Paradise and Hell

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Paradise and Hell have their own degrees and levels.

The hypocrites will be in the lowest level of Hell, as Allah Almighty says:

إِنَّ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ فِى ٱلدَّرْكِ ٱلْأَسْفَلِ مِنَ ٱلنَّارِ وَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُمْ نَصِيرًا ﴿١٤٥﴾ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ تَابُوا۟ وَأَصْلَحُوا۟ وَٱعْتَصَمُوا۟ بِٱللَّـهِ وَأَخْلَصُوا۟ دِينَهُمْ لِلَّـهِ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ مَعَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۖ وَسَوْفَ يُؤْتِ ٱللَّـهُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا ﴿١٤٦

Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire - and never will you find for them a helper - (145) Except for those who repent, correct themselves, hold fast to Allah, and are sincere in their religion for Allah, for those will be with the believers. And Allah is going to give the believers a great reward.

[Qur'an An-Nisa’ 4:145-146]

Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

Whoever has (the following) four characters will be a hypocrite, and whoever has one of the following four characteristics will have one characteristic of hypocrisy until he gives it up. These are: (1 ) Whenever he talks, he tells a lie; (2) whenever he makes a promise, he breaks it; (3) whenever he makes a covenant he proves treacherous; (4) and whenever he quarrels, he behaves imprudently in an evil insulting manner.

[Bukhari]

Allah Almighty says:

إِنَّ اللَّـهَ جَامِعُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ فِي جَهَنَّمَ جَمِيعًا ....

...Indeed Allah will gather the hypocrites and disbelievers in Hell all together.

[Qur'an An-Nisa 4:140]

Allah Almighty says,

إِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ كَانَتْ مِرْصَادًا ﴿٢١﴾ لِّلطَّـٰغِينَ مَـَٔابًا ﴿٢٢﴾ لَّـٰبِثِينَ فِيهَآ أَحْقَابًا ﴿٢٣﴾ لَّا يَذُوقُونَ فِيهَا بَرْدًا وَلَا شَرَابًا ﴿٢٤﴾ إِلَّا حَمِيمًا وَغَسَّاقًا ﴿٢٥﴾ جَزَآءً وِفَاقًا ﴿٢٦﴾ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ لَا يَرْجُونَ حِسَابًا ﴿٢٧﴾ وَكَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا كِذَّابًا ﴿٢٨﴾ وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَـٰهُ كِتَـٰبًا ﴿٢٩﴾ فَذُوقُوا۟ فَلَن نَّزِيدَكُمْ إِلَّا عَذَابًا ﴿٣٠﴾

Indeed, Hell has been lying in wait (21) For the transgressors, a place of return, (22) In which they will remain for ages [unending]. (23) They will not taste therein [any] coolness or drink (24) Except scalding water and [foul] purulence - (25) An appropriate recompense. (26) Indeed, they were not expecting an account (27) And denied Our verses with [emphatic] denial. (28) But all things We have enumerated in writing. (29) "So taste [the penalty], and never will We increase you except in torment." (30)

[Qur'an Naba’ 78:21-30].

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: The least severely punished of the people of Hell will be a man who has two shoes and shoelaces of Fire – according to another version: two live coals will be placed on the soles of his feet – because of which his brains will boil as a pot boils. He will not think that anyone is being punished more severely than him, but he will be the one who is punished most lightly. [Bukhari and Muslim]

The person is named specifically in a report narrated by Muslim, where it says that this is Abu Talib, the paternal uncle of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, for whom Allah will reduce the punishment because of the role he played in protecting Islam and giving support to the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace.

We ask Allah to protect us from the torment and punishment of Hell. Nothing of this world is worth to be in Hell for, even for a slight moment. May Allah have mercy on us.

Whoever dies believing in the Oneness of Allah and believing in His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is from the People of Paradise. This person might run a detour to Hell and might stay there for a long time for his sins but his eventual abode is Paradise.

