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05-23-2012, 09:53 AM
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#1 |
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 Why has Allah introduced eternal torture? (Hellfire)
WARNING:
before someone starts bashing at me for questioning Allah or being rational, please take note of the fact, that this question is for me to educate myself. I've searched Google and haven't found anything, so the only conclusion I have is to ask my question here. if you're offended by these types of questions, then I suggest you not read further, but if someone is willing to help me out and clear my understanding, it would be appreciated. Jazak Allah Khair. Islam encourages to seek knowledge, and this is what I am doing. I am ridding my mind of doubts and in the same process learning about Islam. so please take the time to appreciate my interest and help me clear my doubts. I understand that the Kufr (dis-believers) will be thrown into the hellfire. But I have one question; why will Allah torture them for an eternity if he is merciful? Eternal torture in the hell fire will last for thousands of years and beyond...that is a very long time, why will Allah torture them for so long?  I know there people who have done many bad things in this world and deserve the torture, but an eternity is an insanely long time for someone to endure. Islam is a peaceful religion but why should people endure such extreme and long amounts of torture? If muslims are peaceful, then why do muslims wish death upon the dis-believers and anyone who doesn't follow their Ummah or creed (i.e. Shi'ite) Is this really how muslims should be behaving? shouldn't we pray for everyone to go to heaven instead of fighting over different sects? Once I can have this question cleared, Insha'allah I will better be able to understand why Allah has created Heaven and Hell. |
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05-23-2012, 10:01 AM
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#2 |
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WARNING:  that my opinion is right. And if it's wrong, it's entirely my mistake. And I pray forgiveness from Allah for that.The way I see it, if you deny Allah as the Creator, you would also deny every single entity of a creation in this whole universe (and beyond), from the biggest stars (or anything bigger than that), to the smallest creation, as being created by Allah .Allah Knows Best.
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05-23-2012, 10:05 AM
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#3 |
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I don't have an answer to it, and I'm not a scholar either. Having said that, my opinion is my opinion only, not to be enforced on anyone, and I pray to Allah So far this is what I can conclude - If the disbelievers didn't believe in Allah when the message was clearly shown to them (Qu'ran), and when they had the many chances to repent (seek forgiveness for their sins) while living in this world - but they chose not to repent; then why should Allah forgive them when he throws them into the hellfire? When they had ignored Allah all their life and didn't address the concerns of Allah (sorry if I am not saying this right, I mean that they didn't believe and follow Islam); Why should Allah answer their concerns when they cry out in the hellfire??? - And if an eternal place of torture exists; then there must be a balance; therefore an eternal place of happiness must exist as well (heaven). Basically without hell, there cannot be a heaven. |
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05-23-2012, 10:09 AM
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#4 |
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WARNING: My sincerest and best advise is LEAVE IT These thoughts are from none other than shaitan, the accursed one. Just to prove what I am saying look back at what you wrote: why will Allah torture them for an eternity if he is merciful? ...that is a very long time, why will Allah torture them for so long? but why should people endure such extreme and long amounts of torture? These are the doors to losing one's imaan, I am sincerely advising, because many people have became murtad over this issue of why eternal punishment? The answer is: Allah ta'aala created us, He has given us some knowledge and He has withheld plenty as well; yet He has given us enough to save ourselves from that eternal doom which we all fear. So why the eternal doom, only He knows, and these issue pertain to taqdeer (al qada' wal qadar) for which we have been strictly forbidden from questioning. Rasulullah s.a.w. got extremely angry when some sahaaba R.A. were disputing in this matter. So what you can never know, forget it; what is in your hands, strive for it. After talking so much, in short, it means that you will never actually ever be able to answer those questions, so stay away from such thoughts before that eternal doom truly engulfs us. |
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05-23-2012, 10:13 AM
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#5 |
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Bro Islam, what a beautiful name you have, alhamdulillah. Please pray for me that I will never have doubts again. I will no longer create any threads on these matters. I will leave all of these matters and instead of questioning what Allah has created for us, I will instead spend my time more on pleasing Allah , than debating on these useless matters. I am nothing in front of Allah. Who am I to question Allah? |
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05-23-2012, 10:27 AM
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#6 |
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Assalamu Alaikum
