levels of Hell

There are variations in the degrees of heat in Hell, and in the levels of punishment which Allaah (swt) has prepared for its inhabitants; there is not just one level.

As Allaah says:

"Verily the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths [grade] of the Fire" (Quran 4:145)

It is said that both Paradise and Hell have different levels; the lower the level in Hell, the greater the intensity of the heat. The hypocrites will suffer the worst punishment, and so they will be in the lowest level of Hell.

Allaah (swt) refers to the levels of Paradise and Hell in the Qur'aan:

"For all there will be degrees [or ranks] according to what they did" (Quran 6:132)

"Is then one who follows [seeks] the good pleasure of Allaah like the one who draws on himself the Wrath of Allaah? His abode is Hell - and worst, indeed, is that destination! They are in varying grades with Allaah, and Allaah is All-Seer of what they do". (Quran 3:162-3)

'Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Zayd ibn Aslam said, "The levels of paradise go up and the levels of Hell go down" [Ibn Rajab, at-Takhweef min an-Naar, p.5]. It was reported from some of the Salaf that the sinners amongst the monotheists who enter Hell would be in the first level, the Jews would be in the second level, the Christians in the third level, the Sabians in the fourth level, the Magians in the fifth level, the polytheist Arabs in the sixth level and the hypocrites in the seventh level (1) Some books give names to these levels: the first is called Jahanam, the second Ladhaa, the third al-Hutamah, the fourth as-Sa'eer, the fifth Saqar, the sixth al-Jaheem, and the seventh al-Hawiyah.

The Fuel of Hell

Stones and the rebellious disbelievers are the fuel of Hell, as Allaah says:

"O you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is men and stones!" (Quran 66:6)

"...then fear the Fire [hell] whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers" (Quran 2:24)

What is meant by the people who will be fuel for the Fire is the disbelievers and polytheists. As for the type of stone that will fuel the Fire, Allaah (swt) knows best what it really is. Some of the Salaf thought that this stone was brimstone or sulphur. 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'oud said, "It is a stone of sulphur which Allaah (swt) created in the first heaven the day He created the heavens and earth and prepared it for the disbelievers". This was reported by Ibn Jareer, Ibn Abi Haatim and Haakim in al-Mustadrak. Ibn 'Abbaas, Mujaahid and Ibn Juryayj were also of this opinion. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/107)

If this opinion was based on something that the Prophet (saw) had said then we could accept it without hesitation or argument. If it is the matter of ijtihaad, based on knowledge of the nature and qualities of stones, then we cannot accept it without question. There may be other stones that are superior to sulphur in strength and flammability. The first Muslims saw that sulphur has qualities that do not exist in other stones, so they thought that it would be the fuel of Hell. Ibn Rajab said, "Most of the mufassireen suggest that what is meant by stones is sulphur, with which the Fire of Hell will be fuelled. It was said that it includes five kinds of torment that are not found in other stones: it catches fire quickly, it has an unpleasant odour, it produces a lot of smoke, it sticks to flesh, and it is very hot when it is heated"

Another fuel for the Fire will be the gods, which were worshipped instead of Allaah (swt);

"Certainly! You [disbelievers] and that which you are worshipping now besides Allah, are [but] fuel for Hell! [Surely] you will enter it. Had these [idols etc] been aaliha [gods] they would not have entered there [Hell] and all of them will abide therein." (Quran 21:98-99)

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 al-Ghassaaq.

Allaah (swt) says:

"No food will there be for them but a bitter Daree obnoxious thorny plant, which will neither nourish nor satisfy hunger". (Quran 88:6-7)

ad-Daree is a thorny plant know as ash-Shubruq that grows in the Hijaaz. Ibn 'Abbaas said, "It is a low-growing thorny plant; when it grows tall it is called daree". Qataadah said, "It is one of the very worst types of food" (Ibn Rajab, at-Takhweef min an-Naar, p.115). This food of the people of Hell will be of no benefit whatsoever to them, and they will not enjoy it in the least; this is one of the forms of punishment that they will suffer. Allaah (swt) says:

"Verily the tree of Zaqqum will be the food of the sinful, like molten brass, it will boil in their insides, like the boiling of scalding water." (Quran 44:43-46).

The Tree of Zaqqum is described in another aayah:

"Is that [Paradise] the better entertainment or the tree of Zaqqum [a horrible tree in Hell]? For We have truly made it [as] a trial for the wrongdoers. For it is a tree that springs out of the bottom of Hellfire, The shoots of its fruit-stalks are like the heads of devils; Truly they will eat thereof and fill their bellies therewith. Then on top of that they will be given to drink a mixture made of boiling water. Then, shall their return by to the blazing Fire of Hell". (Quran 37:62-68)

Elsewhere in the Qur'aan, Allaah (swt) says:

"Then, will you truly - O you that go wrong, and treat [Truth] as Falsehood]! You will surely taste of the tree of Zaqqum. Then you will fill your insides therewith, and drinkboiling water on top of it. Indeed you will drink like diseased camels raging with thirst! Such will be their entertainment on the Day of Requital!" (Quran 56:51-66)

When the people of Hell eat this vile food of ad-Daree and az-Zaqqum, they will choke because of its foulness:

"Verily with Us are fetters [to bind them] and a raging Fire [to burn them], And a food that chokes and a Penalty grievous". (Quran 73:12-13)

The food that makes people choke is the food that sticks in the throat.

The Prophet (saw) portrayed for us the ugly and terrifying nature of az-Zaqqum:

"If one drop from az-Zaqqum were to land on this world, the people of earth and all their means of sustenance would be destroyed. So how must it be for the one who must eat it?" It was reported by at-Tirmidhi, who said, it is a sahih hasan hadith. [Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 3/105, narrated by Ibn 'Abbaas]

These aayaat mention four kinds of drink that the people of Hell have to endure:

(1) al-Hameem: an extremely hot water.

