And When Hellfire is Set Ablaze
Since 2012-11-28
Allah Almighty has created the fire and has made it as an abode for His enemies who disobey His orders. He has filled it with His anger and wrath and put in it types of unbearable tortures.
All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the ‘Alamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists), and peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet, Muhammad and upon all his family and companions.
Allah Almighty has created the fire and has made it as an abode for His enemies who disobey His orders. He has filled it with His anger and wrath and put in it types of unbearable tortures. He has warned His servants and has shown them the ways of salvation in so that they should have no plea against Allah after that. Despite all such warnings against the fire, some people who have little knowledge and whose eyes are only focused on this worldly life insist on contravening, stubbornness and disobeying their Lord. They do that in ignorance to the right of their Lord and in ignorance to the truth of the Hellfire that Allah has threatened them with. What is this Hellfire then? What is its characteristic?
It is as Allah Almighty has said about it, {a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones,} [Surat At-Tahrîm 66:6]
{نَارًا وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ} التحريم: 6
Transliteration: naran waqooduha alnnasu waalhijaratu
It was said: O Messenger of Allah, is it like the stones in this worldly life? The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said, “By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, they are stones like mountains”. He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said, “Your fire; this by which the son of Adam kindles is a part of seventy parts of the Hellfire”. They said, by Allah it is enough, O Messenger of Allah. He has said, “It is favored by sixty nine parts each of which is hot like its hotness.” [Agreed upon]
«قيل: يا رسول الله أهي مثل حجارة الدنيا؟ فقال صلى الله عليه وسلم: والذي نفسي بيده إنها حجارة كالجبال. وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم: ناركم هذه التي يوقد ابن آدم جزء من سبعين جزءاً من نار جهنم، قالوا: والله إن كانت لكافية يا رسول الله، قال: فإنّها فُضلت عليها بتسعة وستين جزءاً كلهن مثل حرها» متفق عليه
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said, “The Hellfire will be brought on the Day of Resurrection while it has seventy thousands bridles, with each bridle there will be seventy thousands angels pulling it.” [Reported by Muslim]
«يؤتى بجهنم يوم القيامة ولها سبعون ألف زمام مع كل زمام سبعون ألف ملك يجرونها» رواه مسلم
It is reported that Ka’ab Al-Ahbar has said, “By Him in Whose Hands Ka’ab Al-Ahbar’s soul is, if you are in the east and the Hellfire is in the west and it has been uncovered, your brain will get out from your nose due to its severe heat! O people, would you have a dwell there? Or would you be patient on that? O people, obeying Allah is easier, by Allah, from such torture, so obey Him.”
The food of its people is the tree of Zaqqûm and their drink is scalding water. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said, “If one drop of the tree of Zaqqûm drips in this worldly life, it will spoil the lives of its people, so how about those whose food will be it.” [Reported by At-Tirmidhi who said, it is good and authentic, and Al-Albani said it’s weak]
«لو أنّ قطرة من الزقوم قطرت في دار الدنيا لأفسدت على أهل الدنيا معايشهم فكيف بمن يكون طعامه» رواه الترمذي وقال حسن صحيح وضعفه الشيخ الألباني
The people of Fire are in everlasting torture. They do not have rest, sleep or stability. They are, rather, going from torture to another. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said, “The least tormented of the inhabitants of the Fire would be he who would wear two shoes of fire and two laces of fire (on his feet), and his brain would boil on account of the heat of the shoes as boils the cooking vessel, and he would think that he would not see anyone in a more grievous torment than him, whereas he would be in the least torment.” [Reported by Muslim]
«إنّ أهون أهل النّار عذاباً من له نعلان وشراكان من نار يغلي منهما دماغه كما يغلي المرجل ما يرى أنّ أحداً أشد منه عذاباً وإنّه لأهونهم عذاباً» رواه مسلم
They, however, wish to die but they will not die! Their faces have become black, their eyes have become blind and their tongues have become dumb. Their backs have been crushes and their bones have been broken. {They will long to get out of the Fire, but never will they get out therefrom; and theirs will be a lasting torment.} [Surat Al-Mâ’idah 5:37],
{يُرِيدُونَ أَن يَخْرُجُواْ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا هُم بِخَارِجِينَ مِنْهَا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّقِيم} المائدة: 37
Transliteration: Yureedoona an yakhrujoo mina alnnari wama hum bikharijeena minha walahum AAathabun muqeemun (37)
{As often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for other skins that they may taste the punishment.} [Surat An-Nisâ’4:56]
{كُلَّمَا نَضِجَتْ جُلُودُهُمْ بَدَّلْنَاهُمْ جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا لِيَذُوقُواْ الْعَذَابَ} النساء: 56
Transliteration: kullama nadijat julooduhum baddalnahum juloodan ghayraha liyathooqoo alAAathaba
Al-Hassan said, “Their skins are roasted seventy thousands times daily”. The garment of its inhabitants is from fire, {Their garments will be of pitch, and fire will cover their faces.} [Surat Ibrâhîm 14:50]
{سَرَابِيلُهُم مِّن قَطِرَانٍ وَتَغْشَى وُجُوهَهُمْ النَّارُ} إبراهيم: 50
Transliteration: Sarabeeluhum min qatranin wataghsha wujoohahumu alnnaru (50)
Their drinking and eating are from fire, that they will {be given to drink boiling water so that it cuts up their bowels?} [Surat Muhammad 47:15].
