Hell in Islam

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I really do not know how to make this any clearer.

Muslims absolutely revere the Prophets of God (peace be upon them all) and are loathe to assign any kind of sin to them.

Christians and Jews, on the other hand, have no such qualms about assigning sins to the prophets mentioned in the Bible.

Islam teaches that the Prophets (pbuta) have a direct line of communication with Allah, most of the time through angels and when these Prophets (pbuta) commit these mistakes or “sins” if you like, they are quickly admonished by God Himself and they immediately repent and correct their ways.

By comparison, when ordinary people commit mistakes or sins, they have to refer to external guidance like scriptures and religious teachers in order for them to realise their wrongdoings… and even then, most of them will not repent and change their ways because of pride and various other reasons.

What this means is that in the eyes of the Lord, the “sins” of the Prophets (pbuta) are indeed viewed differently from the sins commited by ordinary people.

And if there are some who would think that this is rather unfair, then consider that the punishment for the Prophets (pbut) will be infinitely greater if they refuse to immediately repent and correct themselves when informed about their “sins”.
Never mind the punishment for the prophets if they don’t repent. It is the punishment for the Muslim if he doesn’t repent and turn toward the Most High, Jesus Christ.
 
In addition to the above, are you saying God decided to clear up the confusion with the wrong ideas in Christianity, by not returning to the Christians/Jews but revealing himself to Arabs who worshipped many God’s and by describing himself in the Arabic in plural form, in order to make the point that He in no way should be conceived of as being in the plural ?

i would have thought that if God was so disgusted at people thinking of Him as one God in multiple forms that it would also have been disgusting to Him to talk to a new set of people who worshipped many God’s and who in their language, in order to have respect, He would have had to describe Himself in the plural.

Considering one of the main reasons He is supposed to have revealed Himself was to clear up the confusion with the Trinity (where christians erred) it just does not make logical sense to me to do it in a way where to show the most respect to Himself to a multi God worshipping people, He has to speak of Himself in their language, in the plural.

To be so upset of his chosen people thinking of Him in the plural, to condemn them to eternal fire, but to be happy with a multi God worshipping people having a language where He has to talk of himself in the plural seems to be a bit inconsistant - especially if His express purpose was to say He does not have multiple froms.

But if you think something else, that’s of course up to you.
Allah revealed the following Sura, one of the shortest in the Qur’an, in the early period of Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) mission:

Al-Qur’an, Sura Al-Ikhlas (112.001-004)
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.


How can there remain any confusion whatsoever as to the Oneness of the Creator after He sent down this Sura?
 
I really do not know how to make this any clearer.

Muslims absolutely revere the Prophets of God (peace be upon them all) and are loathe to assign any kind of sin to them.

Christians and Jews, on the other hand, have no such qualms about assigning sins to the prophets mentioned in the Bible.

Islam teaches that the Prophets (pbuta) have a direct line of communication with Allah, most of the time through angels and when these Prophets (pbuta) commit these mistakes or “sins” if you like, they are quickly admonished by God Himself and they immediately repent and correct their ways.

By comparison, when ordinary people commit mistakes or sins, they have to refer to external guidance like scriptures and religious teachers in order for them to realise their wrongdoings… and even then, most of them will not repent and change their ways because of pride and various other reasons.

What this means is that in the eyes of the Lord, the “sins” of the Prophets (pbuta) are indeed viewed differently from the sins commited by ordinary people.

And if there are some who would think that this is rather unfair, then consider that the punishment for the Prophets (pbut) will be infinitely greater if they refuse to immediately repent and correct themselves when informed about their “sins”.
This does not change the fact that in Islam prophets can and DO commit sins. What you claim and teach about Islam is not directly related to the concept of sin, but to the means and time of divine correction and forgiveness.

According to your scripture, Adam and David were sinners. Adam disobeyed God and listened to the advice of Iblees. David comitted adultery. It is not only the Bible that assigns sins to the prophets and biblical figures. Read your Koran before slandering Jews and Christians.

I disagree with you about how God views the sins of His messengers. If messengers are not equal to ordinary people in terms of the instant correction of their acts due to direct divine communication, their sins are actually greater than those ordinary people who do not have such a privileged controlling mechanism. Although Israel was the chosen of God, God was so quick to punish Israel for her sins despite her privileged status. Everything has its recompense.
 
I agree with Angelos. Hamba seems to be running away from the question I asked him. He seems to be saying that a prophet’s disobedience to God is not a sin (only a grevious mistake) whereas an ordinary man’s disobedience to God is a sin.

