To Burn or not to Burn?

4278. It was narrated that Abu Musa said: "Allah's Messenger said: This Ummah of mine is a nation that is singled out for more mercy and blessings, and it will not be punished in the Hereafter. Its punishment will come in this world, in the form of tribulations, earthquakes and killing." (Hasan) (English Translation of Sunan Abu Dawud, Compiled by Imam Hafiz Abu Dawud Sulaiman bin Ash‘ath, ahadith edited and referenced by Hafiz Abu Tahir Zubair ‘Ali Za’i, translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Canada), final review by Abu Khaliyl (USA) [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, First Edition: July, 2008], Volume 4, From Hadith no. 3242 to 4350, 34. The Book of Tribulations and Great Battles, p. 505; underline emphasis ours)

Narrated AbuMusa: The Prophet said: This people of mine is one to which mercy is shown. It will have no punishment in the next world, but its punishment in this world will be trials, earthquakes and being killed. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 35, Number 4265; bold and underline emphasis ours) 

Narrated 'Utban bin Malik Al-Ansari:

who was one of the men of the tribe of Bani Salim: Allah's Apostle came to me and said, "If anybody comes on the Day of Resurrection who has said: La ilaha illallah, sincerely, with the intention to win Allah's Pleasure, Allah will make the Hell-Fire forbidden for him." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 76, Number 431)

‘who remember God, standing and sitting and on their sides, and reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth: 'Our Lord, Thou hast not created this for vanity. Glory be to Thee! Guard us against the chastisement of the Fire. Our Lord, whomsoever Thou admittest into the Fire, Thou wilt have abased; and the evildoers shall have no helpers. Our Lord, we have heard a caller calling us to belief, saying, "Believe you in your Lord!" And we believe. Our Lord, forgive Thou us our sins and acquit us of our evil deeds, and take us to Thee with the pious. Our Lord, give us what Thou hast promised us by Thy Messengers, and abase us not on the Day of Resurrection; Thou wilt not fail the tryst.' And their Lord answers them: 'I waste not the labour of any that labours among you, be you male or female -- the one of you is as the other. And those who emigrated, and were expelled from their habitations, those who suffered hurt in My way, and fought, and were slain -- them I shall surely acquit of their evil deeds, and I shall admit them to gardens underneath which rivers flow.' A reward from God! And God with Him is the fairest reward. Let it not delude thee, that the unbelievers go to and fro in the land; a little enjoyment, then their refuge is Gehenna -- an evil cradling! But those who fear their Lord – for them shall be gardens underneath which rivers flow, therein dwelling forever -- a hospitality God Himself offers; and that which is with God is better for the pious. S. 3:191-198 Arberry

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: Allah's Apostle said, “Nations were displayed before me; one or two prophets would pass by along with a few followers. A prophet would pass by accompanied by nobody. Then a big crowd of people passed in front of me and I asked, ‘Who are they Are they my followers?’ It was said, 'No. It is Moses and his followers.’ It was said to me, 'Look at the horizon.' Behold! There was a multitude of people filling the horizon. Then it was said to me, 'Look there and there about the stretching sky! Behold! There was a multitude filling the horizon,' It was said to me, 'This is your nation out of whom seventy thousand shall enter Paradise without reckoning.'” Then the Prophet entered his house without telling his companions who they (the 70,000) were. So the people started talking about the issue and said, "It is we who have believed in Allah and followed His Apostle; therefore those people are either ourselves or our children who are born m the Islamic era, for we were born in the Pre-lslamic Period of Ignorance.'' When the Prophet heard of that, he came out and said. "Those people are those who do not treat themselves with Ruqya, nor do they believe in bad or good omen (from birds etc.) nor do they get themselves branded (Cauterized). But they put their trust (only) in their Lord " On that 'Ukasha bin Muhsin said, "Am I one of them, O Allah's Apostle?” The Prophet said, "Yes." Then another person got up and said, "Am I one of them?" The Prophet said, “'Ukasha has anticipated you." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 71, Number 606)

Now, by thy Lord, We shall surely muster them, and the Satans, then We shall parade them about Gehenna hobbling on their knees. Then We shall pluck forth from every party whichever of them was the most hardened in disdain of the All-merciful; then We shall know very well those most deserving to burn there. Not one of you there is, BUT HE SHALL GO DOWN TO IT; that for thy Lord is a thing decreed, determined. Then We shall deliver those that were godfearing; and the evildoers We shall leave there, hobbling on their knees.  S. 19:68-72 Arberry

There shall be none of you but shall descend into the same [hell]: [This] is an established decree upon thy Lord. Sale

There is none of you, but ones who go down to it. This had been a thing decreed, that decreed by thy Lord. Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar 

There is not one of you who will not go down to it (the Fire), that is a fixed Decree of your Lord. Hamid S. Aziz 

