What is Jahannam?
Concept of Jahannam
According to the Qur’an, on the Last Day the world will be destroyed and all people (and jinn) will be raised from the dead to be judged by Allah as to whether they deserved to be sent to paradise (Jannah) or hell.
Hell will be occupied by those who do not believe in God, have disobeyed His laws, and/or reject His messengers. One group that will not have to wait until the Last Day to enter hell are “Enemies of Islam”, who are sentenced immediately to Hell upon death.
Suffering in hell is both physical and spiritual, and varies according to the sins of the condemned. As described in the Qur’an, Hell has seven levels (each one more severe than the one above it); seven gates (each for a specific group of sinners); a blazing fire, boiling water, and the Tree of Zaqqum. Not all Muslims and scholars agree whether hell is an eternal destination or whether some or even all of the condemned will eventually be forgiven and allowed to enter paradise.
Gates of Hell
First Gate:
This gate is called Jahannam because the fire will scorch the faces of the men and women who enter it!!!
Their faces will be sullen and glum. It will eat away at their flesh and Allah says:
“Every time the fire eats away their flesh We will replace it with new flesh so they can taste the punishment…” (Nisaa’:56)
This is the lightest punishment that one can receive in Hell, outside of the specific punishment of Abu Talib, the uncle of the Prophet (Sallahu alaihi wa salam).
The Second Gate: This Gate is called Ladha’, as Allah says in the Qur’an:
“There is no way out for them, except the Ladha (i.e. Fierce Blaze) will certainly scorch the inward organs and the outward flesh! It will invite everyone who turned away from following the truth, heedless of it and gathered wealth but refused to spend it in the cause of Allah…” (Ma’arij:15)
This level of hell is called Ladha because the fire will eat away at their body parts one by one, both internally and externally. It will invite those who abandoned Tawheed (i.e. Islamic monotheism) and turned away from that which the Prophet (Sallahu alaihi wa salam) came with.
The Third Gate: This gate is called Saqar, as Allah says:
“We will throw him into the Saqar and what will make you know what Saqar is? It is a scorching fire, it spares nothing and leaves nothing behind it will shake them vehemently and over it are nineteen angels ” (Mudathir: 26-30)
It is called “Saqar” because it will eat up the flesh of the human being and not his bones. But listen to what Allah mentioned about those who enter this particular level of hell:
“Those in paradise will ask the criminals what has landed you all in Saqar? They will say: “We were not of those who used to pray, and we didn’t feed the poor, and we used to talk vainly with those who talked vain talk; and we used to deny the Day of Recompense until death came to us and we saw the reality of all that we denied” (Mudathir:40-47)
So there are a total of four things that they were guilty of, which ultimately landed them in this level of the hell fire:
- The First: They did not offer salat (i.e. prayer) and the scholars also use this as a proof to show that abandoning the salat is Kufr (i.e. disbelief). And it also shows how serious it is because it was the first thing they mentioned out of all the offenses they were guilty of. In essence they refused to give Allah His right.
- The Second: They did not feed the poor. Meaning they refused to benefit the needy on all levels.
- The Third: They used to talk vainly with those who talk in vain. Meaning they used to indulge in falsehood and used it to argue unjustly against the truth.
- The Fourth: They used to deny and reject the Day of Recompense and this is the end result of delving into falsehood.
The Fourth Gate (Al Hutamah) as Allah says:
“Nay they will be thrown into Al Hutamah (i.e. Crushing Fire). And what will make you know what Al Hutamah is? The fire of Allah kindled by men and stones which scorches the hearts. Surely it is vaulted over them in pillars widely extended.” (Humazah: 4-9)
It is called Al Hutamah because it will shatter the bones of the human being and burn the heart and other internal organs. The fire will start at his feet and burn all the way through until it reaches the heart!!! Allah says:
“Indeed it (i.e. the hell fire) spits out sparks the size of mansions, as if they were yellow herds” (Mursalat: 32-33)
The individual in the fire will turn completely black when the sparks ascend up and scorch their faces, hands and bodies. They will cry tears until their tear ducts are completely exhausted then they will cry blood and when the blood is completely exhausted they will cry pus until the pus is completely exhausted!!!! They will leave behind a pool so great that if a ship wanted to set sail on top of what they cried it would have no problem doing so!
The Fifth Gate: This particular gate is called Jaheem, as Allah mentions in many verses:
“Seize him and shackle him!! Then roast him in Jaheem (i.e. hell fire) in chains that are seventy cubits long. This is because he did not believe in Allah, the Magnificent and he did not encourage the feeding of the poor.” (Al Haqq: 30-34)
This gate is called Jaheem because it is actually one big piece of hot coal that is bigger than the lowest heaven as we know it. And look at the crimes of the one who enters this particular gate:
- The First: He did not have the correct belief in Allah. This is to correct the misunderstanding of those who deride having the correct aqeedah and make discouraging statements such as “Why do they spend so much time studying Aqeedah?!!” or “We can learn Tawheed in 10 minutes!” or those who simply say: “I just believe in Allah!” This is a very nonchalant approach towards the greatest right over us as human beings, which is the right of Allah (i.e. Tawheed) the right to be worshiped alone without any partners.