Fatwa # 17525 from Bahrain Date: Monday, February 16th 2009 Title It says in the quran that some people will abide in hell forever and never die. My understanding of justice is that the punishment should fit the crime. What crimes could someone possibly commit to deserve hell forever? Question An eye for an eye? It says in the quran that some people will abide in hell forever and never die. My understanding of justice is that the punishment should fit the crime. What crimes could someone possibly commit to deserve hell forever? Someone like Hitler may have killed 6 million people but it is still a finite amount. How would an infinite punishment be justified? On the flip side what good could anyone do to deserve heaven forever? In 70 years of life you can only do finite amount of good even considering sadqua jaar’ia (sawaab after you die in form of charity or childrens dua) Is Allah rewarding the good people over what is justifiable at the expense of the bad people? Answer In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh In answer to your query of “what crimes could someone possibly commit to deserve hell forever,” you should understand that there are only two crimes that dictate eternal damnation. One is kufr and the other shirk; the latter being more specific form of the former. For every other crime or sin, Allah Ta’ala will forgive the person on condition that he or she is a believer. Allah Ta‘ala states in the Holy Qur'ān, ] إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ [ “Verily, Allah will not forgive partners being ascribed to him but He will forgive anything less than that for whomsoever He wishes” ] إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَمَاتُوا وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ (161) خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا لَا يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَلَا هُمْ يُنْظَرُونَ [ “Those who disbelieve and pass away as disbelievers; the curse of Allah, the angels and mankind altogether will be upon them. The will abide therein (hell) eternally; neither will the punishment be lightened for them nor will they be given any respite.” Allāmah Suyūtī, who Allāmah al-Atāsī subsequently quotes in his commentary on al-Majallah, has mentioned a maxim that states that a person’s intention has a great role to play in issuing juristic verdicts. They quote the following Ahādīth of Rasūlullah صلى الله عليه و سلم : “(The reward of) Actions are based on one’s intentions” and “The intention of a believer is better than his actions”. Based on this maxim and purport of the Ahādīth, Allāmah Suyūtī states, “verily a believer will eternally remain in heaven despite the fact that he obeys (worships) Allah only for the duration of his life because his intention is that if were to live eternally, he would persist as a believer forever. Therefore, he will be rewarded for that with eternal paradise. Similarly, a disbeliever will abide permanently in the fire despite the fact that he disobeys Allah only for the duration of his life because he intends disbelief for as long as he lives.” و في اشباه السيوطي : و قد قيل في قوله صلى الله عليه و سلم : نية المؤمن خير من عمله أن المؤمن يخلد في الجنة و إن أطاع الله مدة حياته فقط لأن نيته أنه لو في أبد الآباد لاستمر على الإيمان فجوزي على ذلك بالخلود في الجنة كما أن الكافر يخلد في النار و إن لم يعص الله إلا مدة حياته فقط لأن نيته الكفر ما عاش (شرح المجلة للاتاسي ج 1 ص 15 , رشيدية) It is important to bear in mind however, that this is not the underlying reason why Allah bestows the believers with eternal paradise and disbelievers with eternal damnation; this is merely one rationale (hikmah) provided by the ‘Ulamā on this issue. The real reason is the decree and order of Allah Ta‘ala as mentioned in Ayāt quoted above. As Muslims, we believe in Allah Ta‘ala, His promises and His Sifāt (attributes). Allah Ta‘ala is al-Hakīm (the most-Wise) and al-Adl (the most-Just). Our feeble minds cannot fathom the supreme and endless wisdom and knowledge of Allah Ta‘alā and His actions. Allah’s knowledge and wisdom are infinite and our frail minds are limited and finite. How can it be possible then to encompass the infinite wisdom of Allah with a finite and frail scale, namely, the understanding of man? We should whole-heartedly submit to His decree and affirm His promises by the mere fact that it was sounded in the Holy Qur'ān as is the demand of īmān and ‘abdiyyah (servitude) and not attempt to rationalize and justify everything. We are not judges over Allah’s actions; Allah is the Ahkam al-Hakimīn (the supreme Judge) over our actions. We should spend less time trying to justify Allah’s actions and spend our time justifying our own, as we will be the one’s judged, not Allah. And Allah knows best Wassalam u Alaikum Ml. Yusuf bin Yaqub, Student Darul Iftaa Checked and Approved by: Mufti Ebrahim Desai Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah Wassalamu Alaikum |
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05-23-2012, 11:52 AM
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#7 |
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I understand that the Kufr (dis-believers) will be thrown into the hellfire. A peaceful religion requires law and peace being maintained in society. And that requires putting evil doers under the force of law. If in our world people get life sentence in prison, why not life sentence in hell? Salam |
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05-23-2012, 01:28 PM
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#8 |
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As-salamu 'alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh
What was posted by brother mffhere is echoed in the Qur'an itself: (27. If you could but see when they will be held over the (Hell) Fire! They will say: "Would that we were but sent back (to the world)! Then we would not deny the Ayat of our Lord, and we would be of the believers!'') (28. Nay, what they had been concealing before has become manifest to them. But if they were returned (to the world), they would certainly revert to that which they were forbidden. And indeed they are liars.) - From Surah 6 |
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05-23-2012, 02:05 PM
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#9 |
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05-23-2012, 02:12 PM
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#10 |
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 I heard one scholar say if the disbelievers cannot accept Allah for 30/40/60 or even 80 years, they will not accept Allah if they are to live for thousands of years or eternally and so it is justified for them to stay in hell 1000s of years or eternally.Allahu alam Let Allah SWT guide them all to islam and save us all from hell. Ameen |
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05-23-2012, 02:28 PM
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#11 |
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Assalamu Alaikum
Only because we cannot understand the wisdom behind eternal punishment does not mean it is not just. As the word 'just' is itself based on man made laws of morality and the man made distinction of right and wrong, and it will not be correct to apply the same interpretation of our feeble minds to judge the actions of our Creator, which we shouldn't be doing either way. Since Allah Ta'ala is the sole Lord and He has complete mastery and ownership of His creation, He can do whatever He wishes. His sending people into the hell-fire will be not due to the lack of His love but due to His justice. Once again we should always bear in mind that Allah Ta‘ala is al-Hakīm (the most-Wise), al-Adl (the most-Just) and Ar-Rahman (the most merciful) and verily His Mercy prevails over His wrath. Lastly, and very importantly, we should not ponder over the matters which cannot be comprehended by our limited knowledge and understanding, and rather spend our time and efforts in fulfilling our duties towards Allah ta'ala as we will be the ones questioned and not the other way round. "He (Allaah) will not be questioned about what He does (because He is above all and everything He does is perfect, appropriate and above questioning), but they (people) will be questioned (about the actions they carried out in this world)" Surah Anbiyaa (21:23) (Verse ref. from similar thread) Wassalamu Alaikum |
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05-23-2012, 02:30 PM
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#12 |
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Br. Islam's original query is quite valid, and a natural product of an inquisitive mind. Must appreciate the fact that he would like to get it clarified from someone who knows, rather than arriving at his own conclusions.
I believe Mufti Ebrahim Desai DB's answer clarifies it, and would like to re-emphasize on his closing remarks, that we must remember that Allah SWT does as he wills, and querying or justifying any command of his does not in any way make it less or more worthy of fulfilling it. There are stages in life, when it's best to do away with intellect and recite the following ash'ar by my beloved sheikh, Hazrat Maulana Shah Hakeem Akhtar Sb DB: مستند رستے وہی مانے گئے جن سے ہو کر ترے دیوانے گئے لوٹ آئے جتنے فرزانے گئے تا بہ منزل صرف پروانے گئے |
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05-23-2012, 03:13 PM
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#13 |
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Look at it like this, each and evey creation of Allah (swt) uses the neymah/blessings (eyes, ears, infinite others) provided by HIM without having to ask for them.
Take an example of eye, just imagine how much we use it, every day, minute, and second - now imagine that on a day of judgment Allah (swt) sets a price on this blessing for those ignorant people who denied his existence or committed Shirk - lets assume that HE (swt) sets a price of 1 day in hell fire for every 1 second of use of an eye. Extrapolate that to each and every blessing that a person enjoyed throughout his life (such as use of ears for listening, legs for walking, hands for writing, brain for imagining/thinkin/decision making, stomach for eating, air for breathing etc). The sum total of all theblessings will be quite close to infinte, as there are an infinite number of blessings from Allah (swt) provided to each and every one of us. We Muslims submit to Allah(swt) by performing Salah, reading and acting on Quran, paying Zakah, performing Hajj, fasting during Ramadhan, paying Sadaqah, and moreover try to live all the aspects of our live according to how Rasool Allah (saw) told us (that is we abstain from doing things that would displease HIM). E.g. when we wake up and read the duas of the morning, read duas before going to sleep, even when going to restroom and exiting we read the appropriate dua, etc, we are acknowledging and thanking Allah (swt) for his blessings and for letting us use them. In betwen we make adundant dua and Istagfar and hope that Allah (swt) forgives us for our shortcomings, but at the same time be very optimistic and hopeful of HIS mercy and forgiveness (for indeed HE (swt) is very forgiving, just read Quran AlKareem and you will find that after every offence HE mentions that we humans do, he reminds us that HE is Gafooror Raheem etc). |
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05-23-2012, 05:12 PM
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#14 |
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 I think another good answer to this is Allah doesn't need a reason to do anything, and no one is any position to ask any questions anyway. |
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