And decidedly not one of you (there is), except that he will go (herded) down to it; that, for your Lord, has been a thing decreed, a must. Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali 

It is the inevitable decree of your Lord that every one of you WILL BE TAKEN TO HELL. Muhammad Sarwar

And not from you [(who are mentioned in Verses 19/65-70) would remain outside] but must be one who entered it (i.e., Hell). (This) is unto your Nourisher-Sustainer, a decree, decreed. Dr. Kamal Omar

Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, "Some people who will be scorched by Hell (Fire) as a punishment for sins they have committed, and then Allah will admit them into Paradise by the grant of His Mercy. These people will be called, 'Al-Jahannamiyyun' (the people of Hell)." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 93, Number 542)

(1) (V .19:71):

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "Any Muslim who has lost three of his children will not be touched by the (Hell) Fire except that which will render Allah's Oath fulfilled."* [Sahih Al-Bukhari, 8/6656 (O .P .650)].

*Allah’s Oath alluded to here is the Qur’anic Verse: “There is not one of you but will pass over it (Hell), this is with your Lord, a Decree which must be accomplished.” (V .19:71)

Narrated 'Ata' bin Yazid Al-Laithi: On the authority of Abu Hurairah: The people said, "O Allah's Messenger! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?" The Prophet said, "Do you have any difficulty in seeing the moon on a full moon night?" They said, "No, O Allah's Messenger." He said, "Do you have any difficulty in seeing the sun when there are no clouds?" They said, "No, O Allah's Messenger." He said, "So you will see Him, like that. Allah will gather all the people on the Day of Resurrection, and say, 'Whoever worshipped something (in the world) should follow (that thing),' so, whoever worshipped the sun will follow the sun, and whoever worshiped the moon will follow the moon, and whoever used to worship certain (other false) deities, he will follow those deities. And there will remain only this nation with its good people (or its hypocrites). (The sub-narrator, Ibrahim is in doubt as to the exact word the Prophet used). Allah will come to them and say, 'I am your Lord.' They will (deny Him and) say, 'We will stay here till our Lord comes, for when our Lord comes, we will recognize Him.' So Allah will come to them in His appearance which they know, and will say, 'I am your Lord.' They will say, 'You are our Lord,' so they will follow Him. Then a bridge will be laid across Hell (Fire). I and my followers will be the first ones to go across it and none will speak on that Day except the Messengers. And the invocation of the Messengers on that Day will be, 'O Allah, save! Save!' In Hell (or over the bridge) there will be hooks like the thorns of As-Sa'dan (thorny plant). (The Prophet asked): “Have you seen As-Sa'dan?”  They replied, "Yes, O Allah's Messenger!" He said, "So those hooks look like the thorns of As-Sa'dan, but none knows how big they are except Allah. Those hooks will snap the people away according to their deeds. Some of the people will stay in Hell (be destroyed) because of their (evil) deeds, and some will be cut or torn by the hooks (and fall into Hell) and some will be punished and then relieved. When Allah has finished His Judgments among the people, He will take whomever He will out of Hell through His Mercy. He will then order the angels to take out of the Fire all those who used to worship none but Allah from among those whom Allah wanted to be merciful to and those who testified (in the world) La ilaha illallah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah). The angels will recognize them in the Fire by the marks of prostration (on their foreheads), for the Fire will eat up all the human body except the mark caused by prostration as Allah has forbidden the Fire to eat the mark of prostration. They will come out of the (Hell) Fire, completely burnt; and then Al-Hayat (life) will be poured over them and they will grow under it as does a seed that comes in the mud of the torrent. Then Allah will finish the judgments among the people, and there will remain one man facing the (Hell) Fire and he will be the last person among the people of Hell to enter Paradise. He will say, 'O my Lord! Please turn my face away from the fire because its air has hurt me and its severe heat has burnt me.' So he will invoke Allah in the way Allah will wish him to invoke, and then Allah will say to him, 'If I grant you that, will you then ask for anything else?' He will reply, 'No, by Your ‘Izzat (Power, Honour) I will not ask You for anything else.' He will give his Lord whatever promises and covenants Allah will demand. So Allah will turn his face away from Hell (Fire). When he will face Paradise and will see it, he will remain quiet for as long as Allah will wish him to remain quiet, then he will say, 'O my Lord! Bring me near to the gate of Paradise.' Allah will say to him, 'Didn't you give your promises and covenants that you would never ask for anything more than what you had been given? Woe on you, O Adam's son! How treacherous you are!' He will say, 'O my lord,' and will keep on invoking Allah till He says to him, 'If I give what you are asking, will you then ask for anything else?' He will reply, 'No, by ‘Izzat (Power, Honour), I will not ask for anything else.' Then he will give covenants and promises to Allah and then Allah will bring him near to the gate of Paradise. When he stands at the gate of Paradise, Paradise will be opened and spread before him, and he will see its splendor and pleasures whereupon he will remain quiet as long as Allah will wish him to remain quiet, and then he will say, O my Lord! Admit me into Paradise.' Allah will say, 'Didn't you give your covenants and promises that you would not ask for anything more than what you had been given?' Allah will say, 'Woe on you, O Adam's son! How treacherous you are! ' The man will say, 'O my Lord! Do not make me the most miserable of Your creation,' and he will keep on invoking Allah till Allah will laugh because of his sayings, and when Allah will laugh because of him, He will say to him, 'Enter Paradise,' and when he will enter it, Allah will say to him, 'Wish for anything.' So he will ask his Lord, and he will wish for a great number of things, for Allah Himself will remind him to wish for certain things by saying, '(Wish for) so-and-so.' When there is nothing more to wish for, Allah will say, 'This is for you, and its equal (is for you) as well.’” [Sahih Al-Bukhari, 9/7437(O .P .532A)]…