- The Second: They refused to give the creation their rights, which is the most important right after the right of Allah. He did not encourage the feeding of the poor.
The Sixth Gate: This gate is called Sa’eer, as Allah says:
“A group in paradise and a group in Sa’eer (i.e. the blazing fire)” (Shurah: 7)
Allah also says about the people therein:
“And they will say: “If we had listened and used our intellect we would not be inhabitants of As Sa’eer (i.e. blazing fire)!! They confessed their sins but away with the companions of As Sa’eer” (Mulk: 10-11)
This gate of Hell is called As Sa’eer because it is constantly kindling, rather it has never ceased to kindle from the moment it was created!! In it are 300 castles and in each castle there are 300 houses and in each house there are 300 types of punishments.
In this particular level of hell there are scorpions and snakes, ropes, chains and shackles!! There is also something call the “Pit of Agony”, which is incomparable and unparalleled to any other type of punishment in hell. When the door of this pit is opened the people in the hell fire will grieve austerely!!!
The Seventh Gate (Al Hawiyah), as Allah says:
“As for the one whose scales are light, then the Hawiyah will embrace him like a mother embraces her child. And what will make you know what Al Hawiyah is? It is a kindled fir burning hot.” (Al Qa’riah: 8-11)
This gate of hell is called Al Hawiyah because whoever enters this level of the hell fire will never come out! Notice Allah said that the fire will embrace him like a mother embraces her child! In this level of the hell fire there is a well that will let out a breeze of fire and when this breeze comes out it will be so hot and powerful that all of the fires in the other levels of hell will seek refuge in Allah from it!
In this level of the hell fire there is a mountain made of fire and the enemies of Allah will be laid on their faces on this mountain and their hands will be tied to their necks and their necks tied to their feet and over them will stand the Zabaaniyah, who are angels that guard this particular level of the hell fire, as Allah says:
“ And We will call the Zabaaniyah (i.e. angels who guard the hell fire)…” (Alaq: 18)
The hands of the Zabaaniyah will be like iron and when they strike one of those in the hell fire one time with their hands they let out a scream so loud that both the Jinn and mankind can hear.
“O Jannatis, now there will be no death; O Jahannamis now there will be no death; On hearing this call , the Jannatis will be delighted and the Jahanamis will become more depressed.” [Bukhari]
“If a rock is dropped into Jahannam, it will remain plummeting for 70 years before touching the pith of Jahannam”. [Muslim]
4 Walls: “Four walls surround Jahannam. The width of each wall is a walking distance of 40 years”.
7 Gates: “Jahannam has seven gates; one of them is for the one who unsheathes a sword against my Ummah.” [Mishkat]
Atmosphere: “Jahannam was heated for a thousand years and its fire turned red; It was then heated for another thousand years and it became white; it was again heated for another thousand years and it turned black. At present, Jahannam is pitch black and dark.” [Tirmidhi] “The fire in which one will burn is the 70th part of the Fire of Jahannam.” [Muslim]
Breath: “Once Jahannam complained to Allah Ta’ala against the increasing heat because one portion was eating into another. Then the Rabb of the Worlds allowed it to have two breaths — one during summer and another during winter. Therefore the heat you feel is the effect of the heave of Jahannam (with it the breath is taken out) and similarly, the rigid cold you experience is the effect of the breath (taken in). [Bukhari]
Those who drink khamr: “Allah has made a vow that anyone who drinks any intoxicating thing will be made to drink “tinatul khabul ” on the Day of Resurrection. “The Companions (ra) submitted” “What is “tinatul khabul”?” He explained: “It is the sweat of the Jahannamis.” [Mishkat]
Those who eat Haram food: “Flesh which has grown out of what is unlawful will not enter Paradise, but Hell is more fitting for all flesh which has grown out of what is unlawful.” [Tirmidhi]
Those who boast of their deeds: “Seek refuge with Allah from the well of sorrows.” “What is this well of sorrows?” The Companions (ra) asked He explained: “There is a ditch in Jahannam, which is such that Jahannam itself seeks refuge from it 400 times a day.” “The devouts who repeatedly boast their virtues deeds will be there.” [Mishkat]
Those who give a verdict based upon his mind: “He who introduces an opinion related to the Qur’an based on his ‘Aql he will reserve for himself a place in the Hell-fire” [Bukhari]