As Allaah says: "In its midst and in the midst of the boiling hot water will they wander round!"  (Quran 55:44)

This was explained as being ultra-hot water. And Allaah (swt) says: "They will be given to drink from a boiling hot spring." (Quran 88:5)

(2) al-Ghassaaq: as discussed above.

(3) al-Sadeed (pus): what flows from the flesh and skin of the Kaafir. Muslim reports from Jaabir that the Prophet (saw) said, "Anyone who drinks intoxicants will be made to drink the mud of khabaal". They asked, "O Messenger of Allaah, what is the mud of khabaal?" He said, "The sweat of the people of Hell", or "the juice of the people of Hell".

(4) al-Muhl: according to the hadith of Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri narrated by Ahmad and at-Tirmidhi the Prophet (saw) said:

"It is like boiling oil, and when it is brought near a person's face, the skin of the face falls off into it". Ibn 'Abbaas said, "It is like very thick oil".

Some of the sinners will be fed the burning coals of Hell as an appropriate punishment:

"Those who unjustly eat up the property of orphans, eat us a Fire into their own bellies, and they will soon be enduring a blazing Fire!" (Quran 4:10)

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!" (Quran 40:10-12)

 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?" (Quran 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!" (Quran 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". (Quran 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". (Quran 40:70-76)

(2) Failing to fulfill the legislated duties, as well as denying the Day of Judgement. Allaah (swt) tells us that the people of Paradise will ask the people of Hell:

 "What led you into Hellfire?" (Quran 74:42)

 They will reply: "..We were not of those who prayed, Nor were we of those who fed the indigent, But we used to talk vanities with vain talkers, And we used to deny the Day of Judgement, Until there came to us [the Hour] that is certain." (Quran 74:43-47)

(3) Obeying the misguided leaders of kufr and accepting the principles by means of which they mislead people and turn them away from the religion of Allaah (swt) as taught by the Prophets:

"And We have destined for them intimate companions [of like nature] who made alluring to them what was before them and what was behind them. And the Sentence among the previous generations of jinns and men who have passed away, is proved against them; for they are utterly lost. The unbelievers say: "Listen not to this Qur'aan but talk at random in the midst of its [reading] that you may gain the upper hand!" But We shall certainly give the unbelievers a taste of a severe penalty, and We shall requite them the worst of their deeds. Such is the requital of the enemies of Allaah - the Fire, therein will be for them the eternal home, a [fit] requital for that they used to reject Our Signs" (Quran 41:25-28) 

When the kuffaar are thrown into Hell they will be filled with regret for having disobeyed Allaah and  His Messenger and having followed their masters and leaders: 

"Verily Allaah has cursed the unbelievers and has prepared for them a blazing Fire, to dwell therein; no protector will they find, nor helper. The Day that their faces will be turned upside down in the Fire, they will say, "Woe to us! Would that we had obeyed Allaah and obeyed the Messenger". And they would say, "Our Rabb! We obeyed our chiefs and our great ones and they misled us as from the [Right] Path". (Quran 33:64-67)

(4) Hypocrisy 

Allaah promised Hell to the hypocrites, a promise that He has taken upon Himself to never break:

 "Allaah has promised the hypocrites, men and women, and the rejecters of Faith, the fire of Hell, therein shall they dwell. Sufficient is it for them. For them is the curse of Allaah and an enduring punishment." (Quran 9:68)

 He has told us that the position of the hypocrites is the lowest level of Hell, which si where the heat and agony are most intense: 

"The hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire; no helper will you find for them". (Quran 4:145)

(5) Arrogance: 

This is a quality shared by most of the people of Hell. Allaah (swt) says: "But those who reject Our Signs and treat them with arrogance - they are the Companions (dwellers) of the Fire, to dwell therein [forever]" (Quran 7:36)

Muslim quotes the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (ra) which goes back to the Prophet (saw), in which it is stated that Hell said, "The arrogant and proud will enter me." According to another report, Hell said, "I will become rich (have too many) from the proud and arrogant". Allaah (swt) said, "You are My Punishment with which I will punish whomsoever I will". (Sahih Muslim, 4/2186, no. 2846)

The Evil Deeds that Lead One to Hell

Sheikh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah (swt) have mercy on him, was asked: "What are the deeds of the people of Hell and what are the deeds of the people of Paradise?" He replied, "The deeds of the people of Hell are:

• associating partners in worship with Allaah (swt)

• disbelieving in His Messenger

• kufr (ingratitude, disbelief)

• hasad (malicious envy)

• lying

• treachery

• oppression and wrongdoing (dhulm)

• promiscuity

• backstabbing

• cutting off the ties of kinship

• cowardice at the time of jihad

• miserliness

• inconsistency between what is in one's heart and the face one shows to people

• despairing of the mercy of Allaah (swt)

• feeling secure from the plan of Allaah (swt)

• panicking blindly at the time of crisis

• pride and extravagance at the time of plenty

• abandoning one's duties towards Allaah (swt)

• transgressing His limits

• violating His sanctity

• fearing a created being instead of the Creator

• showing off

• going against the Qur'aan and Sunnah in word or deed

• obeying a created being in some act of disobedience to the Creator

• blindly supporting falsehood

• mocking the signs of Allaah (swt)

• rejecting the truth

• withholding knowledge and testimony that should be revealed

• witchcraft and magic

• disobeying one's parents

• killing any soul forbidden by Allaah (swt) except for reasons of justice

• consuming the wealth of the orphan

• riba (usury)

• desertion from the battlefield

• slandering the reputation of innocent, chaste, believing women" (Yaqadhat uli al-I'tibar, p.222)