That’s utter nonsense. God would consider a prophet’s disobedience as a greater sin than an ordinary man’s disobedience given the fact that the prophet is closer to God than the ordinary man.

If my close friend tells lies about me I would consider it a more serious offense than a person whom I don’t know doing the same.
 
This discussion about the “sins” of the Prophets of God (peace be upon them all) is going around in circles and it is not even the topic of this thread.

Suffice to say that the Muslim position is that the Prophets (pbut) represent the absolute best of humankind because they were chosen by the Almighty Himself.

Would Catholics choose a person who they know to be a worse sinner than themselves to be the Pope and lead them in matters of religion and morality?

I would certainly hope not.

Likewise, does it make any sense at all that an omniscient God would choose the creations who He knows will commit many sinful acts to be His prophets and to lead by example and teach the rest of humankind on the dangers of being sinful?

Such a notion of God is just so incredibly preposterous since it is devoid of even a semblance of logic.
 
This discussion about the “sins” of the Prophets of God (peace be upon them all) is going around in circles and it is not even the topic of this thread.

Suffice to say that the Muslim position is that the Prophets (pbut) represent the absolute best of humankind because they were chosen by the Almighty Himself.

Would Catholics choose a person who they know to be a worse sinner than themselves to be the Pope and lead them in matters of religion and morality?

I would certainly hope not.

Likewise, does it make any sense at all that an omniscient God would choose the creations who He knows will commit many sinful acts to be His prophets and to lead by example and teach the rest of humankind on the dangers of being sinful?

Such a notion is just so incredibly preposterous since it is devoid of even a semblance of logic.
Hamba,
I agree that this is off topic. But please let me answer this one post.

First, Catholics have had horrible sinners as pope. However, we beleive that the Holy Spirit keeps them from introducing error into the faith. So far, we have been correct.

Second, this is an interesting topic. Can a prophet sin? Well, Jonah refused to go where he was sent. That was the first example that entered my head. Now, you are correct that prophets tend to get fast correction directly from God. However, God chooses those that He chooses without concern of any human criteria. Some could have been very bad people before and after, but they still could deliver the message from God.
 
i don’t think there is any inconsistancy per se regarding what the koran teaches about God not begetting anyone although like most of the koran i think it is very short on details - in this case of who and what exactly God is - especially for a book purporting to be God’s greatest revelation to mankind through tens of thousands of words.

My point was that it does not make sense for God to be so upset that people think of Him as one God appearing in different forms and yet in telling us all that, is prepared to speak of Himself in the plural.

The koran even speaks of Christians believing Mary is to be worshipped as one of three God’s and for that they will be condemned. If the whole idea was to dispel the errors of previous revelations, the koran does not do it very well.

Therefore among many other things i cannot say the koran is from God. I think you have inherited a Christian heresy that, in order to compete with orthodox Christianity and Judaism, wrote it’s own book with many errors and internal problems.
 
Allah revealed the following Sura, one of the shortest in the Qur’an, in the early period of Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) mission:

Al-Qur’an, Sura Al-Ikhlas (112.001-004)
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.


How can there remain any confusion whatsoever as to the Oneness of the Creator after He sent down this Sura?
You’re right; Amoungst Muslims, there can be no confusion, because Muslims believe this Sura to be divinely inspired. I accept that. But, obviously, I don’t share that belief.
 
You’re right; Amoungst Muslims, there can be no confusion, because Muslims believe this Sura to be divinely inspired. I accept that. But, obviously, I don’t share that belief.
I don’t accept that and I don’t share their beliefs.
 
This discussion about the “sins” of the Prophets of God (peace be upon them all) is going around in circles and it is not even the topic of this thread.

Suffice to say that the Muslim position is that the Prophets (pbut) represent the absolute best of humankind because they were chosen by the Almighty Himself.

Would Catholics choose a person who they know to be a worse sinner than themselves to be the Pope and lead them in matters of religion and morality?

I would certainly hope not.

Likewise, does it make any sense at all that an omniscient God would choose the creations who He knows will commit many sinful acts to be His prophets and to lead by example and teach the rest of humankind on the dangers of being sinful?

Such a notion of God is just so incredibly preposterous since it is devoid of even a semblance of logic.
Your argument is devoid of logic. If your theory were true, God would not have created humanity knowing that they would be sinners! Strikingly, even angels knew about the fall of humanity before their creation according to the account in the second Surah of your scripture.

Your remarks imply that Allah made a mistake by creating Adam and appointing him His viceroy on earth because Adam sinned and was expelled from Heaven. Likewise, Allah made a big mistake by choosing Jonah as a messenger since Jonah became reluctant to obey Allah and resisted His commands.
 