{وَسُقُوا مَاء حَمِيمًا فَقَطَّعَ أَمْعَاءهُمْ} محمد: 15
Transliteration: wasuqoo maan hameeman faqattaAAa amAAaahum (15)
Ibn Al-Jawzi described the Fire as, “It is a home of which its inhabitants are distinguished by being away. They are deprived from the pleasure of wishing and pleasing. The brightness of their faces is replaced by blackness. They are bitten by maces that are stronger than mountains. It is a fire over which are appointed angels, who are stern and severe. If you just see them while they are sent to scalding water and thrown into severe frost. Their grief is permanent, so they do not rejoice. Their dwelling is permanent so they will never ever leave it. There are severe and stern angels over them. Blaming them is greater than torturing. Their regret is stronger than the calamity they are enduring. They cry for wasting the times of youth; when they genuinely cry, their weeping increases. It is a fire over which are appointed angels, who are stern and severe. O what a regret they feel for the anger of the Creator. What a plea they have for the great calamities. What a scandal they have amongst people. Where is their gain for the vanities? Where is their seeking for sins? Where is their following to the slips of people? They are like mixed up false dreams, and then such bodies are burnt. Whenever they are burnt they return. It is a fire over which are appointed angels, who are stern and severe.”
Think, my dear brother, about the condition of those miserable dweller of Hellfire while they are turning in the types of tortures and suffering in hell what mountains do not tolerate, that what, if mentioned, could bleed hearts. Do not ask about their suffering from the weight of chains and shackles {When iron collars will be rounded over their necks, and the chains, they shall be dragged along} [Surat Ghâfir 40:71]
{إِذِ الأَغْلالُ فِي أَعْنَاقِهِمْ وَالسَّلاسِلُ يُسْحَبُونَ} غافر: 71
Transliteration: Ithi alaghlalu fee aAAnaqihim waalssalasilu yushaboona (71)
Allah Almighty has said, {Then fasten him with a chain whereof the length is seventy cubits!} [Surat Al-Hâqah 69:32]
{ثُمَّ فِي سِلْسِلَةٍ ذَرْعُهَا سَبْعُونَ ذِرَاعًا فَاسْلُكُوهُ} الحاقة: 32
Transliteration:Thumma fee silsilatin tharAAuha sabAAoona thiraAAan faoslukoohu (32)
Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, said, “They are enchained in his rear part until they come out from his nostrils, that he could not stand on his feet. They are arranged in them then as locusts are arranged in sticks while they are roasted.”
Do you see, brother, the conditions of the people of the Fire and how miserable they are? Imagine yourself one of them – we ask Allah not to be one of them. Imagine yourself while you are ordered to go into the Fire. You are looking to the Straight Path, its thinness, terror, and great danger. You are looking to those who have fallen before and behind you. Their heads are down and their legs are high walking on the Path. The Fire has become exited, calling for them. They are calling in grief. While you are looking to them in terror that you may follow them, suddenly, your foot slips from the Path, and you become crazy; and then the other foot slips, so your head bows down. Suddenly, the hooks enter into your skin and flesh. You are pulled by them. The Fire hastens towards you excited and angry because of the wrath of its Lord. It pulls you while you are shouting “woe to me, woe to me”. When you are inside its heart, its blaze unites with you. You become swollen once you are thrown into it. It does not take a long time before your body drips, your flesh falls and your bones break. You are calling but there is no mercy for and you wish to return to repent, but your calling is not responded to.
Imagine yourself staying for long there, so you are extremely anguished. You are very thirsty, so you remember drinking in this worldly life; you hasten to the scalding water and take the cup from the keeper who is responsible for torturing you. Taking it, your hand is sizzling and moldering away under it due to its heat. You bring it near your mouth, and your face is being broiled. By gulping it, it strips your throat and when it reaches your stomach, it severs your intestines. You shout for woe and destruction. You remember the coldness and freshness of the drinking of this worldly life and you remorse over it. The burning hurts you, so you hasten to the basins of the scalding water to cool down as you have been used to in this worldly life by taking a bath and getting under water when it is severely hot. When you dip into the scalding water your flesh strips from your head to your feet, so you hasten to the Fire hoping that it is easier for you. The burning Fire has become severer so you return to the scalding water. You go around between the Fire and the scalding water, heated to the utmost degree as your Lord Glorified and Exalted has said, {They will go between it (Hell) and the fierce boiling water!} [Surat Ar-Rahmân 55:44]
{يَطُوفُونَ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ حَمِيمٍ آنٍ} الرحمن: 44
Transliteration:Yatoofoona baynaha wabayna hameemin anin (44)
You ask for repose between the scalding water and the Fire, but there is never rest or sleep.