Allah Almighty says:

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوا۟ رَبُّنَا ٱللَّـهُ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَقَـٰمُوا۟ تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا۟ وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا۟ وَأَبْشِرُوا۟ بِٱلْجَنَّةِ ٱلَّتِى كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ ﴿٣٠﴾ نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَآؤُكُمْ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۖ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِىٓ أَنفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ ﴿٣١﴾ نُزُلًا مِّنْ غَفُورٍ رَّحِيمٍ

Indeed, those who have said, "Our Lord is Allah " and then remained on a right course - the angels will descend upon them, [saying], "Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised. (30) We [angels] were your allies in worldly life and [are so] in the Hereafter. And you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you request [or wish] (31) As accommodation from a [Lord who is] Forgiving and Merciful." (32)

[Qur'an Fussilat 41:30-32]

If a person dies having won the pleasure of Allah, then he will have the glad tidings of all that is good after that. When he enters Paradise he will have delights and pleasures such as no eye has seen, no ear has heard and it has not entered the mind of any man. Even the person who is the lowest in status in Paradise will enjoy something like ten times the joys of this world.

Abdullah ibn Mas’ood said that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

‘I know who will be the last person to be brought out of Hell and the last person to enter Paradise. It will be a man who will come out of Hell crawling. Allah will say to him, "Go and enter Paradise." So he will go there and think that it is full, so he will come back and say, "O Lord, I found it full." Allah will say to him a second time, "Go and enter Paradise." So he will go there and think that it is full, so he will come back and say, "O Lord, I found it full." Allah will say to him, "Go and enter Paradise, for there you will have something like the world and ten times more." The man will say, "Are You making fun of me (or are You laughing at me), and You are the King of all?"’ - and I saw the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, smiling so broadly that his back teeth could be seen. He used to say, ‘That is the person who is lowest in status in Paradise.’

[Agreed upon; this version is reported by Muslim]

The number of degrees and levels of Paradise is equal to the number of verses in the Qur’an, based on the hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr, who said that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

It will be said to the companion of the Qur’an: ‘Recite and rise in status as you used to recite in the world, and your position will be at the last verse you recite.’

[Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi]

Narrated Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

In Paradise there are one hundred degrees which Allah has prepared for those who strive in jihad for the sake of Allah. The distance between each two degrees is like the distance between the heavens and the earth.

[Bukhari]

Narrated that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

The first group will enter Paradise looking like the moon on the night when it is full, and those who follow them will be like the brightest shining star in the sky. Their hearts will be as one, and there will be no hatred or jealousy among them. Each man will have two wives from among al-hoor al-‘iyn, the marrow of whose calves can be seen from beneath the bone and flesh.

[Bukhari and Muslim]

Narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

The lowest of the people of Paradise in status will be a man whose face Allah will turn away from the Fire towards Paradise, and make a shady tree appear before him. … Then he will enter his house and his two wives from among al-hoor al-‘iyn will enter after him. They will say: ‘Praise be to Allah Who has created you for us and us for you.’ And he will say: ‘No one has been given the like of that which I have been given.’

[Muslim]

Narrated Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

The people of Paradise will be able to see the people in the apartments above them as you see the shining stars on the horizon in the east and the west, because of the differences in their status. They said: “O Messenger of Allah, is that the status of the Prophets which no one else will reach besides them?” He said: “No, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, they are men who had faith in Allah and believed in the Messengers.”

[Bukhari and Muslim]

Narrated Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

"Shall I not tell you of something by means of which Allah erases sins and raises you in status?" They said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He said: “Doing wudoo’ (ablution) well even when it is difficult, taking many steps to the mosques and waiting for prayer after prayer. That is (equivalent) to guarding the frontier.”

[Muslim]

So work on your precious iman (faith) and protect it by shielding it with the deeds of Islam and stay away from disobedience and those things that lead to disobedience. It is hard work but it is the highest paying job you can never ever imagine. May Allah give us tawfiq.

Set your eyes on the highest Paradise, al-Firdaus.

Narrated that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

...When you ask of Allah, ask Him for al-Firdaus, for it is in the middle of Paradise and is the highest part of Paradise, and above it is the Throne of the Most Merciful, and from it spring forth the rivers of Paradise.

[Bukhari and Muslim]

May Allah grant us an excellent ending at the highest of iman and resurrect us with His beloved Messenger, sallallahu alayhi wassallam, and enter us into the highest Jannah, Al-Firdaus, with him, sallallahu alayhi wassallam. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

Related Archive:
Most Precious
Wake Up! Hell Is No Joke
This World Is Not Worth It
Key To Felicity