This discussion about the “sins” of the Prophets of God (peace be upon them all) is going around in circles and it is not even the topic of this thread.

Suffice to say that the Muslim position is that the Prophets (pbut) represent the absolute best of humankind because they were chosen by the Almighty Himself.

Would Catholics choose a person who they know to be a worse sinner than themselves to be the Pope and lead them in matters of religion and morality?

I would certainly hope not.

Likewise, does it make any sense at all that an omniscient God would choose the creations who He knows will commit many sinful acts to be His prophets and to lead by example and teach the rest of humankind on the dangers of being sinful?

Such a notion of God is just so incredibly preposterous since it is devoid of even a semblance of logic.
Prophets were not created different than other people. They’re sinners just like the rest of us. If prophets are as sinless as you claim, then Muhammad was no prophet as his life and actions towards those who wisely did not accept him testifies.

Vickie
 
The Food of Hell

"No food will there be for them except bitter dhari (a thorny plant), which will neither nourish nor satisfy hunger."
[Surah al-Ghashiyah, 88: 6-7]

“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.”
[ad-Dukhan, 44: 43-46]

“Is that (Paradise) the better hospitality or the tree of Zaqqum? For We have truly made it as a torment for the wrongdoers. For it is a tree that springs out of the bottoms of Hellfire; the shoots of its fruit-stalks are like the heads of devils. Truly they will eat from it and fill their bellies with it. Then on top of that they will be given a mixture of boiling water.”
[as-Saffat, 37: 62-67).

**“Then will you truly –O you who have gone astray an denied – you will surely eat of the trees of Zaqqum. Then will you fill your stomachs with it and drink boiling water on top of it, and you will drink boiling water on top of it, and you will drink like diseased camels, raging with thirst. Such will be their hospitality on the Day of Requital.”
[al-Qaqi’ah, 56: 51-56]

“With Us are yokes (to bind them) and fire (to burn them) and food that chokes and a grievous punishment.”
[al-Muzzammil, 73: 12-13]

“So he has no friend here this Day, nor does he have any food except what comes from the washing of wounds, which none will eat except the sinners.”
[al Haqqah, 69: 35-37]

“Thus, All this. But indeed for the oppressors will be an evil place of final return. It is Hellfire – they will burn therein, and how evil is that bed, Thus, then will they taste it – a boiling fluid and a filthy fluid of pus and blood and other penalties of a similar kind to match them.”
[Sad, 38: 55-58]

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) recited the following verse: ‘Fear Allah with the fear due to Him, and do not die except as Muslims.’ Then he said, ‘If a drop of Zaqqum would have fallen into a house in this world, it would have spoiled all the provisions of the people of this world. Then how will it be with one whose food it has become?’”
[at-Tirmidhi, Surah ali’-Imran, 3: 102]

“Those who unjustly eat up the property of orphans are only eating fire into their bellies. They will soon be driven into a blazing fire.”
[an-Nisa, 4: 10]

“Truly, those who conceal what Allah has revealed from the scripture and exchange it for a small price – they are not taking into their stomachs except fire. Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Judgment, and He will not purify them. And they will have a painful punishment.”
[al-Baqarah, 2: 174]
 
The Drinks of Hell

Hameem (Boiling Water):
“Here is a parable of the Garden which the righteous are promised. In it are rivers of water, incorruptible; rivers of milk of which the taste never changes; rivers of wine, delicious to those who drink; and rivers of honey, pure and clear. In it there are for them all kinds of fruits and forgiveness from their Lord [Can those in such bliss] be compared to such as will dwell forever in the Fire and be given boiling water to drink that will cut up their bowels?”
[Muhammad, 47: 15]

“This is the Hell which the criminals deny. They will go back and forth between it and boiling hot water.”
[ar-Rahman, 55: 43-44]

“Thus. Then will they taste it – a boiling fluid and a filthy fluid of pus and blood and other penalties of a similar kind to match them.”
[Sad, 38: 57-58]

“Has the story reached you of the Overwhelming Event? Some faces, that Day, will be humiliated, laboring hard, weary. They will be driven into a blazing fire. They will be given drink from a boiling spring.”
[al-Ghashiyah, 88: 1-5]

“To Him will be your return all of you. The promise of Allah is true. It is He who begins the process of creation and repeats it that HE may reward those who believe and work righteousness with justice. But those who reject Him will have a drink of boiling fluids and a painful punishment because of their rejection.”
[Yunus, 10: 4]

“Then will you truly – O you who have gone astray and denied – you will surely eat of the trees of Zaqqum. Then will you fill your stomachs with it and drink boiling water on top of it, and you will drink like diseased camels raging with thirst. Such will be their hospitality on the Day of Requital.”
[al Waqi’ah, 56: 51-56]