When anguish and thirst became severe and you got very tired you remembered the Paradises. There was a lump in the throat as you were sorry for not being beside Allah Glorified and Exalted and sad for the pleasure of the Paradise which you had lost by yourself due to sins and acts of disobedience. You turned to Allah and called Him to return back to this worldly life to do a good deed. He stayed a long time without answering you in disregard for you. He frustrated you after that by saying, {Remain you in it with ignominy! And speak you not to Me!} [Surat Al-Mu’minûn 23:108]
{اخْسَؤُوا فِيهَا وَلا تُكَلِّمُونِ} المؤمنون: 108
Transliteration: ikhsaoo feeha wala tukallimooni
He wanted to increase your desperation and grief, so He closed the gates of the Fire against you and His enemies. How desperate you and the inhabitants of the Hell are when they heard the closing doors against them. They knew then that Allah Glorified and Exalted has closed the gates of Hellfire so that none will ever get out of it. Their hearts are broken in desperation and there hope for relief has ended forever. There is no escape from the torture of Allah Glorified and Exalted; it is permanent; immortality with no death; an endless torture for their bodies; grief with no end; unhealed sickness; shackles that are forever tied; thirst that is never quenched; no mercy upon their cries. Their invocations are not responded to. Their repentance is not accepted. They are in everlasting torture and uninterrupted humiliation. Allah then sends angels with covers of fire, nails of fire and posts of fire. They are covered by such covers, tied by such nails and supported by such posts. There is no crevice for mercy to enter or distress to get out. Allah then forgets them {They have forgotten Allâh, so He has forgotten them.} [Surat At-Tawbah 9:67]
{نَسُواْ اللَّهَ فَنَسِيَهُمْ} التوبة: 67
Transliteration:nasoo Allaha fanasiyahum (67)
This is Allah Almighty’s saying, {Verily, it shall be closed upon them, [8]. In pillars stretched forth (i.e. they will be punished in the Fire with pillars).} [Surat Al-Humazah 104:8-9]
{إِنَّهَا عَلَيْهِم مُّؤْصَدَةٌ (8) فِي عَمَدٍ مُّمَدَّدَةٍ} الهمزة: 8-9
Transliteration:lnnaha AAalayhim musadatun (8) Fee AAamadin mumaddadatin (9)
They call Allah and ask Him to alleviate the torture. He will answer them after a while, {Remain you in it with ignominy! And speak you not to Me!} [Surat Al-Mu’minûn 23:108]
{اخْسَؤُوا فِيهَا وَلا تُكَلِّمُونِ} المؤمنون: 108
Transliteration:ikhsaoo feeha wala tukallimooni (108)
Al-Hassan said, “These are the last words of the inhabitants of the Fire. After that, there are only exhale, inhale and howling like dogs…”By Allah, how miserable this life is and how miserable the people of such life are – we ask Allah not to be one of them. By Allah, how great this loss is, it cannot ever be compensated. How regretful, by Allah, for the minds that hear and believe in such torture and misery and become mindless for that and do not escape from it. They rather seek and choose it with consent. There is no power and no strength except in Allah.
My dear bother, you who disobey Allah, imagine yourself one of the inhabitants of the Fire. Will you be pleased with any of such torture? I do not think so. So, return to Allah in repentance. Stop doing what He hates. Approach Him by performing righteous deeds so He may be pleased with you. Cry from fearing Him so He may mercy and forgive you. Danger is great and the body is weak. Death is near from you. Allah Glorified and Exalted sees you, so be shy of Him and be pious to Him. Do not belittle His looking to you and do not depreciate disobeying Him. Do not look to the smallness of the evil deed but look to the greatness of This Whom you disobey, He is Allah Glorified and Exalted and holy are His names. Fill your heart with fearing Him before He takes you suddenly (in death). Do not expose to and fight Him by wrong deeds as you cannot beat His anger, you have no power for His torture and cannot be patient for His punishment. Make right of yourself before meeting Him so He may mercy and pardon you. Imagine that death has come down to you; then, neither repentance nor avoiding the past will benefit you.
May Allah help you and me to achieve what He loves and what pleases Him and rescue us by His pardon and blessing from His painful punishment and great dissatisfaction.
And Allah knows best. And peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet, Muhammad and upon all his family and companions
Ibn Khuzaymah house
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