'Ata' bin Yazid added: Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri who was present with Abu Hurairah, did not deny whatever the latter said, but when Abu Hurairah said that Allah had said, "That is for you and its equal as well,” Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri said, "And ten times as much, O Abu Hurairah!" Abu Hurairah said, "I do not remember, except his saying, 'That is for you and its equal as well.’” Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri then said, "I testify that I remember the Prophet saying, 'That is for you, and ten times as much.'” Abu Hurairah then added, "That man will be the last person of the people of Paradise to enter Paradise." [Sahih Al-Bukhari, 9/7438(O .P .532A)]…

Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri: We said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?" He said, "Do you have any difficulty in seeing the sun and the moon when the sky is clear?" We said, "No." He said, "So you will have no difficulty in seeing your Lord on that Day as you have no difficulty in seeing the sun and the moon (in a clear sky)." The Prophet then said, "Somebody will then announce, 'Let every nation follow what they used to worship.' So the people of the Cross will go with their Cross, and the idolaters (will go) with their idols, and the worshippers of every god (false deities) (will go) with their god, till there remain those who used to worship Allah, both the obedient ones and the mischievous ones, and some of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians). Then Hell will be presented to them as if it were a mirage. Then it will be said to the Jews, ‘What did you use to worship?' They will reply, 'We used to worship (Uzair) Ezra, the son of Allah.' It will be said to them, 'You are liars, for Allah has neither a wife nor a son. What do you want (now)?' They will reply, 'We want You to provide us with water.' Then it will be said to them 'Drink,' and they will fall down in Hell (instead). Then it will be said to the Christians, 'What did you use to worship?' They will reply, 'We used to worship Masih (Messiah), the son of Allah.' It will be said, 'You are liars, for Allah has neither a wife nor a son. What do you want (now)?' They will say, 'We want You to provide us with water.' It will be said to them, 'Drink,' and they will fall down in Hell (instead). When there remain only those who used to worship Allah (Alone), both the obedient ones and the mischievous ones, it will be said to them, 'What keeps you here when all the people have gone?' They will say, 'We parted with them (in the world) when we were in greater need of them than we are today, we heard the call of one proclaiming, 'Let every nation follow what they used to worship,' and now we are waiting for our Lord.' Then the Almighty will come to them in a shape other than the one which they saw the first time, and He will say, 'I am your Lord,' and they will say, 'You are not our Lord.' And none will speak to Him then but the Prophets, and then it will be said to them, 'Do you know any sign by which you can recognize Him?' They will say, 'The Shin,' and so Allah will then uncover His Shin whereupon every believer will prostrate before Him and there will remain those who used to prostrate before Him just for showing off and for gaining good reputation. One of such will try to prostrate but their back (bones) will become a single (vertebra) bone (like one piece of a wood and they will not be able to prostrate). Then the bridge will be laid across Hell." We, the companions of the Prophet said, "O Allah's Messenger! What is the bridge?” He said, "It is a slippery (bridge) on which there are clamps and (Hooks like) a thorny seed that is wide at one side and narrow at the other and has thorns with bent ends. Such a thorny seed is found in Najd and is called As-Sa'dan. Some of the believers will cross the bridge as quickly as the wink of an eye, some others as quick as lightning, a strong wind, fast horses or she-camels. So some will be safe without any harm; some will be safe after receiving some scratches, and some will fall down into Hell (Fire). The last person will cross by being dragged (over the bridge)." The Prophet said, "You (Muslims) cannot be more pressing in claiming from me a right that has been clearly proved to be yours than the believers in interceding with the Almighty for their (Muslim) brothers on that Day, when they see themselves safe. They will say, 'O Allah! (Save) our brothers (for they) used to offer Salat (prayer) with us, observe Saum (fasting) with us and also do good deeds with us.' Allah will say, 'Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of one (gold) Dinar.' Allah will forbid the Fire to burn the faces of those sinners. They will go to them and find some of them in Hell (Fire) up to their feet, and some up to the middle of their legs. So they will take out those whom they will recognize and then they will return, and Allah will say (to them), 'Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of one half Dinar.' They will take out whomever they will recognize and return, and then Allah will say, 'Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant)’. And so they will take out all those whom they will recognize." Abu Sa'id said: If you do not believe me then read the Holy Verse:

“Surely! Allah wrongs not even of the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant) but if there is any good (done) He doubles it.” (V .4:40)

The Prophet added, "Then the Prophets, angels and the believers will intercede, and (last of all) the Almighty (Allah) will say, 'Now remains My Intercession.’ He will then hold a handful of the Fire from which He will take out some people whose bodies have been burnt, and they will be thrown into a river at the entrance of Paradise, called the Water of life. They will grow on its banks, as a seed carried by the torrent grows. You have noticed how it grows beside a rock or beside a tree, and how the side facing the sun is usually green while the side facing the shade is white. Those people will come out (of the River of Life) like pearls, and they will have (golden) necklaces, and then they will enter Paradise whereupon the people of Paradise will say, 'These are the people emancipated by the Most Gracious. He has admitted them into Paradise, without (them) having done any good deeds and without sending forth any good (for themselves).’ Then it will be said to them, 'For you is what you have seen and its equivalent as well.’” (Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur’an in the English Language, by Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, Riyadh, Lahore, Houston, New York, First edition: 2000], Part 4. From Surah 16 to 20, pp. 400-406) 

According to Ibn Humayd – Salamah – Muhammad b. Ishaq – Muhammad b. Ja‘far b. al-Zubayr – ‘Urwah b. al-Zubayr, who said: The Messenger of God sent his expedition to Mu’tah in Jumada I of the year 8. He put Zayd b. Harithah in command of the men and said, "If Zayd b. Harithah is killed, Ja‘far b. Abi Talib shall be in command of the men; if Ja‘far is killed, ‘Abdallah b. Rawahah shall be in command… When ‘Abdallah b. Rawahah said goodbye with the other commanders of the Messenger of God who were doing so, HE WEPT. They said to him, "What is making you weep, Ibn Rawahah?" He said, "By God, I have no love of this world or excessive love for you, but I heard the Messenger of God recite a verse from the Book of God THAT MENTIONED THE FIRE [of Hell] - ‘Not one of you there is, but he shall go down to it; that for thy Lord is a thing decreed, determined’ – AND I DO NOT KNOW HOW I CAN COME OUT AFTER GOING DOWN." The Muslims said, "May God accompany you, defend you, and bring you back to us in good health."… (The History of Al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam, translated by Michael Fishbein (State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany, NY 1997), Volume VIII (8), pp. 152-153; bold and capital emphasis ours)

Also narrated by Abdel Razak, narrated by Ibn Ayena, narrated by Ismail Ibn Abu Khalid, narrated by Qais Ibn Abu Hazem who said that Abdallah Ibn Rawaha placed his head on his wife’s lap AND BEGAN TO WEEP, so his wife began to weep also. So he asked her, “Why are you weeping?” She responded, “I saw you weeping and so I started to weep.” He said, “I remembered the saying of Allah – who is glorified and exalted – ‘Not one of you but will pass through it’ (Q. 19:71), AND I DON’T KNOW IF I WILL BE SAVED FROM IT OR NOT.” In another narration it adds the phrase, ‘he said this while he was ill.’

Also narrated by Ibn Jarir, narrated by Abu Kurayb, narrated by Ibn Yaman, narrated by Malik Ibn Maghul, narrated by Ibn Ishaq who said, “Whenever Abu Maysarah would lie down on his bed he would say, ‘I WISH MY MOTHER HAD NEVER BORE ME.’ AND THEN HE WOULD BEGIN TO WEEP. When asked why he was weeping he would respond, ‘WE WERE TOLD THAT WE WOULD ENTER HELL, BUT WE WEREN’T TOLD THAT WE WOULD EXIT FROM IT.’”

Also narrated by Abdallah Ibn Al-Mubarak, narrated by Al-Hassan Al-Basri who said, “A man said to his brother, ‘Have you been told that you shall enter hell?’ The brother answered ‘YES.’ He then asked, ‘Have you also been told that you shall exit from it?’ The brother responded ‘NO.’ So he asked, ‘Then why the laughter?’ The brother responded, ‘I have not seen a person laugh until he joined Allah.’” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Arabic version of Q. 19:71)

Do they not then consider the Qur'an carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much contradictions. S. 4:82 Hilali-Khan

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” John 10:27-30

“Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” John 11:23-27

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me… I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also… Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and WE will come unto him, and make OUR ABODE with him… Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:1-6, 18-19, 23, 27

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39