“Truly they will eat from it and fill their bellies with it. Then on top of that they will be given a mixture of boiling water. Then their return will be to Hellfire.”
[as Saffat, 37: 66-68]

Ghassaq (a Fluid of pus & blood which has oozed from their skins):
“Thus, then will they taste it – a boiling fluid and a filthy fluid of pus and blood and other penalties of a similar kind to match them.”
[Sad, 38: 57-58]

“In front of him is Hell, and he is given pus to drink. He will gulp it but will hardly be able to swallow it, and death will come to him from every place, yet, he will not die. And in front of him will be a heavy punishment.”
[Ibrahim, 14: 16-17]

Water Like Molten Brass:
“Say, The Truth is from your Lord, so let him who will, believe, and let him who will, reject it.’ Indeed We have prepared for the wrongdoers a fire whose walls surround them. If they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like molten brass that will scald their faces. How dreadful the drink. How evil the resting place.”
[al Kahf, 18: 29]
 
Hamba,

I still see hell being described as a place where life is really bad. I do not see anything from a spiritual standpoint, only physical.

Is there anything in the Qur’an about the spiritual nature of Heaven or Hell?
 
The Garments of Hell

Garments from Fire:
“These two opponents dispute with each other about their Lord. But those who disbelieve will have garments of fire cut out for them. Over their heads will be poured boiling water.”
[al Hajj, 22: 19]

Garments from Black Pitch:
“And you will see the criminals that Day bound together in chains and yokes- their garments of liquid pitch and their faces covered with fire.”
[Ibrahim, 14: 49-50]

Beds and Bedcovers of Hell

“They will have from Hellfire a bed and over them from it coverings. Thus do We reward the unjust.”
[al-Araf, 7: 41]

“It may be that your Lord may show mercy unto you, but if you revert to your sins. We will revert to Our punishments. And We have made Hell a mat for the disbelievers.”
[al Isra’, 17: 8]

Yokes, Chains and Maces

“Do you not see those who dispute concerning the signs of Allah – how they are turned away from truth? Those who reject the Book and that with which We sent Our messengers – soon they will know. When the yokes will be round their necks and the chains. They will be dragged in the boiling water. Then in the Fire they will be burned.”
[Ghafir, 40: 69-72]

**“They will conceal their regret when they see the penalty. And We will put yokes on the necks of the unbelievers. Are they recompensed except for what they used to do?” **
[Saba, 34: 33]

“For the disbelievers We have prepared chains, yokes and a blazing fire.”
[al Insan, 76: 4]

“With Us are yokes to bind them and fire to burn them.”
[al Muzzammil, 73: 12]

“And you will see the criminals that Day bound together in chains and yokes.”
[Ibrahim, 14: 49]

“It will be commanded, ‘Seize him and bind him. Then drive him into the Hellfire. Then in a chain whose length is seventy cubits bind him.’ For indeed, he would not believe in Allah, Most Great, and would not encourage the feeding of the poor. So he has no friend here this Day.”
[al Haqqah, 69: 30-35]

“And for them are maces of iron to punish them. Every time they wish to get out from it and from anguish, they will be returned to it, and it will be said, ‘Taste the punishment of the Burning Fire!’”
[al Hajj, 22: 21-22]
 
Hamba,

I still see hell being described as a place where life is really bad. I do not see anything from a spiritual standpoint, only physical.

Is there anything in the Qur’an about the spiritual nature of Heaven or Hell?
While I am not certain of this, nevertheless as far as I know, there is not anything in the Qur’an which describes the “spiritual” nature of Hell… at least not in the sense that we commonly understand it to be.

And concerning the spiritual nature of Paradise? … There are indeed plenty of such passages to be found in the Qur’an.
 
Is this post a class in the Koran? Because you could fool me.
From my opening post of this thread:

The aim of this thread is to provide a better understanding of what Islam teaches will be the fate that awaits the disbelievers and evildoers in the Hereafter.

Remember that if Islam does indeed turn out to be the Truth, then there is really no harm in knowing what to expect when we eventually arrive at our final destination… wherever that may be.
 
While I am not certain of this, nevertheless as far as I know, there is not anything in the Qur’an which describes the “spiritual” nature of Hell… at least not in the sense that we commonly understand it to be.

And concerning the spiritual nature of Paradise? … There are indeed plenty of such passages to be found in the Qur’an.
If it is not too much trouble, can you point me to the sura on that? Just the numbers, and I can find them.

I wonder why the spiritual is neglected.
 
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